by Vivian Diller, Ph.D
According to the CDC, most babies in the United States are conceived during December and January. Is it because couples hunker down for the long winter season?
Or is it the holiday celebrations and spiked eggnog that lead to mistletoe munchkins nine months later?
Whatever the reason, the statistics remain pretty consistent. More couples begin families — and add to them — during this festive time of year. […]
by Vivian Diller, Ph.D
As someone well into my fifties, the popular aphorism “50 is the new 15” makes me laugh. As a therapist who writes about the psychology of aging, it baffles me. Who are we kidding? Sure, being 50 today means something different than it did for our parents or grandparents — more of us are fit, active and expect to remain that way well into our 80s and 90s — but 50 to me, well, is simply the “new 50!” […]
by Vivian Diller
When Obama turned 50 in August, warring political parties and world leaders paused to congratulate him. Thousands of fundraisers in his hometown of Chicago sung “Happy Birthday,” and his two daughters left summer camp for Camp David for a more intimate celebration. But among the outpouring of well wishes were warnings too. Turning the big 5-0, he was told, meant that things would go downhill from there — as if he didn’t have bigger downturns to worry about! […]
by Vivian Diller Ph.D
Although originally used by psychologists to describe a transitional stage in adult development, today the midlife crisis is often associated with the guy in his 40s who finds a young girlfriend and runs off in his new sports car; or the woman, about the same age, who reinvents herself, buys a new wardrobe — and sometimes buys a new face. Is it a myth? An excuse for impulsive, bad behavior and unrealistic transformations? Or is it a reality in need of a new name, given recent changes in contemporary culture? […]
by Vivian Diller, Ph.D