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Wear Red Pants For Success at Interview!

2010-03-10T16:06:30+00:00

Many years ago I watched a TV documentary about how a legal team in the USA defended a man accused of murder. As part of his preparations a witness coach was employed to give advice about presenting himself in court. To my surprise, she advocated wearing red underwear to embolden him, and give him confidence.

Not long after this, my brother asked me for advice about interview technique. His career had gone down a cul-de-sac for several years, and he had developed a demoralising string of rejections at job interview. I thought I would suggest the red underwear. To both our surprise, at his next interview, he got the job!

Ever since then I have always advocated wearing red underwear for men attending interviews, and the feedback has always been encouraging. One person said he felt more confident, and he felt that whatever question he was asked, he knew he was wearing red underwear, which put a smile on his face and, presumably, gave him the edge in his answers.

Recently a mate has been applying for new jobs. He had been successful at getting to interview, but was unable the clinch the deal. I had suggested the red underwear technique, but he was sceptical, and didn’t bother. Knowing that he had another interview today, when we met for lunch on Saturday, I took him to a department store and made him buy the most vibrant energetic red pants we could find. Still sceptical, he did seem pleased with his Calvin’s, and I thought nothing more of it.

Since adopting this technique many years ago, research has began to catch up with the intuitive advice given by the witness coach I had watched on TV. For example, recent research on teams in the English football league found that teams that have red in their kit tend to score more goals, and win more games, than teams that don’t have red in their kit.

Why does wearing red make a difference to men? I think there is an evolutionary explanation to this. Red is both the colour of blood, and therefore of danger, and also the colour, in many primates at least, of sexual arousal (the female genitals of many primate species turn red when in season ... a reason why spanking a women may also turn some men on ... but that’s an aside).

Wearing red, I therefore believe, serves to activate the arousal of both aggression and sexual potency in men. With these two systems on your side, you become unstoppable at interview! Don’t overdo it though. Wearing red on your visible clothing could be seen as intimidating for the same reasons i.e. indicating aggression and/or flirtation.

I suspect wearing red might also help ‘on the pull’. Wearing a flash of red somewhere on your clothing or underwear, might be just enough to give you the advantage over the other men in the bar or club. There is a study in there somewhere, and I’d love to see the results.

As for my mate, he said he wasn’t sure if he consciously thought about the red Calvin’s during the interview, but he did feel extremely confident. I’m pleased to say he also got the job!

Dr Phil Tyson is a Men's Psychotherapist based in Manchester in the UK. He offers counselling in Manchester, psychotherapy in Manchester, cognitive behavioural therapy in Manchester and telephone counselling nationally and internationally.

Men Get Eating Disorders Too!

2010-03-04T17:14:55+00:00

There are many myths about men and their mental health. The history of the mental health industry has shown many attempts by clinicians to cluster disorders according to gender. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the area of eating disorders. It is widely believed by the general public ans some professionals that eating disorders affect only women, but this is far from the case.

Depending on the study examined, as many as 25% of people with eating disorders are boys or young men. Most people acknowledge that this is an underrepresentation of the true extent of the problem. Boys and young men are less likely to seek help for eating disorders, and if they do, are less likely to be given the appropriate help.

Boys and young men (between the ages of 15 and 25) are most at risk of developing an eating disorder. In my experience, this is also the age at which young men are least able to express their emotional needs. Coupled with this is the denial that often accompanies an eating disorder. As a result, boys and young men slip through the net, where neither they, nor the people who care for them, spot the warning signs.

As with all mental health problems, spotting the signs early and getting the right treatment straight away predicts the best outcome.

What help is out there for boys and young men? Unfortunately there are precious few resources that address the needs of boys and young men with eating disorders. A recent petition on the Number 10 Government website received the reply that there was no need for specialist services as the current services could address the needs of anybody with an eating disorder. What the Government failed to realise, as with so many mental health issues, is that it is not the provision of treatment that is important, it is the ways that services are made accessible to boys and young men that counts. No man will knock on a door that says ‘women only’.

One really great resource that I can recommend for any boy or young man who thinks they might have an eating disorder, or anybody who thinks a boy or young man they care for has, has been set up by ex sufferers and called “Men Get Eating Disorders Too”. This web based resource is packed with information from signs and symptoms to treatment and real life stories of sufferers. It even hosts a forum for registered users to offer mutual help and support.

