Posts Tagged ‘managing your emotions’
Gratitude feeds the white wolf 6 mindful nibbles a day!
Gratitude feeds the white wolf…6 mindful nibbles a day!
Almost all days, I habitually remind myself to stop, take a deep breath, close my eyes, drop my shoulders, open my heart chakra and breathe in the energy of gratitude.
Guided Imagery to Help Manage Fibromyalgia
Sharon was experiencing feelings of lack of self-worth and hopelessness and helplessness. Sharon felt like she was once a vibrant young woman, with a journalistic career and a family. Now all she like was that she trapped in a failing body. She was tired of being tired. She had been feeling run down for a few months and also had body aches and foggy brain. Sharon was used to being able to travel on assignment around her home state for special features for the newspaper for which she wrote.
But for the past year, she had been finding it harder and harder to keep up. It was hard to keep up with normal life and also manage the nausea, pain and fogginess. The medical stuff was taking over her life as she made appointment after appointment with various doctors. Her primary care physician urged her a few times to see a specialist. But she resisted seeing a rheumatologist, as it was too scary. Auto-immune? Wot? After feeling oddly sick for eighteen months, Sharon finally faced it and made an appointment to see a rheumatologist. Note that the first appointment for the rheumatology group at a major medical center near her was 3 months out!
What are the Seven Chakras
What are the chakras? The word chakra literally means wheel or vortex (Eden, 1998). According to yogic tradition, the chakras are the energy centers in the body which and interconnect the body and spirit and the external world. The chakras are associated energetically with physical organ systems, the endocrine system and emotional states. The chakras pull in energy from the environment like a vortex and also release energy outward to encompass outer energies and draw them in (Eden, 1998).
We can balance our chakra energy in different ways. The practice of yoga opens or clears the chakras which, in turn, facilitates self-growth and spiritual enlightenment. The practice of Reiki also clears and opens the chakras. Collette Baron-Reid has a beautiful, calming meditation called Journey Through the Chakras filled with imagery and color that clears and opens the chakras. I often fall asleep listening to it. Plus, color and sound frequencies influence the chakras. Each of the seven chakras has its own color vibration, and in addition, the seven notes of the C scale correspond to the seven chakras (Eden, 1998).
After Trauma, Four Skills to Come Home to Your Body
Sarah was the witness of an accident where a car struck and instantly killed two pedestrians. She had seen the car hit the girls and had seen the bodies fly and hit the ground. She thought that she had handled the situation as best as she could. She went to a therapist to talk about the incident and she also talked about it with close friends. But, as time went on, Sarah’s emotional and physical state was deteriorating. She felt sick often and was generally experiencing a lack of well-being. Two years later, she was having intrusive thoughts about the scene and was feeling physically nauseated often and also anxious and depressed, and sometimes panicky for no apparent reason.
Craniosacral is Your Body Talking
People ask me to explain craniosacral to them all the time.
Craniosacral is your body talking to you
Touch modalities synthesize feelings of physical pain and emotional distress. Massage has been shown in numerous studies from researchers such as Tiffany Field, Ph.D. of the Touch Institute to elevate mood, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and promote the relaxation response.
EMDR: Tapping in for Self Healing a Broken Heart

(IStock) EMDR Healing a Broken Heart
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a well researched therapy used to treat trauma and strong emotional states. There are several components to EMDR.
Identify Positive Emotional Resources
DBT Skill: Learn to Distract Yourself from Negative Thoughts, Behaviors, Feelings
A definition and overview of DBT’s Distress Tolerance can be found here.
So, the basic foundation of DBT is to think about the idea that pain and suffering are part of life and can’t be avoided or removed. And learning to detach from the situation and not add more pain by judging yourself and others for what is.
Urban Legend: Suicide Is More Frequent During the Holidays
You are Not Alone. You Are Not to Blame.
With Help, You Will Feel Better
EMDR, PTSD, Neuroplasticity and “Limbic System Therapy”
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapy used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) . Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, the Director of the Trauma Institute in Boston, is a strong proponent of EMDR for the treatment of trauma.

Learning and reconditioning of existing circuits occur when neuronal connections are built and rebuilt. What wires together, fires together. (Istock:Sahskinw)
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, over a lifetime of treating persons with trauma, has evolved the treatment of trauma to include what he calls “limbic system therapy” (van der Kolk, 2015). Limbic system therapy uses body-based therapies to focus on calming reactive hyper- and hypo -aroused emotional brain centers using body based therapies.
DBT STOP & TIP Skills: Life is worth living even if there is pain
The idea is that pain and distress are a part of life and cannot be avoided and
Life is worth living even if there is pain
A definition and overview of DBT’s Distress Tolerance can be found here.