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  1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Thu, 14 Mar 2024 10:44:39 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>anxiety</category><category>anxiety therapist atlanta</category><category>anxiety therapist buckhead</category><category>21-day cleanse</category><category>OCD</category><category>Standard Process</category><category>Therapy</category><category>anxiety treatment Buckhead</category><category>detoxification</category><category>panic</category><category>purification program</category><category>supplements</category><category>weight loss</category><category>whole food recipes</category><category>TRU 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drugs</category><category>child therapy</category><category>communication</category><category>communication skills</category><category>counseling for</category><category>counseling for anxiety Atlanta</category><category>couples counseling</category><category>cry all the time since my baby was born</category><category>divorce support</category><category>divorce therapy</category><category>drug abuse</category><category>fear</category><category>forgiveness</category><category>gay anxiety</category><category>gay social anxiety</category><category>higher power</category><category>holistic healing</category><category>holistic medicine</category><category>hypnotherapy</category><category>life coach atlanta</category><category>life coaching atlanta</category><category>marriage conflict</category><category>marriage counseling</category><category>mental health counseling.</category><category>motherhood anxiety</category><category>not bonded to my new baby</category><category>not happy about being a mother</category><category>out of body experiences</category><category>parent child relationship</category><category>parenting</category><category>parenting therapy</category><category>post divorce counseling</category><category>post divorce therapy</category><category>pre divorce counseling</category><category>pre divorce therapy</category><category>relationship problems</category><category>religion</category><category>romance</category><category>shame</category><category>stress reduction</category><category>synchronicity</category><category>technology</category><category>therapy for anxiety Atlanta</category><category>therapy for children</category><category>triggers</category><category>trying to get pregnant</category><category>vacation</category><category>wellness</category><category>why holistic medicine</category><title>GrowHealChange</title><description>Thoughts, musings, announcements, and information about all things related to living your best life: mind, body, and spirit.</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>62</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-4805993124222251784</guid><pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2015 23:28:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2015-10-14T21:48:12.487-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">atlanta counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">atlanta therapy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">child counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">child therapy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">parenting therapy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">TRU Integrative Health and Wellness</category><title>Don&#39;t Cry</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  2. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EhhIVaCs5xZSzPp4vTnP355xKAehxrEFoTzlms4SZN0zIwhI74gGwxo6joIwBg4ZYMrqsCc6nQ3atRZ82t4Igw7erMMD2PjfcsB38ggK-U2aQq0fZsQZ9Q19YUX4jis0E33G_zXUZsE/s1600/images+%25281%2529.jpe&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EhhIVaCs5xZSzPp4vTnP355xKAehxrEFoTzlms4SZN0zIwhI74gGwxo6joIwBg4ZYMrqsCc6nQ3atRZ82t4Igw7erMMD2PjfcsB38ggK-U2aQq0fZsQZ9Q19YUX4jis0E33G_zXUZsE/s1600/images+%25281%2529.jpe&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  3. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  4. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;How many times have you said this to someone or had someone say it to you?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  5. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  6. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;I have so many vivid memories of my mom telling me not to cry, or not to worry when I was a little one. Now that I am a psychotherapist, my heart skips a little beat each time I hear these words uttered.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  7. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  8. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;By telling someone not to cry, not to worry, not to stress, not to be mad, etc. we are telling them that their feelings aren’t real or are not valid.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  9. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  10. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;We often say these words out of the goodness of our hearts as it hurts us to see people we love in pain, but doing so only adds to the pain. Think of it this way–&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;&quot;&gt;when&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;&quot;&gt;do we ever say, “don’t be happy. don’t laugh.”&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;Almost NEVER. We rarely stifle happiness and joy, so why should we stifle sadness, worry or other feelings? Yes, we want to help our friend or loved one and reduce their pain, but if there is one thing I have learned as a therapist, it’s that sitting with someone’s pain&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;is&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;h&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;elpful, it is cathartic, and it most definitely is pain relieving.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  11. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  12. &lt;br /&gt;
  13. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  14. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2eheWv5TJrPNxVIzh5gLVsEbb55LBmTs_Zjnwzdsr2mYahnhZUMzm583Si9UfmjmfBUNFE5D_WfijdsXPkN8eksgmrQVxlpLeG99vJAlleiE7IXInLl6A90NOF1fnCmwaQnR7swZud0/s1600/images+%25282%2529.jpe&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2eheWv5TJrPNxVIzh5gLVsEbb55LBmTs_Zjnwzdsr2mYahnhZUMzm583Si9UfmjmfBUNFE5D_WfijdsXPkN8eksgmrQVxlpLeG99vJAlleiE7IXInLl6A90NOF1fnCmwaQnR7swZud0/s1600/images+%25282%2529.jpe&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  15. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  16. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  17. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;By sitting with someone in their pain and suffering you are truly saying, “I’m here for you, we are in this together.” Allowing our friends, kids, partners, parents, siblings, neighbors to feel their pain, and acknowledging it we are indeed allowing them time to heal.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  18. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  19. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;- Kathleen Hill, MS, NCC, LAPC&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  20. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  21. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Muli, &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, &#39;Lucida Grande&#39;, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.998px;&quot;&gt;Kathleen is a therapist with TRU Integrative Health and Wellness. Kathleen works with children, adolescents and adults around a variety of issues, and has both weekday and weekend hours available. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/index.php?p=456631&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to see Kathleen&#39;s bio or to contact her directly.&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/10/dont-cry.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Kathryn Hawkins Truax)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EhhIVaCs5xZSzPp4vTnP355xKAehxrEFoTzlms4SZN0zIwhI74gGwxo6joIwBg4ZYMrqsCc6nQ3atRZ82t4Igw7erMMD2PjfcsB38ggK-U2aQq0fZsQZ9Q19YUX4jis0E33G_zXUZsE/s72-c/images+%25281%2529.jpe" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-4507873649891839172</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Jul 2015 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2015-07-18T09:00:04.885-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Atlanta spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Buckhead spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">near death experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">past life experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Shaye Hudson</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">spiritually transformative experiences</category><title>Spiritual Experiences, Challenges and Resources for Support</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  22. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;By: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;Shaye Hudson MA,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;
  23. &lt;i&gt;Psychotherapist &amp;amp; Clinical Hypnotherapist&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  24. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  25. &lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  26. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  27. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  28. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  29. &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrkcukLStoHsYBboTTRwwA1-XVPX7nFoTHIqBSWuFachfQml4lKyXkVh30lPzYdhaUbXD7Il6sJWeW6b3jZSgHZSVyoVlZgtP1QnvzKyhRE1_CRGeBroVVEAHjirmjm5qEQQhxFisIgvn/s1600/blog+5+photo+1.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrkcukLStoHsYBboTTRwwA1-XVPX7nFoTHIqBSWuFachfQml4lKyXkVh30lPzYdhaUbXD7Il6sJWeW6b3jZSgHZSVyoVlZgtP1QnvzKyhRE1_CRGeBroVVEAHjirmjm5qEQQhxFisIgvn/s400/blog+5+photo+1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  30. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;
  31. &lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  32. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoBodyText&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  33. &lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  34. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  35. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;We
  36. have talked about what is a&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt; Spiritually Transformative Experience&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; in
  37. the previous blog and how it can affect the experiencer. We know that
  38. each person will be affected differently a particular spiritual
  39. experience but there will often be challenges that will show up in
  40. different areas of their lives. Also, integrating these experiences
  41. can be especially difficult for those living in cultures that are not
  42. as supportive of these often strange and difficult to understand
  43. experiences that often result in less than accepting responses from
  44. friends, family members and others.  It is important that the
  45. experiencer, clinicians, and other professionals involved have a
  46. general understanding of these potential challenges and where they
  47. can go to get support.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  48. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  49. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  50. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  51. &lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  52. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  53. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  54. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Spiritual
  55. Experiences and Western Culture&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  56. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  57. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Modern
  58. societies and those in Western culture generally have an impoverished
  59. understanding of such spiritual or religious matters. There is a
  60. tendency for Westerners to use a scientific or even a religious
  61. worldview to explain away such experiences as just neurons firing in
  62. the brain or stating that the experience violates some holy
  63. declaration. I have found that due to these cultural norms, the
  64. spiritual experiencer may often hesitate to tell friends, family
  65. members, coworkers, mental health, or medical professionals, due to
  66. fears of being invalidated or even labeled as psychotic. &lt;/span&gt;
  67. &lt;/div&gt;
  68. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  69. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  70. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  71. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Spiritual
  72. Experiences and Mental Health&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  73. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  74. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  75. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  76. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;There
  77. has however, been progress in the mental health community in the
  78. distinguishing between what is determined to be a pathology and what
  79. is a problem. Practitioners in the mental health field refer to the
  80. Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM V) and the code “V62.89
  81. Religious or Spiritual Problem.” This is a very helpful code that
  82. mental health practitioners can use to acknowledge distressing
  83. spiritual experiences as non-pathological problems.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  84. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  85. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;While
  86. some will not have any significant issues after their experience,
  87. common challenges may include:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  88. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  89. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;·&lt;i&gt;
  90.        Processing a radical shift in their worldview&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  91. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  92. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;·
  93.        Accepting their new perspective&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  94. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  95. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;·
  96.        Experiencing “homesickness”&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  97. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  98. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;·
  99.        Issues related to sharing the experience&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  100. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  101. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;·
  102.        Integrating new spiritual values, and changing ones religious
  103. beliefs&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  104. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  105. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;·
  106.        Problems dealing with psychic experiences&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  107. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  108. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;·
  109.        A desire to find, and live one’s purpose.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  110. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  111. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  112. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  113. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;The
  114. spiritual experiencer, depending on their life situation and other
  115. factors, may have difficulty with depression, anxiety, isolation,
  116. divorce, financial distress, or substance abuse. The above situations
  117. could potentially require a mental health professional with a
  118. transpersonal orientation or competency to assist individuals in the
  119. area of religious or spiritual issues.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  120. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  121. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  122. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  123. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Spiritual
  124. Experiences in Supportive Cultures&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  125. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  126. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  127. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  128. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Eastern
  129. and tribal-centric cultures often have a history, lineage, and
  130. psychological framework accustomed to providing support and
  131. integrating the spiritual or mystical experience. The Tibetan
  132. Buddhists have the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” to help integrate
  133. their encounters. The Senoi, a Stone Age tribe in Malaysia, consider
  134. the dream world to be more real than the waking world and have daily
  135. practices of dream interpretation. Also, some Native American
  136. cultures are known to have more supportive communities that were
  137. generally more welcoming of such extraordinary experiences.   &lt;/span&gt;
  138. &lt;/div&gt;
  139. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  140. &lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  141. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  142. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  143. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Resources
  144. for Spiritual Experiencers&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  145. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  146. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  147. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  148. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;We
  149. in the West have the opportunity to create more of a conducive
  150. social, cultural and psychological framework to help others who have
  151. these transpersonal experiences. Where can people in the modern
  152. cultures and the West who have had such transcendent encounters find
  153. a supportive resource or community to help Integrate in a healthy,
  154. safe, supportive way?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  155. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  156. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;I
  157. have personally found resources that were invaluable in helping not
  158. only myself but others process and integrate their experiences with a
  159. sense of community, acceptance and validation. You can find local
  160. support by contacting a professional or group affiliated with--or
  161. having received training from-- but not limited to, the following
  162. organizations:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  163. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  164. &lt;b style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  165. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  166. &lt;b style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;American
  167. Center for the Integration of Spiritual Experiences (ACISTE)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  168. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  169. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  170. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  171. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;International
  172. Association of Near Death Studies (IANDS)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  173. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  174. &lt;/div&gt;
  175. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  176. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  177. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  178. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Monroe Institute (TMI) &lt;/b&gt;TMI has an International Local
  179. Chapter Network and Outreach Facilitators that can provide local
  180. support in their groups.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  181. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  182. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  183. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  184. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Psychology Today:&lt;/b&gt; Online resource for Psychotherapists and
  185. Clinical Hypnotherapists with Transpersonal, Humanistic, and related
  186. orientations with specialties in spirituality.
  187. https://therapists.psychologytoday.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  188. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  189. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  190. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  191. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;We
  192. have come to understand that unlike many other cultures, the west may
  193. not have as supportive culture and container to help many people
  194. integrate have what they believe are spiritual experiences. Many are
  195. often hesitant to share their encounters due to ridicule or even
  196. condemnation. We also have seen how these experiences can be both
  197. positively transformational and at the same time challenging. In some
  198. cases, the person may require a Therapist, Coach or spiritual
  199. counselor who can assist them in a healthy adjustment to their
  200. transcendent or peak experiences.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  201. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  202. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  203. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  204. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Shaye
  205. Hudson, MA, CH.t is a Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist in
  206. Atlanta, GA with a Transpersonal orientation and training, who
  207. specializes in Spiritually Transformative Experiences. He is also a
  208. Reviewer for the Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  209. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  210. &lt;/div&gt;
  211. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  212. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  213. &lt;/div&gt;
  214. &lt;/div&gt;
  215. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/07/spiritual-experiences-challenges-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shaye Hudson)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrkcukLStoHsYBboTTRwwA1-XVPX7nFoTHIqBSWuFachfQml4lKyXkVh30lPzYdhaUbXD7Il6sJWeW6b3jZSgHZSVyoVlZgtP1QnvzKyhRE1_CRGeBroVVEAHjirmjm5qEQQhxFisIgvn/s72-c/blog+5+photo+1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><georss:featurename>Buckhead, Atlanta, GA, USA</georss:featurename><georss:point>33.8372663 -84.406761000000017</georss:point><georss:box>33.7317563 -84.568122500000015 33.942776300000006 -84.245399500000019</georss:box></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-7673763905694404472</guid><pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2015 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2015-07-04T10:15:55.939-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Atlanta spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Buckhead spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">exceptional experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">near death experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">past life experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Shaye Hudson</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">spiritually transformative experiences</category><title>What is a Spiritually Transformative Experience?</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  216. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;By: Shaye Hudson MA,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;
  217. Psychotherapist &amp;amp; Clinical Hypnotherapist&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  218. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  219. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  220. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  221. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANmqMT9UkI9jnURagN8csjjMCpEmzIt-EpNY68vvc1aiR2RhlsFMuN_3wn7YIBTPFC1GZNEBwivuy7tPbu3toXqSaxfn_lFh_TbotvmFGpvpKBjfOijjJSpHAEyH8mB4xKBMYYmoO7rXU/s1600/blog+4+photo1.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;365&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANmqMT9UkI9jnURagN8csjjMCpEmzIt-EpNY68vvc1aiR2RhlsFMuN_3wn7YIBTPFC1GZNEBwivuy7tPbu3toXqSaxfn_lFh_TbotvmFGpvpKBjfOijjJSpHAEyH8mB4xKBMYYmoO7rXU/s400/blog+4+photo1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  222. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;
  223. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  224. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;
  225. &lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;“&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;We
  226. are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings
  227. having a human experience.-&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/pierre_teilhard_de_chardi.html&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black; font-family: &amp;quot;Helvetica Neue&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Helvetica Neue&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;&quot;&gt;Pierre Teilhard de Chardin&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  228. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;
  229. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  230. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;
  231. &lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  232. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;In
  233. the &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/06/four-common-types-of-spiritual.html&quot;&gt;last
  234. blog&lt;/a&gt;, we covered some examples of reported spiritual experiences. We
  235. hear the amazing accounts from those who have had Near-death experiences, Out
  236. of body, After-death communications and more but in what ways can and do these
  237. encounters affect the experiencers? We will now be covering a standard
  238. definition or understanding of what is a
  239. spiritually transformative experience. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #365f91; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  240. &lt;/div&gt;
  241. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;
  242. &lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;
  243. &lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;According
  244. to the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;American Center for the Integration of Spiritual
  245. Experiences (&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: blue; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;A&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.aciste.org/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;CISTE&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt; an STE is “an experience that causes an individual to
  246. perceive themselves and the world profoundly differently: by expanding the
  247. individual’s identity, augmenting their sensitivities, and thereby altering
  248. their values, priorities and appreciation of the purpose of life. This may be
  249. triggered by surviving clinical death, or by otherwise sensing an enlarged
  250. reality.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  251. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  252. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  253. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;
  254. &lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;Expanding
  255. the Individuals Identity&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  256. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  257. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;Many of us go thought our everyday lives experiencing life
  258. as who we know ourselves to be. We grow up in certain geographic location
  259. inheriting the customs and expectations of that culture. We grow up listening
  260. to the influencing truths of our parents ranging from what’s acceptable from a
  261. religious, political, and even a the kind of relationships and vocations we
  262. choose. We receive these templates and make some minor or major adjustments
  263. along the way. Our mindsets are formed though the templates placed upon us and
  264. through life experience.&amp;nbsp; Imagine going through
  265. your daily life and this mindset being interrupted by some sort of transcendent
  266. experience. The truths we have been known and lived up to this point have been
  267. disrupted allowing a new worldview to emerge and thus making room for an
  268. expanded identity to take form.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  269. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  270. &lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;
  271. &lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;I have
  272. personally gained some understanding of
  273. spiritual experiences after having my own transpersonal encounters and after
  274. listening to clients.&amp;nbsp; Many also report
  275. an expanded identity to include the spiritual. They no longer see themselves as
  276. just a physical human being, but one with an eternal spiritual essence or
  277. nature. A by-product of this new identity is the reduction of the fear of
  278. death, emotional healing and confirmation that the spiritual world is a reality
  279. for them.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  280. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  281. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  282. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;
  283. &lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;Augmenting
  284. their Sensitivities&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  285. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  286. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;Many clients report that after their experience, they feel
  287. more emotionally and intuitively sensitive. Whether this is a spiritual,
  288. psychological, emotional or physical symptom it doesn&#39;t matter because all these
  289. aspects affect one another. What matters is that the person may need help with
  290. first coping with their new sensitivities. These new sensitivities can result
  291. in anxiety and a feeling of being overwhelmed from being around large crowd’s
  292. as well emotional sensitivity in relationships causing arguments or hurt
  293. feelings. In some cases the experiencer may require learning to create
  294. boundaries and not let the emotions of family, friends, coworkers and even
  295. strangers affect their moods by just by being around them.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  296. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  297. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  298. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  299. &lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;Altering Values, Priorities, and Appreciation of the Purpose
  300. of Life&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  301. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  302. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;Imagine
  303. having a Near-Death experience or a spiritual encounter with a deceased loved
  304. one and receiving a message that life is about love. You have been climbing the
  305. corporate ladder with a Machiavellian “ends justify the means” attitude and now
  306. grandma give you a gentle and loving reminder to be nice.&amp;nbsp; This may be quite the adjustment and may
  307. redirect the experiencer to consider a different practice or path in life.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  308. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  309. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  310. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  311. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;With some
  312. their experience may challenge their religious or lack of religious attitudes.
