trauma and depression

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy combines behavioral therapeutic techniques with mindfulness training techniques aimed at helping an individual to live consciously in the present and to remain focused on one’s core values and goals, rather than focusing on past events which are out of one’s control.  The ACT approach encourages the depressed client to accept unpleasant experiences, as …

OVERCOME YOUR DEPRESSION WITH ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY Read More »

Trauma refers to events which are emotionally painful and which remain in an individual’s subconscious throughout one’s life.  Trauma can occur in many different forms: (1) directly experiencing a violent event or mistreatment from peers or family members, (2) witnessing a violent event or death which happens to someone else, (3) dealing with a traumatic …

TRAUMA COMES IN MANY FORMS Read More »

If you are an adult with an insecure attachment style, you may have been raised in a chaotic or violent family environment or may have endured years of emotional, physical, sexual, and/or verbal abuse.  An insecure attachment style is mainly characterized by an inability to trust others and often includes self-sabotaging behaviors and a chronic …

ADULTS WITH INSECURE ATTACHMENT STYLES Read More »

Distress Tolerance is a module in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and these mindfulness-based skills are often called “crisis survival skills” because they help a person to navigate a perceived or actual crisis.  The Dialectical Behavior Therapy approach focuses on synthesizing your emotional brain and your reasonable brain, with the primary goal of learning how to tap …

DISTRESS TOLERANCE TRAINING: A SUPERPOWER Read More »

In his book, The Power of Unwavering Focus, Dandapani, a Hindu monk and philosopher, proposes that distraction, anxiety, stress, worry, and fear are the most severe mental ailments which plague modern society.  If you have Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you understand all too well how all of these mental states are created by …

PROCRASTINATION AND ADULT ADHD Read More »

The CALM Approach is a learned and practiced set of coping and empowering strategies which can be applied to many of life’s unexpected emotional and mental challenges.      Concentration is an intentional and sustained focus on activities and tasks which you have prioritized as most important to achieving your personal and career goals.  Concentration requires …

USING THE “CALM” APPROACH TO REMOVE THE GASLIGHTER’S CONTROL OVER YOU Read More »

Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse, which can occur in differing severity and time frames.  This narcissistic behavioral pattern got the name from a 1938 play, called “Gas Light,” which was about a sadistic man whose goal was to drive his wife insane, so that he could get her money.  If your partner or …

FREE YOURSELF FROM GASLIGHTING WITH THE “CALM” APPROACH Read More »

Alexithymia is a difficulty with identifying, expressing, and regulating one’s emotions.  Alexithymia has been conceptualized as a form of emotional detachment which often manifests as a feeling of “numbness” or as an appearance of being “vacant” or “muted.”  Alexithymia has been frequently correlated with Adult ADHD, in that it is a defense mechanism from experiencing …

WHAT IS ALEXITHYMIA AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO ADULT ADHD? Read More »

If you have Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you may experience many more symptoms other than just problems with memory and focus.  First of all, Adult ADHD can cause social insecurity, difficulty with communication skills and emotional expression in your intimate relationships, ineffective decision-making and problem-solving skills, and frequent academic and professional mistakes or …

THE LINK BETWEEN ADULT ADHD, SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER, AND PANIC DISORDER Read More »

     Being stuck, in general terms, is defined as being unable to move or being set in a particular situation or way of thinking.  Some synonyms for being “stuck” are being “fixed” or “immovable.”  In psychological terms, being stuck can occur on an emotional, behavioral, or cognitive (thoughts) level.  Negative thought patterns can cause you …

Negative Thought Patterns: Getting Unstuck Read More »