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Expectations: I've Been Sorting Through a Lot of Shit That's in My Head Now
[DISCLAIMER] The American Psychological Association defines preference as “the act of choosing one alternative over others,” expectation as “a state of tense, emotional anticipation,” and anticipation as “looking forward to a future event or state, sometimes with an affective component (e.g., pleasure, anxiety).” Of these terms, I stated in Hopeful Anticipation vs. Disturbing Expectation: Essentially, anticipation is an excited, hopeful, and open-minded looking forward to

Deric Hollings
Jun 410 min read


Break My Heart
[DISCLAIMER] As one could imagine, when providing care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), predominately using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I often work with so-called broken hearts. Describing this term, one source states: A broken heart (also known as heartbreak or heartache) is a metaphor for the intense emotional stress or pain one feels at experiencing great loss or deep longing. It is often greatly associated wit

Deric Hollings
May 2610 min read


Discomfort Anxiety: Where Are You Going?
[DISCLAIMER] In high school, after years of tolerating distorted vision, a family that invited me to live with them from the children’s home in which I was a resident took me to an optometrist. It turned out that I needed prescription eyewear. If memory serves, once I received my new glasses, I was excited about being able to see details of the leaves on a tree from a window of the optometry clinic. “See that?” the optometrist said, “That’s what you’ve been missing!” On

Deric Hollings
May 1011 min read


PLUR: Addressing Sexual Assault and Rape
[ DISCLAIMER ] Employing the psychotherapeutic technique known as professional use of self , I recently spoke with client X about my past attendance at electronic dance music (EDM) concerts , music festivals , and raves . This individual, significantly younger than I, also attends similar events. Perhaps it’s comprehensible for a current younger raver to dismiss the lived experience of an older person who used to rave in the ‘90s and ‘00s as being passé or even unbeliev

Deric Hollings
Apr 1313 min read


Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes
[ DISCLAIMER ] When I was in high school, R&B group TLC (singer Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins , singer Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas , and the late singer and rapper Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes ) released their second studio album CrazySexyCool (1994). It was my favorite anthology by the group! On the album was the song “ Sumthin’ Wicked This Way Comes ” that featured lyricist André 3000 (of Outkast fame). Noteworthy, the song’s namesake is derived from William Shakespeare ’s The Trage

Deric Hollings
Apr 1111 min read


How Could This Happen to Me?
[ DISCLAIMER ] On the second studio album Still Not Getting Any... (2004) by Canadian rock band Simple Plan is the song “ Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?) ”. Describing the video for the track, one source states: The music video tells a story of a car crash on a rainy evening where a young male drunk driver crashes his Toyota Camry head-on into a Trans Am driven by a female, resulting in her death. The drunk driver, however, survives relatively uninjured, and en

Deric Hollings
Apr 510 min read


Trolley Problem: Distress or Disturbance
[ DISCLAIMER ] When providing professional care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “ mental health ”), I practice Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). In this blogpost, I’ll discuss one of the major techniques regarding this psychotherapeutic modality . REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable A ction occurs and you B elieve an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption , not the occurrence

Deric Hollings
Mar 1411 min read


The Senses and Self-Defense
[ DISCLAIMER ] *Unique disclaimer: Nothing stated herein is meant to serve as legal or other forms of advice . The topic addressed in this blogpost is for psychoeducational and informational purposes only. Consult with qualified legal counsel before acting on any measure expressed herein. Moving on. When listening to an electronic dance music (EDM) DJ set by Clara Datz , I heard a track entitled “ The Senses ” by Armen Miran and Pambouk from their 2023 EP Doors of Pe

Deric Hollings
Nov 6, 202516 min read


Depression and Reasoned Choice
[ DISCLAIMER ] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy , this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman . The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus who stated, “Where is Good ? In our reasoned choices . Where is Evil ? In our reasoned choices . Where is that which is neither Good

Deric Hollings
Oct 31, 202516 min read


All You Do Is Party
[ DISCLAIMER ] I recently listened to an electronic dance music (EDM) DJ set by Karry G which featured the track “ All You Do Is...

Deric Hollings
Aug 25, 20255 min read


Desperation
[ DISCLAIMER ] Desperation is defined as the loss of hope and surrender to despair. Regarding despair, the American Psychological...

Deric Hollings
Jul 17, 20258 min read


Shame on You
[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use There’s a scene in the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones in which the character...

Deric Hollings
Mar 13, 20257 min read


Distress vs. Disturbance
[ DISCLAIMER ] Per one source , Florida is ranked the number one state with the worst drivers in the nation, and Texas follows close...

Deric Hollings
Mar 12, 20258 min read
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