  313. Their typical programming has been challenged and often altered during the
  314. experience.&amp;nbsp; This new perspective can
  315. cause one to rethink their views on both life and the afterlife and open a
  316. “Pandora&#39;s box of questions, thus creating a thirst for answers and spiritual
  317. seeking.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  318. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  319. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  320. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  321. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;With these
  322. changes jobs, relationships and friendships may fall away and along with this
  323. comes the stresses of change. This transformative encounter can be the just
  324. beginning of the potential challenges the person may experience.&lt;b&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  325. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  326. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  327. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;
  328. &lt;em&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;In the next blog in
  329. this series, we will cover some common challenges for the spiritual experiencer
  330. and resources for support and integration.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  331. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoBodyText&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  332. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  333. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoBodyText&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  334. &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/index.php?p=426207&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;Shaye Hudson&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;, MA, CH.t is a Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist in
  335. Atlanta, GA with a Transpersonal orientation and training, who specializes in
  336. Spiritually Transformative Experiences. He is also a Reviewer for the Journal
  337. of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology. Shaye facilitates weekly spiritual groups at Tru Integrative Health &amp;amp; Wellness.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  338. &lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #365f91; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  339. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both;&quot;&gt;
  340. &lt;/div&gt;
  341. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  342. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  343. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  344. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  345. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  346. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  347. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/07/what-is-spiritually-transformative.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shaye Hudson)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANmqMT9UkI9jnURagN8csjjMCpEmzIt-EpNY68vvc1aiR2RhlsFMuN_3wn7YIBTPFC1GZNEBwivuy7tPbu3toXqSaxfn_lFh_TbotvmFGpvpKBjfOijjJSpHAEyH8mB4xKBMYYmoO7rXU/s72-c/blog+4+photo1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><georss:featurename>Buckhead, Atlanta, GA, USA</georss:featurename><georss:point>33.8372663 -84.406761000000017</georss:point><georss:box>33.7317563 -84.568122500000015 33.942776300000006 -84.245399500000019</georss:box></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-4167750253329802974</guid><pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2015 04:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2015-06-30T00:30:02.849-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">after death communication</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Atlanta spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Buckhead spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">exceptional experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">near death experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">out of body experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">past life experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Shaye Hudson</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">spiritual</category><title>Four Common Types of Spiritual Experiences</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;mso-line-height-alt: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  348. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;By: Shaye Hudson MA,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;
  349. Psychotherapist &amp;amp; Clinical Hypnotherapist&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  350. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;mso-line-height-alt: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  351. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  352. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  353. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPjUxBx-uGO4y7z0KuXec0wgMTw-wyIHYMfD-yJ2iNqYdq6mNlwd_L6-8pWj6P2nucpCM5AtMMstmPJWEllODF98kVAuJuOw7lB2gzUAYTeGZyf64IdnAlyMrv6QHzNGStNw9tAZ_bpmj/s1600/blog+3+photo+1.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;267&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPjUxBx-uGO4y7z0KuXec0wgMTw-wyIHYMfD-yJ2iNqYdq6mNlwd_L6-8pWj6P2nucpCM5AtMMstmPJWEllODF98kVAuJuOw7lB2gzUAYTeGZyf64IdnAlyMrv6QHzNGStNw9tAZ_bpmj/s400/blog+3+photo+1.jpg&quot; style=&quot;cursor: move;&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  354. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;mso-line-height-alt: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  355. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  356. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;mso-line-height-alt: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  357. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  358. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  359. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  360. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;In
  361. this blog, we will be discussing some of the type’s experiences and
  362. encounters that clients have shared with me in the previous blog.
  363. Many of us have read in bestselling books of  those who have died and
  364. came back to life in the near death experiences, others having out of
  365. body experiences gaining an expanded sense of identity, after-death
  366. encounters with loved ones who have crossed over and other peak
  367. experiences. There are a multitude of other variations of
  368. transpersonal experiences but in this continuation of we will cover
  369. some of the more commonly reported experiences.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  370. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  371. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  372. &lt;h3 style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  373. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Near-death
  374. experiences (NDEs)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  375. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  376. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;According
  377. to the&lt;a href=&quot;http://iands.org/home.html&quot;&gt; The International Association For Near Death Studies (IANDS)&lt;/a&gt;,“An
  378. NDE may begin with an out-of-body experience—a very clear
  379. perception of being somehow separate from one’s physical body,
  380. possibly even hovering nearby and watching events going on around the
  381. body. An NDE typically includes a sense of moving, often at great
  382. speed and usually through a dark space, into a fantastic landscape
  383. and encountering beings that may be perceived as sacred figures,
  384. deceased family members or friends, or unknown entities. A pinpoint
  385. of indescribable light may grow to surround the person in brilliant
  386. but not painful radiance; unlike physical light, it is not merely
  387. visual but is sensed as being an all-loving presence that many people
  388. define as the Supreme Being of their religious faith. “&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  389. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  390. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  391. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  392. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Clients
  393. have reported the positive effects from their Near Death experience
  394. to include an expanded spiritual perspective, a reduced fear of death
  395. and a sense of deep meaning in their lives. Many report a certainty
  396. of life after death and how our loved ones are more than okay, and
  397. the lesson is to learn to be more loving.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  398. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  399. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  400. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  401. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;On
  402. the other hand, I have heard stories of interpersonal, relationship,
  403. and intrapsychic problems. I have found that my response as the
  404. therapist can have a critical influence for those with the NDE
  405. experience. If their experience is validated it can lessen negative
  406. emotional resistance and is generally more easily integrated in a
  407. healthy way.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  408. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  409. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  410. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  411. &lt;/div&gt;
  412. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  413. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;A
  414. counselor, coach or spiritual director with training in spiritual and
  415. religious problems can help in situations with family members that
  416. have  that they have a difficult time adjusting to the new beliefs
  417. and attitudes. There are times where marriages are strained and even
  418. divorce can occur.  The NDE-experiencer can also undergo anger,
  419. depression, withdrawl from the experience and other attitudes that
  420. can affect their psychosocial functioning. In situations like this,
  421. it may be necessary that the experiencer receive outside help to
  422. adjust to their new way of being and the ripple effects it may cause
  423. in some or the majority of areas in their life.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  424. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  425. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  426. &lt;/div&gt;
  427. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  428. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  429. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZ6U-r9oW3KwmJYhtpPTbwp03NT-AsBJt9r4XGz2A9TKN9eBiOHdmnc3K6x4MJ7qaAN18JlkGPlIfnNLW06A7BsT_54ob1BLfl0mIKzfNRY47C3b0y0GKnhTPyOD2q-JyFfW4hkwLC19L/s1600/blog+3+photo2.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;193&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZ6U-r9oW3KwmJYhtpPTbwp03NT-AsBJt9r4XGz2A9TKN9eBiOHdmnc3K6x4MJ7qaAN18JlkGPlIfnNLW06A7BsT_54ob1BLfl0mIKzfNRY47C3b0y0GKnhTPyOD2q-JyFfW4hkwLC19L/s400/blog+3+photo2.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  430. &lt;h3 style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  431. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  432. &lt;h3 style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  433. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;Out-of-body
  434. experiences (OBEs)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  435. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  436. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.monroeinstitute.org/&quot;&gt;The Monroe Institute (TMI)&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;is a nonprofit education and research
  437. organization which focuses on the&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;exploration
  438. of human consciousness. This organization has residential and
  439. outreach programs as well&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;as
  440. an International Local Chapter Network(ILCN) where participants experience
  441. altered states of&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;consciousness
  442. through a patented sound technology called “Hemi Sync”. Many have
  443. reported having the&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;“&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;Out
  444. of Body” (OBE) and other transcendent experiences. Both TMI
  445. researchers and participants report&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;that the “OBE” is an experience that usually involves a subjective
  446. sensation or experience of being outside&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;one&#39;s body.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  447. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  448. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  449. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  450. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;In
  451. my therapy practice, I have listened to clients share having
  452. experiences where they experiencing a paralysis, a buzzing sensation,
  453. lifting out and even seeing their own physical body.  Some have
  454. reported that  the “OBE” experience had a profound impact on
  455. reducing their fear of death as well as changes in their identity
  456. since they have come to experience themselves as more than the
  457. physical body.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  458. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  459. &lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #222222; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  460. &lt;/div&gt;
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  462. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  463. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09IZu1BsZd48OdIYzNFhAT7ezWKGuM4Gj9f9_Fsh_sCnc0XEqqBjtOvGCDptizCLuL5oHazCrBHPTH8W8VOFcSrJrtSoVUesa7t2Xqh5RZcZ60Q9GVOBO-_iK6FVkoLlUbzlVQpNzi5w9/s1600/blog+3+photo3.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;213&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09IZu1BsZd48OdIYzNFhAT7ezWKGuM4Gj9f9_Fsh_sCnc0XEqqBjtOvGCDptizCLuL5oHazCrBHPTH8W8VOFcSrJrtSoVUesa7t2Xqh5RZcZ60Q9GVOBO-_iK6FVkoLlUbzlVQpNzi5w9/s400/blog+3+photo3.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  465. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  466. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  467. &lt;h3 style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  468. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;&quot;&gt;Past-life
  469. experiences&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  470. &lt;div&gt;
  471. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  472. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;As
  473. a part of my Hypnotherapy practice, I facilitate both - individual
  474. and group Past Life Regression sessions.  I have had clients report
  475. amazing stories of how they lived in places and times that they did
  476. not expect. Some clients report having an experience of remembering
  477. during waking states or having a direct experience of a past life
  478. through hypnosis, dreams or other non-ordinary states.  Past lives
  479. are associated with the idea of reincarnation, which is the religious
  480. or philosophical concept that the consciousness or spirit can (after
  481. physical death) return to another life in a new body. This doctrine
  482. is an integral part of various ancient and modern religions. &lt;/span&gt;
  483. &lt;/div&gt;
  484. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  485. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  486. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  487. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;On
  488. occasion, clients report being the opposite gender, which is very
  489. amusing and even sometimes unsettling. Some shared that they were
  490. with people who they knew were people in their present day lives.  In
  491. many cases the client can gain insight on their present day issues
  492. and relationships and use the experience to empower themselves for
  493. positive change.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  494. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  495. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  496. &lt;/div&gt;
  497. &lt;br /&gt;
  498. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  499. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  500. &lt;/div&gt;
  501. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  502. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFpISN-tSklVJqve98HPy_HHfh4owzDou8gU6gSMTDCdeRd86K6YqQcmTpHLHhGVHzK0UnsW-g4k-G0BwYbW2sf8FAglHKCBBsND8lbgUu5B9dYgO1EwW34M6mQbSUKwvg8cNA292iW7Q/s1600/blog+3+photo4.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;266&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFpISN-tSklVJqve98HPy_HHfh4owzDou8gU6gSMTDCdeRd86K6YqQcmTpHLHhGVHzK0UnsW-g4k-G0BwYbW2sf8FAglHKCBBsND8lbgUu5B9dYgO1EwW34M6mQbSUKwvg8cNA292iW7Q/s400/blog+3+photo4.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  503. &lt;h3 style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  504. &lt;/h3&gt;
  505. &lt;div&gt;
  506. &lt;h3 style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  507. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  508. &lt;h3 style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  509. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;After-death
  510. communications (ADCs)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  511. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  512. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;These are experiences where a person
  513. has communication with a physically deceased person. This can
  514. generally happen during waking states, meditative, and dream states.
  515. ADC&#39;s  often include sensing a presence, hearing  voice, feeling a
  516. touch and other physical phenomena,  smelling a fragrance, and visual
  517. encounters.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  518. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  519. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  520. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;I
  521. have shared my personal experience ADC experience in my earlier blog
  522. and have also listened to a multitude of clients share their stories
  523. of contact with deceased loved ones with numerous  combinations of
  524. the states of consciousness  well as the sensory types. I have found
  525. that these ADC type experiences can be very healing to those who are
  526. experiencing grief and loss. &lt;/span&gt;
  527. &lt;/div&gt;
  528. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;&quot;&gt;
  529. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  530. &lt;/div&gt;
  531. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;
  532. &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/index.php?p=426207&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;Shaye
  533. Hudson&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;, MA, CH.t is a
  534. Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist in Atlanta, GA with a Transpersonal
  535. orientation and training, who specializes in Spiritually Transformative
  536. Experiences. He is also a Reviewer for the Journal of Exceptional Experiences
  537. and Psychology. Shaye hosts spiritual groups at Tru Integrative Health &amp;amp; Wellness.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  538. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;
  539. &lt;/div&gt;
  540. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoBodyText&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  541. &lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #244061; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #244061; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #244061; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  542. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;
  543. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #252525; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  544. &lt;/div&gt;
  545. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/06/four-common-types-of-spiritual.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shaye Hudson)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPjUxBx-uGO4y7z0KuXec0wgMTw-wyIHYMfD-yJ2iNqYdq6mNlwd_L6-8pWj6P2nucpCM5AtMMstmPJWEllODF98kVAuJuOw7lB2gzUAYTeGZyf64IdnAlyMrv6QHzNGStNw9tAZ_bpmj/s72-c/blog+3+photo+1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><georss:featurename>Buckhead, Atlanta, GA, USA</georss:featurename><georss:point>33.8372663 -84.406761000000017</georss:point><georss:box>33.7317563 -84.568122500000015 33.942776300000006 -84.245399500000019</georss:box></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-5043191679748184426</guid><pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2015 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2015-06-19T11:31:48.753-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">after death communication</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Atlanta spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Buckhead spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">exceptional experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">psychotherapy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Shaye Hudson</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">spiritual</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">spiritually transformative experiences</category><title>A Therapist Supports Client Encounters with Loved Ones Who have Passed</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  546. &lt;h3&gt;
  547. &lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;BY: Shaye Hudson, MA,
  548. Psychotherapist &amp;amp; Clinical Hypnotherapist&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  549. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  550. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  551. &lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  552. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  553. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0swdblV6wdeW_Gt-xsLVJ3hcStcCn-RpTqe6mSjFKH-MfrERXGOyHTEu69N2pkUE8BzaHgl2_rGkriHTPQ1aNFLylWJItm4mh66OSIS81rg1bwe3tuC3ksgQ2V6CvdyGMYMcmaVB4As29/s1600/blog+2+photo+1.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;265&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0swdblV6wdeW_Gt-xsLVJ3hcStcCn-RpTqe6mSjFKH-MfrERXGOyHTEu69N2pkUE8BzaHgl2_rGkriHTPQ1aNFLylWJItm4mh66OSIS81rg1bwe3tuC3ksgQ2V6CvdyGMYMcmaVB4As29/s400/blog+2+photo+1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  554. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  555. &lt;br clear=&quot;ALL&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  556. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  557. &lt;br /&gt;
  558. There can be nothing more devastating in our lives as human beings
  559. than losing family members and loved ones. As a Psychotherapist and
  560. Hypnotherapist with a Holistic and Transpersonal (Spiritual) orientation, I
  561. often support clients who have experienced losing someone closest to them.&lt;br /&gt;
  562. &lt;br /&gt;
  563. I had often wondered how a spiritual encounter with a deceased loved one would
  564. affect the grieving process. I wondered “What would you say or ask if you got
  565. one last chance to see and talk with them?” &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-therapists-personal-spiritual_6.html&quot;&gt;The
  566. day came when I would learn first-hand, the answer to my question&lt;/a&gt; &amp;nbsp;and then come to listen to the answers of
  567. those with similar stories.&lt;/div&gt;
  568. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  569. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  570. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  571. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  572. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;People experience and
  573. cope with grief in their own unique ways and time. While some can cope with
  574. their loss and recover with the support of those around them, others experience
  575. deep and profound grief that can be debilitating. It can have a profound effect
  576. on their psychosocial functioning in multiple areas of their lives such as
  577. mental and physical health, personal relationships, work, and can even
  578. challenge or reaffirm their personal religious faith.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  579. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  580. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  581. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  582. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;Some of the clients that
  583. I have worked with reported connecting with loved ones who have passed on from
  584. this life and possibly existing in the next. The term&amp;nbsp;&lt;i&gt;After Death
  585. Communication&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;was coined by&amp;nbsp;Bill&amp;nbsp;and Judy Guggenheim,
  586. authors and researchers on this subject of communication with those who have
  587. died.&amp;nbsp; Some of the typical reports from their&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.after-death.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: blue;&quot;&gt;research&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;have
  588. included dream visitations, sensing loved ones at the foot of the bed, hearing
  589. a voice, feeling a touch, smelling fragrances, and seeing signs that were
  590. meaningful and significant.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  591. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  592. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  593. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  594. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;I have listened to
  595. family members, friends, therapy clients, and others share some profound
  596. stories of emotional healing. I will share two stories, one helping a woman
  597. coming to terms with the end of her life and another where the experience has served
  598. one in healing grief.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  599. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  600. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  601. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  602. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;Janet&#39;s Dream
  603. Visitations in Hospice&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  604. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  605. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;I was providing care for
  606. a hospice patient named Janet. She was a mentally sharp woman in her late 80s,
  607. but her body was slowing succumbing to cancer. On one of my visits, Janet
  608. shared that she had been sleeping quite a bit due to the cancer.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  609. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  610. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  611. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  612. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;This was my opportunity
  613. to ask her about her dreams. She said “I would tell you but you may think I am
  614. crazy”. I reassured her that I have a very open mind. Janet shared, “Well my
  615. deceased daughter and parents are visiting me in numerous dreams and preparing
  616. me to cross over to the other side.” I then asked, “Do you think this is just
  617. your brain processing emotion or is this a real spiritual experience?” She
  618. replied, “A real spiritual experience.”&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  619. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  620. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;As a clinician working in hospice, one
  621. of my primary goals in end of life care was to ensure that she was comfortable
  622. both mentally and emotionally, so I asked did this affect your fears around
  623. death. Janet replied “absolutely, I have no fear of death now.” Imagine if her
  624. Clinician did not share such an open mind and chose not to validate her
  625. feelings. I am thankful to have been there and able to support her through a
  626. very difficult stage of her life.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  627. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  628. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  629. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  630. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;Kayla&#39;s Agreement with
  631. Grandmaw&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  632. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  633. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;I was supporting a
  634. client by the name of Kayla who had been making trips back and forth from
  635. Atlanta to her family’s hometown a few states away.&amp;nbsp; She was visiting her
  636. dying grandmother who she affectionately called her “Grandmaw”, (Kayla would
  637. pronounce it long and drawn out with a thick country accent. She shared that
  638. her Grandmaw would say it would sound similar to an ambulance if I was wining
  639. enough). Kayla had been sharing over a course of our sessions that she had
  640. anxiety around the loss of her grandmother and felt guilty for living so far
  641. away from family.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  642. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  643. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  644. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  645. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;Kayla was home one
  646. weekend visiting her Grandmaw in home hospice. While there her Grandmaw shared
  647. that she had a near death experience, where she went through a tunnel and went
  648. to a place of love, met other family members on the other side, and was told it
  649. was not quite her time.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  650. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  651. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;During their time together Kayla and her grandmother
  652. made an agreement that when she passed she would visit her somehow to let her
  653. know she was okay.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  654. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  655. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;Kayla is generally a skeptical person when it comes to
  656. things outside of the logical realm and she and her Grandmaw were often at odds
  657. about this topic, with Kayla often joking about her grandmother’s persistence
  658. in the existence of the afterlife.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  659. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  660. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  661. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  662. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;Weeks later Kayla got
  663. another phone call asking her to come and see her Grandmaw and was told “It was
  664. getting close to that time.” Kayla went as soon as she could but she missed her
  665. grandmothers passing by just a few hours. She felt immensely guilty about the
  666. fact that she wasn’t able to see her grandmother again, especially since her
  667. logical mind told her Grandmaw’s fire, that spirit had ceased to exist.&amp;nbsp;
  668. Kayla’s very existence was broken by it.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  669. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  670. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  671. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  672. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;She went to bed the
  673. night after her grandmother had passed and she couldn’t sleep well. She tossed
  674. and turned until finally she fell asleep from exhaustion. Then she started dreaming.
