According to the principles of cognitive therapy, black-and-white thinking is a major cause of emotional problems such as depression and anxiety. Also known as all-or-nothing thinking, many cognitive therapists define it as seeing things in black-or-white categories. If a situation falls short of perfect, you see it as a total failure. When a young woman on a diet eats a spoonful of ice cream, she tells herself, “I’ve blown my diet completely!” This thought upsets her so much that she gobbles down an entire quart. This kind of thinking is also evident in people with temper problems. They describe their anger as going from “1 to 100” in a flash. They find it difficult to distinguish between minor misunderstandings and outrageous injustices because they haven’t trained themselves to do so.

I received a question from a DrHurd.com reader who asks if a person is obligated to deal honestly with a person who has been proven to be dishonest. The writer suggests that dealing honestly in a situation like this would be a form of self-sacrifice, and, as such, morally wrong (and mentally unhealthy).

The writer goes on to propose that a dishonest person should not be given the reward of being treated honestly. The essential question of course, is if a person is obliged to extend honesty to a dishonest person.

Let’s first assume that honesty is in one’s self-interest. The self-interested function of honesty is to adhere to reality. One has better command of reality, his mind and his overall well-being by being honest rather than being a crook, a thief or a liar. As I heard a character in a movie recently remark, “You’re half a man when you have to hide.”

Concluded from yesterday’s column:

Abortion Opponent: What about the right to life? How can you deny that to the innocent unborn—even if it is only a potential?

Note: The questions posed by the “abortion opponent” in this article are compiled from comments, e-mails and letters received from DrHurd.com readers over the years.

Abortion Opponent: I don’t believe abortion is moral. The fetus is a conscious, sentient individual. It enjoys the inalienable right to life just as all human beings do. Abortion should be illegal – because it’s murder.