There is a long-established tradition in psychology for encouraging what has been termed as disclosive writing. For many years, studies investigating the effectiveness of such writing tended to ask participants to write about traumatic or emotionally upsetting events over a specified period of time, typically three or four days. The logic behind this approach is…
Experiences or ‘stuff’? When living in a society that emphasises consumption it can be easy to be sucked into the idea that more ‘stuff’ will bring with it more happiness. It is difficult to avoid the constant barrage of advertising on television, radio, the internet, and even billboards in this country, and at least as…
Learned helplessness & explanatory style Recently, we devoted much time and attention to cognitive distortions – our tendency to think in irrational and frequently self-defeating ways (see Blog #16 & #17). Related to this idea is that of learned helplessness. Whether you have heard the phrase before or not, you will most likely be…
The Minister for Health Simon Harris TD visited MPHC on 12th January 2017. He was given a guided tour of the facility and witnessed the great work being done by all the staff in MPHC. Minister for Heath Simon Harris TD with Senior Cardiac Technician Mary Mary Minister for Health Simon Harris TD, Dr Tony…
Blog #18 – Strategies for the New Year If you’re anything like me, the arrival of a new year brings with it a warrior-like zeal to make seismic changes to your life. The list can be long. Even the act of writing it makes us feel good. Committing to the intention to a) lose…
Cognitive distortions II Last time, we spoke about cognitive distortions. For those of you who need a reminder after the excesses of Christmas, this term refers to patterns of irrational thinking that we are all vulnerable to, to one extent or another. The specific examples we used to highlight just how common this type of…
CompleteGP, McLernons Computers and eHealth Ireland lead battle to eliminate dot matrix printers from GP Surgeries and Pharmacies Currently 1970’s technology is used by GPs to print prescriptions for public patients. Why? The answer lies in the fact that multi- part prescription paper is required to support legacy processes for tracing scripts. Not only are…
Christmas Opening Hours 2016 Saturday 24th December 2016 9 am – 1 pm Christmas Day Closed St Stephens Day …
Blog #16 – Cognitive distortions Sometimes, as it relates to individual well-being, we can be our own worst enemy. To be more specific, the patterns of thinking that we develop can be actively detrimental to our happiness. When these patterns move from rational to irrational thinking, we can fall prey to what psychologists refer to…
How many times have you found yourself thinking along the lines of “I would love to be able to do that” only to then tell yourself “but I’ll never be able to”? This kind of internal commentary can cross a wide spectrum of possibilities, from, for example, learning to play a musical instrument to starting…