  675. In the dream, Kayla saw her grandmother with bright red hair. She knew how
  676. upset her grandmother was when her hair had been shaved due to the chemo so
  677. when she saw the bright red hair she knew something wasn’t quite right. Kayla
  678. has had lucid dreaming experiences before and noticed that this was a dream.
  679. However, this dream was different than the others.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  680. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  681. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;She reported that it was
  682. very vivid and full of clarity and mindfulness. Her grandmother didn’t speak
  683. but did relay messages to her telepathically. She smiled with her bright read
  684. hair, red lipstick, and a rose in her hair. The whole time Grandma was relaying
  685. her messages she never stopped smiling. Kayla grabbed her tightly and looked
  686. her right in the eyes, knowing that this experience was the one they had
  687. discussed previous to her passing. Kayla mentally sent a message to the effect
  688. of “Are you okay? Are you in heaven? Someplace after death? Somewhere happy
  689. that you are happy?” Then a wave of confirmation hit Kayla and she knew the
  690. answer was yes. Kayla then asked something like “Do you still love me? Can you
  691. still actively participate/see my living my life? Are you still going to be around?”
  692. And another wave of confirmation hit her and this time it was filled with the
  693. overwhelming sense of unconditional love. Kayla let go of her grandmother’s
  694. shoulders and took her wondrous glare away from her grandmother’s eyes to hug
  695. and kiss her.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  696. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  697. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;That hug and kiss felt like an everlasting impression of
  698. emotional comfort that Kayla shared she can still feel every day and knows that
  699. she will have for the rest of her life. Kayla found a deep healing in knowing
  700. her “Grandmaw” was okay and at the same time creating a new spiritual opening
  701. and curiosity about life.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  702. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  703. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  704. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  705. &lt;/div&gt;
  706. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  707. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;I have listened to these
  708. and other stories of those who had one last chance to see their loved ones,
  709. asked final questions, and got tell them that they love them. In many cases the
  710. one who passed on were coming to let them know that they were okay.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  711. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  712. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;Their
  713. experiences and their stories can have a profound healing effect on those who
  714. are grieving the loss of family, friends and loved ones. Experiencers also
  715. report that their fear related to death has diminished and I have personally
  716. seen how it helped those who may be in the end stages of life to accept their
  717. time of transition with more peace.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  718. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  719. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: 12pt;&quot;&gt;It is my hope that regardless of what
  720. perspective that we both individually and collectively we take on these
  721. experiences, we can find the compassion and healing value in validating these
  722. very significant encounters for those who are grieving.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  723. &lt;/div&gt;
  724. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  725. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  726. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  727. &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/index.php?p=426207&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  728. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  729. &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/index.php?p=426207&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;Shaye Hudson&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;, MA, CH.t is a Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist in
  730. Atlanta, GA with a Transpersonal orientation and training, who specializes in
  731. Spiritually Transformative Experiences. He is also a Reviewer for the Journal
  732. of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #006621; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  734. &lt;/div&gt;
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  736. &lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #244061; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #244061; font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;&quot;&gt; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  737. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-therapist-supports-client-encounters.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shaye Hudson)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0swdblV6wdeW_Gt-xsLVJ3hcStcCn-RpTqe6mSjFKH-MfrERXGOyHTEu69N2pkUE8BzaHgl2_rGkriHTPQ1aNFLylWJItm4mh66OSIS81rg1bwe3tuC3ksgQ2V6CvdyGMYMcmaVB4As29/s72-c/blog+2+photo+1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><georss:featurename>Buckhead, Atlanta, GA, USA</georss:featurename><georss:point>33.8372663 -84.406761000000017</georss:point><georss:box>33.7317563 -84.568122500000015 33.942776300000006 -84.245399500000019</georss:box></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-2879213792443186323</guid><pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2015 13:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2015-06-10T07:15:28.488-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">after death communication</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">exceptional experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">hypnotherapy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">near death experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">past life experiences</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Shaye Hudson</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">spiritually transformative experiences</category><title>A Therapist&#39;s Personal Spiritual Experience</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
  738. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
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  742. &lt;br /&gt;
  743. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  744. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;
  745. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;;&quot;&gt;BY: Shaye Hudson, MA, Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  746. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  747. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  748. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  749. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  750. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;Many
  751. people often have experiences that we, in  the psychology community
  752. call ‘transpersonal’, &#39;spiritual&#39; or ‘exceptional experiences of
  753. consciousness.’ Exceptional psychology is a field that studies these experiences and phenomena which are traditionally related to parapsychology. Some examples of these type of experiences may include extra sensory perception, survival after death, out of body experiences, and after death communications. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;Depending on the nature of the experience and the
  754. individual, one can find it to be very healing and positively
  755. transformative.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  756. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  757. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;Unfortunately, some refrain from sharing with
  758. friends, family members, and “professionals” (such as clergy and
  759. mental health professionals,) due to ridicule, invalidation,
  760. judgement or even been labeled as a “brick short of a full load.”
  761. There is a prevalent lack of openness and understanding  in regards
  762. to these exceptional experiences.  I am a little different than many
  763. of my peers in the field of Mental Health.  I approach my clients and
  764. others with a different perspective--one of a fellow experiencer, and
  765. one educated in transpersonal or “spiritual” psychology, as well
  766. as a Psychotherapist.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  767. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  768. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  769. &lt;span style=&quot;text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;I
  770. have been present for many peers and clients while they have shared
  771. their accounts in transcendent realms, communications with deceased
  772. loved ones, and more. These accounts can be very powerful, but there
  773. are few words to fully describe the impact when you personally have
  774. one of these experiences. I listen, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;&quot;&gt;empathize&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;, understand, and validate these extraordinary subjective experiences, because I too have had similar exceptional experiences and life changing encounters with loved
  775. ones who have passed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  776. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  777. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  778. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  779. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;Here
  780. is my story: I was raised in the south in a small college town called
  781. Milledgeville, GA. Almost every Sunday, my parents would take me and
  782. my brother to go see our Granny, Annie Dean Garner, after church. She
  783. had a quaint little house, with pictures of all the family members on
  784. the walls, and a turquoise blue couch that I often played on in her
  785. living room. She was a very sweet woman with long, brown and gray
  786. hair that she kept braided on top of her head.  She always wore her
  787. glasses, and was warm and loving.  I would spend the day hanging out
  788. with her playing and helping around the house.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  789. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  790. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  791. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  792. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;Later
  793. on, during my early college years, we discovered that Granny had been
  794. diagnosed with colon cancer. This was devastating to our family. I
  795. remember my mom calling me and telling me “you’d better go visit
  796. your Granny.” I went to the local hospital to visit her, and I
  797. remember seeing her in the hospital bed. Although she was sick, she
  798. was smiling and very appreciative that I came to see her.  That would
  799. be the last time I would see my Granny alive.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  800. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  801. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  802. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  803. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;A
  804. few days later, my mom and dad were notified by the hospital that
  805. Granny  was in a coma.  I received a call and rushed to the hospital.
  806. I ran into my father in the parking lot. He had a very concerned look
  807. on his face, and, without saying a word to me, kept walking towards
  808. his car. I quickly went inside, up the elevator and to the floor
  809. where my Granny&#39;s room was located. I found my mother sitting there
  810. crying. My mom explained that she was holding Granny&#39;s hand when she
  811. took her last breath. My Dad could not stand to be there to watch her
  812. pass.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  813. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  814. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  815. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  816. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt;&quot;&gt;Years
  817. later, I had an experience that transformed my life in
  818. a deep and profound way. One Sunday afternoon I was feeling tired, so
  819. I chose to sit and meditate on my couch. I started to move into a
  820. deeper state of meditation and began to feel my body less and less as
  821. I rested with my eyes closed. I observed my thoughts, watching them
  822. subside. As I was meditating deeper and deeper, I felt my head nod.
  823. The third time I nodded, my head jerked. I opened my eyes and just
  824. happened to look down at my couch. Something strange was happening.
  825. My couch was normally beige, but now it was turquoise blue! When I
  826. looked around, my vision seemed cloudy, but I could sense someone
  827. sitting across from me.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  828. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  829. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  830. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  831. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt;&quot;&gt;I heard a familiar voice in my head say
  832. &quot;focus.”  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 8pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt;&quot;&gt;
  833. I decided to focus and my vision cleared and I saw someone sitting
  834. across from me in the room.  It was my deceased Granny sitting in her
  835. chair and smiling at me! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  836. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  837. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  838. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  839. thought to myself, “I am making this up.” My vision became cloudy
  840. again and I heard the voice say “It’s your own fear and doubt
  841. getting in the way. You need to focus.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  842. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  843. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  844. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  845. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  846. focused on the figure in front of me  and my vision instantly
  847. cleared. I saw my Granny sitting only a few feet away from me—she
  848. smiled and stared at me. Her brown and gray hair was still neatly
  849. braided and she  wore her beautiful white gown.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  850. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I decided to go along with the
  851. experience and told her &quot;I miss you Granny, and I love you.&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  852. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  853. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  854. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  855. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;She
  856. replied, “I love you too.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  857. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  858. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  859. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  860. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  861. asked, &quot;How am I doing spiritually?&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  862. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  863. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  864. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  865. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;Granny
  866. replied, &quot;You are doing well, but you should stay away from the
  867. theological debates.&quot; (At the time, I had been having a rather
  868. strong religious debate with a friend of mine.)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  869. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  870. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  871. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  872. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  873. acknowledged Granny “I understand it is not my place to tell anyone
  874. their beliefs are wrong.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  875. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  876. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  877. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  878. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;She
  879. said &quot;I love you. Take care of your father if he ever gets
  880. sick.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  881. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  882. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  883. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  884. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  885. acknowledged Granny “I understand it is not my place to tell anyone
  886. their beliefs are wrong.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  887. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  888. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  889. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  890. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;She
  891. said &quot;I love you. Take care of your father if he ever gets
  892. sick.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  893. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  894. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  895. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  896. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  897. said &quot;Granny, I need you to give me validation that this
  898. experience is real and true.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  899. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  900. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  901. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  902. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;She
  903. said, “Okay,” and led me into the kitchen where she showed me
  904. squash and onions cooking on the stove.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  905. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  906. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  907. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  908. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;She
  909. said, &quot;Ask your mother about the squash and onions she cooked
  910. today.&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  911. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  912. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  913. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  914. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  915. said “I will Granny and I love you.&quot; I then felt myself coming
  916. out of my deep meditation and back to my waking awareness.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  917. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  918. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  919. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  920. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;When
  921. I opened my eyes, the first thing I thought was that I needed to call
  922. my parents to see if what my Granny told me was true. My heart was
  923. beating fast with excitement as my dad answered the phone.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  924. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  925. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  926. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  927. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I asked
  928. &quot;Dad, did you eat squash with onions today?”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  929. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  930. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  931. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  932. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;He
  933. said &quot;Yes. What are you doing, some kind of mind reading?”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  934. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  935. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  936. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  937. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  938. replied &quot;No, but you wouldn&#39;t believe me if I told you.&quot;
  939. Dad put my mother on the phone and I asked her the same thing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  940. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  941. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  942. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  943. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;She
  944. said: &quot;Yes, I cooked squash and onions today and your aunt did
  945. too.&quot; She asked me, “how did you know?”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  946. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  947. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  948. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  949. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  950. told her, &quot;I saw Granny and she told me what you did today.
  951. Granny also told me to take care of dad if he ever gets sick.&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  952. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  953. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  954. &lt;div&gt;
  955. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;I
  956. am thankful to have seen my Granny again after her passing, in a&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;&quot;&gt;non-ordinary&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;or altered state of consciousness and&amp;nbsp;having what I believe was a face-to-face encounter. This experience
  957. had a powerful transformative effect on my life--I no longer feared
  958. death. For me, I now have certainty that there is an afterlife, and
  959. our loved ones are continuing their lives in another way.  The
  960. knowing she gave me in this encounter is what parapsychologists and
  961. other researchers call “vertical evidence.”  My Granny shared
  962. corroborating information that I could then check, by telling me what
  963. my mom cooked that day.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  964. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  965. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  966. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  967. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;My
  968. Granny did not come back to give me the secrets of the universe or
  969. share the “right” religious beliefs. If anything, she urged me to
  970. stay away from religious debates, and instead, guided me in another
  971. spiritual direction. She came back to give me the simple message of
  972. taking care of her son --my dad. It was a simple message of love.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  973. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  974. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  975. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  976. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;This
  977. profound experience helped me reconcile my emotions with not only the
  978. loss of my Granny, but also with the passing of other family members
  979. and friends. While the encounter has never taken away the initial
  980. grief of saying goodbye, it has had the lasting effect of creating a
  981. stronger ability within myself to understand and better cope with the
  982. eventual passing of others close to me.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  983. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  984. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  985. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  986. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;This
  987. experience served as a significant catalyst for  my evolution, both
  988. personally and professionally. My biggest concern was no longer
  989. whether or not  I was going to ‘continue existing’ at the end of
  990. my life, but now, how can I live to my fullest potential?  If I were
  991. to live to my fullest potential, I knew that my inner spiritual life
  992. needed to  be congruent with my outer life. My previous corporate
  993. positions were not a good match for my newly-evolving spiritual life.
  994. I realized that I had to follow my heart now, and move into a healing profession.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  995. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  996. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  997. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  998. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;My
  999. values shifted.  No longer was I concerned primarily with achievement
  1000. and financial success.  I was now more focused on serving and helping
  1001. others heal, grow, and transform in a deeper, more heart-centered
  1002. way. This life changing experience awakened a deep spiritual need
  1003. inside of me to become a Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist,
  1004. with a specialty in religious, spiritual, and transpersonal issues
  1005. and experiences. I am now gratefully providing individual and group mental, emotional and spiritual support
  1006. for those with similar exceptional experiences.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1007. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  1008. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1009. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  1010. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;I
  1011. send a very special thank you and I love you to my Granny, Annie Dean Garner.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1012. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  1013. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1014. &lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 24px;&quot;&gt;
  1015. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Open Sans&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: blue;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/index.php?p=426207&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;Shaye Hudson&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;, MA, CH.t is a Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist in
  1016. Atlanta, GA with a Transpersonal orientation and training, who specializes in
  1017. Spiritually Transformative Experiences. He is also a Reviewer for the Journal
  1018. of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1019. &lt;/div&gt;
  1020. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
  1021. &lt;br /&gt;
  1022. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoBodyText&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;&quot;&gt;
  1023. &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: blue;&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Open Sans&#39;; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1024. &lt;/div&gt;
  1025. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-therapists-personal-spiritual_6.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shaye Hudson)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhs2tbQ4c8i4pb019yOiaFfLb8XQqfuh0IRDTP3Bu5uWmNuz1DxYPl7ofkpmCYpdUvps3f8hYt0yXfd0IT_Ub1oOsWDb96q89sBjgxySaWjeg4BeMQ5NGXvz3pIXMstryMjVfzv_8XDJ1/s72-c/blog+1+photo+1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-7552424878493261668</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Mar 2015 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2015-03-20T16:12:52.394-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Dr. Truax</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">holistic healing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">holistic medicine</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">TRU Integrative Health and Wellness</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">wellness</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">why holistic medicine</category><title>The Patient’s Pen - Au Naturale: Adding Holistic Medicine to My Health Care Routine</title><description>&lt;h2 style=&quot;line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1026. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1027. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20.7000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;**This blog has been posted to GrowHealChange, the blog of TRU Integrative Health &amp;amp; Wellness, on behalf of one of their patients. &amp;nbsp;This patient wishes to remain anonymous.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  1028. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20.7000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1029. &lt;br /&gt;
  1030. &lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1031. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;Taking the first step into &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://ahha.org/articles.asp?Id=81&quot; style=&quot;text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;holistic medicine &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;was a large leap for me. &amp;nbsp;I was not raised in the stereotypical “natural” households where we shunned deodorant or ate only what we grew. &amp;nbsp;My youth was a traditional one -- we went to the doctor, his word was law and the medicines we took were mandatory. &amp;nbsp;But as an adult, I was continually hearing about natural healing and wondered, do I need to go this route? &amp;nbsp;What are the benefits? &amp;nbsp;Why isn’t traditional medicine helping me completely with my medical issues? &amp;nbsp;What kind of reaction will I get from friends and family?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1032. &lt;b style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
  1033. &lt;br /&gt;
  1034. &lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1035. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;But, my medical issues are my own. &amp;nbsp;And when, several months ago, I was diagnosed with &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone&quot; style=&quot;text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;hypothyroidism&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;, a condition in which your thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones, I knew the medicine my MD prescribed was not enough. &amp;nbsp;I knew that I needed to be doing more to restore my body to whole. &amp;nbsp;And I learned that “natural” and “holistic” do not mean the “crunchy,” “granola” way of life I believed in my youth.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1036. &lt;b style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
  1037. &lt;br /&gt;
  1038. &lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1039. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;I started with research - what is natural medicine and how would it benefit me? &amp;nbsp;I borrowed books from my friend including &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;keywords=i%27m+too+young+for+this&amp;amp;tag=googhydr-20&amp;amp;index=stripbooks&amp;amp;hvadid=31159262635&amp;amp;hvpos=1t1&amp;amp;hvexid=&amp;amp;hvnetw=g&amp;amp;hvrand=13960569354260334281&amp;amp;hvpone=&amp;amp;hvptwo=&amp;amp;hvqmt=e&amp;amp;hvdev=c&amp;amp;ref=pd_sl_9lel1cegmr_e&quot; style=&quot;text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;I’m Too Young for This&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;, a great foundation for those seeking information on hormone and thyroid issues, written by Suzanne Somers, and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Grain-Brain-Surprising-Brains-Killers-ebook/dp/B00BAXFCPO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1423509372&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=grain+brain+by+david+perlmutter&quot; style=&quot;text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;Grain Brain&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt; by David Permutter, MD. &amp;nbsp;These books gave me the confidence to walk the line between traditional medicine and natural medicine, and showed me how food plays an integral part in healing for many.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1040. &lt;b style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
  1041. &lt;br /&gt;
  1042. &lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1043. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;From there, I took the recommendation from this same (helpful, lovely) friend and found a local integrative care group. &amp;nbsp;They took a myriad of tests and provided me with answers… my hypothyroidism is caused by &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/thyroiditis#Hashimoto_s_Thyroiditis_&quot; style=&quot;text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;Hashimoto’s&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;, an underlying autoimmune disease. &amp;nbsp;They prescribed a protocol which included prescription medicine as well as supplements to treat the deficiencies in my body that went along with Hashimoto’s. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1044. &lt;b style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
  1045. &lt;br /&gt;
  1046. &lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1047. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;For various reasons, things did not work out with my integrative healthcare group. &amp;nbsp;I needed to change to a practitioner who would spend time with me, answer my questions and provide me the help I need as I need it. &amp;nbsp;So I took my labs, my research and my desire to get better to &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/index.php?p=426199&quot; style=&quot;text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;Dr. Robert Truax &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;at &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/&quot; style=&quot;text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;TRU Integrative Health &amp;amp; Wellness&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;. &amp;nbsp;Going forward, I am going to blog about my path to wellness. &amp;nbsp;From what I have learned and accepted as I have become proactive about my health, &amp;nbsp;there is no quick fix to Hashimoto’s - not via mainstream medicine or holistic medicine. &amp;nbsp;Hard work takes time and I need to resolve to be patient and intentional if this is going to work. &amp;nbsp;The blog will be anonymous, for confidentiality reasons, but it will be a nonetheless truthful account of me taking my health into my own hands. &amp;nbsp;I encourage you to do the same.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1048. &lt;b style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
  1049. &lt;br /&gt;
  1050. &lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1051. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;**This blog has been posted to GrowHealChange, the blog of TRU Integrative Health &amp;amp; Wellness, on behalf of one of their patients. &amp;nbsp;This patient wishes to remain anonymous.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1052. &lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-patients-pen-au-naturale-adding.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-3232600563903989066</guid><pubDate>Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:14:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-02-12T13:14:50.623-05:00</atom:updated><title>Child misbehaving? Play Therapy could help identify the problem - AmericaNowNews.com</title><description>Check out this bit from America Now News that was done on play therapy.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
  1053. &lt;br /&gt;
  1054. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.americanownews.com/story/20981481/play-therapy#.URqGbdgGlLk.blogger&quot;&gt;Child misbehaving? Play Therapy could help identify the problem - AmericaNowNews.com&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2013/02/child-misbehaving-play-therapy-could.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-7917527269678276166</guid><pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:35:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-11-25T18:35:46.656-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">divorce support</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">divorce therapy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">post divorce counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">post divorce therapy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pre divorce counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pre divorce therapy</category><title>Anxiety and Divorce: Holiday Style</title><description>&lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_57&quot;&gt;
  1055. Going through a divorce is tough,
  1056. really tough. Going through a divorce during the holidays is
  1057. excruciating. Everything you have known about the holidays changes, and
  1058. if you have children it is complicated exponentially. There are few
  1059. situations that inspire more anxiety than figuring holiday schedules for
  1060. children and planning how you will fill the hours while they are with
  1061. their other parent. Even if you do not have children, the holidays
  1062. represent a death of the norm.&lt;/div&gt;
  1063. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_57&quot;&gt;
  1064. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1065. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_95&quot;&gt;
  1066. Grieving is normal and natural
  1067. during this season. Your singleness is magnified by images of happy
  1068. couples gathered with their happy children around the tree, while you
  1069. try to figure how you will pay for gifts and groceries on an income that
  1070. has been decimated. Not spending holiday time with the family that had
  1071. become like your own can be a painful part of the loss that no one
  1072. acknowledges.&lt;/div&gt;
  1073. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_95&quot;&gt;
  1074. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1075. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_167&quot;&gt;
  1076. There is hope for you if you are
  1077. going through a divorce during the holidays. Despite the fact that
  1078. nothing feels secure until the divorce is final, you can learn to thrive
  1079. during the ambiguity. I know that thriving may sound like a stretch. If
  1080. you are like many, you spend much of the time curled up in bed trying
  1081. to sleep the time away until the divorce is final and all the
  1082. arrangements are in place.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  1083. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_167&quot;&gt;
  1084. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1085. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_167&quot;&gt;
  1086. Learning to live mindfully can help you begin
  1087. to appreciate your life again. Even though it may feel like you have
  1088. had a giant bomb thrown into your life, learning to live in the moment
  1089. can help you get out of bed, put your feet on the floor, and start all
  1090. over again.&lt;/div&gt;
  1091. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_167&quot;&gt;
  1092. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1093. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_256&quot;&gt;
  1094. The first step is learning to
  1095. breathe again. Yes, you heard me, breathe. When is the last time that
  1096. you took a really deep breath? When we are anxious and grieving we
  1097. actually forget to breathe. When we focus our attention on our breath,
  1098. and really notice how luxurious it feels to throw our heads back and
  1099. take a deep belly breath, we become engaged in the process of life
  1100. again.&lt;/div&gt;
  1101. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_256&quot;&gt;
  1102. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1103. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_290&quot;&gt;
  1104. Remembering the little things
  1105. that we love about the holidays is a big step towards learning to thrive
  1106. again. A glass of eggnog in front of the fire, the twinkle of the
  1107. lights at night, the smell of the Christmas tree, the feel of the winter
  1108. chill on your cheeks when you step outside in the morning are all
  1109. precious moments if we notice them. It is REALLY noticing the little
  1110. things, the special moments, that make for quality holidays. When you
  1111. string together several special moments, you have created a lovely day.
