Strategies overachievers can use to find happiness and purpose

Starting a new year is especially impactful for people described as ‘overachievers’. I work closely with young influencers in the tech community of San Francisco, their struggles are as unique as their accomplishments. From completing their own annual ‘Year in Review’ life progress report (yes that really is a thing) to calculating their financial growth … Read more

Handle Your Relationship Status Like A Boss: Single, Searching Or Settled

The New York Times recently published an article titled ‘Line Up, Children, Single File‘, discussing the growing number of families across the United States in which all of the adult children are single. According to a survey released by the Pew Research Center in September, 25 percent of Americans are expected to be single into … Read more

Prescription Medicines: Asking The Right Questions To Keep You Informed

This week is National Drug Facts Week (January 26th-February 1st), and in partnership with The American Recall Center, I’d like to highlight some key tips for better understanding the prescription medicine you’ve been prescribed. It’s not uncommon for people to leave their medical appointment without genuinely understanding why they’ve been given a prescription, and/or how … Read more

Texting, Online Dating, Social Media Make Dating Hard, But You Can Do It

Tech in dating: Decoding The Social Rules Of Text, Online Dating, Social Media – by Dr. Christina Villarreal, Oakland Clinical Psychologist Let’s face it: flirting, finding love and managing relationships have always been complicated, but with the involvement of countless forms of technology now impacting every little step of the way, the social rules of … Read more

The Kim Kardashian effect: America's obsession with beauty

www.drchristinavillarreal.com American media has had a long love affair with capturing and promoting images of feminine beauty. While trends in beauty have shifted along with fashion through the decades, one thing remains constant: American women want to keep up. I’ll refer to this pursuit of beauty as ‘The Kim Kardashian Effect’ as a way to … Read more

Tom Cruise Katie Holmes divorce due to history of family dysfunction?

Since news broke that Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise, there has much speculation about why their highly publicized celebrity marriage ended.  People magazine reported that Holmes had become increasingly unhappy in her five-year marriage to Cruise and that “she no longer had the life she wanted, in terms of her career, her … Read more

Texting your doctor? When doctors embrace technology for patient care

Is your doctor accessible to you via email? Texting?  Twitter? Facebook?  Skype? Increasingly, the answer may be yes.  Historically, health care professionals have shied away from technology due to the threat to patients’ privacy and their own liability.  But a new breed of doctors are relying on technology such as texts, emails, blog messages, Skype … Read more

On "Fifty Shades of Grey" And Discovering One's Sexuality – Dr.Villarreal

The wildly popular New York Times bestselling series Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James has garnered fans from all walks of life, becoming the fastest selling book of 2012.  The series centers around a young, impressionable woman who falls for a troubled, domineering older man, and aims to find out whether he is capable … Read more

Are you a tech junkie? When digitial and media collecting becomes digital hoarding

Melinda Beck, a journalist with welcomed me as a psychological expert and contributor to her article,   The speed at which the technology industry is infiltrating our lives is taking a toll on our psychological well-being, and some of us are particularly at risk.  This article skillfully discusses the development, associated symptoms and treatment of … Read more