According to the recent PBS Special, “The Emotional Life”, the key to happiness and well-being are good relationships with family, friends and lover(s). Relationships seemed to trump, work, money and health. I found the portion on “attachment” or bonding to parents very interesting. Infants brought up in institutions without much “physical touch” seemed to have lots of problems in adjusting early on in life and this continued into adolescence and adulthood.

The good news was that intervention in the form of counseling and therapy was mostly helpful to people in improving their relationships, behavior and adjustment to a wide range of problems and challenges.

In my own clinical practice, I have found methods like EMDR, hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy useful in overcoming long standing problems encountered early on in life.

Women, for their part like nice things, being treated well and often feel  flattered to be “selected” and enjoy their celebrity status (by association).

The rich and famous are often risk takers and either don’t think they will get caught or feel their influence and power will be able to get them out of any trouble should it arise.

Many men are  (were) probably envious or jealous of Tiger and the line of women wanting to be part of the harem likely forms to the left.

Now that the Tiger is out of the bag, it is not politically correct to support any of his actions or behaviors. It is politically correct to feel bad for his innocent wife and children. So, Tiger will likely pay a heavy price both financially and emotionally for his flings and affairs and not many will feel sorry for him.

Psychological Training

Given the stressors on a child prodigy and professional athletes, I believe psychological “training” should be required and is every bit as important as the technical training and physical conditioning athletes undergo.

The biggest reason for the success is the natural ability of the individual. Within 1 or 2 sessions, I can see how deeply a person gets in the trance (relaxation) phase. If they are highly responsive, I then develop a series of specific suggestions based on their needs and goals, then verbally “feed” them back to the client while they are in the trance. I often record the session and have them practice between sessions.

Accelerate Progress Through Hypnosis

While no one knows how hypnosis works for sure, it’s a great tool that can accelerate progress in many individuals.  My mental condition CD-ROM, TENNISMIND is based on hypnosis and numerous tennis coaches use it regularly with the students. It’s available on the products portion of my website, www.robertheller.net.

While I am disappointed and shocked by the revelations, I still admire and respect him as a great player, sportsman, ambassador for the game and philanthropist.The lesson for me is no one is perfect and that it’s never to late to share the truth.

Sports psychologists will have a field day on assessing his motivations and timing of it.

What do you think?

For many men, (myself included), I know sports and exercise are a great stress reliever and tends to improve my mood.

Other studies have reported the beneficial effects of exercise in reducing depression.

Mind-body Medicine

Mind-body medicine supports the idea that a healthy lifestyle can prevent and eliminate some of our major diseases.

To this end, I have produced a number of self help guidebooks that are easy to read and provide useful mind-body solutions to many of life’s common challenges. They are available on my products page.

How will this turn of events impact her personal life, relationships, trust and career? In the short run, it certainly can’t be good. Hopefully, she will be guided to seek competent professional counseling to help her sort out and manage her emotions and the complex issues that they evoke.

Parents Setting Limits

The caring, concerned parent is often kept out of the loop and the last one to know. Finding a balance over the use of technology is a challenge to all of us. Parents need to set limits without going over the top. Sometimes just caring and being available is all you can do.

Being Present

By being in the present and not worrying about the future you reduce self-inflicted pressure. I remember year ago, when I was into golf, one of the best rounds I ever played was the one I didn’t keep score on! Developing the skill to be “aware” without “judging or evaluating” can help you perform at your best.