  1112. Once you have created a lovely day, then you have the pattern for
  1113. creating a delightful holiday season.&lt;/div&gt;
  1114. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_290&quot;&gt;
  1115. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1116. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_356&quot;&gt;
  1117. Making new memories is another
  1118. way to help you flourish during the season. Time with friends, a chance
  1119. to travel, shopping or seeing a newly released movie can all become
  1120. thrilling adventures if you reframe how you expect to experience the
  1121. holidays. Engaging with other single people or joining in celebration
  1122. with another family can begin a tradition that will provide you with
  1123. beautiful memories. A nice bottle of wine and your presence may be all
  1124. that is required in return.&lt;/div&gt;
  1125. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_356&quot;&gt;
  1126. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1127. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_426&quot;&gt;
  1128. If you are having a really
  1129. difficult time I recommend that you volunteer at a local soup kitchen or
  1130. homeless shelter. There are people everywhere who are in need of
  1131. encouragement, of a warm body to remind them that they still matter,
  1132. that they are important. It is amazing how connecting with those less
  1133. fortunate than yourself can give you perspective on your blessings.&lt;/div&gt;
  1134. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_426&quot;&gt;
  1135. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1136. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_29_1353680177099_492&quot;&gt;
  1137. The game plan for thriving
  1138. through the holidays as you are going through a divorce is to put one
  1139. foot in front of the other. Do the next thing. Keep your mind in the
  1140. moment. Do not think about the future, do not dwell on the past. Take a
  1141. deep breath, and realize that right now, this very minute, is enough.&lt;/div&gt;
  1142. &lt;br /&gt;
  1143. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1144. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOombZ0Tcbrhph-vPDd6w73mVNI2DHog5VKukQggu-sJ_SJEF1BlxCuzsD7uFSjETCYtT9xWxSJWDYUQ3H6ARdRbLNyqmtY2vmYwjTjknFAk6KgCAO_tq65bM2THbpfuNemCG-seOXWZk/s1600/divorceholidaystyleth.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOombZ0Tcbrhph-vPDd6w73mVNI2DHog5VKukQggu-sJ_SJEF1BlxCuzsD7uFSjETCYtT9xWxSJWDYUQ3H6ARdRbLNyqmtY2vmYwjTjknFAk6KgCAO_tq65bM2THbpfuNemCG-seOXWZk/s1600/divorceholidaystyleth.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1145. &lt;em&gt;Carolyn Tucker LAPC is a psychotherapist and life coach
  1146. at TRU Integrative Health and Wellness specializing in pre and post divorce support and anxiety. To find out
  1147. more information call 770-789-0847 or see &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/11/anxiety-and-divorce-holiday-style.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOombZ0Tcbrhph-vPDd6w73mVNI2DHog5VKukQggu-sJ_SJEF1BlxCuzsD7uFSjETCYtT9xWxSJWDYUQ3H6ARdRbLNyqmtY2vmYwjTjknFAk6KgCAO_tq65bM2THbpfuNemCG-seOXWZk/s72-c/divorceholidaystyleth.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-7305553444808554102</guid><pubDate>Mon, 12 Nov 2012 23:03:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-11-12T18:26:11.897-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">behavior problems in children</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">child counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">counseling Atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">parent child relationship</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">parenting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">therapy for children</category><title>The Truth About Discipline</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
  1148. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1149. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1150. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1151. &amp;nbsp;In my &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/practitioners.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;work with children and their families &lt;/a&gt;I have found that we often forget what discipline really is and what
  1152. it is intended for. Discipline comes from the Latin word “disciplinare” which
  1153. means “to teach”.&amp;nbsp; We so often associate
  1154. the word with punishment and consequences but when we do that we lose sight of
  1155. the reason we discipline our children. We discipline them to teach them. We
  1156. need to teach them how to move around the world safely, treat others, treat
  1157. themselves, and how to navigate various social situations. Ideally we teach them all this in a loving and supportive way so that they have healthy mental and emotional health.&lt;/div&gt;
  1158. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1159. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1160. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1161. People often equate discipline with punishment and
  1162. consequences but this isn’t really what discipline is all about. Remember that discipline
  1163. means to teach. We discipline our children not only with providing consequences
  1164. to behavior, but also through setting clear expectations, setting limits, and
  1165. modeling the&amp;nbsp;behaviors&amp;nbsp;we want to see. What we often don’t realize is that the way we discipline our
  1166. children teaches them just as much, sometimes even more, than consequences and
  1167. punishments. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;How we respond to our
  1168. children teaches them how to respond to others. An out of control tantruming
  1169. child for example, needs a calm parent who can model and teach them how to calm
  1170. themselves. I know this is WAY easier said than done, but it is so important
  1171. for parents to find ways to teach their children what they are lacking in that
  1172. moment…the ability to self soothe and words to express feelings . If we respond
  1173. with a “tantrum” that consists of yelling, spanking, threatening, then how can
  1174. we expect our children to behave any different. &lt;/div&gt;
  1175. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1176. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1177. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1178. We often forget that discipline&amp;nbsp;doesn&#39;t&amp;nbsp;just occur after a behavior. It happens
  1179. all the time. Discipline is what happens when a parent intervenes before a
  1180. behavior gets out of control. It is what happens when we give our child choices,
  1181. or when we talk to them about our expectations in regards to their behaviors. Good
  1182. discipline consists mainly of instructions and only a small percentage of
  1183. actual correction of behavior. &amp;nbsp;It
  1184. includes praising the behaviors we want more of not just correcting the ones we
  1185. want to see less of.&lt;/div&gt;
  1186. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1187. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1188. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1189. Below are a few discipline basics:&lt;/div&gt;
  1190. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1191. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1192. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1193. &lt;/div&gt;
  1194. &lt;ol&gt;
  1195. &lt;li&gt;Use &amp;nbsp;praise &amp;nbsp;to increase behaviors you want to see more of.
  1196. Praise should be used more than correction.&lt;/li&gt;
  1197. &lt;li&gt;Model the behavior you want from your children.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;
  1198. &lt;li&gt;&amp;nbsp;Make clear what the
  1199. unacceptable behaviors are as well as acceptable behaviors, provide options. So
  1200. for a child that is running in doors one can say “running is not for inside the
  1201. house, you can go into the yard and run there.”&lt;/li&gt;
  1202. &lt;li&gt;Consistency: respond consistently, have consistent
  1203. expectations of behavior. All caregivers need to be on e the same page in terms
  1204. of rules and expectations.&lt;/li&gt;
  1205. &lt;li&gt;Ignore unimportant misbehavior such as leg shaking,
  1206. fidgeting, etc. The more rules you have the less effective they can be. Pick
  1207. your battles for the rules that truly matter. Children bombarded with rules
  1208. struggle because they are constantly being corrected/punished so it can lose
  1209. its effectiveness. Try praising the behaviors you want more of&amp;nbsp; such as “you are sitting so nice and still”
  1210. (for a child who is fidgeting).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;
  1211. &lt;/ol&gt;
  1212. &lt;br /&gt;
  1213. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1214. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1215. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1216. Remember that your child is learning about the world and how to navigate it. We often forget that when we learn anything we need to&amp;nbsp;practice&amp;nbsp;it and often have it explained to us more than once. Think back to&amp;nbsp;learning&amp;nbsp;to spell. I remember doing spelling drills and practicing the words over and over to learn and remember them. I didn&#39;t get them right after seeing the word just one time. We all need&amp;nbsp;repetition&amp;nbsp;to learn. &amp;nbsp;Try to keep this in mind as you are disciplining your child.&amp;nbsp;They&amp;nbsp;may have to make the decision to behave a certain way a couple of times before they get it &quot;right&quot;.&lt;/div&gt;
  1217. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1218. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1219. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1220. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1221. &lt;h4&gt;
  1222. Claudia Glassman, LMFT, RPT is a&amp;nbsp;licensed&amp;nbsp;therapist and Registered Play&amp;nbsp;Therapist&amp;nbsp;specializing&amp;nbsp;in working with&amp;nbsp;children&amp;nbsp;and adolescents ages 2-17. To learn more about how she can help you and your child go to http://growhealchange.com/practitioners.htm.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h4&gt;
  1223. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1224. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1225. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1226. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1227. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1228. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1229. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1230. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1231. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;
  1232. &lt;h4&gt;
  1233. &lt;/h4&gt;
  1234. &lt;/div&gt;
  1235. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-truth-about-discipline.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-344238695999475108</guid><pubDate>Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:45:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-11-12T16:05:48.550-05:00</atom:updated><title>Thriving Through the Holidays: Raising Expectations</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1236. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwOKdjpWf6Toaakls2_yLdeaUtDWqpswxCbdIQ4t3pnL9ueUOOqk7VTxSCSalXe3Ux6wO8xXJ5mSMOSf91_VCrztNT4lzEMqLDR4BxD9yq0SlZigY2QtSpU0ZlzFlfek14AHO7Ek2Y9odW/s1600/thriving-through-the-holidays.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;176&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwOKdjpWf6Toaakls2_yLdeaUtDWqpswxCbdIQ4t3pnL9ueUOOqk7VTxSCSalXe3Ux6wO8xXJ5mSMOSf91_VCrztNT4lzEMqLDR4BxD9yq0SlZigY2QtSpU0ZlzFlfek14AHO7Ek2Y9odW/s400/thriving-through-the-holidays.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1237. &lt;br /&gt;
  1238. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1239. The countdown is on. We have only 2 weeks until Thanksgiving, and 47 shopping days left until Christmas. I&#39;ve seen Christmas decorations in stores for weeks now, and I&#39;m starting to see all the tell-tale signs of the holiday season not just approaching, but being fully upon us: decorations in parking lots, holiday TV commercials, and a growing number of Pinterest posts of fabulous looking sweet treats and gift ideas.&lt;/div&gt;
  1240. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1241. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1242. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1243. People have a lot of different feelings about the holidays. Probably for most, there is a large variety of both positive and negative emotions surrounding this time. One of the interesting things I see concerning this &quot;holiday season&quot; is the way it tends to amplify and magnify our everyday emotions and life experiences. Those struggling with weight loss or trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle through out the year feel a stronger temptation in the presence of so many seasonal treats (haha, can you see what I&#39;m focused on this year?). Those who have experienced the loss of a love one or a significant relationship feel a deeper sense of loss or nostalgia at this time of the year. Some are anxiously awaiting the birth of a child, enjoying a new relationship, or are experiencing their first holiday in a new home, and seem to notice the magic of every &quot;first&quot; through the holidays. There is the potential for so much joy, but also so much pain as we all balance the highs and lows of life and everyday living during this special time.&lt;/div&gt;
  1244. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1245. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1246. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1247. So it seems like an important subject to talk about. I&#39;m beginning a series of posts concerning&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Thriving Through the Holidays&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp;I will examine different topics and give you tips on handling difficult family relationships, healthy communication, memorializing those you have lost, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and tips for stress-management and relaxation (because one can never have too many of those!)&lt;/div&gt;
  1248. &lt;h4 style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1249. Lesson #1: I want you to raise your expectation for this holiday season.&lt;/h4&gt;
  1250. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1251. &lt;br /&gt;
  1252. I don&#39;t like when people say they are just going to&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;survive the holidays&lt;/em&gt;. I believe that our words have more power than we often give them credit for. I want you to focus on not just surviving, but thriving through this season. So many times in life, we get what we expect. And we all know the old adage that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. So lets start by not expecting the &quot;normal&quot; level of holiday stress! Who wants to be &quot;normal&quot; anyways? I want extraordinary! I want to thrive this year, and look back on this season as the best holiday season yet. Thats my expectation. What&#39;s yours?&lt;/div&gt;
  1253. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1254. &lt;br /&gt;
  1255. &lt;br /&gt;
  1256. Liz Fava, MS, LAPC is a Psychotherapist focused on Relationships and Trauma at TRU Integrative Health and Wellness. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, visit &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.favacounseling.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.favacounseling.com.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1257. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1258. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1259. &lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Georgia, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, &#39;Bitstream Charter&#39;, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;&quot;&gt;
  1260. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1261. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/11/thriving-through-holidays-raising.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Liz Fava, MS, LAPC)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwOKdjpWf6Toaakls2_yLdeaUtDWqpswxCbdIQ4t3pnL9ueUOOqk7VTxSCSalXe3Ux6wO8xXJ5mSMOSf91_VCrztNT4lzEMqLDR4BxD9yq0SlZigY2QtSpU0ZlzFlfek14AHO7Ek2Y9odW/s72-c/thriving-through-the-holidays.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-1551405842050332710</guid><pubDate>Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-11-03T14:04:24.619-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">boundaries</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Buckhead couples therapy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Buckhead marriage counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">communication</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">couples counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">marriage conflict</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">marriage counseling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">relationship problems</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">relationships</category><title></title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1262. &lt;strong&gt;Think Like a Therapist©&lt;/strong&gt; is your lay source for becoming your own psychotherapist.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Think Like a Therapist© helps you learn about yourself and others as if you were actually in counseling—minus the time and expense. Your session begins now!&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 8pt; line-height: 200%;&quot;&gt;Think Like a Therapist© is not a substitute or service for the treatment of any mental health problems.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Please see a clinical mental health professional to address your mental health symptoms and illnesses. Copyright © 2012 Charles O’Connor. All Rights Reserved.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1263. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1264. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1265. &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1266. &lt;strong&gt;Think Like a Therapist©: Your Relationship, Part I&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1267. &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1268. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1269. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;&quot;&gt;
  1270. You tell me that you’re having relationship problems and would like to work on your “communication” to lessen the tension and conflict in your marriage.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Your previous experience in counseling was unhelpful and felt like a verbal wrestling match without a referee: You and your partner fought while your counselor said little.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Your couples counselor before was more active but got caught up in the details of your accusations.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Reflecting on these sessions you tell me that they served only to help you argue better.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You claim victory because from your perspective both therapists sided with you and not your partner.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;With my encouragement, however, you’re honest with yourself— that this is not the outcome you had hoped for.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You and your mate agree to work with me, skeptical but very much in need of a professional who understands not only relationships but also the uniqueness of your partnership.&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1271. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;&quot;&gt;
  1272. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1273. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1274. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-tab-count: 1;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I begin by validating your distress and how exhausted, confused, and raw you both feel.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Anxiously, you add that it is your “communication” that must improve to save your relationship.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I assure you that you &lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;do&lt;/i&gt; communicate well.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You look at me puzzled and unsure of what to make of my response.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Let’s be honest: You don’t need me to communicate effectively.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You are already experts at sending clear messages through your criticizing, blaming, defending, and withdrawing.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;After all, your gestures, like rolling your eyes, or sometimes what you don’t say through silence, speak volumes about how your feeling.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You get it and add, “We both want to communicate in a way that resolves and lessens conflict.”&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Your partner adds, “Where there doesn’t have to be a winner and loser.”&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I acknowledge your hopes and mutual goal of communicating in a more authentic, genuine, and loving way.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1275. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1276. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1277. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1278. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-tab-count: 1;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), I have a different way of listening.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;My training and experience allows me to hear beyond the content and details of your relationship—namely, the many reasons that your partner is at fault—to identify the unspoken need that you convey through these details—that you want a partner who is emotionally accessible, responsive, and engaging. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Instead of refereeing or judging who is right and wrong, I look for &lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;how &lt;/i&gt;you communicate.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;This becomes the therapeutic foundation from which new, more rewarding ways of interacting emerge. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Because, after all, you know how to communicate; you’re just speaking a language that neither clearly expresses your need nor allows your partner to meet it.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1279. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1280. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1281. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1282. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-tab-count: 1;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I assess how you communicate by working to understand the interactional process that unfolds and results in conflict.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Common patterns between couples include: pursuing and withdrawing, mutual attacking, or mutual retreat.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You mention that there is a lot of criticizing and blaming that leads to defending and withdrawing.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You both are left feeling alone and upset due to the vicious relational cycle that you have co-constructed, meaning that neither one of you is to blame for the relationship that you have collectively created.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1283. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1284. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1285. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1286. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-tab-count: 1;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You come to understand the purpose of your behavior and how it contributes to your pattern of pursuing and distancing.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You learn that your defenses or behaviors are yoked to your vulnerabilities or emotions. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Your behavior is an expression of your emotional insecurities. When one partner pursues out of loneliness in a hope of not feeling so alone in the relationship, the other withdraws feeling overwhelmed and inadequate by the pursuer’s criticism and blaming.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;The dance is complete when the pursuer feels rejected by the distancer’s withdrawal and either pursues more intensely hurling demands, threats, and insults or gives up and retreats emotionally.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;The withdrawer is left feeling even more inadequate, like a failure, paralyzed, afraid, and angry.&lt;/div&gt;
  1287. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1288. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Your dance may look something like the following, where your&amp;nbsp;loneliness (or any&amp;nbsp;other emotion)&amp;nbsp;is triggered and leads to your&amp;nbsp;pursuit (or any other defensive behavior), which stirs up your partner&#39;s feeling of indadequacy (or any other emotion), which leads to his or or her withdrawal (or any other defensive behavior), in turn leaving you feeling lonely.&amp;nbsp; This interactional cycle&amp;nbsp;will&amp;nbsp;continue until successfully interrupted and replaced&amp;nbsp;with a new pattern of relating.&lt;/div&gt;
  1289. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1290. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1291. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1292. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;strong&gt;Loneliness --&amp;gt; pursuit --&amp;gt; inadequacy --&amp;gt; withdrawal --&amp;gt; loneliness&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1293. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1294. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1295. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt;&quot;&gt;
  1296. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;Our session ends with your relationship deconstructed and you feeling hopeful it can improve.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You state you have an awareness of how your behaviors are tied together and how you each trigger one another’s vulnerabilities.&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;I offer to help you interact differently to replace the dance that you both agree has kept you miserable for too long.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Excited and eager you wait for guidance only to hear that we have run out of time.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;See you next week! &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1297. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/11/think-like-therapist-is-your-lay-source_3.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-4628472550060563579</guid><pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:08:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-10-29T14:10:35.169-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety treatment</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety treatment Buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Breakup therapist Atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Breakup therapist Buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Therapy</category><title>Anxiety and the Horrible Breakup</title><description>&lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_57&quot;&gt;
