Shannon V. McHugh, PsyD

In a world of video games, television, and social media, there has been a cultural shift in the way our children play and interact with one another. In addition to changes in…

Everyone wants to feel healthy and happy, and for all of us, this involves a specific neurotransmitter that our body produces naturally called serotonin. Researchers call this chemical the “happy chemical”, because…

The internet is the place where many people go to find out information and hear about the latest happenings in the news in addition to catching up with family and friends, playing…

Religion, for many, is an integral part of their life. No matter which religious sect a person ascribes to, the act of being religious has been seen to have a significant impact…

Do you have a strong-willed child who struggles to listen and follow directions? Do you feel like you have to repeat yourself over and over until you yell to get your child…

The term “psychopath” is a term that mental health professionals use to categorize a particular group of symptoms that accompany a personality disorder. Thanks to movies and television, however, most people have…

These days, it feels like there are more and more distractions keeping us from reaching peak productivity. The increased access and availability of technology and entertainment at our fingertips can make it…

Have you ever been to an art museum? If you have, you know that there are many amazing, beautiful works of art that have been created over the history of human life…

Every parent wants their child to succeed and be happy. Seeing children sad, frustrated, or disappointed can tug at our parental heart strings like nothing else and our impulse is to protect…

The technological advances in recent years have been stunning; you cannot look far without seeing some kind of screen or technological device that peaks interest or excitement. The evolution of cell-phones from…

The word “food” can mean many different things to a person, depending on their relationship with it. For some, food is comforting. For others, food is stressful. Similarly, the art of cooking…

Psychologists and other researchers have long studied the impact that colors make on human life; color has been found to influence people’s ideas, perceptions, and preferences for things both obvious and discreet.…

We all know that weather can affect our mood; depending on the climate in which you live, a person may have a personal preference for a particular kind of weather. If you…

Sex and sexuality have been studied for centuries and different cultures have their own unique perspectives about what constitutes appropriate and “normal” sexual expression and sexual conduct. What has been learned when…

When someone experiences a severe or traumatic event in their life, they can begin to develop disruption in their mental health and overall functioning. Mental health professionals describe these mental, physiological, and…

A common goal in life as we age and grow involves beginning to develop a solid sense of self; this is the development of identity, values, and self-worth that become stable over…

As mentioned in my previous article about sanguine temperament, Hippocrates, a Greek physician that lived from 460-370 BC, had a theory that connected the inner workings of the body to a person’s…

We’ve all heard of Type A personalities; these are characteristics in people’s personalities that include: competitiveness, neurotic, perfectionism, strict organization, ambitiousness, aggressiveness, impatience, and meticulousness. People who have Type A personalities generally…

Carl Jung was one of the most famous psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and founders of psychology as we know it today. He developed theories about why we think and feel the way we do…

While people generally experience the same emotions, the way they express them can be rapidly different from person to person. Some may have more muted reactions to their emotions, while others may…

The Law of Attraction is a concept that was derived in the 19th century by Phineas Quimby, a spiritual teacher who had been ill throughout his early life and began using the…

Many theories about personality and general psychology come from theories developed long ago that still hold true today. Theorists like Freud and Jung often are credited for a lot of the ways…

Most people know what an intelligence quotient (IQ) is: the score that averages a person’s overall intelligence with their peers based on a variety of standardized tests. What many may not know…

If I were to ask you when was the last time you felt anger, my guess is that it would not take you long to identify a time relatively recently that you’ve…

If you have school-age children, you’ve definitely seen them… Fidget Spinners. Fidget spinners are small, fan-like toys that can be spun on a person’s fingers. They are touted by some manufacturing companies…

Researchers have long studied the way human memory works to determine how memories are stored both short and long term and the functions and purpose of memory storage. When people think about…

The beginning of the new year can feel like a motivating and inspirational time; January 1st often marks a clean slate on the calendar where people re-focus on goals or dreams they…