Dr. Gary Bell's Absurd Psychology

Not for the faint of heart or sensitive spirit, Dr. Gary Bell's Absurd Psychology is about helping our lives in the insane world we exist today. It is a sarcastic, smart and witty view of the lives we cope with, including straight answers, real information and new perspectives to bring LIFE back to our existence. Dr. Bell brings deep insight, common sense and weaves general knowledge of how the brain is operating under various circumstances. Dr. Bell challenges us all to OWN our lives. How do we become change in an ever changing world? If anything, you might sound smarter to your friends. Everyone is an armchair therapist, but now you will know enough to be dangerous. No whining or caterwauling allowed! This is a search for essence, passion and meaning as we exist surrounded by mediocrity, insecurity and insignificance. Take your medication and listen. You might learn something.

Episodes

Parenting Teenagers

July 22, 2025 • 55 mins

Adolescence is a challenging time for young people, bringing on not only the physical changes of puberty, but emotional transformation as well and in some cases, the emergence of serious mental health conditions. For parents, it can sometimes seem like their affectionate, adoring child has become a different, distant person and that their teen’s friends have become more important to them than their family. But some of these ch...

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Cognitive Bias: How We Are Influenced

July 15, 2025 • 54 mins

Cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking, affecting how we process information, perceive others, and make decisions. It can lead to irrational thoughts or judgments and is often based on our perceptions, memories, or individual and societal beliefs. Biases are unconscious and automatic processes designed to make decision-making quicker and more efficient. Cognitive biases can be caused by many things, such as heuristic...

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Low Emotional Intelligence

July 1, 2025 • 54 mins

Let’s start by saying that intelligence is one of the messiest topic areas in all of psychology. We don’t really know what it is (debate and controversy exist over definitions and conceptualizations), but what we do know is that—broadly speaking—whatever it is, it’s one of the finest predictors of outcomes in all psychology research. Of course, its ability to “predict” is dictated by how it’s operationally defined and, likewis...

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Impulsivity: Can't Stop Myself

June 24, 2025 • 53 mins

You have probably done it before: fired off an offensive response to an email, said something you later regretted or did something to you wish you wouldn’t have. Yes, you, like many others, have probably fallen victim to impulsivity. There may have been times your impulsive actions paid off. Yet, there are those times where your impulsive behavior may have left you asking “What was I thinking?” There is no doubt about it: The ...

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How Psychology Works: Theories

June 17, 2025 • 55 mins

Psychological perspectives are different ways of thinking about and explaining human behavior. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to studying and understanding the human mind and behavior. That's why psychologists utilize a variety of perspectives when studying how people think, feel, and behave. Exploring different perspectives gives us a fuller, richer way to look at psychology—and solve problems that people might be expe...

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Finding Purpose and Meaning

June 10, 2025 • 53 mins

For most of the 20th century, philosophers, psychologists, and psychiatrists argued that meaning in life is a rare, profound experience, attainable through an active search, deep self-reflection, or some other arduous way of creating meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. But we now know that most people, most of the time, report that their lives feel more meaningful than not. Although actively constructing meaning may be r...

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Real Deep Communication

June 3, 2025 • 55 mins

Open and vulnerable communication between intimate partners is at the core of a relationship’s capacity to survive and thrive. It is what builds trust, clears the way for authenticity, and opens the gates to true intimacy. If relationship partners do not feel seen, heard, understood, and safe as they express their innermost desires and fears, they will never know the joy of blending souls. Yet despite the plethora of available...

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The Mind of a Psychopath

May 20, 2025 • 53 mins

Psychopathy is a condition characterized by the absence of empathy and the blunting of other affective states. Callousness, detachment, and a lack of empathy enable psychopaths to be highly manipulative. Nevertheless, psychopathy is among the most difficult disorders to spot.

Psychopaths can appear normal, even charming. Underneath, they lack any semblance of conscience. Their antisocial nature inclines them often (...

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Re-Dating Ex: Relationship Churning

May 13, 2025 • 57 mins

To grasp the concept of relationship churning, it’s essential to explore its key elements and historical context. Relationship churning isn't a new phenomenon; it has been observed throughout history, albeit under different names. Modern implications, however, have amplified its prevalence due to changing societal norms and technological advancements. The psychology of relationship churning is deeply rooted in attachment style...