  1298. So your relationship is over?
  1299. Whether it is a divorce, a breakup with a long time partner or the
  1300. dissolution of something that you felt would have potential, breakups
  1301. are painful. My clients report being in literal physical pain after a
  1302. breakup, and many do not know how to soothe the pain or where to turn to
  1303. get better. Let’s discuss the energy of ending a relationship.&lt;/div&gt;
  1304. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_57&quot;&gt;
  1305. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1306. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_102&quot;&gt;
  1307. &lt;/div&gt;
  1308. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_104&quot;&gt;
  1309. When a relationship ends
  1310. there is a grieving process that is rivaled only by death. I have heard
  1311. some say that death might be easier.&amp;nbsp; I believe it was Alice Cooper that
  1312. said he felt like&amp;nbsp; “the man with no skin” after a breakup. This is
  1313. echoed by my clients over and over. One client stated that she felt like
  1314. someone had poured gasoline on her and lit her on fire. This is no
  1315. small pain.&lt;/div&gt;
  1316. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_104&quot;&gt;
  1317. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1318. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_275&quot;&gt;
  1319. &lt;/div&gt;
  1320. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_279&quot;&gt;
  1321. Anxiety prevails alongside
  1322. the pain as the major emotion that is reported to me. What will I do
  1323. now? Will she come back? Is it really over? Will I ever really heal?
  1324. Having to rebuild a life that you thought would be different is a
  1325. monumental task when you are in pain and twisted in knots with anxiety.
  1326. Doubting your ability to make decisions and lack of confidence in
  1327. yourself comes with the blow to the self esteem. Learning who you are
  1328. all over again seems impossible, since it feels like half of your
  1329. identity walked out the door.&lt;/div&gt;
  1330. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_279&quot;&gt;
  1331. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1332. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_321&quot;&gt;
  1333. &lt;/div&gt;
  1334. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_325&quot;&gt;
  1335. I have been told that the
  1336. feeling of grief of losing someone is the same feeling of loving
  1337. someone. The difference is the story that the brain is telling about the
  1338. sensation. Since you are already in that energetic space in your body,
  1339. you can leverage the energy by focusing on something that you love and
  1340. dwelling on that instead of the lost partner. Learning to shift out of
  1341. the energy of grief and into the energy of love is very helpful in
  1342. transforming the pain. Transform the focus from the lost partner to your
  1343. dog, or your child, or even your wounded self can help change the story
  1344. your mind is telling your body.&lt;/div&gt;
  1345. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_325&quot;&gt;
  1346. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1347. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_387&quot;&gt;
  1348. &lt;/div&gt;
  1349. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_391&quot;&gt;
  1350. Allowing the pain and anxiety
  1351. to flow through your body without resistance is so important. If you
  1352. resist the waves of pain and anxiety they will set up residence in your
  1353. body and will be unremitting. If you can focus on your body, visualize
  1354. the pain there as transitory and actually visualize it passing through
  1355. you you will find some comfort.&lt;/div&gt;
  1356. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_391&quot;&gt;
  1357. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1358. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_419&quot;&gt;
  1359. &lt;/div&gt;
  1360. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_423&quot;&gt;
  1361. Common advice like the “no
  1362. contact rule” is hard to follow, but I promise if you block their
  1363. number, unfriend them on Facebook, and give yourself a chance to
  1364. breathe, you will feel a small surge in anxiety at first, but you will
  1365. notice a feeling almost like a buffer between you and the energetic tie
  1366. to the partner. There may be times that feel almost like panic when you
  1367. realize that those ties of communication are cut, but if you breathe
  1368. through the panic, and get really grounded (notice the sensations in
  1369. your body, be aware of what is going on in the moment, feel your feet on
  1370. the floor) the panic will pass.&lt;/div&gt;
  1371. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_423&quot;&gt;
  1372. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1373. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_446&quot;&gt;
  1374. &lt;/div&gt;
  1375. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_450&quot;&gt;
  1376. Actually determine what your
  1377. emotional needs are. Do you need to socialize? Friends are a life line
  1378. during this time. Lean on them and let them meet some of your social
  1379. needs. Do you need to spend some time in the cave? Stock up on comfort
  1380. food and Kleenex and give yourself time alone to lick your wounds. Do
  1381. you need to keep busy? Make some plans to start a project, finish one,
  1382. or pitch in to help someone else with theirs. Really knowing what you
  1383. need during this time will help you process the grief.&lt;/div&gt;
  1384. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_450&quot;&gt;
  1385. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1386. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_487&quot;&gt;
  1387. &lt;/div&gt;
  1388. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_491&quot;&gt;
  1389. &amp;nbsp;When you love someone, what
  1390. you are really loving is how YOU feel when you think about that person.
  1391. Given this, know that you can feel that way again about someone else
  1392. because the feeling comes from within you. During a breakup it is hard
  1393. to look for the gift. You will know that you are beginning to heal when
  1394. you notice that you can look at the things you brought out of the
  1395. relationship that made you stronger, helped you learn to love deeper, or
  1396. that made you a better communicator.&lt;/div&gt;
  1397. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_514&quot;&gt;
  1398. &lt;/div&gt;
  1399. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_516&quot;&gt;
  1400. In some people the discomfort
  1401. passes quickly, in others it feels that it will never go away. Learning
  1402. to function with the pain and anxiety is key to moving on and thriving
  1403. after a breakup. Look for small things that bring you joy, notice the
  1404. change of the seasons, really tune in to others, looking for things you
  1405. have in common. Making deep connections with others is an activity that
  1406. stimulates oxytocin, the bonding hormone, and can help ease the pain for
  1407. awhile.&lt;/div&gt;
  1408. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_516&quot;&gt;
  1409. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1410. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_596&quot;&gt;
  1411. &lt;/div&gt;
  1412. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_600&quot;&gt;
  1413. You will get better. One day
  1414. you will wake up and notice that it does not hurt to breathe, or that
  1415. you are looking forward to your day. When you can tell your story
  1416. without wanting to cry you will know that healing is taking place. Until
  1417. then, be very gentle with yourself. You deserve your love!&lt;/div&gt;
  1418. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_600&quot;&gt;
  1419. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1420. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_557&quot;&gt;
  1421. &lt;/div&gt;
  1422. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1423. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI-JDmZmV_yJJ4JNUPLrj3UJuoUkaYsZNBb3qVxyYJUFGF8vnCdNUzo0LPqlaI8dgINk8NDlyIjzWzeRbfOuYWneReUM8m5XLsXr3R69K7hPYPEuDxAQh3T6rd1K_BoO6FupX6HH_0BI/s1600/breakupth.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI-JDmZmV_yJJ4JNUPLrj3UJuoUkaYsZNBb3qVxyYJUFGF8vnCdNUzo0LPqlaI8dgINk8NDlyIjzWzeRbfOuYWneReUM8m5XLsXr3R69K7hPYPEuDxAQh3T6rd1K_BoO6FupX6HH_0BI/s1600/breakupth.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1424. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_19_1351526658134_559&quot;&gt;
  1425. The anxiety of what your life
  1426. is going to be like after a breakup is very uncomfortable, but there
  1427. are a few things you can do to help you to understand the healing
  1428. process and to ease the discomfort. If you find that the grief if not
  1429. passing and that you are not able to move on, maybe counseling or life
  1430. coaching are an option that could help you. TRU Integrative Health and Wellness had psychotherapists and other healers that can help you. See &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; or feel free to call me directly at
  1431. 770-789-0847 or see my website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt; to set an appointment.&lt;/div&gt;
  1432. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/10/anxiety-and-horrible-breakup.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI-JDmZmV_yJJ4JNUPLrj3UJuoUkaYsZNBb3qVxyYJUFGF8vnCdNUzo0LPqlaI8dgINk8NDlyIjzWzeRbfOuYWneReUM8m5XLsXr3R69K7hPYPEuDxAQh3T6rd1K_BoO6FupX6HH_0BI/s72-c/breakupth.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-1644841547763934663</guid><pubDate>Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:18:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-10-22T14:18:50.693-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">cry all the time since my baby was born</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">motherhood anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">New mother anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">not bonded to my new baby</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">not happy about being a mother</category><title>Anxiety….What If I am Not as Happy With My Baby as I Expected?</title><description>New mother anxiety can be overwhelming. Not only do you wake up with a
  1433. body you don’t recognize, a life that is nothing like the one
  1434. glamorously portrayed in commercials, but you wake up with this tiny
  1435. human in your home whom you may or may not connect with. Moms who do not
  1436. feel immediately connected with their new bundles of joy report high
  1437. levels of anxiety.&lt;br /&gt;
  1438.  
  1439. Inability to share these feelings is isolating. There may be
  1440. reluctance to share with friends lest they be judged, families who
  1441. minimize the feelings and spouses who may feel helpless or get their
  1442. feelings hurt by the revelation. No matter what the reason, the new mom
  1443. feels alone and guilty, and anxious that she is a “bad mother” or that
  1444. she will never feel connected to this little person for whom she has
  1445. total responsibility.&lt;br /&gt;
  1446.  
  1447. In therapy I attempt to normalize these feelings for the new mother.
  1448. We all experience things differently. I do a screening for post partum
  1449. mood disorders as well. This is frequently overlooked, and is a simple
  1450. assessment to identify areas where the mother needs support. Medication
  1451. is not always recommended. Many mothers want to continue nursing, and
  1452. medication may compromise this. Nutritional support for the mother can
  1453. be just as effective as prescription medication and allow the mother to
  1454. continue nursing, which will enhance the bonding experience, and
  1455. experience less side effects as well.&lt;br /&gt;
  1456.  
  1457. Working with the mother to develop bonding by encouraging the mother
  1458. to notice the baby’s body language, vocalization cues and eye gaze is
  1459. helpful. Once you start breaking down the baby’s attempts to communicate
  1460. on a primal level sometimes a mom can step right into her role and be
  1461. the mirror her baby needs.&amp;nbsp; Skin to skin contact and staring into the
  1462. baby’s eyes helps stimulate oxytocin, the bonding hormone.&lt;br /&gt;
  1463.  
  1464. An exhausted mom is no help to anyone. A good schedule of self care
  1465. activities is a must. Someone to hold the baby while mom takes an
  1466. extended bubble bath or long hot shower can make her feel like she has
  1467. won the lottery. Activities that stimulate the mother’s creative
  1468. potential are helpful. Taking pictures of the baby can help her feel
  1469. more connected. Scrapbooking while the baby is sleeping can stimulate
  1470. those feelings of attachment as well. A mom must be engaged in
  1471. activities that bring her joy. If she is feeling anxious about the baby
  1472. usurping her life, then the opportunity to get out for a while during
  1473. the baby’s nap may help her feel a little more like herself so that when
  1474. she comes home she is better able to bond with her baby.&lt;br /&gt;
  1475.  
  1476. There are many reasons that a mom may not feel bonded to her baby in
  1477. the beginning, some normal, some needing attention. The key is being
  1478. aware of your feelings and being able to reach out to someone who will
  1479. not judge you and will be able to ascertain whether you need additional
  1480. support or not. Know that there are counselors available that can help
  1481. you get on your feet and that can work with you to develop that
  1482. relationship with your baby you desire.&lt;br /&gt;
  1483.  
  1484. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1485. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8xKyTmHM51Q8yiiCLSAw5YJZ5trpbjEmFEE8F_aonqpfbSpwNsoN11XjHhX38geWuBtXEm_OJ4p7gquAWxVaGfBeyd2uB7-NfvnqZbLSLusbfbkuQFJ4VikX5zPHJ2dKLr52GrcWNXQ/s1600/postpartum+anxietyth.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8xKyTmHM51Q8yiiCLSAw5YJZ5trpbjEmFEE8F_aonqpfbSpwNsoN11XjHhX38geWuBtXEm_OJ4p7gquAWxVaGfBeyd2uB7-NfvnqZbLSLusbfbkuQFJ4VikX5zPHJ2dKLr52GrcWNXQ/s1600/postpartum+anxietyth.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1486. In my practice, TRU Integrative Health and Wellness we have a program
  1487. called TRUbaby, designed to meet the needs of the pregnant or new mom.
  1488. Clinicians educated on interventions and modalities specific to moms and
  1489. babies are available to help you navigate this exciting time.&amp;nbsp; We offer
  1490. psychotherapy, chiropractic, nutrition, massage, reiki, hypnosis,
  1491. acupuncture and acupressure, and yoga, as well as several other energy
  1492. healing modalities that are helpful in getting the new mom on her feet.
  1493. Please see &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information or call me directly at 770-789-0847, email me at carolyn@growhealchange.com or see my personal website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information.</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/10/anxietywhat-if-i-am-not-as-happy-with.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8xKyTmHM51Q8yiiCLSAw5YJZ5trpbjEmFEE8F_aonqpfbSpwNsoN11XjHhX38geWuBtXEm_OJ4p7gquAWxVaGfBeyd2uB7-NfvnqZbLSLusbfbkuQFJ4VikX5zPHJ2dKLr52GrcWNXQ/s72-c/postpartum+anxietyth.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-4948802291069562240</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:07:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-10-17T12:07:20.213-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety treatment Buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">counseling for anxiety Atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">OCD</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">panic</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">panic attacks</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">stress reduction</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">therapy for anxiety Atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">trauma</category><title>How to Build a Quality Life Despite Anxiety and Depression</title><description>&lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_73&quot;&gt;
  1494. When you suffer the symptoms of
  1495. anxiety or depression nothing seems quite right. It is like the picture
  1496. on the wall is slightly crooked, and your perceptions of everything are
  1497. slightly skewed. Thoughts and feelings can feel muted. It may have been a
  1498. very long time since you remember feeling good or being happy. To get
  1499. back to that happy place requires a bit of discipline.&lt;/div&gt;
  1500. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1501. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH97zGDEhIGKKEhhrEjrqfqOoXx1TTB74aF3makK3O7c7z6yu8_i1n9_LMd9UpWSAxKWnQhh_eJqy3_TArUsFxhkK6QCNeEC8-vABkyp45DP1uaSP4YfKnD56pW3DMD9cjEd2ehFLCxZw/s1600/anxietydepressionth.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH97zGDEhIGKKEhhrEjrqfqOoXx1TTB74aF3makK3O7c7z6yu8_i1n9_LMd9UpWSAxKWnQhh_eJqy3_TArUsFxhkK6QCNeEC8-vABkyp45DP1uaSP4YfKnD56pW3DMD9cjEd2ehFLCxZw/s1600/anxietydepressionth.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1502. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_73&quot;&gt;
  1503. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1504. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_89&quot;&gt;
  1505. When
  1506. I ask my clients with anxiety or depression what they do to take care
  1507. of themselves, inevitably they answer &quot;nothing.&quot; The first step to
  1508. building a quality of life despite anxiety or depression is radical self
  1509. care.&amp;nbsp; Taking time to do the things that make you feel pampered is so
  1510. important to helping you feel better. Some clients like a bubble bath
  1511. and a candle with some lovely music playing in the background, eating at
  1512. the table on good china with cloth napkins, or some may prefer a
  1513. massage or going for a run. Each person experiences the feeling of
  1514. nurture differently, so it is important that you choose activities that
  1515. speak self love to you.&lt;/div&gt;
  1516. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_89&quot;&gt;
  1517. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1518. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_336&quot;&gt;
  1519. Gratitude
  1520. is a quick way to tune in to life and to turn around negative feelings.
