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Showing posts with the label instability

When Home Becomes Uncertain: How Housing Instability Fuels Depression

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  Home is more than shelter. It’s a psychological anchor — a place where identity, safety, and belonging converge. When that anchor loosens, the mind drifts into uncertainty. Housing instability, whether through eviction risk, overcrowding, unsafe conditions, or constant relocation, doesn’t just disrupt logistics; it erodes mental health. Depression often follows not as weakness, but as a natural response to chronic insecurity. 1. The Psychology of Place and Stability Environmental psychology shows that stable housing supports emotional regulation. A consistent home environment provides: Predictability , which reduces stress hormones like cortisol. Control , which fosters agency and self‑efficacy. Social continuity , which strengthens relationships and community ties. When housing becomes unstable, these protective factors collapse. The body remains in a state of alert — scanning for threats, anticipating loss, and struggling to rest. Over time, this hypervigilance can evolve into ...

Emotional Inattention: A Guest Post from MSI Press Author, Dr. Dennis Ortman

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  EMOTIONAL INATTENTION “He who looks outside dreams. He who looks insides awakens.” --Carl Jung   “It seems like almost everyone has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) these days!” We live on overload, constantly bombarded by information and driven by the fast pace of life. Adult Americans on average spend ten and a half hours a day watching TV, listening to the radio, or using their smart phones and other electronic devices (Nielsen’s Total Audience Report, 2018). We are driven to succeed and push ourselves to keep busy and productive. To survive, we learn to multitask. We strain to keep all the balls we are juggling in the air. We want more and more, yet never seem satisfied. While technically only a few of us, about 6 percent, can be diagnosed with ADD, our culture keeps us distracted, impulse-driven, restless, and running in circles. So preoccupied, we never learn to listen to ourselves. I propose that the high-stress and instability of the American family contribute to ano...