11 Reasons Not to Classify Perpetrators of Abuse as ‘Monsters’
For the purposes of ease of language I will be referring to perpetrators with male gendered pronouns, and victims/survivors with female gendered pronouns. This is not to deny the fact that not all abusers are male and that not all victims and survivors are female. But, simply to make things flow semantically.
As a therapist working with trauma, I sit across from clients every week who are straining to make sense of abuse. One of their most complicated questions is, “Was the abuse intentional, and what does this mean about the perpetrator of that abuse?” They tell me about positive traits he possesses. He is an activis...
Source: Psych Central - July 31, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Genevieve Fahey, LMFT Tags: Abuse Addictions Bullying Codependence Domestic Violence Men's Issues Narcissism Trauma Women's Issues Abusive partner abusive spouse gender bias Source Type: news
Book Review: The Insight Cure: Change Your Story, Transform Your Life
Insight is that epiphany that puts the pieces together, allows us to make sense of what we could not before, and ultimately paves the way for self-awareness.
“When you are living in the glow of insight,” writes John Sharp, M.D., “your brain’s architecture will change accordingly.”
In his new book, The Insight Cure: Change Your Story, Transform Your Life, John Sharp, a board certified psychiatrist and author of the Emotional Calendar, shows us how even the smallest insights can lead to a cascade of revelations that fundamentally change the way we live our lives and, in the process, eradicate the “false truths...
Source: Psych Central - July 30, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Book Reviews Children and Teens Disorders Family General Happiness Memory and Perception Personality Psychology Self-Esteem Self-Help Treatment change your story insight cure transform your life Source Type: news
How Do I Know if Therapy Is Working? And Other Questions About Therapy Answered
When someone outside of therapy learns that Panthea Saidipour is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, their first question is usually: “Are you analyzing me right now?” Saidipour jokingly responds they shouldn’t worry because she’s off the clock.
But this question actually reveals a common concern clients have, whether they mention it aloud or not: “Are you judging me right now?”
Judgment has no place in therapy, said Saidipour, who works with young professionals in their 20s and 30s who want to gain a deeper understanding of themselves. It kills curiosity. And curiosity is critical in therapy.
“A few of the ma...
Source: Psych Central - July 29, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Disorders General Psychotherapy Self-Help Treatment questions about therapy therapeutic alliance therapy fit therapy questions Source Type: news
Book Review: The Worry Trick
Okay, so we all worry. Many of us may feel we worry too much while others may feel that excessive worry isn’t a problem. And some in both groups are likely correct. Some people legitimately have a lot to worry about because of, for example, perilous jobs, dangerous living conditions, serious health conditions and more, but for many, our worry is excessive.
We may allow worries and anxiety to have more control over us than we should. Worry can get in the way of sleep, make it difficult to concentrate at work, or keep us from enjoying the company of family or friends. But it doesn’t have to be this way, according to Davi...
Source: Psych Central - July 25, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Dave Schultz Tags: Anxiety Book Reviews General Habits Happiness Memory and Perception Psychology Self-Help Stress anxiety treatment help with worry treating worry worry trick Source Type: news
Book Review: Never Get Angry Again
What if, instead of trying to manage anger, we just never got angry?
While the question may seem to contradict human nature and maybe even seem like an unrealistic proposition, what makes the difference, David J. Lieberman says, is perspective.
In his new book, Never Get Angry Again: The Foolproof Way To Stay Calm and Cool In Any Conversation or Situation, Lieberman, who is also the author of Get Anyone To Do Anything and Never Be Lied To Again, explains that by recognizing the underlying reasons we get angry, we can learn how to utilize our innate neuroplasticity to rewire our brains toward a state of calm.
At any given t...
Source: Psych Central - July 24, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Anger Anxiety Book Reviews Depression General Loneliness Psychology Self-Esteem Self-Help Anger Management Cognitive Dissonance never get angry Source Type: news
Book Review: The Intelligent Body
One of my dearest friends has struggled with chronic pain and fatigue for years. At her worst, she was sleeping roughly 20 hours a day and would still not feel refreshed. When she speaks of that time in her life, there is apparent sadness in her voice. What if there had been a resource that provided a possible way out of that vortex of darkness? Perhaps The Intelligent Body would have given her some insight into her condition and the role she played in it.
Kyle L. Davies has quite the resume and experience to support the theory in his book, The Intelligent Body: Reversing Chronic Fatigue and Pain From the Inside Out. Davie...
Source: Psych Central - July 23, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Caroline Comeaux Lee Tags: Book Reviews Chronic Pain Disorders General Memory and Perception Psychology Self-Esteem Self-Help Stress deepak chopra intelligent body Source Type: news
Teach Your Children Well — About Substance Abuse
“Teach your children well,” a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young classic encourages. Children are impressionable, like sponges that soak up whatever liquid they are immersed in.
Some parents say they’d rather have their teens drink at home than elsewhere, where they’re in danger of driving impaired. Many parents minimize or dismiss the dangers, rationalizing that because they survived their youth, particularly if they grew up in the more freewheeling 1960s and ’70s, their children will survive as well. But this attitude has the opposite effect of the intended one.
“Parental attitudes favoring alcohol and oth...
Source: Psych Central - July 19, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Parenting Substance Abuse Source Type: news
What Can Be Done to Reduce the Risk of Suicide
Suicide rates are high and have only been increasing over the years. Over 800,000 people die all over the world by suicide each year. A proportion of the suicides are murder suicides resulting in additional loss of life. Attempts at suicide occur more frequently and we have about one million suicide attempts occurring each year.