  1521. Studies show that focusing on gratitude develops new neural pathways in
  1522. the brain. Develop gratitude for finding a parking space, or for soft
  1523. tissues to blow your nose on or for a fluffy comforter on a cool
  1524. evening. Be grateful for the little things and be vocal about them. I
  1525. personally note three things that I am grateful for every day on
  1526. Facebook. It keeps me accountable for noticing the blessings in my life.
  1527. Since I started the discipline I have many friends that share in the
  1528. practice. Develop a community of gratitude and it will be difficult to
  1529. dwell on negativity.&lt;/div&gt;
  1530. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_336&quot;&gt;
  1531. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1532. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_181&quot;&gt;
  1533. People
  1534. suffering with anxiety and depression may have lost touch with a sense
  1535. of joy. Actively searching for things that make your soul sing is a
  1536. wonderful step towards creating that life you want. I am not talking big
  1537. things, but little ones, like noticing cloud shapes or the color of the
  1538. changing leaves or the feel of the fall breeze on your skin. Put a hard
  1539. candy in your mouth and be carried away by the taste and the sensation
  1540. on your tongue. If you are constantly scanning your environment for
  1541. things that bring you joy you will eventually find quality of life
  1542. strung together like beads on a thread.&lt;/div&gt;
  1543. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_385&quot;&gt;
  1544. Using
  1545. these simple interventions I have seen clients literally turn their
  1546. lives around. People who came into my office only a few weeks before
  1547. looking morose are almost unrecognizable after instituting these
  1548. practices. Sometimes it is almost difficult to convince people to try
  1549. them, but the dramatic impact that I see after a few short weeks is well
  1550. worth the effort.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
  1551. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_385&quot;&gt;
  1552. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1553. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_7_2_22_1350255117027_385&quot;&gt;
  1554. If you need guidance instituting these practices or
  1555. dealing with the symptoms of anxiety or depression, TRU Integrative Health and Wellness has clinicians that are equipped to help you navigate the path. See &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; for all the services our practice has available, or feel free to call me
  1556. at 770-789-0847, email me at carolyn@growhealchange.com or see my
  1557. website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt; to set up an appointment.&lt;/div&gt;
  1558. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-build-quality-life-despite.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH97zGDEhIGKKEhhrEjrqfqOoXx1TTB74aF3makK3O7c7z6yu8_i1n9_LMd9UpWSAxKWnQhh_eJqy3_TArUsFxhkK6QCNeEC8-vABkyp45DP1uaSP4YfKnD56pW3DMD9cjEd2ehFLCxZw/s72-c/anxietydepressionth.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-2305543412518390686</guid><pubDate>Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-10-11T12:29:15.662-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">child on drugs</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">drug abuse</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Substance abuse treatment</category><title>Anxiety on Crack: Otherwise Known as &quot;My Kid is An Addict. What Now?&quot;</title><description>&lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_1349902357666116&quot;&gt;
  1559. You have just found out that your
  1560. kid is addicted to drugs or alcohol. This kid could be a young teen or
  1561. an adult child, it does not matter, finding out that they are owned by
  1562. addiction is news dreaded by any parent.&amp;nbsp; You feel confused, terrified,
  1563. furious and lost. You don&#39;t know where to turn. I urge you to take a
  1564. deep breath, relax your shoulders, and slow your thoughts. It is time to
  1565. make an action plan. There are things you can do to make this
  1566. experience less traumatic for everyone.&lt;/div&gt;
  1567. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_1349902357666116&quot;&gt;
  1568. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1569. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_1349902357666617&quot;&gt;
  1570. The
  1571. first and hardest step is to watch your mouth. Frustration, fury,
  1572. feeling manipulated and lied to can cause you to say things you will
  1573. regret. It is easy to lash out at your addict and say words that will
  1574. never be forgotten. These words will color your relationship forever and
  1575. can affect how your addict sees you and themselves for the rest of
  1576. their lives. Taking that deep breath and getting centered can give you a
  1577. moment to think before you speak. At a time when you feel like you are
  1578. living inside of the fear, this is harder than it sounds.&lt;/div&gt;
  1579. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_1349902357666617&quot;&gt;
  1580. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1581. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661111&quot;&gt;
  1582. As
  1583. a parent you are used to being able to kiss it and make it better, to
  1584. &quot;fix it&quot;. You cannot fix this. There are few situations more terrifying
  1585. for a parent than having absolutely no ability to help your child. Many
  1586. parents feel guilty, blaming their kid&#39;s drug use on the fact that they
  1587. missed a soccer game once when the addict was a child, didn&#39;t potty
  1588. train them sensitively enough or had a contentious divorce. Once that
  1589. toxic guilt kicks in the addiction insidiously manipulates the
  1590. parent-child relationship. A guilty parent will twist themselves into a
  1591. pretzel trying to make things right. Co dependence kicks in and the
  1592. parent becomes more concerned with the needs of the addict than their
  1593. own needs. People who are codependent often take on the role as a
  1594. martyr; they constantly put others&#39; needs before their own and in doing
  1595. so forget to take care of themselves.&amp;nbsp; When it comes to arguments,
  1596. codependent people also tend to set themselves up as the &quot;victim&quot;. When
  1597. they do stand up for themselves, they feel guilty. I heard it put one
  1598. time, &quot;Do you have to take your child&#39;s temperature to see how you
  1599. feel?&quot; If your answer to this is yes, then you need to take action to
  1600. address the codependence.&lt;/div&gt;
  1601. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661111&quot;&gt;
  1602. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1603. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661126&quot;&gt;
  1604. The
  1605. next step is developing some healthy boundaries. Telling your child &quot;I
  1606. completely trust in your ability to handle this situation&quot; conveys trust
  1607. that you believe in their competence, states that you know the problem
  1608. belongs to them, and empowers them to take action instead of sitting
  1609. helplessly while you jump through hoops that do not belong to you.&lt;/div&gt;
  1610. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661126&quot;&gt;
  1611. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1612. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661476&quot;&gt;
  1613. If
  1614. your child lives at home, defining a zero tolerance policy for drug or
  1615. alcohol use is vital. Unless you are willing for your child to kill
  1616. themselves under your roof, zero tolerance is an important first step.
  1617. You can buy urine drug tests or alcohol breath tests from the drug store
  1618. or online. Get them and use them on a regular basis and at random times
  1619. as well. Know that addicts learn how to work around drug screens. If
  1620. you feel like your addict is using, seek outside testing from a family
  1621. doctor or treatment center. If the test is positive, I urge you to take
  1622. action immediately and provide the addict the opportunity to go
  1623. elsewhere to engage in drug or alcohol using activities. There is no
  1624. reason your family should have to stand by helplessly watching your
  1625. loved one self destruct. Siblings can be scarred for life at witnessing
  1626. ongoing family conflict and using behavior. Many parents will draw the
  1627. line in the sand and when the addict is caught using will forgive and
  1628. forgive again when faced with promises and tears. Stand firm. The sooner
  1629. your addict faces consequences for his/her actions the sooner they can
  1630. begin facing up to their problem and getting help. Loving the child with
  1631. boundaries is what will help bring them back to you. Do not allow them
  1632. to abuse your boundaries to the point where you cannot tap into the love
  1633. anymore.&lt;/div&gt;
  1634. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661476&quot;&gt;
  1635. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1636. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661847&quot;&gt;
  1637. Making distinction
  1638. between the child you love and the addiction is so important. Addiction
  1639. is a beast that takes up residence inside of your child. It is a beast
  1640. that will steal drugs from your medicine cabinet, money from your
  1641. wallet, will lie to you without a blink and will &quot;use&quot; you to the extent
  1642. that you will allow the using behavior. When the beast rears its head
  1643. it is helpful to see it as an illness and not as an infraction against
  1644. yourself and your family. It really has very little to do with you and
  1645. everything to do with your addict and their illness. Making the
  1646. distinction allows you to love the child and hate the beast. This is
  1647. still the same person you rocked as a baby, whose boo boos you kissed
  1648. and whom you tucked in at night. Do not lose sight of this.&lt;/div&gt;
  1649. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661847&quot;&gt;
  1650. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1651. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661921&quot;&gt;
  1652. Mindfulness
  1653. can be so helpful in allowing you to keep peace during this process.
  1654. Mindfulness is the process of paying attention, without judgment to the
  1655. present moment. So often when we are feeling fearful or anxious we are
  1656. actually making up scenarios in our imagination and believing in them.
  1657. We are living in the future. Radical focus on the present moment, the
  1658. breath, the physical sensations of the cool air in the room, the feel of
  1659. your feet on the floor, the sounds coming from the stereo, the smells
  1660. from the kitchen, bring you into the here and now and allow you to
  1661. become grounded. Noticing the anxious energy vibrating in your body
  1662. without resistant is important. That energy becomes trapped when we
  1663. resist it, and we are stuck with an uncomfortable knot in our stomach or
  1664. chest. Just noticing that the energy is there and visualizing it
  1665. flowing through your body instead of resisting it goes a long way
  1666. towards helping us become more comfortable.&lt;/div&gt;
  1667. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661921&quot;&gt;
  1668. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1669. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_1349902357666344&quot;&gt;
  1670. If
  1671. your child is willing to pursue treatment then your role will be a
  1672. little easier. If you have insurance, easier still. There are many
  1673. competent treatment centers in Atlanta that are structured in intensity
  1674. according to the stage of treatment your child needs. Does your kid need
  1675. to medically detox? Inpatient medical services may be appropriate for a
  1676. few days or a week to safely address his/her issues. If not then a few
  1677. days at an inpatient facility to get your addict stabilized might be in
  1678. order. There are facilities that have Intensive Outpatient programs that
  1679. last 4-5 hours a day that consist of individual counseling, family
  1680. therapy, group therapy and psychoeducation. There are many different
  1681. philosophies of treatment as well. 12-Step programs are probably the
  1682. most well known, but there are readiness for change, relapse prevention,
  1683. enthusiastic sobriety to name a few. You could completely overwhelmed
  1684. at all of the choices. The job of the treatment center is to help you to
  1685. navigate the myriad of choices and to educate you on the philosophy of
  1686. treatment used by the facility and what that will look like for your
  1687. child. The one thing to remember is that the most important factor in
  1688. what type of treatment will work for you addict is his commitment to
  1689. sobriety.&lt;/div&gt;
  1690. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_1349902357666344&quot;&gt;
  1691. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1692. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576661996&quot;&gt;
  1693. Until your addict
  1694. agrees to seek help it is important for you and your family to engage in
  1695. radical self care. This consists of creating an atmosphere of love and
  1696. understanding that you are all going through stress, and that you are
  1697. all still learning. Going beyond what you normally need to do to
  1698. recharge your batteries and to encourage each other is warranted now. If
  1699. it is a little extra exercise, a nap in the afternoon or an evening in
  1700. front of the fire just sharing your heart with others who are aware of
  1701. your family struggle, I urge you to create a gentle, supportive home
  1702. that allows you to begin to heal.&lt;/div&gt;
  1703. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576662212&quot;&gt;
  1704. With
  1705. every difficult situation in life comes a gift. Look for the gift that
  1706. addiction will bring to your family. Whether it is better communication,
  1707. a more honest look at who you all are or eventually having a desire to
  1708. give back, it always comes with a gift. Never give up believing in your
  1709. child. Never lose sight of the future you held when you rocked them as a
  1710. baby. Never give up hope. Keep the porch lights on...&lt;/div&gt;
  1711. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_17_13499023576662212&quot;&gt;
  1712. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1713. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1714. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYTvHhE2op4ubwKa308ESU4_SBrIFFD1Oc42TfAMuWeuy1SS3cJS2b6QjIE7mEVOr6go6_1FLr4TcXdl5OjSz9Hl5CPPINxMzyv-9ceJJgB6dSM58zb-tMvO1QHxCqxhbTjs61ewc7YI/s1600/addictionth.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYTvHhE2op4ubwKa308ESU4_SBrIFFD1Oc42TfAMuWeuy1SS3cJS2b6QjIE7mEVOr6go6_1FLr4TcXdl5OjSz9Hl5CPPINxMzyv-9ceJJgB6dSM58zb-tMvO1QHxCqxhbTjs61ewc7YI/s1600/addictionth.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1715. &lt;em&gt;If you
  1716. need support in navigating the emotions surrounding your loved one&#39;s
  1717. addiction feel free to contact me at 770-789-0847, email me at
  1718. carolyn@growhealchange.com or see our practice website &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; or my personal website &lt;a data-mce-href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&quot; href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt; to set an appointment.&lt;/em&gt;</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/10/anxiety-on-crack-otherwise-known-as-my.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYTvHhE2op4ubwKa308ESU4_SBrIFFD1Oc42TfAMuWeuy1SS3cJS2b6QjIE7mEVOr6go6_1FLr4TcXdl5OjSz9Hl5CPPINxMzyv-9ceJJgB6dSM58zb-tMvO1QHxCqxhbTjs61ewc7YI/s72-c/addictionth.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-1501641182907982129</guid><pubDate>Mon, 08 Oct 2012 17:37:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-10-08T13:37:42.877-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">boundaries in communication</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">communication skills</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">life coach atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">life coaching atlanta</category><title>Anxiety and the Missing Boundary</title><description>&lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_134970984742173&quot;&gt;
  1719. Some of us have poor boundaries.
  1720. Let’s admit it. When we were growing up we were shamed or ridiculed or
  1721. bullied for asking for our needs to be met. We might have been made to
  1722. feel “less than” when we stated what we wanted. This left us with a
  1723. sense that we are not worthy to protect ourselves, that we are selfish
  1724. or ridiculous to ask others not to trample us with their words or
  1725. actions.&lt;/div&gt;
  1726. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_134970984742173&quot;&gt;
  1727. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1728. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421105&quot;&gt;
  1729. &lt;/div&gt;
  1730. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421111&quot;&gt;
  1731. This lack of boundaries can
  1732. cause serious anxiety in us and our relationships, causing us to
  1733. “over-give” “over commit” or “over accommodate” in an attempt to earn
  1734. the behavior from the other that we desire, or to put up with bad
  1735. behavior because we are afraid of having the negative feelings of
  1736. childhood triggered when the other responds to our boundaries. Couple
  1737. this with the fact that we tend to be attracted to people whose issues
  1738. and needs are the opposite of ours and we have a scenario that is bound
  1739. to keep us in knots.&lt;/div&gt;
  1740. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421111&quot;&gt;
  1741. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1742. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421205&quot;&gt;
  1743. &lt;/div&gt;
  1744. Developing loving, firm boundaries is essential to maintaining
  1745. self esteem and a sense of safety in a relationship. Without these
  1746. boundaries we set ourselves up for mistreatment and resentment whether
  1747. active or passive. People with poor boundaries have trouble getting in
  1748. touch with a sense of righteous anger when they have been wronged. They
  1749. internalize the anger and feel shame that they were not “worth” being
  1750. treated well or respected.&lt;br /&gt;
  1751. &lt;br /&gt;
  1752. Learning good communication skills goes a long way towards being able
  1753. to assertively state your needs. I frequently have my clients practice
  1754. taking a deep breath to get centered and saying in a very neutral tone&amp;nbsp;
  1755. “I feel hurt when you ______, what can you do to help me with that?” in
  1756. an attempt to get the partner on their “team” and to express their needs
  1757. without anger. I also like for clients to confront bad behavior in a
  1758. neutral tone and to move on afterwards so that everything doesn’t have
  1759. to be about conflict and confrontation “It is not ok for you to speak to
  1760. me in that tone of voice. What would you like to have for dinner?”&amp;nbsp;
  1761. allows you to confront the behavior and to move to a less emotionally
  1762. charged subject. If the partner does not respond to this gentle
  1763. confrontation then there are more direct ways of addressing the issues.
  1764. However since people with poor boundaries tend to be highly anxious I
  1765. like to start with gently addressing the behavior in a way that feels
  1766. less aggressive.&lt;br /&gt;
  1767. &lt;br /&gt;
  1768. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421801&quot;&gt;
  1769. Boundaries define who we are. They
  1770. establish ‘what is me’ and ‘what isn’t me.’ Personal Boundaries help us
  1771. create ownership and protection of ourselves. Boundaries are our
  1772. personal security. Limits are really about having preferences. It is
  1773. deciding who you are; who you aren’t, what is a part of your reality and
  1774. what isn’t a part of your reality. It’s no different from saying I
  1775. don’t like Chinese food therefore I won’t eat it, and I like Thai food
  1776. and therefore I do eat it. Preferences and limits establish a strong
  1777. sense of ‘who you are,’ which means that only certain aspects of life
  1778. and others can enter your ‘field of reality’. Life is an unlimited and
  1779. assorted mix, and we have always filled our personal world with whatever
  1780. frequency we are vibrating at. Saying “Yes” to certain aspects and “No”
  1781. to others shapes and creates this vibration – thereby shaping the truth
  1782. of our life.&lt;/div&gt;
  1783. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421801&quot;&gt;
  1784. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1785. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421808&quot;&gt;
  1786. &lt;/div&gt;
  1787. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421811&quot;&gt;
  1788. Honoring who we are and what
  1789. we desire and will and will not accept protects the other person in the
  1790. relationship also. If you internalize your negative feelings about an
  1791. interaction then they do not have the opportunity to self correct and to
  1792. be who you need in the relationship. They may actually end up losing
  1793. you due to your refusal to give feedback that would allow them to meet
  1794. your needs. You are really doing a kindness when you offer them this
  1795. opportunity, and you are nurturing your relationship.&lt;/div&gt;
  1796. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1349709847421861&quot;&gt;
  1797. &lt;/div&gt;
  1798. &lt;br /&gt;
  1799. Stating boundaries can feel
  1800. scary at first, especially after a lifetime of not expressing your
  1801. needs, but getting clear on what is and isn’t you will assure that you
  1802. maintain your truth in a relationship. If certain situations and people
  1803. aren’t matching your truth, they will either adjust their behavior or
  1804. depart from your reality. Boundaries can be a gift to others as well as
  1805. protection for your time and resources. Telling someone no can be a sign
  1806. of trust and respect. Setting boundaries with others gives them
  1807. permission to do the same.&lt;br /&gt;
  1808. &lt;br /&gt;
  1809. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1810. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpItW2sBAhQJbvk_RQVWJ2z5TJE5dzQLxXjq3GX7ARM1LEwGe6wFy0O-LCP9LplglGSjjcfD-xi8u3xcxDaaLfsY5C6T_nkO4L-Ew5b5sOWLRonvp0SypbjwlPMQ1rcyqfmyOkhsqUey8/s1600/boundariesth.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpItW2sBAhQJbvk_RQVWJ2z5TJE5dzQLxXjq3GX7ARM1LEwGe6wFy0O-LCP9LplglGSjjcfD-xi8u3xcxDaaLfsY5C6T_nkO4L-Ew5b5sOWLRonvp0SypbjwlPMQ1rcyqfmyOkhsqUey8/s1600/boundariesth.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1811. &amp;nbsp;Learning communication skills to help you assertively state your truth
  1812. is vital to a healthy relationship. If you do not have good skills I
  1813. urge you to seek out a qualified psychotherapist or life coach to assist
  1814. you in expanding your communication tool box. TRU Integrative Health and Wellness has therapists available to help you develop good boundaries see &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; or feel free to contact me
  1815. directly for further information on setting boundaries&amp;nbsp; at 770-789-0847, email me
  1816. at carolyn@growhealchange.com or see my website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; t&lt;/a&gt;o set an appointment to discuss your needs.</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/10/some-of-us-have-poor-boundaries.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpItW2sBAhQJbvk_RQVWJ2z5TJE5dzQLxXjq3GX7ARM1LEwGe6wFy0O-LCP9LplglGSjjcfD-xi8u3xcxDaaLfsY5C6T_nkO4L-Ew5b5sOWLRonvp0SypbjwlPMQ1rcyqfmyOkhsqUey8/s72-c/boundariesth.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-7268006230881664768</guid><pubDate>Sat, 06 Oct 2012 16:35:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-10-06T12:35:55.644-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">gay anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Gay issues</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">gay social anxiety</category><title>Social Anxiety Over the Rainbow</title><description>&lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672115&quot;&gt;
  1817. According to&amp;nbsp; Alan Downs &lt;em&gt;in his book The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World&lt;/em&gt;.
