Author: artsmuklermd

Art Smukler, MD was born and raised in Philadelphia, went to college and medical school in Pennsylvania, and completed his psychiatric training at UCLA. He is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in the treatment of adults with a subspecialty in adolescents. As a member of the UCLA faculty, he ran an award-winning psychotherapy conference for psychiatric residents and received the coveted “Golden Ear” award. He has published in psychiatric journals, and won the award for excellence in creative writing at The Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Now a full-time author, he applies his deep understanding of the human psyche to the motivations of his fictional characters.

WOMEN. THEY ARE A COMPLETE MYSTERY, by Art Smukler, author

by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry, Self Examination, World events, a psychological view, Writing

Stephen Hawking, a well-known, brilliant physicist, was interviewed by New Scientist magazine. When they asked the wheelchair bound, 70 year-old scientist what he thinks about most, he answered —

Women. They are a complete mystery.

Here’s a guy who writes books about how the universe began, and he’s stumped by a mere woman. Well Stephen, join the group. Most men are in the same quandary. So why are women so perplexing?

We’re usually physically stronger. We usually have more political power. Bias has kept women weaker in the marketplace. We can score touchdowns and they’re relegated to jumping around in skimpy outfits on the sidelines cheering for Brawny Bill, who just scored on an off-center, power-right play. They don’t even know what an off-center, power-right play means, nor do they care. So why do most of us with the little y gene lust to have one of them a part of our lives?

Guys, we can’t fight Mother Nature (note Mother not Father). They gave birth to us and we’re programmed to desperately desire to explore where we came from. Stephen, I hope you’re not insulted that I’m being so familiar, but the answer to the universe is lying right next to us in bed. Without that answer being so close, most men would spend an inordinate about of time and money looking for a replacement, often a younger and more compliant edition. Then after we have procured her, 50% of us get disappointed, divorced, and start the search all over again.

As my muse once said during a stressful time, How ’bout a piece of gingerbread cake? Maybe that’s the answer to the universe? Wait, isn’t gingerbread cake just a replacement for mother’s milk? Maybe we just need our mothers, but someone so disguised in Spandex and all the right curves that we can’t recognize her?

Maybe the universe works just fine keeping women a mystery…

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DO YOU BELIEVE THAT DREAMS ARE FILLED WITH MAGIC? by Art Smukler, author

by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry, Self Examination, Writing

A patient, a bright college-graduate who was just beginning psychotherapy for depression and anxiety, dreamt that he was traveling deep in the ocean in a submarine. There was a light on the front of the submarine, but it was still too dark to see what was ahead.

The patient said, “The dream makes no sense. I was never in a submarine. Where could it be going?”

“Any ideas? The psychiatrist asked.

“None.”

“Any thoughts about submarines or trips?”

“Not really. Except that in the dream I was pretty nervous.”

“About what?”

“Just nervous…”

After a few more non-productive attempts at getting his new patient to explore the meaning of the dream, the psychiatrist commented, “It seems like you’re fearful of the upcoming journey.”

“What journey? I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

“I’m referring to the journey into your own mind.”

The young man just stared at the psychiatrist and shook his head in awe. “It’s so obvious, now that you said it. Why couldn’t I see it?”

“That’s what our journey’s all about. For you to see what’s hidden within you, and for you to use that information to feel better.”

Dreams range from the amazing to the mundane. They can help uncover years of repressed rage and love; or just be a simple memory of what happened the previous day. The mysteries hidden within the mind are accessible through the process of psychotherapy and self-examination.

For a writer, dreams can be the direction that will lead a novelist to spend years writing a novel that no one but himself might read. Yes, the wish for wealth and greatness may be there, but to spend so much time on an endeavor so fraught with failure has to be driven by the deepest of passions. A passion so deep that even a submarine might not reach it. And maybe it shouldn’t be reached.  Just the magic of creativity is often enough.

The magic of the dream is that it touches our core, tantalizes our psyche, but keeps us safe. It is our mind’s way of dealing out information in a way that we can handle, gently and carefully. On the other hand, nightmares never feel gentle or safe. But sometimes we might need a two-by-four to wake us up and do what we need to do to improve our lives.

Please leave whatever comments cross your mind.

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