What would you prefer? To go to your doctor for fifteen minutes once a month, receive a prescription and go to a separate therapist twice a week with a total monthly co-payment of $100 and still feel anxious, down and depressed or would you, instead, prefer to go to one doctor one hour a month with full payment of $300 and notice the difference as your problem resolves and you feel well again?

Visit the full post at Florida Neuroscience.

By Dr. Gaby Cora

This is the quintessential question. We tend to say a man is aggressive when he’s about to strike at his opponent’s jugular while many refer to women who assert themselves as aggressive, instead. Is this a double standard?

These three words seem to have raised much controversy when paired with “as compared to a wise white male.”

Many have called Sotomayor a racist for uttering these words and even president Obama is trying to say she misspoke, that others were taking her words out of context or that she didn’t mean what she said.

Although some of us could have made a similar statement without the comparison, “Wise women with rich experiences may make excellent decisions,” whenever we end up comparing ourselves to others we may get into trouble.

A couple of years ago, I was a panelist and award recipient at the Latina Woman Business of the Year event in Miami. During the discussion, one of the questions we were asked was whether men had interfered in our way to success. The other panelists agreed that was the case. I didn’t agree and was the last to speak. I calmly said that sometimes men may get into a woman’s way to go up the ladder but that, some other times, it is other women who may place obstacles and not allow their fellow colleagues to move up. The audience (with both men and women) came to life. Were my colleagues sexist for making this statement? Was I being sexist for making my comment? How did bias play a role for each of our statements? By the way, this experience led me to write Alpha Female Leader over that weekend!

Some of my fellow panelists had physical reactions to my statement. Some were upset. One came to me after the event and told me totally agreed but she couldn’t say this in public. In the end, though, the one who seemed to be the most upset by my statement ended up saying she would prefer to have a male boss.

I work with men and women but most of my clients are men. I have been hired to be the first woman consultant by some all-male groups in Fortune 500 companies.  I have always felt that I have been hired because of the quality of my work and not because I am a woman, white, or Latina.

The wise, I like, though…

As a practicing psychiatrist and wellness coach, most people would think that I am a blank slate without thoughts, feelings, or expression during sessions. Those who know me well and who have worked with me for years have no doubts that I have strong opinions and that I will also act in  my client’s or patient’s best interest.

By Natalia Locatelli - Alpha Female in Training

When I first read this Yahoo! article, my immediate reaction was that this is utterly ridiculous. Of all the things to get parents worried about their young daughters… princesses? Barbie, now somehow considered the root of all evil, appears to have ushered in a new era of control – what can you allow your daughter to play with that won’t one day psychologically scar her for the rest of her life?

By Dr. Gaby Cora

Many worry about having a job during the recession, taking vacation doesn’t even cross their mind.

With busy week schedules, many try to maximize their recreation time on a daily and weekend basis rather than formally taking time off.

Interestingly, generation Y seems to be slightly more worried than generation X about whether or not they will still have a job when they come back as per this study.

Younger employees and women employees may also tend to make their vacation plans while at work…

Thoughts?

There are many cultural differences around taking time off. For example, it is very unusual for employees to take more than one week off in the US. In other countries it is not unusual to take vacation for several weeks. Except if you are the boss…  

By Dr. Gaby Cora

Do our kids stress more than we did when we were young?

Just as an example, if you feel swamped with the blessings and curses that instant technology brings to you, what about their situation? They have been born in the technology boom.

In addition, there are great disparities in the world of these children: those born into homes where they are well-taken care of and those who have experienced and lived atrocities that no adult or child should ever experience.

The stress children experience nowadays may be different to the stress kids exerienced thirty, fifty or one hundred years ago.

Back then, we would have been asked to snap out of it.

This new generation is more knowledgeable and accepting of mental health problems, medical issues and societal issues. On the other end, many worry about this generation’s work ethics, resilience and openness.

Thoughts?

By Dr. Gaby Cora

Are you interested in staying young forever? I was honored to participate on a panel with other prestigious speakers at the Anti-Aging Panel at the Florida Conference for Women in Orlando Florida, last week. The panel included Dr. Saralyn Mark, Dr. Deborah Harding and our distinguished moderator was Dr. Carol Scott.

By Dr. Gaby Cora

Forbes recently published The World’s Happiest Places. Denmark followed by Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list.

While economic health defined as high gross domestic product per capita and low unemployment rates were common factors in people experiencing well-being, other countries that were in the top ten did not match this trait. Instead, other lifestyle characteristics prompted people to feel satisfied with their lives.

Although there are nature-related factors that impact on our ability to experience happiness and joy, a favorable environment with people who enjoy their lives will prompt others to have a positive experience.

By Dr. Gaby Cora

In regular times, many argue they can’t “afford” to get sick. More so in a recession, many will rather go to work sick than miss their pay even if this means that they may get sicker at the job or that they may get other people sick at work.