  1818. Gay men learn anxiety and anger early in their development. He refers
  1819. to this development as velvet rage. “Velvet rage is the deep and abiding
  1820. anger and anxiety that result from growing up in an environment when I
  1821. learn that who I am as a gay person is unacceptable, perhaps even
  1822. unlovable,” he explains. “This anger and anxiety push me at times to
  1823. overcompensate and try to earn love and acceptance by being more,
  1824. better, beautiful, more sexy – in short, to become something I believe
  1825. will make me more acceptable and loved.”&lt;/div&gt;
  1826. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_134942208367259&quot;&gt;
  1827. &lt;/div&gt;
  1828. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672200&quot;&gt;
  1829. “We have created a gay culture
  1830. that is, in most senses, unlivable. The expectation is that you have
  1831. the beautiful body, that you have lots of money, that you have a
  1832. beautiful boyfriend with whom you have wonderful, toe-curling sex every
  1833. night… none of us have that. To try to achieve that really makes us
  1834. miserable. The next phase of gay history, I believe, is for us to come
  1835. to terms with creating a culture that is livable and comfortable.”&lt;/div&gt;
  1836. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672855&quot;&gt;
  1837. &lt;/div&gt;
  1838. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672453&quot;&gt;
  1839. There is a significant
  1840. correlation between gay identity and social anxiety in research. Social
  1841. anxiety is the extreme fear of being scrutinized and judged by others in
  1842. social or performance situations: Social anxiety can wreak havoc on the
  1843. lives of those who suffer from it. People with symptoms of social
  1844. anxiety often….&lt;/div&gt;
  1845. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; height=&quot;6&quot; src=&quot;http://www.columbia-socialanxiety.org/images/clip_image001.gif&quot; width=&quot;6&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;fear doing or saying something embarrassing in front of other people&lt;br /&gt;
  1846. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; height=&quot;6&quot; src=&quot;http://www.columbia-socialanxiety.org/images/clip_image001_000.gif&quot; width=&quot;6&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;worry about making a mistake or being judged by others&lt;br /&gt;
  1847. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; height=&quot;6&quot; src=&quot;http://www.columbia-socialanxiety.org/images/clip_image001_001.gif&quot; width=&quot;6&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;avoid speaking to others&lt;br /&gt;
  1848. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; height=&quot;6&quot; src=&quot;http://www.columbia-socialanxiety.org/images/clip_image001_002.gif&quot; width=&quot;6&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;fear meeting new people&lt;br /&gt;
  1849. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; height=&quot;6&quot; src=&quot;http://www.columbia-socialanxiety.org/images/clip_image001_003.gif&quot; width=&quot;6&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;blush, sweat, tremble, or feel nauseous when self-conscious&lt;br /&gt;
  1850. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; height=&quot;6&quot; src=&quot;http://www.columbia-socialanxiety.org/images/clip_image001_004.gif&quot; width=&quot;6&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;avoid social situations and giving speeches&lt;br /&gt;
  1851. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; height=&quot;6&quot; src=&quot;http://www.columbia-socialanxiety.org/images/clip_image001_005.gif&quot; width=&quot;6&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;may drink or use drugs to try to relieve their social fears&lt;br /&gt;
  1852.  
  1853. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672506&quot;&gt;
  1854. &lt;/div&gt;
  1855. Researchers at the State University of New York investigated the
  1856. occurrence of social anxiety in a sample of undergraduate gay and
  1857. heterosexual men. Gay men reported greater social interaction anxiety,
  1858. greater fear of negative evaluation, and lower self-esteem than their
  1859. heterosexual counterparts. Gay men who were less comfortable and less
  1860. open about their sexual orientation were more likely to experience
  1861. anxiety in social interactions.&lt;br /&gt;
  1862.  
  1863. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672487&quot;&gt;
  1864. &lt;/div&gt;
  1865. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672527&quot;&gt;
  1866. Is it any wonder that
  1867. individuals who felt the primal fear of rejection, vilification and
  1868. being ostracized as children and adolescents should develop a fear of
  1869. social situations? I find that with my clients as we normalize the
  1870. sexual orientation and work on developing a positive sexual identity and
  1871. developing a positive, supportive social network that symptoms of
  1872. social anxiety tend to diminish.&lt;/div&gt;
  1873. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721102&quot;&gt;
  1874. &lt;/div&gt;
  1875. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721105&quot;&gt;
  1876. In my experience with my gay
  1877. clients who suffer from anxiety, we always end up back in the childhood
  1878. or adolescence. Rejection by parents of their own children, by peers,
  1879. teachers or church because of their sexual orientation seems to produce a
  1880. severe emotional impact. Having to lead an inauthentic life for fear of
  1881. rejection or ridicule can produce a severe sense of core shame. Fear of
  1882. being found out or judged creates a constant sense of tension or
  1883. anxiety.&lt;/div&gt;
  1884. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672589&quot;&gt;
  1885. &lt;/div&gt;
  1886. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_1349422083672595&quot;&gt;
  1887. Being able to live an
  1888. authentic life is key to reducing anxiety for persons of any sexual
  1889. orientation, but especially for gay individuals who have felt forced to
  1890. “wear a mask” hiding who they truly are. The mask forces an individual
  1891. to expend huge amounts of anxiety causing energy projecting an image and
  1892. worrying what will happen if they are found out. I find that with my
  1893. gay clients, that getting support and only allowing people into their
  1894. personal social network who are loving, nurturing and accepting is so
  1895. helpful in mediating symptoms of anxiety. Taking small risks with safe
  1896. people goes a long way towards increasing social esteem and diminishing
  1897. social anxiety.&lt;/div&gt;
  1898. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721582&quot;&gt;
  1899. &lt;/div&gt;
  1900. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721588&quot;&gt;
  1901. I have found the most
  1902. powerful tool to helping my gay clients deal with their social anxiety
  1903. is to have them talk about it, not only to me, their therapist, but to
  1904. be open and transparent with their friends and family members about how
  1905. they feel. Many clients report feeling ashamed of their shame. The most
  1906. effective way to address shame is to expose it.&lt;/div&gt;
  1907. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721674&quot;&gt;
  1908. &lt;/div&gt;
  1909. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721842&quot;&gt;
  1910. Social anxiety sufferers have
  1911. negative thoughts and beliefs that contribute to their anxiety. If you
  1912. have social anxiety, you may find yourself overwhelmed by thoughts like:&lt;/div&gt;
  1913. &lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721933&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%px;&quot;&gt;
  1914. &lt;tbody&gt;
  1915. &lt;tr&gt;
  1916. &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot;&gt;
  1917. &lt;ul id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721942&quot;&gt;
  1918. &lt;li&gt;“I know I’ll end up looking like a fool.”&lt;/li&gt;
  1919. &lt;li id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721945&quot;&gt;“My voice will start shaking and I’ll humiliate myself.”&lt;/li&gt;
  1920. &lt;/ul&gt;
  1921. &lt;/td&gt;
  1922. &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot;&gt;
  1923. &lt;ul&gt;
  1924. &lt;li&gt;“People will think I’m stupid.”&lt;/li&gt;
  1925. &lt;li&gt;“I won’t have anything to say. I’ll seem boring.”&lt;/li&gt;
  1926. &lt;/ul&gt;
  1927. &lt;/td&gt;
  1928. &lt;/tr&gt;
  1929. &lt;/tbody&gt;
  1930. &lt;/table&gt;
  1931. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721713&quot;&gt;
  1932. Challenging these negative
  1933. thoughts, either through therapy or on your own, is one effective way to
  1934. reduce the symptoms of social anxiety.The first step is to identify the
  1935. automatic negative thoughts that underlie your fear of social
  1936. situations. For example, if you‘re worried about an upcoming work
  1937. presentation, the underlying negative thought might be: “I’m going to
  1938. blow it. Everyone will think I’m completely incompetent.” The next step
  1939. is to analyze and challenge the thoughts. It helps to ask yourself
  1940. questions about the negative thoughts: “Do I know for sure that I’m
  1941. going to be judged?” or “Even if I’m nervous, will people necessarily
  1942. judge me?” Through this logical evaluation of your negative thoughts,
  1943. you can gradually replace them with more realistic and positive ways of
  1944. looking at social situations that trigger your anxiety.&lt;/div&gt;
  1945. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721930&quot;&gt;
  1946. &lt;/div&gt;
  1947. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836721947&quot;&gt;
  1948. Learning to become grounded
  1949. and centered and addressing the symptoms in the body is very helpful.
  1950. Identifying the anxious energy and allowing it to flow through the body
  1951. instead of resisting it and allowing it to become trapped and persist is
  1952. key. Visualizing the emotion as energy flowing into the body and
  1953. allowing it to flow out of the body while breathing and staying present
  1954. can bring quick relief.&lt;/div&gt;
  1955. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836722097&quot;&gt;
  1956. &lt;/div&gt;
  1957. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_19_13494220836722103&quot;&gt;
  1958. Social anxiety is an issue
  1959. that can be treated. Many have viewed it as something that must be
  1960. tolerated, but with information, support, the proper interventions and
  1961. occasionally medication, this condition can be addressed and mediated
  1962. effectively allowing you to function more effectively and authentically,
  1963. and to live the life you were born to live!&lt;/div&gt;
  1964. &lt;br /&gt;
  1965.  
  1966. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1967. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTuJlf7RZnz60tZx7okrTWV_FTQxThezRoKWrpUwN9WN6Cvu8QgEjGuaHrF_8C0L4T6Yp3b5JGTYQp30YYlrRvoxznG9sU9pSz4TyUcYICsN3l-1FPbFDRZSBwNBuchki2f0pI5qJ5ZU/s1600/Social-Anxiety-pic.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTuJlf7RZnz60tZx7okrTWV_FTQxThezRoKWrpUwN9WN6Cvu8QgEjGuaHrF_8C0L4T6Yp3b5JGTYQp30YYlrRvoxznG9sU9pSz4TyUcYICsN3l-1FPbFDRZSBwNBuchki2f0pI5qJ5ZU/s320/Social-Anxiety-pic.jpg&quot; width=&quot;250&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1968. If you would like to explore the interventions that are available to
  1969. help you conquer your social anxiety, there are several&amp;nbsp; gay friendly therapists at TRU Integrative Health and Wellness &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; or at please call me at 770-789-0847,
  1970. email me at carolyn@growhealchange.com or make an appointment via my
  1971. website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.blogger.com/goog_108472661&quot; target=&quot;_parent&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://./&quot;&gt;.&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/10/social-anxiety-over-rainbow.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTuJlf7RZnz60tZx7okrTWV_FTQxThezRoKWrpUwN9WN6Cvu8QgEjGuaHrF_8C0L4T6Yp3b5JGTYQp30YYlrRvoxznG9sU9pSz4TyUcYICsN3l-1FPbFDRZSBwNBuchki2f0pI5qJ5ZU/s72-c/Social-Anxiety-pic.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-7696285391304438313</guid><pubDate>Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:33:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-09-28T10:57:59.484-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety treatment</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety treatment Buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">counseling for</category><title>Anxiety and the Really Big Bad News</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  1972. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7V5G6THgL34gv_aRFsJLrYUn7M9muVC24NjeDJq1dKoVLn7l5al2gbJW_Lk8E-QQaNbkiMh9Y8SE_d0Z-7VjZ3n1zM-5vgaI4oxTysb9wVeDAVwMXWS6tiV6tzqtEW2pPhlY6gb-3PXo/s1600/badnewsimages.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7V5G6THgL34gv_aRFsJLrYUn7M9muVC24NjeDJq1dKoVLn7l5al2gbJW_Lk8E-QQaNbkiMh9Y8SE_d0Z-7VjZ3n1zM-5vgaI4oxTysb9wVeDAVwMXWS6tiV6tzqtEW2pPhlY6gb-3PXo/s1600/badnewsimages.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  1973. I have talked in past blogs about how to handle your anxiety when
  1974. things get chaotic and interrupt your routine. Today I would like to
  1975. discuss what happens when you get the really “big bad news”. A family
  1976. member has cancer, the baby you are carrying has something wrong with
  1977. it, you are getting a divorce. How do you cope? When anxiety goes from
  1978. zero to warp speed and threatens never to leave, it feels like it may
  1979. become a way of life. That terror that resides in your chest or the knot
  1980. and nausea that come to dwell in your stomach are a constant reminder
  1981. that your life may never be “normal” again.&lt;br /&gt;
  1982. &lt;br /&gt;
  1983. The first thing to do when you get uncomfortable news is to focus on
  1984. the felt sense of whatever emotion is evoked in your body. It could be
  1985. that your muscles tense, you get a knot in your stomach, a tightness in
  1986. your chest, or your breathing becomes short and rapid. Notice those
  1987. symptoms, and actually do of the opposite of what your body wants to do.
  1988. If you notice that it wants to tense up, then purposefully let your
  1989. muscles go limp. If you tighten in your stomach, release the muscles and
  1990. breathe relaxation into that area. If your breaths become short and
  1991. rapid, make a point of taking slow deep breaths. This will help to stop
  1992. that hormonal cascade that begins with a shot of adrenaline when you
  1993. get&amp;nbsp;upsetting news. If you intervene immediately it can prevent may
  1994. unpleasant symptoms from taking root in your body.&lt;br /&gt;
  1995. &lt;br /&gt;
  1996. Seeing emotions as literally being energy in motion in your body that
  1997. want to be expressed (or actually squeezed out,) allows you to
  1998. visualize allowing the energy to exist without resistance and to assist
  1999. that energy in moving through the body in a way that minimizes the
  2000. effect of those negative emotions. The key is not resisting the negative
  2001. feeling. When a negative feeling is present we tend to tighten around
  2002. it because we are afraid that if we allow it, it will get worse and
  2003. become more unpleasant. Actually the opposite is true. When we allow the
  2004. sensation to pass through like the lines passing across the screen of
  2005. an EKG machine then we free our bodies up from become a home to that
  2006. trapped energy.&lt;br /&gt;
  2007. &lt;br /&gt;
  2008. Breathing properly is vital in this process. Slow deep nourishing
  2009. breaths are in order. When “bad” things happen we forget to breathe.
  2010. Slow deep nourishing breaths allow the energy to pass, and keep our
  2011. bodies pH balanced.&amp;nbsp; A good balance of the in-and-out breath keeps the
  2012. pH stable in the body.&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;Breathing in&lt;/i&gt; more increases acidity;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;breathing out&lt;/i&gt;
  2013. more creates alkalinity, as it gets rid of carbonic acid through the
  2014. carbon dioxide we breathe out.&amp;nbsp; “Hyperventilating” means a lot of
  2015. breathing out, so making us too alkaline, which has its problems like
  2016. any imbalance (it may cause numbness or tingling in the extremities,
  2017. lightheadedness, fainting);&amp;nbsp;then one has to “breathe into a paper bag,”
  2018. that is, breathe back in some of the acids we got rid of, to regain the
  2019. proper balance of acids and bases in the blood. Paying attention to the
  2020. body helps us balance the breathing.&lt;br /&gt;
  2021. &lt;br /&gt;
  2022. Instead of receiving information as “good” or&amp;nbsp; “bad,” become curious
  2023. about what you hear. It is easy to jump to conclusions based on what you
  2024. have experienced in the past or by facts that you know or by stories
  2025. that you have heard from others in your situation. Be curious about
  2026. whether this situation HAS to play out like you would assume, with you
  2027. “freaking out” and adopting a tragic story based on your negative
  2028. feelings. Be curious if you have to freak out at all. Just because it is
  2029. expected that you freak out, doesn’t mean that is the response that you
  2030. have to have.&amp;nbsp; Instead, adopt a sense of wonder. “I wonder how this
  2031. will change my life?” “I wonder what skill I will learn thorough this?”
