Category: <span>Depression</span>

Trying To Overcome Trauma? You Might Be Going About It The Wrong Way

Overcoming Trauma: There is increasing evidence that the most efficient and effective ways to treat trauma in our lives is by including how our bodies have held onto these life experiences and keep a person locked in a fight flight or freeze state. As Peter Levine states: “(When) we have a person who is locked in the fight-or-flight response, a person who is functioning primarily in the brainstem, and the language of the brainstem is the language of sensations. So if you are trying to help the person work with the core of the trauma response, you have to talk to that level of the nervous system,” (Levine, 2013). The primitive part of the brain does not have verbal language, it does not use words but instead holds these traumatic messages in our nervous system.

One of the foremost experts in the field, Bessel Van der Kolk describes trauma as a breakdown of the attuned physical synchrony, and is quoted in the New York Times, “Trauma has nothing whatsoever to do with cognition. It has to do with your body being reset to interpret the world as a dangerous place,” (Interlandi, 2014).

Read more at: https://blogs.psychcentral.com/leveraging-adversity/2017/03/trying-to-overcome-trauma-you-might-be-going-about-it-the-wrong-way/

How to handle insomnia

Insomnia effects about 30% of American adults each year. Chronic problems falling asleep at bedtime are often associated with stress and anxiety. Waking up too early is often linked to depression. Either type of insomnia can be caused by a circadian rhythm disorder; meaning there is a mismatch between ones biological clock and normal sleep times.

Key points are to use blackout curtains and keep the lights off or low if you wake up. If you’re wide awake , get up and do something sedate like knitting or sudoku, no computer or phone. Do not eat. If you watch TV wear sunglasses to tone down the light. and do not sleep in in the morning or take a nap. These will further disrupt your sleep timing.

Read more at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/help-for-middle-of-the-night-insomnia-1467048493

The Power of Handwriting by Robert Lee Hotz

I am big believer in writing in a journal. When you actually hand write out your thoughts and feelings your brain is better able to process what you are writing.

This article supports the power of hand writing. Students who take notes gy hand outperform students who type. http://www.wsj.com/articles/can-handwriting-make-you-smarter-1459784659

So grab a journal and do some writing about what is on your mind!

Beat Back the Self Doubt by Elizabeth Bernstein

Surprisingly simple steps to rewrite your negative thoughts in positive ones. Challenge your negative thought, practice new thoughts over and over, imagine you have a friend with the same negative thoughts and practice telling the its not true, exaggerate your negative thought to the point it is absurd ex: you’re the worst loser on the planet.

Read more at http://www.wsj.com/articles/steps-to-turn-off-the-nagging-self-doubt-in-your-head-1465838679

Research shows that breathing is so effective at reducing stress

Read about a breathing technique called SKY. It is a type of cyclical controlled breathing practice with roots in traditional …

How Being Bullied Affects Your Adulthood

Being bullied in school seems to have long term effects as teens become adults. being bullied can look similar to PTSD. Read …

American jobs are grueling, according to a newly published RAND survey.

For the first time in 2015, the nonprofit think tank asked its nationally representative survey panel about their attitudes …