How to cultivate moral resilience instead
“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” is a centuries-old proverb inspired by a Japanese carving that depicts three monkeys, each with a hand covering eyes, ears, and mouth, respectively. …
In the wake of 9/11, families heeded the call to service for their country as loved ones were sent to war. After the fall of Afghanistan, they continue to struggle to reconcile the moral costs and reconstitute their relationships.
Co-written with Rita Brock, Senior Vice President and Director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America and co-author of Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury After War (Beacon 2012).
Angelina is a mother of three. When the burning Twin Towers appeared on the news, she was spooning…
Research shows these psychospiritual forces may be critically important for decreasing risk of illness and death and boosting overall health
When I was in graduate school studying world religion, philosophy, and psychology, I became intrigued by what, if anything, undergirds all the wisdom traditions. I had no interest in diluting them or melting them into one. I was more curious about what was beneath belief. After much research, I arrived…
Just thinking about comfort foods can reduce loneliness
There was never a fall or winter holiday when my mother didn’t make chicken soup. There was never a cold or flu I had when she also didn’t whip up a batch. …
It’s only hard because it matters that much
I recently had to have a medical test that I really didn’t want to have. No, that’s not even close to accurate; “really” could never describe the level of soul-paralyzing fear I felt in the lead up to that day. Every hour was black, filled with dreaded anticipation about what…
These techniques may sound silly, but they are surprisingly effective at pulling you out of a slump
It’s natural to have the blahs from time to time, but new data shows one of the most alarming signs yet of the toll on mental health exacted by Covid-19. Roughly half of adults in the U.S. said they felt “down, depressed, or hopeless” or had “little interest or pleasure…
The fascinating science of crying — how it’s helpful and when it’s not
Throughout time and across cultures, tears have been considered a release, a balm for the soul, a psychological roborant from the storehouse of the human condition.
Tears permeate poetry and prose, imbue love songs and lamentations, and shower weddings, funerals, births, public rituals, and private pain — and still, scientists…
The human conscience is our ‘inner voice,’ but we can’t hear it without mindful focus on where we direct our attention
Once, while sitting in my car waiting to get onto the Bay Bridge, I was physically assaulted by a man with a bag of rocks who seemed to be strung out on drugs. The experience was disconcerting, to say the least, but what I also remember is the shock of…
The space in between us and another person, us and ourselves, and us and life may look like ordinary air, but don’t ever treat it that way.
I never considered what the descent into madness looks like, but as they say, you know it when you see it.
The space that surrounded the madman and I was the size of small conference room, only it was well lit with natural light, thanks to a large window that…
Parents who endlessly post on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites are risking their children’s safety and robbing them of creating their own stories
Austin never got to choose not to be on the internet.
Beginning with annals of his parents’ previous attempts at conception, through two rounds of IVF, a photo of the plastic stick that finally held “two pink lines,” and the real-time video of them receiving the sonogram, even before he…
Michele DeMarco
Award-winning writer, therapist, clinical ethicist, and researcher specializing in moral injury. I talk about the stuff many won’t. micheledemarco.com
