How to Engage in Mindful Social Media During Challenging Times
How each of us carries ourselves in this world greatly affects our experience together. And with news and social media occupying such a central part of our daily activity, it’s easy to forget to investigate our own behavior. We are so impulsively quick to post and tweet about the issues of the day that we often leave love out of the equation. Why does this matter? Because there is nothing more important in human life than love.
We need to take a good look at the news and social media today. Listen to what’s dominating our conversations, even within our like-minded circles of friends. Anxiety. Worry. Fear. Anger. The ...
Source: World of Psychology - May 29, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: James K. Papp Tags: General Compassion And Kindness coronavirus COVID-19 social media Source Type: blogs
Feeling Trapped or Abandoned: When Relationships Run Hot or Cold
By nature, humans are wired for connection. We seek out others to share our lives with, with the goal of forming lasting and intimate bonds. So feeling trapped or abandoned in an intimate relationship shouldn’t be a common thing, should it? Actually, these experiences are common for partners who wind up repeating cycles within intimate relationships that they may be unaware of. Feeling trapped or abandoned are commonly seen in the push-pull dynamic found in unhealthy relationships; both styles often represent two sides of the same coin.
Engulfment and Abandonment Defined
Fear of being engulfed, or trapped, is often indic...
Source: World of Psychology - May 28, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Dr. Annie Tanasugarn Tags: Relationships Abandonment Attachment Style Borderline Personality Engulfment Intimacy Self-Esteem Source Type: blogs
Staying Home Doesn ’ t Have to Mean Being Alone
While things appear to be slowly opening up again in many parts of the world, many people continue to feel hesitant to leave their homes, fearful of exposure to COVID-19. The resulting sense of isolation, depression, and anxiety are keeping mental health hotlines busy.
Without sounding too rosy, is there the possibility of extracting something positive from the turn inward that circumstances are now offering? A telephone survey of 818 Hong Kong residents of age 18-60 during the SARS epidemic in 2003 offers glimmers of hope.
Researchers have reported in the Journal of Infection (August, 2006) that over 60% of respondents...
Source: World of Psychology - May 28, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John Amodeo, PhD Tags: Communication Depression Friends Happiness Inspiration & Hope Mindfulness Psychology Relationships Self-Help Friendship Optimism social distancing Social Isolation Source Type: blogs
Podcast: A National Non-Profit is Born From a Random Encounter
In today’s Psych Central Podcast, Gabe talks with Jamie Tworkowski, the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms, a non-profit movement dedicated to helping people who are struggling with addiction, depression, self-injury and suicide. Jamie shares how the idea for the non-profit was born in 2006 after he spent 5 days with his new friend Renee who’d recently been turned down for rehab. After writing about the experience and posting it on Myspace, people began to respond with their own stories, and the seeds for the non-profit were planted.
Tune in to find out how To Write Love on Her Arms helps people struggling with ment...
Source: World of Psychology - May 28, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: The Psych Central Podcast Tags: Addiction Depression General Interview Podcast Policy and Advocacy Recovery Substance Abuse The Psych Central Show Source Type: blogs
Emotional Eating and the Coronavirus
“Since we’ve been in quarantine,” announces Susan, a binge eating client, “I can’t stop overeating. Now that I’m in lockdown, I wish I had lockjaw!”
Danny laughingly echoes the same feeling: “Now that I can’t go to work, I’m involved instead in many diverse activities at home throughout the day — there’s snacking, grazing, munching, nibbling, noshing, chowing down, and sometimes even eating meals!”
Susan and Danny have it right — emotional eating struggles during this time of COVID-19 are alive and well.
In truth, worry, anxiety, fear, grief, boredom, anger and depression are always majo...
Source: World of Psychology - May 27, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Mary Anne Cohen, LCSW Tags: Binge Eating Eating Disorders Binge Eating Disorder Compassion coronavirus COVID-19 Emotional Eating Mindfulness pandemic social distancing Source Type: blogs
Journal Prompts to Help You Process Your Emotions
Journaling is one of the best practices for feeling your feelings—which is especially important if you typically pretend your feelings don’t exist. Many of us weren’t taught how to process our emotions—or even to name and acknowledge them.
Many of us were taught the opposite: Feelings are inconvenient, embarrassing, or dangerous. So, we walk around not knowing much about the emotions swirling inside our own brain and body.
Journaling validates our emotions and reconnects us to what’s real. It removes the added layer of self-judgment—in contrast to talking about our emotions, which can lead to “editing ourselv...
Source: World of Psychology - May 27, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Creativity General Grief and Loss Habits Mental Health and Wellness Self-Help Stress emotional processing Journaling writing Source Type: blogs
Walking: Good for the Body, Good for the Soul
Take advantage of this simple activity.
Although it is one of the best and most underrated forms of exercise, there are many benefits to walking. It is a low-impact sport compared to running, and is especially healthy for your heart, lung, and body metabolism. At the same time, walking improves your mood, memory, and posture. More importantly, you can do it anywhere and it won’t cost you a thing, unlike going to the gym.
But walking can also be so much more than merely a physical exercise.
10 Reasons to Exercise That Improve Your Body and Mind — and Why It Has Nothing to Do With Your Physical Appearance
How and where ...
Source: World of Psychology - May 26, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Psych Central Guest Author Tags: Publishers YourTango Mental Health Physical Health pilgrimage walking Source Type: blogs
Why the Pandemic Is Messing with Your Sense of Time
One day, more than a month into the pandemic, I skimmed my Twitter feed early in the day and was totally confused. Why were people posting tweets from April 22? I checked Twitter again at night. Same thing happened. People were still sharing tweets from April 22. I was baffled.
