Tagged With "Emotions"

Emotions are not some kind of cosmic error. They exist for our benefit. Emotions tell us (sometimes before our brains get there) to move away or towards people, situations, and ideas. They are a kind of compass for our lives. But only when we allow them to be so. Curious about how that works?

By Elaine Miller-Karas MSW, LCSW Building Resiliency to Trauma Psychology Today, September 30, 2022 Mental health can suffer after extreme climate events. KEY POINTS Mental health conditions exacerbated by natural disasters include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. After a disaster, the number of people needing assistance from the mental health systems strains or exceeds community capacity. There are simple strategies helpers can use to help survivors restore...

When I look back, I am amazed at how differently I dealt with adversity during the first few decades of my life. Growing up in a stressful home primed me to experience life with caution. Whether it was being afraid of physical harm, loneliness, or failure, I’ve lived my life with an exaggerated fight-flight response to everything. Adversity seemed around every corner, and no one was ever there to save me. I developed maladaptive mechanisms to minimize, avoid, or go around the things I was...

All human beings are born with a capacity for empathy, but ultimately, empathy is a learned behavior —much like language. Just as language improves our communication ability, empathy improves our ability to connect emotionally with others. Empathy strengthens friendships, encourages intimacy, and makes great teams. It helps us remain accountable and support others. What is empathy, though? If you’re a trauma-informed leader who hopes to become a better team member, the answer to that...

“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.” ~George S. Patton Much of the difficulty and struggle that we go through in life comes from our resistance to change. At some point, we get stuck in painful circumstances, yet we fear facing our reality and doing the work required to ignite a positive change. After all, the enemy we know is better than the enemy we don’t know. “It’s not that bad”, we tell ourselves. So we settle, give up on our desires, try to make the best of what we...

For moving past hidden wounds from childhood, mindset matters. These important attitudes undergird the process of healing from adverse childhood experiences.

Anxiety rooted in the hidden wounds from childhood need not be a lifelong sentence. A combination of effective strategies offer hope and help to alleviate anxious conditions, including excessive worry and panic attacks, that originate in childhood.

Three burdensome happens learned in trying to cope with adverse childhood experiences can be changed. Efforts to drop and replace these troubling habits can be extremely liberating.

Worry rooted in adverse childhood experiences can rob you of energy and joy, and cause a variety of anxiety symptoms. This post explains the ACEs/worry connection and the principles for managing worry.

A difficult past need not define you, nor determine your future. We explore three paths to building a satisfying life after hardship in childhood.

The Mr. Nice Guy syndrome's dysfunctional thought patterns are common in survivors of adverse childhood experiences. Uprooting these patterns can improve self-esteem and relationships.

The body often tells the real story of trauma better than the thinking mind. Before one can verbalize and complete the trauma story, one typically must return to physical equilibrium. Trauma expert Levine explains ways to calm physical and emotional responses to trauma and regain a sense of wholeness.

I've been following and appreciating your posts here over the years Glenn. Your voice has such kindness and compassion along with useful, practical guidelines you share. I was a family physician and retrained as a somatic trauma therapist, which is where I first started learning about trauma 25 years ago. I therefore did specialty training as a somatic experiencing practitioner and have found it to be a powerful modality with a huge context for working with emotional as well as physical...

Thank you Veronique for your kind words and all YOU do.

Although the challenges can be greater for survivors of ACEs, developing emotional intelligence is vital for successful, satisfying living. Emotional intelligence begins with self-awareness and understanding eight key principles.

Shame is common to the human condition but ACEs heighten shame in many harmful ways. Denying shame prevents us from healing it. The solution lies in bringing shame out into the light of day and making it an ally.

This article summarizes the research on expressive writing and suggests that incorporating neuroscience-based strategies can improve its effectiveness.