For a disease that disproportionately stigmatises men, this is one place men and boys can go to get information and start making contact with others in the same situation. It is not a substitute for professional help, but it is a place where boys and young men can start to dissolve the isolation of having an eating disorder. That has got to be a great step forward for any boy or young man in an environment where most of the information is targeted at girls and young women.

Do You Masturbate Too Much?

2010-02-26T20:12:00+00:00

In the olden days, or so I am led to believe, it was considered wrong for boys and men to masturbate. No doubt heavily influenced by Roman Catholicism, this view seemed to be received wisdom throughout much of the 19^th and 20^th Century’s. Then came the 60’s. With the sexual revolution, masturbation became good, almost compulsory. Received scientific thinking, led by the great sexologist Kinsey, ‘normalised’ masturbation, so that it became, if not immoral, then at least acceptable.

Of course boys and most men masturbate, but is there any reason to think you could be masturbating too much? I think there is.

First, masturbation results in the emission of semen from the body. In order to achieve this, the body’s nervous and endocrine system is activated which stimulates the acetylcholine/parasympathetic nervous system. This, in turn, creates an excess of sex hormones and neurotransmitters which alters the body’s biochemistry and nerve function. The emission of semen itself results in many vital nutrients being released from the body.

Research is beginning to suggest that this combination of endocrine/nervous system overstimulation, and emission of semen, can have negative impact on a man’s health. The researchers found that the more men masturbate, the more they are likely to suffer from memory and concentration problems, fatigue, back pain, hair loss, a poor erection and even premature ejaculation.

Second, men who masturbate can begin to suffer from psychological problems. In my experience of working with men, I have seen that excessive masturbation can reduce the ability to orgasm with a partner, encourage more elaborate and sometimes unhelpful sexual fantasy, and can lead to unrealistic expectations on sexual partners. Sometimes this can even prevent men from finding and maintaining a sexual partner. Furthermore, masturbation, especially over internet porn, is often a participatory factor in sexual addiction.

It seems, then, that excessive masturbation is not the neutral blank cheque that some people led us to believe. But what constitutes ‘excessive’. Depending on your habits, you might be relieved or disappointed to learn that masturbation to completion more than three times a week is the threshold at which these negative side effects start to take hold. This is a ball park figure, as every man is different, but it is a sobering statistic ... at least for me!

How to Cope With Being in Debt.

2010-02-22T17:41:00+00:00

There is lots of advice on how to manage debt. There is little help for people to understand the emotional impact of debt. After all, debt is just a number, and you owe them the money and can’t pay it back, isn’t it they who have a problem ... not you?

In my last post I offered some advice about why debt is seductive. We can all fall into it. In fact those that sell debt want us to be seduced – and they are very skilled at knowing how to do it. If you are in debt and struggling with payments etc., you will probably be suffering from the emotional impact of debt. This is what I want to write about today.

The easiest way to look at the psychology of debt is as a circular process.

1. You default on a payment.

2. You feel ashamed and guilty.

3. You go into denial and stop opening your post.

4. The problem grows in your imagination.

5. You feel anxious, depressed and a sense of hopelessness builds. You feel like a ‘black cloud’ has descended on your life, and start to feel resentment about working all the time to pay back loans.

6. This leads to more denial and the pile of unopened letters starts to build.

7. This leads to more defaults and the process repeats.

This is the viscous cycle of debt, and you need to understand it for two reasons.

First, if you understand the cycle it is easier to break out of it. Second the debt companies know all about this vicious cycle, and will use it against you to force you to make payments you can’t afford.

When a person is in this situation, debt collection companies know it’s a matter of time before professional debt counsellors become involved. They know that when this happens they will probably get less money from you ... so they push ... hard.

At this point, of course, you are emotionally vulnerable and probably frightened, but the collectors are simply set on minimising their losses. They will exploit you if you don’t act fast.

The key to understanding the cycle above is denial. So long as you remain in denial you will remain vulnerable. My advice is take control ... and do so as soon as you possibly can.