It took a few more hours until I realized why: It was April 22.
I don’t know what day, exactly, I thought it was, only that I was sure it was a whole lot later than April. Maybe months later.
Under quarantine, time gets bent out of shape, like Salvador Dali’s clocks. For me, time was speeding up and stretching into the future. Social media...
Source: World of Psychology - May 26, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Bella DePaulo, Ph.D. Tags: Memory and Perception Mental Health and Wellness coronavirus COVID-19 Perception Of Time temporal disintegration Source Type: blogs
Podcast: Parenting and Bipolar Disorder
Should people with mental illness have children? In today’s Not Crazy Podcast, Gabe and Lisa discuss their own reasons for not having kids, while also giving a platform to Amy Barnabi, a mother of two with bipolar disorder. Amy discusses her decision to have children and shares her experiences, joys and challenges thus far.
What if you can’t be a good parent when your illness flares up? What if the child inherits your diagnosis? If you are a parent with mental illness, you’ve likely heard these questions. Tune in to hear these topics discussed (and much more!) on today’s podcast.
(Transcript Available Below...
Source: World of Psychology - May 26, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Not Crazy Podcast Tags: Bipolar Children and Teens Disorders Family General Interview Mental Health and Wellness Not Crazy Podcast Source Type: blogs
You are Special, Just Like Everyone Else!
A light bulb went off when I saw a bumper sticker for sale that read “Always remember you’re unique, just like everyone else.” Yes, we are special. But are we more special than others? Many people flash a wry smile as they read my head-turning — if not head-scratching — bumper sticker.
Attachment theory tells us that children need to feel welcomed, wanted, and loved. They need to feel special in the eyes of caregivers in order to develop a secure internal based. Even as adults, we want to feel special to our partner and close friends. But can our desire to be special become a liability?
It’s one th...
Source: World of Psychology - May 25, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John Amodeo, PhD Tags: Happiness Mental Health and Wellness Psychology Self-Esteem Self-Help mutual authenticity Perfectionism self-worth Source Type: blogs
How to Help Your Family Cope with Numbness and Isolation During COVID-19
Do you notice that your child or teen is feeling more frustrated and hopeless as the shelter-in-place directive continues? I’m hearing from so many families that things seem to be getting increasingly worse. With thousands of schools switching their grading systems to Pass/Fail, many kids are doing the minimal amount of homework to get by. Some may not be keeping up with hygienic routines. Others have reverted to less mature coping skills, erupting and arguing more than they typically do. What can you do to combat their numbness, hopelessness or regressive behaviors?
The first step is acknowledging their very real losses...
Source: World of Psychology - May 25, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Sharon Saline, Psy.D. Tags: Children and Teens Family Parenting Students Coping Skills coronavirus COVID-19 home school regressive behavior Source Type: blogs
The Second Wave: Coronavirus & Mental Health
The global novel coronavirus pandemic afflicting everyone is showing mixed signs of activity. In some countries it appears to be easing, while in others it appears to be experiencing a resurgence. It’s not at all clear when the pandemic will end, but it’s unlikely to do so before 2021.
What has become increasingly clear is that the toll of the pandemic will impact more than the people who come down with COVID-19. The mental health impact of living with a pandemic is being mostly ignored — for now.
But as the deaths continue to rise, we need to pay close attention to the cost of the pandemic’s reperc...
Source: World of Psychology - May 25, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Grief and Loss Health-related Mental Health and Wellness Policy and Advocacy coronavirus COVID-19 Source Type: blogs
The Dis-Ease of Perception
I came across a reading the other day that said things are not as bad as you think. I had a chuckle when I read it because there have been many times that my thoughts have led me down the path of catastrophic thinking and created a whirlwind of unnecessary anxiety. Some of us who are alcoholics in 12-step recovery call it faulty wiring or the dis-ease of perception. For whatever reason, our thoughts can convince us that things are not as they appear.
Alcoholic or not, our interpretations, perceptions, and opinions are part of who we are as an individual. I think that our experiences in life create a lens that helps each a...
Source: World of Psychology - May 24, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Sue Morton Tags: Memory and Perception anxiety catastrophic thinking Stinking Thinking Source Type: blogs
Taking Control of Regret
We would all like to make the right choices and decisions all of the time, but we don’t. It’s just not realistic or possible. Inevitably everyone will occasionally take the wrong path, miss an opportunity, or say something we shouldn’t have. And later on we regret it.
Regrets are a normal and frustrating part of life. They come in all sizes and often daily. But there’s a big difference between regretting your choice of latte for the day and regretting your choice of career or a lifetime’s worth of parenting decisions. Unfortunately, for some people the larger regrets we experience can become all-consuming and c...
Source: World of Psychology - May 24, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Kurt Smith, Psy.D., LMFT, LPCC, AFC Tags: Aging Men's Issues Midlife Crisis Optimism regret Rumination Source Type: blogs
Reconnecting with My Brother: A Time for Healing
I had not seen my brother in over 25 years. I had not seen him since we buried our father in the summer of 1994. But our disconnection ended in January, 2020, when I traveled back to my hometown of Dallas to see him for a weekend. Forty-eight hours is a minuscule amount of time compared to the loss of 25 years. But for me, it was intimate, it was validating, and it was healing.
My brother and I were extremely close as kids. He is seven years older than me, but we spent considerable time together until he got his real first girlfriend, who turned out to be his future wife. Because of the age difference, my brother was a mix...
Source: World of Psychology - May 23, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Alan D. Blotcky, PhD Tags: Family Grief and Loss Personal Adult Siblings Death Of A Parent Divorce estranged family Estrangement grieving Reconnecting Source Type: blogs