Suicide is a heart-breaking problem that is growing and needs to be addressed in as many ways as is possible. Understanding the risk factors, knowing the warning signs and what to do about them, is a crucial step. The more the awareness the greater the impact on suicide prevention.
Risk Factors f...
Source: Psych Central - July 12, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Suma Chand, PhD Tags: Depression General Suicide Source Type: news
Defining Narcissistic Abuse: The Case for Deception as Abuse
Narcissistic abuse is a serious form of abuse that is estimated to affect somewhere between 60 and 158 million people in the U.S. alone (Bonchay, 2017). Just recently, June was recognized as Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Month. Despite its prevalence and the efforts to promote awareness, however, there is almost no public knowledge of this type of abuse.
Most types of abuse, such as physical abuse and psychological abuse, have generally agreed-upon definitions. Yet often the definitions supplied for narcissistic abuse in mental health literature as well as books and articles written for survivors are vague, imprecise, and ...
Source: Psych Central - July 11, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Kristen Milstead Tags: Abuse Codependence Domestic Violence Narcissism PTSD Relationships & Love Self-Esteem Source Type: news
Can a Narcissist Love?
Conclusion
People who love narcissists are starved for many of these expressions of love. Sometimes, narcissists are remote, dismissive, or aggressive; other times, they show care and concern and are helpful. It’s not that narcissists are incapable of feeling or even intellectually understanding someone’s feelings. The problem appears to be rooted in childhood trauma and physiological deficits that impact emotional assessment, mirroring, and appropriate empathic expression. (Unconscious or unexpressed: “I love you, but”); Expressed: “I’m too busy to come to the hospital,” sounds pretty cold, but may not refle...
Source: Psych Central - July 9, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Darlene Lancer, JD, MFT Tags: Abuse Codependence Divorce Domestic Violence Narcissism Relationships & Love arrested development Emotional Immaturity emotional maturity Intimacy Narcissistic Personality Disorder Source Type: news
6 Critical Tips for Making the Most of Your ADHD Coaching
Working with a credentialed, experienced ADHD coach is critical for helping individuals with ADHD achieve their goals, capitalize on their strengths and build a fulfilling life. And like any important endeavor, this requires effort and hard work.
For instance, ADHD coaching is highly active and collaborative. It requires that clients try out different strategies and tools, said Aaron D. Smith, MS, LMSW, ACC, a certified ADHD coach who helps individuals with ADHD and executive functioning challenges to bridge the gap between their current performance and their potential.
It requires that clients share feedback on how these ...
Source: Psych Central - July 7, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Attention Deficit Disorder Disorders General Habits Happiness Motivation and Inspiration Self-Help Stress Work Issues Achievement ADHD and values ADHD challenges ADHD coach Adhd Coaching Adhd Symptoms ADHD tips success Source Type: news
Consumed by Depression: Mental Illness and Its Pain
Pain is universal, varied, and subjective. An evolutionary deterrent and motivator, in some ways essential, in some ways utterly pointless. It can provide common ground, or be the most isolating of experiences. Everyone falls somewhere within its range.
My pain came from depression. Not everyone experiences depression in this way; for some it may be a numbness, a complete absence of emotion. For me, it was active, physical. It began as a little ball of discomfort just below my rib cage, then spreads through my entire torso, eventually radiating outward into my limbs and stopping just short of my finger and toe nails. It fl...
Source: Psych Central - July 6, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Elspeth Roake Tags: Depression Personal Stories Self-Esteem Suicide Source Type: news
My Struggle with Bipolar Disorder
I find that I often have very typical symptoms of bipolar disorder when I read articles about what others have experienced. Like for instance, even though I have been married since I was 19, I still have had moments of hypersexuality. I actually worked for a while in a strip club when I first lost weight after bariatric surgery. I always loved the idea of working in a club and loved the nightlife and it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I loved the attention I was getting from men and I believed I was fulfilling something within me.
It turned ugly though after I tried for a place as a body shot girl and was passed ...
Source: Psych Central - July 5, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tosha Maaks Tags: Bipolar Personal Stories Suicide Source Type: news
Sleep-Related Eating Disorder: Causes, Treatment, and More
Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is a parasomnia that links eating disorders to partial arousal during the transition between wakefulness and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. It is characterized by dysfunctional eating and drinking upon partial arousal from a stage of NREM sleep (also known as slow-wave sleep). As a form of sleepwalking, it entails partial or complete amnesia of the event. According to one study, the estimated prevalence of SRED was nearly 5% in the general population. The disorder is more common than generally recognized, and we can agree it requires more public awareness.
This type of connection...
Source: Psych Central - July 4, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Caitlin Evans Tags: Diet & Nutrition Eating Disorders Neuroscience Sleep Stigma Stress Binge Eating Disorder Bingeing Disordered Eating nightmare disorder parasomnia restless leg syndrome Sleep apnea sleep disorder sleep hygiene sleep-related ea Source Type: news
5 Myths about Bipolar Disorder That Boost Stigma
When therapist Colleen King was 19 years old, a psychiatrist told her that because of her family history—her father and brother having bipolar disorder—she shouldn’t have children.
Today, King’s clients regularly tell her that people have told them they shouldn’t or can’t have loving relationships.
Sadly, these are just two of the many myths about bipolar disorder. Myths that needlessly boost stigma, and, as King noted, deny individuals with bipolar disorder love and connection.
Bipolar disorder is a difficult illness, which can create challenges. But kids and healthy, happy relationships are absolutely possibl...
Source: Psych Central - July 1, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Bipolar Disorders Family General Relationships & Love Self-Help Stigma bipolar disorder and relationships bipolar disorder stereotypes bipolar disorder stigma mania Manic Symptoms Mental Health Stigma myths about bipolar disorder Source Type: news