Often at this point, people start worrying about their credit record. In reality it is already too late. As soon as you start defaulting, your credit rating dives, so there is nothing to be lost (and everything to be gained) from getting expert advice.

These days there are many different ways to take control and manage your debts. You will be amazed at the ways you can escape from this. From a psychological perspective, however, handing your debts to a professional to manage is the start of the recovery. The debt companies know they can no longer harass you. You are in control ... and you can start living your life again.

But who to turn to? I suggest never paying someone to manage your debts, at least not in the first instance. Get help from the Citizens Advice Bureau. They should be able to help, and if they can’t, will point you in the right direction.

Do it NOW.

Good Luck!

Do You Understand the Psychology of Debt?

2010-02-17T20:02:06+00:00

The emotional impact of debt can be crippling. For many people, being in debt drains their energy and enthusiasm for life. Our collective personal indebtedness is higher now than ever before. But why do people get into debt? And when in debt, why is it so difficult to get out of?

In this post I’ll explore the seduction of debt and why it has a hold over so many of us. In my next post I’ll talk about the psychology of indebtedness, and how to beat it.

There are two psychological processes at work which encourages us into debt.

1. Future Discounting.

This is a general psychological principle which applies to many things including debt. For example we are all familiar with the idea that we can plan a day and find that we underestimated the time it would take to do everything. This is an example of what I call ‘future discounting’. In this case we predict how much work we can do in a day and discount, i.e. underestimate, our ability to do it.

The same applies with debt. We often take on debt and we don’t really work out in detail how we are going to deal with it. We look to the future and discount the pain of making the repayments. If we can’t even get tomorrows schedule right, just imagine how dangerous taking on debt can be when you are ‘future discounting’, sometimes years ahead!

Of course the companies that supply credit know this principle very well. In fact they sell to us on the basis of future discounting, and we see it in deals that supply credit cheaply for six months, then the interest rate rises steeply. We future discount our ability to clear the debt before the interest rate rises. It is on the basis of the steep interest rate that these companies make their money, and they know we will fall into the trap, that’s why they set it up for us in the way that they do.

The worst culprits are the ‘buy now, don’t pay anything for a year, then pay over three years’ deals. Psychologically it ‘feels’ like it’s something for nothing ... but it very much is not. These deals often supply the lowest quality goods’ at the highest interest rates, and tie you up in debt with nothing good to show for it.

1. Consumption and Personal Identity.

A famous Philosopher, Rene Descartes one wrote “I think therefore I am”. This might have been true for an academic in the 17th century. In the 21^st century, it might be better to say “I consume therefore I am”. Never have we be so brand conscious. Kids especially are vulnerable to this. Perhaps because they feel their ‘needs’ so acutely, and haven’t yet learnt to keep them in check, they put enormous pressure on their parent to buy the latest gadgets and clothing.

As adults we don’t escape these pressures. We identify with brands because we want to be a part of something bigger. Consumption of a brand is something that, in a small way, allows us to feel connected and engaged with this bigger narrative. Of course the narratives are powerful, they promise youth, beauty, health and endless sexual triumphs. Who doesn’t want to live the Victoria and David Beckham lifestyle?

Allowing our self esteem to be contingent on such purchases is precarious. In order to feel good about ourselves we need to keep buying the product. Of course manufacturers know this, that’s why nothing is made to last these days. From light bulbs, computer operating systems and cloths, to perfumes, furniture and even cars, everything is designed to fail, fall apart and degenerate, fuelling another wave of consumption to make us feel good about ourselves. A more secure basis for self esteem is through our relationships to other people: being a good father, husband, boyfriend or mate. You can’t buy these things, but being them will make you much happier than purchasing a pair of Armani Jeans on you Barclaycard.

On their own, each of these psychological processes are dangerous, put them together, and they are toxic. What results is people who buy on credit the lifestyle they feel they deserve but can’t afford to pay back until a later. We all know this is nonsense, but we do it all the time. When payback time comes, we find we can no longer afford the lifestyle we need to feel good about ourselves, and this fuels further purchases on credit.

The psychology of saving is for another post, but the benefits are obvious; by not paying interest, you can actually afford to buy more!

In my next blog I’ll talk about the psychology of debt, and what to do to get out of it.