By John M Oldham How does ambition show up in an individual’s personality, and is it important? Well, it depends. There is a lot of reference these days to the “right” work/life balance. Does too much work make you a workaholic and does too little make you lazy? Again, it depends! Consider ambition in […]
Emotion Regulation Npsp25 Blog, December 2024 John M Oldham MD An important skill helping us navigate life is the capacity to regulate our emotions. What does that mean? What it does NOT mean is never to feel or show any emotions. Rather, it means the ability to comfortably experience a full range of emotions–happy, […]
By John M Oldham MD I was recently asked to record a brief video about the origins and background of this website. Some of this information is available on the website itself, but on this video I describe some early work in my career, when I was on the psychiatry faculty at Cornell in New […]
By John M Oldham MD In this homestretch of the election season in our country, there’s a lot of talk about the personality characteristics of the various candidates for office. A few years ago, David Runciman contributed an article to The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/10/the-key-to-power-how-personality-shapes-our-leaders) entitled “Stamina, intelligence, ego: which personality traits make the best leaders?” Before […]
By John M Oldham MD I was invited to join Drew Ramsey, MD to record a podcast about the world of personality and personality disorders. Drew is a talented and creative psychiatrist, whom I have known since he was a resident in training at Columbia, when I was on the faculty there. He has had […]
By John M Oldham MD Recently, many of us were consumed with “Olympic fever,” as we watched the amazing feats of elite athletes in the 2024 Summer Olympics. The triumphs of the winners, and the heartbreaks of those who almost made it, were riveting to watch in real time. But who are these sports superheros? […]
by John M Oldham MD I recently came across a term that was new to me: “gray rocking.” It refers to a behavioral strategy of being deliberately nonresponsive—being stone-faced, if you will. Nonresponding in a colorless, expressionless fashion, like a gray rock. It’s a conscious choice not to get rattled by someone who likes to […]
