Eric Maisel

Eric Maisel is the author of 50+ books. He writes the "Rethinking Mental Health" blog for Psychology Today, is the developer of kirism, a co

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Last 30 daysDec 22, 2020 – Jan 20, 2021
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Jan. 18, 2021

The Good Men Project

The Punishing Personality Type

Every Republican presidential debate gives us an excellent opportunity to watch the punishing personality type in action. The “punishing personality type” is the name I am giving to a person who organizes his life around punishing others. Such people…

Jan. 16, 2021

The Good Men Project

Making the Meaning You Crave

Say that an experience felt meaningful. Might you nevertheless denounce it as fraudulent? Yes, you might. It is completely possible to experience something as meaningful and then announce that it was not meaningful. We regularly refuse to allow…

Jan. 15, 2021

Eric Maisel Fine Art America blog

Kill Maybe

Dear Dr. Maisel: I spend a lot of my day thinking about painting rather than actually painting. Probably you have a lot of things to suggest but what would your number one tip be to help me get more painting done? Frank W., Taos, New Mexico * Thanks,…

Jan. 14, 2021

The Good Men Project

Thanks, Mom

Authoritarians are scary. They are scary because they are bullying, aggressive, often violent and destructive, and for similar reasons. But they are also scary because of their inconsistency—flying off the handle one time and then remaining perfectly…

Jan. 11, 2021

The Good Men Project

The God-Bug Syndrome

We have arrived at an interesting moment in the evolution of our species where a smart person in a first world culture is pestered by two contradictory feelings, first that he is as special a creature as nature has yet produced and second that he’s…

Jan. 9, 2021

The Good Men Project

Life as ‘Cheat’

Kirists accept that they are obliged to engage in radical self-authorship. They must make their own meaning, identify and live their life purposes, and so on. But does anyone feel quite up to that? Why might you not feel equal to radical…

Jan. 8, 2021

Eric Maisel Fine Art America blog

The Anxiety of Deadlines

Dear Dr. Maisel: I have a deadline coming up where I’m supposed to deliver some paintings for a show and the deadline is making me really anxious! Any suggestions? Harriet R., Spokane * Thanks, Harriet! Let’s look at this issue closely because it’s…

Jan. 7, 2021

The Good Men Project

How Authoritarians Make You Sick

We live in an age of physical complaints whose exact biological, organic, or “disease” causes are often hard to pin down. To say that many of them may have to do with prior or current trauma isn’t to say that they are psychosomatic or psychological…

Jan. 4, 2021

The Good Men Project

Handling Epic Fails

For more than 30 years, I’ve worked with creative and performing artists as a creativity coach. Let me share with you a lesson that I regularly share with my clients. Whatever you do in life, whether it’s writing novels or running a business,…

Jan. 2, 2021

The Good Men Project

The Missing Link

This Saturday, I wanted to present you with the following cautionary tale. We have seen the relentlessness of those who would love science to disappear, so as to give religion the whole playing field. They are truly relentless, shunning masks,…

Jan. 1, 2021

Eric Maisel Fine Art America blog

The Confident Artist, Part 3

It’s often the case that we’re reasonably confident somewhere inside of us—we have some real confidence to access—but when it comes to accessing it for some specific reason, liking getting on with our painting or contacting a particular gallery, we…

Dec. 31, 2020

The Good Men Project

What Family Bullying Looks Like

Every day I get emails like the following one. I wanted to share this with you, in case you are in a similar situation and feeling all alone, in the hopes that you might at least feel a little less alone by knowing that you and Kim are in similar…

Dec. 28, 2020

The Good Men Project

Rethinking Depression

There is something profoundly wrong with the way that we currently name and treat certain human phenomena. When we call something a “mental disease” or a “mental disorder” we imply a great deal about its origins, its treatment, its intractability,…

Dec. 26, 2020

The Good Men Project

The Long Odds of One Against Billions

More than two billion people self-identify as Christian. 1.6 billion folks identify as Muslim. 1.2 billion identify as Hindu. Together, these three groups amount to almost five billion human beings. The main features of these religions are…

Dec. 25, 2020

Eric Maisel Fine Art America blog

The Confident Artist, Part 2: Confidence Throughout the Creative Process

CONFIDENTLY NAVIGATING THE CREATIVE PROCESS In the second part of this series on artist’s confidence I’d like to paint a picture of what confidence looks like during each stage of the creative process. Stage 1. Wishing I’m conceptualizing ‘wishing’…

Dec. 24, 2020

The Good Men Project

Why Authoritarians Love Religion

Authoritarians naturally love authoritarian institutions like religion and the military. They love the idea of someone giving orders and others obliged to take orders, they love the idea of strict punishments like courts-martial and hell fires, they…

Dec. 21, 2020

The Good Men Project

10 Tips for Emotional Healing

We experience emotional distress in all sorts of ways—as sadness, anxiety, addictions, unproductive obsessions, unwanted compulsions, repetitive self-sabotaging behaviors, physical ailments, boredom, and various angry, bleak, and agitated moods. What…

Dec. 18, 2020

Eric Maisel Fine Art America blog

The Confident Artist, Part 1

I thought that I’d chat for a few columns about the subject of confidence. You may feel quite confident in some areas of your life—and then find yourself much weaker than you would like when you get to the canvas or when you need to talk to a gallery…

Dec. 17, 2020

The Good Men Project

Why the Authoritarian Wound Rarely Heals

This post is the last in a series on authoritarian wounding and should be taken in the context of this ongoing series, which looks at many aspects of the authoritarian personality, the various ways that authoritarians harm their victims, and the…

Dec. 14, 2020

The Good Men Project

The Trick to Great Sex

There is a simple, amazing trick to great sex. But first, let’s get clear on what gets in the way of great sex. Well, there isn’t just one thing. It might be a lack of experience and simply not knowing what to do (it doesn’t come naturally to…