Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

June 27th, 2017

The National Council of Problem Gambling recently reported that approximately 6 million adults and half a million teenagers in America engage in problematic gambling, or have what one may call gambling addiction. Gambling addiction refers to a pattern of making risky monetary bets in a way that impairs a person’s social, psychological, emotional, physical, or financial functioning. The rate of occurrence in youth is about two to three times …
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Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

November 1st, 2016

“Love” is a term that gets used very casually in our day-to-day lives.  It’s utilized to convey a strong liking towards something and an explicit desire to associate with it. For instance, we say, “I love what you said,” “I love your idea,” and “I love the blue one!”  In all these examples, we are expressing our passion for a subject, and announcing that we derive pleasure from it. W …
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Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

April 20th, 2016

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently estimated that about 21.6 million Americans are diagnosed with an alcohol or drug use disorder.  This means that at minimum, about this many people in the country regularly use alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, pain pills, or other drugs despite the fact that doing so brings them harm.  This harm may include deteriorating health, strained relatio …
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Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

February 12th, 2016

We live in a time that’s seen a sharp increase in all things “happiness.” Books, articles, seminars, workshops, and podcasts on happiness seem to be rising at surprising rates. I recently did a psychology literature search for books, articles, and essays that were published with the word “happiness” in the title. The results, remarkable. Between 1950 and 1960, there were about 30 publications released. Between 1980 a …
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Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

November 9th, 2015

    Lashon Harah is any communication that is aimed at lowering the image of a person or persons in the eyes of others.  Literally "the evil tongue" or "the evil language," it is popularly known today as gossiping or slandering.  Judaism has long discouraged this behavior, mentioning that those who engage in the practice are killing their compatriot, shedding their blood, staining them in the eyes of others.

&n …
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Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

November 9th, 2015

   People-pleasing has been a commonplace phenomenon for as long as people have existed.  It comes up in different ways, across various social settings, and is done for a range of reasons.  The practice of people-pleasing refers to our tendency to act in a particular way to evoke pleasant feelings in the people around us.

   At first glance, it’s easy to understand why we people-please.  It pays …
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Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

May 22nd, 2015

    Often we're told being selfish is bad. It’s disrespectful, shameful, and wrong. But we are all selfish. Every one of us. We act to serve ourselves. We eat what tastes good to us, befriend those who understand us, and do what brings happiness to us.       However, true selfishness takes courage. Being honest about who you are, what you want, and what you are willing to do to get it are important aspects …
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Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

May 22nd, 2015

    We live in a society that places a high premium on what others think. Our culture encourages us to spend our time, effort, and resources focusing on other people, what they want of us, and what we can do to get them to like us. The desire to win other people’s approval, validation, and favor has been a part of the human condition since the beginning of time. It’s in our nature to want to be liked by others. Feeling …
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Author: Dr. Raymond Nourmand

May 22nd, 2015

    Love is a powerful concept we are all drawn to. It makes us belong and feel whole, it gives us the sense we are complete, and have everything we need. When in a state of love, everything seems beautiful because deep down we are seeing ourselves as beautiful. As creatures of projections, the truth is that what we see in others is not merely a reflection of them, but also a glimpse into us. We see in others what we see in ourselv …
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