MSI Press Blog

  There is a strange trap that can happen when people learn psychology deeply enough: they become excellent at explaining emotions while losing contact with actually feeling them. They can identify attachment styles, defense mechanisms, trauma responses, cognitive distortions, nervous system states, projection, transference, dissociation, shame cycles, and emotional regulation strategies. They become fluent in the language of inner life. But fluency is not the same thing as experience. And sometimes knowledge becomes a substitute for feeling. The Seduction of Explanation Psychological knowledge offers something deeply attractive: distance. If I can explain my sadness as “an activation of abandonment wounds,” I no longer have to fully sit inside the rawness of grief. If I can classify my anger as “a nervous system response shaped by childhood unpredictability,” I can avoid the terrifying immediacy of rage. If I can analyze my relationship dynamics through attachment theory, I can st...

  We build defenses to survive. Ego to protect our worth. Fear to shield our vulnerability. Insecurity to preempt rejection. These defenses are clever. They keep us safe. They help us navigate a world that doesn’t always feel kind. But over time, they become walls. And walls don’t just keep danger out. They keep connection out. They keep joy out. They keep life out. To be the source of your own life is to begin dismantling those walls. Not all at once. Not recklessly. But gently, intentionally, with courage. 1. Ego says “I must prove myself” But you are already worthy. You don’t need to perform your value. You don’t need to win every argument. You don’t need to be right to be real. Letting go of ego makes room for truth. 2. Fear says “I must protect myself” But protection can become isolation. Fear can shrink your world until it’s too small to live in. Letting go of fear makes room for possibility. 3. Insecurity says “I must hide myself” But hiding is exhausting. A...

  Recently,  Learning to Feel  (Girrell), reached #214 on the Amazon bestseller list of psychologist biographies. Book Description:  Learning to Feel, Second Edition,  teaches readers how to gain choice and authority over their emotional states. Feelings and emotions are reactions to the deeply held beliefs and experiences of our lives. In order to become fully emotionally intelligent - that is, to be able to know what is yours, what comes from the others, and how best to respond to those others - we must connect first to those core experiences and often re-interpret the meaning they have held for us.  Learning to Feel  is such a journey, intended to be a set of trail blazes for anyone who wishes to up their game in the realm of emotional intelligence. (Edition 1 was selected for the Independent Press Distinguished Favorite Award and a Literary Titan gold award.) First Edition Book Awards Literary Titan Gold Award Independent Press Award Distinguished ...