Hi. My name is Dr. John Hunchak. For the last 47 years, I have worked in Psychiatry. I began my career in general family practice and soon thereafter developed an interest and focus on my patients experiencing psychiatric difficulties. Since those beginnings, I have been a member of the Dept. of Psychiatry at Lakeridge Health Oshawa, previously known as the Oshawa General Hospital, as a medical consultant with the designation of “GP psychotherapist.” My role in the department has been to provide treatment with an emphasis on psychotherapy, often as an adjunct to medications. Our department consists of myself and about 12 psychiatrists, a 38-bed inpatient unit, and a large psychiatric outpatient department, all within an 800 bed general hospital in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. In that setting I have dedicated myself to thinking about helping people get through life in the best way possible, with a focus on stress management and mental wellness. Now I am here to offer such information for your consideration and I hope it will be helpful to you.

Over my many years of practice, I have learned a lot about life that applies to everyone. One important thing I’ve learned is that to live life well these days requires life skills with which we are not born. That means that we cannot rely solely on our instincts, feelings, and emotions to guide and lead us as to how to live well in modern society. In fact, following only our instincts and emotions can lead us into grave difficulties and trouble.

The help on this site is in the form of my ten tip top tips for life skills training and mental health. Before proceeding, I recommend you click on the introduction tab at the top of the page to learn how to navigate this site and get the most out of it. Please also carefully read my disclaimers

For more information on mental health beyond this site, I have written four self-help books on the topics of stress management, happiness, identity and who we really are, and smart thinking.

Please note: Books are not available at this time.