Alright, let’s talk about this “southeast psychology” thing. So, a while back, I got super interested in trying to understand people better, not like a therapist or anything, but just to get a handle on why folks act the way they do. I figured learning about psychology, especially stuff related to the southeast region (since that’s where I’m at), might give me some insight.
I started by just Googling “southeast psychology” and stuff like that. Honestly, a lot of it was just general psychology stuff, but I did find some interesting articles about cultural influences on mental health in the region. It was kinda scattered, though.
Then I thought, “Okay, I need something more structured.” So I looked for online courses. Found a bunch on Coursera and edX. Ended up taking a basic psychology course just to get the fundamentals down.
- First: Signed up for “Intro to Psychology” on Coursera.
- Then: Started reading books – “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman was a game changer.
- Also: Watched a ton of YouTube videos – Dr. Becky Kennedy’s stuff on parenting was gold.
Diving Deeper
After that intro course, I wanted to focus more on the “southeast” part of my search. I started looking for research papers and studies about mental health and behavior specific to the area. Turns out, there’s a fair amount of research about things like rural mental health challenges and the impact of certain cultural norms on people’s well-being.
I even tried to volunteer at a local community center that offered mental health support services. Didn’t get the volunteer gig (they were full), but I did get to chat with some of the folks there about the kinds of issues they were seeing. That was super helpful in grounding the theory I was learning in real-world stuff. They pointed me towards some local resources and organizations that were doing good work.
Putting It Into Practice
Here’s where things got interesting. All this learning was cool, but I wanted to see if I could actually use any of it in my everyday life. So, I started paying more attention to my own interactions with people. I tried to actively listen better, to understand where folks were coming from, and to be more empathetic.
It wasn’t always easy. I messed up a lot. But I slowly started to notice a difference in how I communicated with people, and even in how I understood myself. Like, I realized I was more prone to certain cognitive biases than I thought, and I started actively trying to catch myself when I was making assumptions or jumping to conclusions.
The Takeaway
Look, I’m no expert, and I’m still learning. But this whole “southeast psychology” thing, even though it started as just a random interest, has actually been pretty rewarding. It’s made me a better listener, a more empathetic person, and more aware of the complexities of human behavior. Plus, I learned a ton about the specific challenges and strengths of folks in my own region. Would definitely recommend giving it a shot if you’re even a little bit curious.
