There are a number of factors that can affect communication. The first thing to emphasize is that communication is a 2-way street: you express your thoughts and feelings openly and directly, and you encourage the other person to express his or her thoughts and feelings. The ideas and feelings of both people are important. Listening [...]
Tagged CBT, communication“I have noticed that the Universe loves Gratitude. . . Gratitude brings more to be grateful about. It increases your abundant life. Lack of gratitude, or complaining, brings little to rejoice about. ” Louise Hay Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, [...]
Tagged gratitudeCognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of psychotherapy that acknowledges that our thoughts can shape our feelings, that often there is a pattern of distortion in our thinking that can increase our distress, and that we can learn to think about things differently to increase our happiness and ability to cope with stress. Overview of [...]
Tagged CBT, cognitive, therapyA number of studies now demonstrate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an integrated, multidisciplinary and behavioral approach to treating chronic pain disorders. All of us are familiar with the frustration of trying to help these complex and often needy patients in rushed traditional office visits. Our traditional biomedical model falls particularly short in chronic pain, [...]
Tagged multidisciplinary, PainAlways use #1. Choose other techniques based on the Distortion, but be flexible. Almost any technique can be used with any negative thought. 1. Identify Distortions in automatic thoughts. 2. Examine the Evidence – Instead of assuming that your negative thought is true, examine the actual evidence for it. For example, is it true that [...]
adapted from David Burns These are 10 common cognitive distortions that can contribute to negative emotions. They also fuel catastrophic thinking patterns that are particularly disabling. Read these and see if you can identify ones that are familiar to you. 1. All-or-Nothing Thinking: You see things in black and white categories. If your performance falls [...]
A “Mini” can be as simple as taking a deep breath or two while counting, or breathing in calm and breathing out stress for 4 breaths, or it can be more elaborate, as in the imagery below. I personally like the tree for waiting in line. Four Mini-Relaxations using Images from Nature You can use [...]
Tagged relaxationBecome aware of your body, taking deep breaths, long and slow, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth, or any way that feels relaxing and soothing to you. When you are relaxed and quiet inside, begin to imagine. . . Begin to form a vision of yourself with healing, with your sweetest [...]
In this form of meditation, a word, phrase, or even a poem is used as a mental focus during meditation. The mantra may have special significance for you, or it may be a nonsense syllable. A variety of possible mantras are listed below – you may notice that repetitive prayer can be a form of [...]
Tagged mantra, meditation, relaxationEveryone has images; they are basic to the human mind and human nature. . .Images are thoughts that draw on the senses; they may involve one, several, or all of the following senses: sound, taste, movement (kinesthesia), vision, touch, and inner sensation, or “felt sense.” Imagery is not just visualization. ¼ of all people rarely [...]