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Why Manners Matter

May 6, 2025 • 54 mins

Good manners are a reflection of the Golden Rule: if you are nice to me, I'll be nice to you. The Golden Rule exists in every culture on the planet. A likely reason for this is our hyperactive connection circuitry in the brain that prominently uses the neurochemical oxytocin. When someone is nice towards another person, the recipient's brain releases oxytocin and this causes him or her to respond with kindness. Oxytocin is the...

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Pathocracy: Psychology of Leadership

April 29, 2025 • 55 mins

People with psychological disorders so easily rise to positions of power and take over the governments of countries. Pathocracy is arguably one of the biggest problems in the history of the human race. History has been a saga of constant conflict and brutality, with groups of people fighting against one another over territory and power and possessions, and conquering and killing one another. Tune in and learn how throughout hi...

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UnMet Needs: Emotional Deprived

April 22, 2025 • 54 mins

In Maslow's hierarchy, lower-level needs (physiological, safety, love/belonging, and esteem) are considered deficiency needs, which arise from a lack of something. Once these needs are met, individuals can focus on growth needs like self-actualization, where they strive to become the best version of themselves.

Understanding needs is crucial for various psychological fields, including motivation, behavior, and ment...

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Panic Attacks

April 15, 2025 • 54 mins

Panic attacks are dramatically abrupt bursts of acute anxiety that feel life-threatening but are not. They build into a crescendo of fear within minutes, but what they lack in duration they make up in distress. The body sensations of anxiety become extremely intense—pounding heart, racing pulse, the feeling of difficulty getting enough air—making it feel as if you are about to die. That interpretation is mistaken, but it never...

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Smart But Stupid

April 8, 2025 • 57 mins

There are advantages to being smart. People who do well on standardized tests of intelligence (IQ tests) tend to be more successful in the classroom and the workplace. Although the reasons are not fully understood, they also tend to live longer, healthier lives, and are less likely to experience negative life events such as bankruptcy. Now there’s some bad news for people in the right tail of the IQ bell curve. A “high IQ soci...

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Horrible People

April 1, 2025 • 55 mins

Horrible people are draining; encounters leave you emotionally wiped out. Time with them is about taking care of their business, which will leave you feeling frustrated and unfulfilled, if not angry. Don’t allow yourself to become depleted as a result of giving and giving and getting nothing in return. At first, you may feel for them and their plight but once you observe that every interaction is negatively charged you may wan...

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Emotionally Detached

March 25, 2025 • 60 mins

Broadly speaking, emotional detachment is the inability or unwillingness to connect with others on an emotional level. Emotional detachment can also mean that people do not engage with their feelings, which can translate into repeatedly being disconnected or disengaged from what other people are feeling. Tune in and learn how the trend of emotional detachment is effecting your life!

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Understanding Manipulation: How Narcissists Work

March 18, 2025 • 52 mins

•We can consider the ego as the "I" or our sense of self, and so we all have an ego because we all have a sense of self. The ego is not inherently bad. We need a coherent sense of self to differentiate ourselves from others and have a sense of agency. This allows us to meet our basic physiological needs, develop goals, and pursue dreams. I know that I exist, who I am, and what is important to me. I know which family, team, and...

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Why Marriage Fails

March 11, 2025 • 56 mins

With marriage having a fifty percent no‐go rate it’s obvious that people don’t follow their best thinking, just like people don’t eat healthfully even when they know what’s good for them. Paradoxically, it’s in our most enduring and important relationships that we’re least likely to be our most mature and thoughtful selves. Tune in and learn what it takes to be married!

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Commitment Changes Everything

March 4, 2025 • 55 mins

What does the word commitment suggest? It usually evokes a strong sense of intention and focus. It typically is accompanied by a statement of purpose or a plan of action. Very often, we utilize this word in regard to proclamations we may make about the seriousness of our relationships. For example, “I’m in a committed relationship,” or “I’m completely committed to this relationship.” In such circumstances, what exactly are we ...

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Altruism: Live Like Jesus

February 25, 2025 • 56 mins

Altruism is the unselfish concern for other people—doing things simply out of a desire to help, not because you feel obligated to out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons. It involves acting out of concern for the well-being of other people. In some cases, these acts of altruism lead people to jeopardize themselves to help others. Such behaviors are often performed unselfishly and without any expectations of reward. Other in...

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