One People, One Struggle

And when will you take action? Fear of the Unknown Another powerful internal resistance to setting boundaries is fear of the unknown. Being controlled by others is a safe prison. We know where all the rooms are. Boundaries open up all sorts of new options, and that can be scary. Yet, along with the fear, you find yourself stretched to new heights, possibilities, and realizations about God, yourself, and the world (pp. He promises them that, if they step out in faith, he will lead them to a better land (Hebrews 11:8). I know, for certainty, that she's right when she says I'm traumatised. That's what all my symptoms add up to: I am classic, gold standard, textarticle. There is nothing atypical about me. My brain acts and reacts exactly the way you'd expect a traumatised brain to. I scrunch my face up with displeasure. That's the only explanation for my behaviours. I'm not mad, and I'm not bad. I'm just traumatised. I know that makes sense. I wish there were another explanation. Our work is to remain responsive to the individual needs of the people that we're working with, encouraging them to apply the brakes when things become overwhelming. These strategies are not meant to facilitate an anything goes approach to mindfulness meditation.

Each of you will have different structures and traditions you work within, and we want to advocate some structure in practice and hold people accountable to their aspirations. But as I've offered through many examples, mindfulness requires a deft and delicate touch when we're working with trauma. A strict approach to the structure of practice may benefit some, but it runs the risk of dysregulating people who are experiencing posttraumatic stress. Our work is to galvanize students and clients to be self-responsive to their window of tolerance, and in all cases to use common sense. As Ogden (2015) points out in her guide to working with trauma, breath intervention can be a valuable resource for people working with trauma. It offers survivors the means to increase or decrease their arousal, depending on what will support their window of tolerance. While working with the breath is not an across-the-board solution to dysregulated arousal, it's a practical tool teachers and professionals can offer to someone struggling with hyper- or hypoarousal. The basic guidelines in utilizing the breath are relatively straightforward: if someone is hyperaroused, they can take slower, deeper breaths to see if that supports self-regulation. Over time it became apparent that not only were there side-effects but that some of these were extremely serious. The side-effects, however, (as befits a Yin substance) take years to appear (conversely, the side-effects of adrenaline - risk of a heart attack - would appear almost immediately). The most common side-effects of cortisol include: In fact, cortisol produces a veritable panoply of symptoms which are another annoyance for medical students. Yet, within Chinese medicine they can simply be seen as a disturbance of Yin function within the body! Cortisol can be seen as draining the body's reserves of Yin to meet an emergency. Normally in a stressful situation a burst of cortisol would be appropriate and healthy. The cortisol would act to enable the body to cope with this stress by calling on the body's reserves. It would hold on to fluid (Yin) in case the body needed it, it would draw energy and substances from the muscles (wasting) and bones (osteoporosis) to use for vital repairs, it would increase blood sugar to ensure that enough was available, and release white cells from the marrow to enable infection to be fought (but paradoxically make them less aggressive, ie more Yin). Cortisol is doing all these things every day anyway; The toothpaste and toothbrush are united and ready to be used. You recognized and used your stroke-affected arm and hand as well.

Taking the Sting Out of Stroke (Tips 178-192) Self-Esteem (Tips 178-184) This article addresses a philosophy of stroke recovery that will hopefully help you by taking the sting out of stroke and replacing it with more powerful images. There is a gift within each of us that is more dominant than the effects stroke may have left on our bodies or minds. It is that spark within you. Some people may call it your soul, your spirit, or your being, but everyone was born with this precious quality. This force is called upon to give us courage, comfort, and strength. Stroke is an adversity that changes our direction, and even greater--our bodies and minds. What's the feeling toward her for betraying you? I feel depressed. But the feeling toward her? I love her, but I hate myself. I wish she would come back. His wish to kill himself was double-sided. On the one hand, wanting to kill himself turned rage toward his ex-fiance back upon himself. He dies, not her. On the other hand, wanting to die also meant he wanted to live: I don't want to live this way. I don't want this facade of pure love anymore. Postpone Your Worry Rather than trying to stop worry or obsessive thoughts altogether, you may opt to try postponing them for a bit.

In a sense, you pay some credence to your worries or obsessive thoughts by telling them that you will only ignore them for a few minutes, but then you will attend to them later. When you first try this technique, try postponing worry only for a short time, perhaps two or three minutes. Then, at the end of the allotted time, try postponing the worry again for a short time. When that period of time is up, set another specified time to postpone your worry. The trick is to keep postponing worry for as long as you can. Often you will be able to postpone a particular worry long enough that your mind moves on to something else. Postponing worry is a skill that you can improve with practice. As with the other worry-disruption techniques, gaining skill with worry postponement will increase your confidence in your ability to handle all kinds of worries and obsessive thoughts. Quite understandably, such events usually cause people to feel anxious, upset, and depressed. People often reflect on the past, wishing that things could be different. If another person is responsible for their suffering, thoughts might turn to revenge and retribution. Oftentimes, such experiences lead to feelings of anger, bitterness, and aggression. Given that putting on boxing gloves and hitting a punching bag is likely to make the situation worse rather than better, what is the best way of dealing with such emotions? One possibility is simply to behave in a way that is incompatible with being angry. Watch a funny film, go to a party, play with a puppy, or tackle a difficult crossword puzzle. Alternatively, you could distract yourself by exercising, creating an art project, or spending an evening with friends or family. However, although such behavior may help reduce feelings of stress caused by relatively minor hassles, it is unlikely to provide a lasting solution to more serious sources of long-term frustration. The good news is that a more effective solution does not require lengthy sessions with a therapist or hours talking about the issues with those around you. Worn-out parents take special note of the tips for ending some of your worst nightmares: colic, coughs, ear infections, and, yes . Various types of cancer treatments using oriental medicine are outlined in this part of the article, giving patients options during perhaps the most challenging time in their lives.

Finally, we take a look at many of the oriental solutions that are available to balance hormones and monthly cycles for women who are tired of suffering on a regular basis. Keep turning these articles and soak up the knowledge that has been passed down through the ages for you to use. Respiration--A Breath of Fresh Air In This article Keys to springing yourself from perennial allergy prison Oriental medicine helps asthma sufferers breathe with confidence Break up bronchitis Breathing is mostly taken for granted . When our human interactions have dignity we enjoy them more--and when we manifest dignity we like ourselves more. When we behave in ways that support the self-esteem of others, we support our own. Let us consider what some of these ways are. There are certain psychotherapists who are able to have a profound impact on the self-esteem of people who consult them. These psychotherapists may come out of very different theoretical orientations, and utilize very different techniques, and yet in their presence the self-esteem of the client is inspired to rise, as the person discovers new possibilities of functioning that had never seemed real before. If we understand some of the most important characteristics of how these therapists relate to people, we can apply the principles to our own interactions. There is nothing esoteric about this knowledge. Ideally, it should be available to everyone. My personal dream is that one day it will be taught to schoolchildren. I (and various graduate students) have questioned clients of mine many times over the years in order to learn which behaviors of mine were experienced as most helpful to the strengthening of the clients' self-esteem. Not really. Not anymore.