Geraldine K. Piorkowski, Ph.D.'s Books

BEYOND PIPE DREAMS AND PLATITUDES

Insights on Love, Luck, and Narcissism from a Longtime Psychologist

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski, Ph.D.

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BEYOND PIPE DREAMS AND PLATITUDES

Insights on Love, Luck, and Narcissism from a Longtime Psychologist

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski, Ph.D.

In this eye-opening collection of essays, Dr. Geraldine K. Piorkowski shares what she learned working with people from different socioeconomic levels, races, sexual orientations, and walks of life. Besides reaffirming that all people are fundamentally the same, she discovered many psychological realities that run counter to popular culture. Among her insights is the observation that positive thinking does more harm than good at times, especially when it bypasses the normal processing of negative events and emotions. Another cultural misdirection is the overemphasis on romantic love as the be-all and end-all of existence, where unrealistic expectations lead to love's downfall. She also notes that unhealthy narcissism, which runs rampant in American culture, is quite different from the healthy variety that is the bedrock of self-love. These illuminating and provocative essays, titled 1) Positive Thinking Isn't All It's Cracked Up to Be, 2) When Is Madness Better than Sadness? 3) Romantic Love Is Mostly an Illusion, 4) Vulnerable People Are More Likable than Super-Confident Ones, 5) You Can't Make Anybody Do Anything, 6) Luck or Chance Has Been Badly Underrated, 7) A Smidgen of Narcissism Adds Joy and Spice to Life, and 8) Empathy and Healthy Religion Go Hand in Hand, all provide a new understanding of psychological health and well-being.

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Page Count

140

Publisher

Outskirts Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

197723593X

ISBN 13

9781977235930

BEYOND PIPE DREAMS AND PLATITUDES

Insights on Love, Luck, and Narcissism from a Longtime Psychologist

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski, Ph.D.

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BEYOND PIPE DREAMS AND PLATITUDES

Insights on Love, Luck, and Narcissism from a Longtime Psychologist

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski, Ph.D.

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140

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Outskirts Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

197723593X

ISBN 13

9781977235930

Too Close For Comfort

Exploring The Risks Of Intimacy

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski

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Too Close For Comfort

Exploring The Risks Of Intimacy

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski

Countless experts offer us advice on how to create the "perfect relationship," fostering the unrealistic expectation that forming an intimate bond will be a painless experience. Unfortunately, few experts are willing to confront the powerful challenges and emotions inherent within close relationships today. In contrast to other intimacy books, Too Close for Comfort vividly describes the surprising dangers, damage to self-esteem, inadequacies, and immaturities that characterize the contemporary state of romantic intimacy. Too Close for Comfort compassionately explores the risks and misunderstandings that occur within many intimate relationships. Romantic partners tend to hurt each other not only by insensitivity and neglect, but also by criticism, abuse, and betrayal - most of which spring from insecurity. Dr. Piorkowski, a noted consulting psychologist and educator, focuses on the vulnerability both partners experience in intimacy due to the emergence of strong, unrealistic needs that are almost impossible to satisfy. The author contends that people avoid the perils of intimacy by donning one or more defensive "masks" - ranging from acting superior to mysterious, comical to withdrawn, self-sufficient to dependent - in an effort to protect themselves from emotional exposure. Presenting a fascinating range of clinical examples, she sensitively depicts the fears of intimacy that limit contact, namely psychological concerns about loss of control or autonomy, feelings of disappointment and abandonment, or of being attacked and made to feel guilty. Depicting women's reliance on verbal expression to achieve an emotional connection versus men's dependence on physical contact, Dr. Piorkowski brilliantly elucidates the complex barriers to intimacy, especially the chasms of misunderstanding created by vast sexual differences and attitudes. While this book is unique in its exposition of the dangers in intimacy, its message is not pessimistic.

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Page Count

290

Publisher

Da Capo Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738212040

ISBN 13

9780738212043

Adult Children of Divorce

Confused Love Seekers

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski

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Adult Children of Divorce

Confused Love Seekers

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski

Romantic love is often an elusive, fragile, and tenuous state, difficult to maintain across time. The rates of divorce, re-divorce, relationship violence, and abuse today attest to the face we are failing at romantic love. And for teen-aged and adult children of divorce, romantic love can be especially elusive. Because they have no roadmap for a satisfying, stable romatic relationship derived from their own parents, they are confused by what love is and tend to make poor partner choices. Borrowing heavily from popular culture for unrealistic standards regarding love, they become disillusioned when their all-too-ordinary lovers don't measure up. Especially vulnerable to the problems their parents had, they tend to overreact in a similar negative fashion and are all too ready to consider divorce when unhappiness strikes. In attempting to halt intergenerational transmission of divorce, Psychologist Piorkowski points to how we can recognize that American popular culture presents an overly-sexualized, explosive, and superficial version of love that can't last. With this book, adult children of divorce can begin to see how they have been affected by familial experiences, and develop a new, realistic map to find more fulfilling and enduring romantic relastionships. Piorkowski, in an extensive review of literature, also looks at cultural factors and how they impact romantic love and marriage. In contrast to American popular culture's shallow rendition of romantic love, many cultures elsewhere in the world emphasize compatibility, religion, and family allegiance. As a result, says the author, such marriages appear more stable than American unions built upon the shifting sands of emotion.

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Page Count

208

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0313346011

ISBN 13

9780313346019

Too Close For Comfort

Exploring The Risks Of Intimacy

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski

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Too Close For Comfort

Exploring The Risks Of Intimacy

By: Geraldine K. Piorkowski

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N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

290

Publisher

Da Capo Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738212040

ISBN 13

9780738212043

Book's by Geraldine K. Piorkowski, Ph.D.

BEYOND PIPE DREAMS AND PLATITUDES

BEYOND PIPE DREAMS AND PLATITUDES

BEYOND PIPE DREAMS AND PLATITUDES

BEYOND PIPE DREAMS AND PLATITUDES

Too Close For Comfort

Too Close For Comfort

Adult Children of Divorce

Adult Children of Divorce

Too Close For Comfort

Too Close For Comfort

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