MetroPolar

Dispatches from a New York City Shrink

By Dr. Greg Dillon

No Next New Big Things, Please

By Dr. Greg Dillon on February 26, 2009 - 12:08pm in MetroPolar

The secret to publishing success (at least in the impulse-buy-quick-fix-self-help-non-fiction-cum-memoir market) has been said to be a number. A single digit, 3, 7, 8, or what have you. That digit represents the number of quick and simple steps towards fortune, fame, and total enlightentment. People eat this up, not surprisingly. Read More

Crazy Back

By Dr. Greg Dillon on May 15, 2008 - 9:47am in MetroPolar

Justin Timberlake took "sexy back". Whose got "crazy back"? Mad Pride, empathy, and responsibility. Read More

Spring Cleaning

By Dr. Greg Dillon on April 1, 2008 - 12:51pm in MetroPolar

Many patients seem to want psychic spring cleaning. It's a time of change, and they get impatient to have their insides change to keep pace with anticipated external changes. Read More

Virtual Betrayal

By Dr. Greg Dillon on March 21, 2008 - 6:51am in MetroPolar

The wheels of capitalism must turn. Everybody has to make a living. But can marketing's cyber-sneak-attacks threaten the field of human communication? Read More

Bear Stearns In Treatment

By Dr. Greg Dillon on March 20, 2008 - 3:19pm in MetroPolar

"Can you believe this?! Can you believe what happened to Bear Sterns?!" The truth is, I can totally believe it. But how does such drama shake the psyche? And who is going to make it all better? Read More

Placebo Abuse: The Hubris Effect

By Dr. Greg Dillon on March 6, 2008 - 7:49pm in MetroPolar

pla-ce-bo

2. Something of no intrinsic remedial value that is used to appease or reassure another... C'mon, just a little taste... Read More

Let It Bleed

By Dr. Greg Dillon on March 4, 2008 - 12:49pm in MetroPolar

"Doc, I'm bleeding here!" "What do I have to do, open a vein and bleed all over your rug?" Blood and bleeding make for strong symbols in psychotherapy, but what does it all mean? Read More

Free v. Cheap

By Dr. Greg Dillon on February 28, 2008 - 11:58am in MetroPolar

"Free" (stuff, exchange, whatever) psychologically triggers enthusiasm in a way that even "very cheap" cannot. Can the promise of the free beat out the lure of the cheap, in therapy? Read More

Is Ryan Seacrest the Devil?

By Dr. Greg Dillon on February 26, 2008 - 2:40pm in MetroPolar

Film, television, literature, the Bible have all taught us that when the devil comes, he will be sneaky. At least a slithering, tempting snake, if not a more ethereal manifestation of our own baser traits. So, is Ryan Seacrest the Devil? Probably, yes. Read More

Empathy Within Reach

By Dr. Greg Dillon on February 25, 2008 - 11:45am in MetroPolar

Design Within Reach haunts me. Not in a scary way, more ruminations. Where did it come from, what does it all mean, and, more importantly, why do I find myself strangely attracted to it? Read More