  2032. “I wonder what the gift will be in this for me?”&lt;br /&gt;
  2033. &lt;br /&gt;
  2034. &lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;I am not advocating denial of your circumstances, or a
  2035. Pollyanna attitude, I am just stating that it seems many of us respond
  2036. to unexpected news in ways that are reflexive, knee jerk reactions, in
  2037. ways that we believe we are “supposed to” react. I wonder if we get
  2038. centered and grounded by taking some deep breaths and focusing on
  2039. feeling our bodily sensations for a moment (“I feel my feel on the
  2040. floor, I feel the chair to my back, I feel the cool air in the room”) if
  2041. we might buy ourselves the time to choose a different response? I
  2042. wonder if choosing that different response might put us in that “road
  2043. less traveled”&amp;nbsp;place, a place that is more peaceful and honoring of the
  2044. experience, and instead of bringing us a sure tragedy, might bring us a
  2045. gift instead?&lt;br /&gt;
  2046. &lt;br /&gt;
  2047. If you need help dealing with unexpected news feel free to call me at 770-789-0847 or visit my website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt;. TRU Integrative Health and Wellness has a plethora of modalities to assist you with anxiety. Visit &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; so see how we can help you!</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/09/anxiety-and-really-big-bad-news.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7V5G6THgL34gv_aRFsJLrYUn7M9muVC24NjeDJq1dKoVLn7l5al2gbJW_Lk8E-QQaNbkiMh9Y8SE_d0Z-7VjZ3n1zM-5vgaI4oxTysb9wVeDAVwMXWS6tiV6tzqtEW2pPhlY6gb-3PXo/s72-c/badnewsimages.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-168142447754248672</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Sep 2012 20:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-09-16T16:44:23.229-04:00</atom:updated><title>The Never Ending Challange of Finding Balance. </title><description>I believe that everyone struggles to &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/index.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;create balance&lt;/a&gt; in their lives every day. Even those that seem to have mastered this, still work hard on a daily basis to keep the scales even.&lt;br /&gt;
  2048. &lt;br /&gt;
  2049. &amp;nbsp;I recently gave birth to my daughter, &amp;nbsp;and have fallen in love with her. I have spent the past two months catering to all of her needs and finding myself in the cycle of eat,&amp;nbsp;slept, change a diaper, and do it again. I am still amazed at how busy a person can stay doing &amp;nbsp;mainly those three things. My days blend and I am more than a little tired. As the days and weeks seem to fly by, I realize that I am quickly approaching my return to seeing clients. I am struck by the realization that I will have to leave my daughter, while I resume various aspects of my life. Up until now I have been able to do things for myself and have her with me at the same time (she tends to nap while I am at the gym and running errands). She has even accompanied me to a massage.&lt;br /&gt;
  2050. &lt;br /&gt;
  2051. Part of me is tempted to give up &amp;nbsp;everything &amp;nbsp;I enjoyed before she was born just to stay with her 24-7, but&amp;nbsp;I know myself. I know that I need balance&amp;nbsp;in my&amp;nbsp;life and that this consists of more than just my daughter. I need to nurture my friendships and relationships. I need to get back to get back to my career that I love. &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/practitioners.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Having worked with children and families for over 9 years,&lt;/a&gt; I also know that I have to take care of myself in order to be the best caretaker I can be for her. The reality is that if I am not happy, it is going to be hard for my daughter to be happy. I need to be the best me I can be for her.&lt;br /&gt;
  2052. This balance is different for everyone. I have&amp;nbsp;friends&amp;nbsp;who stay at home full time with their children and I have friends that work full time. Some of them need more &quot;me time&quot;, some less. It is important to find what works best for you.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Knowing what works best doesn&#39;t mean that you will magically have a balanced life. It is work to keep those scales even, and having a great &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/trubaby.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;support system&lt;/a&gt; makes it so much easier. So reach out for &lt;a href=&quot;http://growhealchange.com/trubaby.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;support if you need it&lt;/a&gt;, and remember that you need to nurture yourself to be able to nurture others. &lt;br /&gt;
  2053. &lt;br /&gt;
  2054. &lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-never-ending-challenge-of-finding.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-7406546672219118723</guid><pubDate>Sat, 08 Sep 2012 19:26:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-09-08T15:26:55.579-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Coming out</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Gay coming our Atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Lesbian coming out Atlanta</category><title>Anxiety and Coming Out For The Lesbian</title><description>&lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_61_1346789277873186&quot;&gt;
  2055. Coming out, for the lesbian, can
  2056. be a time of intense stress and anxiety. Once the decision is made and
  2057. action taken,&amp;nbsp; quality of life seems to increase. Several studies point
  2058. to higher self esteem, higher levels on happiness scales and greater
  2059. social support than their heterosexuals report. Making the decision to
  2060. come out is difficult for some, and for others, not so much. The key
  2061. seems to be plugging into a supportive community where authenticity is
  2062. supported and valued.&lt;/div&gt;
  2063. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_61_134678927787368&quot;&gt;
  2064. The more widely a woman disclosed
  2065. her sexual orientation the less anxiety, more positive affectivity, and
  2066. greater self-esteem was reported in recent research. Degree of
  2067. disclosure to family, gay and lesbian friends, straight friends, and
  2068. co-workers was related to overall level of social support in a recent
  2069. study, with those who more widely disclosed reporting greater levels of
  2070. support. Participants who more widely disclosed their sexual orientation
  2071. were less likely to engage in anonymous socializing, had a larger
  2072. percentage of lesbian friends, and were more involved in the gay and
  2073. lesbian community.&lt;/div&gt;
  2074. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_61_1346789277873102&quot;&gt;
  2075. A study found lesbians reported
  2076. equally strong levels of mental health as their heterosexual sisters and
  2077. higher self-esteem. While it’s not clear why lesbians displayed higher
  2078. self-esteem, the authors speculate it may be that lesbians are more
  2079. educated and mobile than their heterosexual sisters. As a consequence,
  2080. the lesbian sisters may be more likely to join supportive communities
  2081. that allow them to bolster their self-worth, the authors hypothesize.&lt;/div&gt;
  2082. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_61_1346789277873161&quot;&gt;
  2083. Another study reported in the January 2001 &lt;em&gt;American Journal of Orthopsychiatry&lt;/em&gt;
  2084. (Vol. 71, No. 1), tested a structural equation model related to
  2085. “outness” on 2,401 lesbian and bisexual women. In this work, researchers
  2086. found that the more “out” lesbians and bisexual women were–as measured
  2087. by self-identification as a gay or lesbian, number of years out and
  2088. level of involvement in the lesbian or bisexual community–the less
  2089. psychological distress they reported. These findings held true for a
  2090. range of racial and ethnic subsamples including African-American, white
  2091. European, Latina, Asian-American, Native American and Jewish women.The
  2092. study–conducted by Rothblum, Jessica Morris, PhD, a private practitioner
  2093. in Northampton, Mass., and Craig R. Waldo, PhD, of the University of
  2094. California, San Francisco Center for AIDS Prevention Studies and AIDS
  2095. Research Institute–is the largest on lesbian mental health to date and
  2096. is one of the only to look at the relationship of being out to lesbians’
  2097. mental health, Rothblum says.&lt;/div&gt;
  2098. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_61_1346789277873171&quot;&gt;
  2099. Getting to “out” can be a time of
  2100. stress and isolation. Supportive mental health therapy that allows the
  2101. lesbian to process beforehand what her options are and how coming out
  2102. will affect her in the long term is healthy and helpful. Such positive
  2103. findings in research invalidate older assumptions that lesbians and gays
  2104. experience a higher level of mental health problems than heterosexuals.
  2105. This research is affirming and encouraging that lesbians who go through
  2106. the process of coming out authentically can experience a high quality
  2107. of life, plug into a supportive community and obtain happiness. The
  2108. findings also support the idea that therapy that facilitates the
  2109. coming-out process is good for lesbians’ mental health. “Such
  2110. affirmative psychotherapy, provided during the coming out process, may
  2111. prevent or buffer against subsequent mental health problems,” the
  2112. authors write.&lt;/div&gt;
  2113. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  2114. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQ7Z507T3nb4zo_z2JjwtERx934WL6ORaBypwguOmVO6JmyKtIBngBj35lVOQ53-agZRKWBCCUv-mMXgu9cSB7hWqMSjyGJjKmOYPoCtzSJHuvqsLNzi7QSLNyaXiMojNr2pn4aVyMAE/s1600/comingoutimages.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQ7Z507T3nb4zo_z2JjwtERx934WL6ORaBypwguOmVO6JmyKtIBngBj35lVOQ53-agZRKWBCCUv-mMXgu9cSB7hWqMSjyGJjKmOYPoCtzSJHuvqsLNzi7QSLNyaXiMojNr2pn4aVyMAE/s1600/comingoutimages.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2115. If you are struggling with coming out and are in need of the support
  2116. that would help you live a more self actualized life, seek counseling
  2117. with a qualified mental health professional. In my practice I provide
  2118. warmth, support and a vision of the life that could be ahead of you
  2119. after you take the step to come out. If you need that extra support TRU Integrative Health and Wellness has several Gay and Lesbian friendly clinicians who would be honored to walk the journey with you.&amp;nbsp; Please see &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; for TRU Integrative Health and Wellness, or call me directly at 770-789-0847, email me at carolyn@growhealchange.com
  2120. or see my website &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt; to make an appointment.</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/09/anxiety-and-coming-out-for-lesbian.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQ7Z507T3nb4zo_z2JjwtERx934WL6ORaBypwguOmVO6JmyKtIBngBj35lVOQ53-agZRKWBCCUv-mMXgu9cSB7hWqMSjyGJjKmOYPoCtzSJHuvqsLNzi7QSLNyaXiMojNr2pn4aVyMAE/s72-c/comingoutimages.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-9029848910922171025</guid><pubDate>Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:17:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-09-06T15:17:47.324-04:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&lt;h2&gt;
  2121. &amp;nbsp;A Little Success Each Day&lt;/h2&gt;
  2122. I just recently became a licensed massage therapist and joined a wellness practice&lt;br /&gt;
  2123. in northern Atlanta offering massage and Reiki sessions.&amp;nbsp; Being new to my&lt;br /&gt;
  2124. profession and also new to marketing my services, I knew I was taking on a bit&lt;br /&gt;
  2125. of a challenge.&amp;nbsp; But when it comes to creating health and wellness in my own life&lt;br /&gt;
  2126. and assisting other people in creating it in their lives, I am a champion!&lt;br /&gt;
  2127. &lt;br /&gt;
  2128. I&#39;ll share the secret I&#39;m using...see every day as a little success to the path of a&lt;br /&gt;
  2129. thriving practice.&amp;nbsp; For example, the very first step I took was to have an open&lt;br /&gt;
  2130. house and give 10 minute demo massages. I passed out flyers to all the &lt;br /&gt;
  2131. businesses in the neighborhood and sent out email invitations.&amp;nbsp; On the day of&lt;br /&gt;
  2132. my open house, I was blessed with one guest! There was a time in my life when&lt;br /&gt;
  2133. I would have viewed this as failure BUT if I&#39;m going to walk on the path to&lt;br /&gt;
  2134. success then EVERY step is taking me there! Every day, every week, I &lt;br /&gt;
  2135. continue to celebrate each new client I see.&amp;nbsp; For me, having success come in small&lt;br /&gt;
  2136. steps has added a richness and depth to my practice that I most likely&lt;br /&gt;
  2137. would not have experienced if it was coming fast and furious.&lt;br /&gt;
  2138. &lt;br /&gt;
  2139. Our dreams and goals are meant to be Lived! Take a small step Today!&lt;br /&gt;
  2140. Celebrate!&amp;nbsp; Then take another step.&amp;nbsp; Destination Success...enjoy every step&lt;br /&gt;
  2141. on the way!&lt;br /&gt;
  2142. &lt;br /&gt;
  2143. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;Dawn Goforth-Kelly, LMT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2144. &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Dawn@growhealchange.com&quot;&gt;Dawn@growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  2145. &lt;br /&gt;
  2146. &lt;br /&gt;
  2147. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/09/little-success-each-day-i-just-recently.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-3458276889983925468</guid><pubDate>Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:16:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-09-05T14:16:23.977-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Infertility treatment</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">mental health counseling.</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">trying to get pregnant</category><title>Anxiety and the Infertility Roller Coaster</title><description>Many people in the Atlanta area are struggling with infertility.
  2148. Infertility can a silent hell. People do not talk about infertility
  2149. issues like they would if they had a physical condition or other
  2150. stressful circumstance in their life. Many times a couple choose to walk
  2151. the road of infertility alone, discussing it only with their doctor.
  2152. There are a myriad of feelings that go along with infertility and its
  2153. treatment that can be hard to manage, and difficult on the couple as a
  2154. unit. The anxiety of not knowing can be excruciating, and hard to
  2155. understand for anyone who has not walked the road before.&lt;br /&gt;
  2156.  
  2157. &lt;br /&gt;
  2158.  
  2159. Frequently there are communication breakdowns in the couple during
  2160. infertility due to feelings of fear of blame, guilt, and worry of
  2161. “talking about it too much.” Many times the man becomes overwhelmed
  2162. because the woman “can’t talk about anything else” and shuts down
  2163. because he is unable to “fix it”, leaving the woman on her own to
  2164. navigate the monthly rollercoaster alone. Often the woman will obsess
  2165. over every body sign and signal and her life becomes a barrage of online
  2166. tools, thermometers and ovulation predictors. Her quality of life
  2167. becomes wrapped up in where her body is in its cycle, and what
  2168. information about the potential of pregnancy she can gather at that
  2169. point. Constant disappointment can take its toll on the couple,
  2170. especially if the journey has been a long one. There is a sense of shame
  2171. that goes along with infertility that many of my clients express. Shame
  2172. that their bodies have let them down, shame that good things are not
  2173. happening to them (feelings of not deserving to get pregnant, blame at
  2174. lifestyle choices made in the past such as abortion or other choices
  2175. that can be extrapolated to have negative effect on becoming pregnant.).&lt;br /&gt;
  2176.  
  2177. &lt;br /&gt;
  2178.  
  2179. Well meaning friends and relatives asking “when are you going to have
  2180. a baby?” and an onslaught of baby pictures on Facebook and shower
  2181. invitations can cause a couple to isolate and cut off socialization,
  2182. compounding the pain and loneliness. The biggest toll of infertility,
  2183. however, is the anxiety. At every turn having to exist with the unknown
  2184. and the lack of control is exhausting and stressful. Having to work and
  2185. function in the daily grind seems unthinkable, especially to the woman,
  2186. who is focused on every twinge in her body.&lt;br /&gt;
  2187.  
  2188. Getting through infertility and actually thriving takes some special
  2189. skills. Learning to exist in spite of not knowing if you are pregnant or
  2190. not is the toughest part. Mindfulness goes a long way towards helping
  2191. preserve sanity and quality of life. Mindfulness is a state of active,
  2192. open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you observe your
  2193. thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad.
  2194. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in
  2195. the moment and awakening to experience. Often our suffering is made more
  2196. intense by remembering past suffering and worrying about future
  2197. suffering. If we can stay in the moment and focus on what is happening
  2198. in the here and now, our suffering will be greatly reduced.&lt;br /&gt;
  2199.  
  2200. Focusing on bodily sensations instead of thoughts helps get you off
  2201. of the obsession wheel. “I feel the floor beneath my feet, I feel the
  2202. sofa against my back, I feel the cool breeze in the room” are ways to
  2203. center and ground yourself and help remain in the moment. When anxious
  2204. thoughts arise, acknowledge them without judgment “oh, there is a
  2205. thought” and allow the thought to float away as a leaf would fall from a
  2206. tree into a stream.&lt;br /&gt;
  2207.  
  2208. &lt;br /&gt;
  2209.  
  2210. Doing a body scan and addressing anxiety symptoms there is important.
  2211. Close your eyes, and starting with toes and moving slowly up your body,
  2212. ask yourself “Where am I tense?” When you discover a tense area,
  2213. exaggerate it slightly, so you can become aware of it. Be aware of the
  2214. muscles in your body that are tense. Then, for example, say to yourself,
  2215. “I am tensing my neck muscles…I am creating tension in my body.” At
  2216. this point, be aware of anything that is creating tension in your body
  2217. and what you might do to change it.&lt;br /&gt;
  2218.  
  2219. &lt;br /&gt;
  2220.  
  2221. Distress tolerance is another tool that can be very helpful. Learning
  2222. to distract yourself by engaging in fun or meaningful activity is
  2223. beneficial. Volunteering to help someone less fortunate goes a long way
  2224. towards helping develop perspective and keeping your mind occupied.
  2225. Learning to self-soothe by engaging in comforting activities like a
  2226. bubble bath or exercise or a massage can engage the senses and lower
  2227. anxiety.&lt;br /&gt;
  2228.  
  2229. Using imagery, you can create a situation or a scene that is
  2230. different from the one that you are now in. In a way, you can leave the
  2231. situation. Envision in your mind a place that you would like to be – a
  2232. safe place, a relaxing place, a beautiful place.&amp;nbsp; Focus on this place.&amp;nbsp;
  2233. Relax, and let yourself feel that you are in this place. It usually
  2234. helps to notice details of the place that you are in. See that safe
  2235. place, maybe a room, that is fixed up just the way you want it. Or
  2236. imagine that spot along the ocean, or being with a good, safe friend.&lt;br /&gt;
  2237.  
  2238. Imagine things going well for you. Imagine that you know how to take
  2239. care of the situation you are in. If you practice doing this, you will
  2240. find that it begins to work for you. Things DO go better, and you CAN
  2241. cope better. You can deal better with the crises in your life, if you
  2242. practice feeling like you can take care of things.&lt;br /&gt;
  2243.  
  2244. Create a safe, comfortable place for yourself. It will help if you do
  2245. this in a quiet room or a quiet spot outdoors. Try to relax, and close
  2246. your eyes if you feel safe. Settle into this comfortable, safe,
  2247. beautiful place. Let your hurtful feelings drain or wash out of you,
  2248. relieving you and making you more comfortable. Breathe slowly and gently
  2249. as you do this.&lt;br /&gt;
  2250.  
  2251. Infertility is a virtual minefield of emotions. It is possible to
  2252. navigate these emotions and to maintain emotional regulation with
  2253. practice. Good communication as a couple is vital. Sometimes individual
  2254. or couples counseling can really help process everything that is going
  2255. on and help turn a stressful situation into a growth and learning
  2256. opportunity. If you or someone you know is struggling with infertility,
  2257. please reach out to a qualified mental health professional. You can
  2258. contact me at 770-789-0847, by email at carolyn@growhealchange.com or
  2259. through my website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt; for a free consultation on how I can help you thrive through your infertility journey.&lt;br /&gt;
  2260. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  2261. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjvTH12EHXbmt3rM3U0ZeiweqjlRXgbMmwTXlMXmos4GPqxZ0Gx860bmtEeh9adUfQwVZEIzj_HT4YyMWUJUdEpioYvDU0ft84zaaWsNdbuuHefXr7C8r8g4c0SX41ZHUrXkwmcQHsjI/s1600/infertilityimages.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjvTH12EHXbmt3rM3U0ZeiweqjlRXgbMmwTXlMXmos4GPqxZ0Gx860bmtEeh9adUfQwVZEIzj_HT4YyMWUJUdEpioYvDU0ft84zaaWsNdbuuHefXr7C8r8g4c0SX41ZHUrXkwmcQHsjI/s1600/infertilityimages.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2262. TRU Integrative Health and Wellness has a division called TRUbaby that is equipped with an array of holistic clinicians from chiropractic to nutrition to psychotherapy to help you navigate and thrive. See &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com. &lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/09/anxiety-and-infertility-roller-coaster.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjvTH12EHXbmt3rM3U0ZeiweqjlRXgbMmwTXlMXmos4GPqxZ0Gx860bmtEeh9adUfQwVZEIzj_HT4YyMWUJUdEpioYvDU0ft84zaaWsNdbuuHefXr7C8r8g4c0SX41ZHUrXkwmcQHsjI/s72-c/infertilityimages.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-1268588380209687965</guid><pubDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-08-31T13:19:45.556-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety treatment Buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">atlanta anxiety therapist</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">counseling for anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">How to cope with infidelity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">mindfulness</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">OCD</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">panic</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">panic attacks</category><title>How to Cope With Fear of Infidelity and the Anxiety it Brings</title><description>In this age of technology and digital communication, I have seen a
  2263. growing trend in my practice of serious technology related issues in
  2264. relationships. &amp;nbsp;These issues can signal the beginning of the end for
  2265. relationships as they can propel the couple to try to control each other
  2266. and to descend deeper and deeper into codependency and mistrust.&lt;br /&gt;
  2267. &lt;br /&gt;
  2268. Cell
  2269. phones are wonderful things, they allow us to stay in constant
  2270. communication in a myriad of ways, but they can be the source of much
  2271. conflict. Text messages are a prime example. Communication with someone
  2272. other than the partner can trigger insecurity and suspicion in a
  2273. relationship and the informal nature of text messages can sometimes
  2274. allow for communication to veer towards subjects that may be seen as
  2275. inappropriate or that feel disrespectful to the other partner. Someone
  2276. already prone to insecurity may be propelled to anger and jealousy by
  2277. the discovery of messages to another.&lt;br /&gt;
  2278. &lt;br /&gt;
  2279. Computers can be another
  2280. source of pain. From Facebook to pornography, there are triggers
  2281. everywhere that can cause hearts to constrict and fear to rule. Friend
  2282. requests from former flames can cause more anxiety than a four-alarm
  2283. fire, and private messages when discovered can damage trust and build
  2284. walls.&amp;nbsp; It can seem like there is nowhere in the world that is safe from
  2285. the potential &quot;threat&quot; to the relationship once the line is crossed.&lt;br /&gt;
  2286. &lt;br /&gt;
  2287. It
  2288. seems like the first response to these events is to &quot;control&quot; them. The
  2289. wounded party may ask to see the offender’s text messages or view their
  2290. computer history on a regular basis. Monitoring the phone records and
  2291. promises not to delete anything until inspected become commonplace. It
  2292. seems like once that first step to &quot;monitor&quot; is taken, the relationship
  2293. becomes a playground for crazy making.&lt;br /&gt;
  2294. There are too many ways
  2295. around being monitored for monitoring to be an effective means of
  2296. achieving that feeling of safety. There are apps that allow you to
  2297. receive texts on a server so that they never actually show on a phone,
  2298. and ways to wipe and encrypt information on a hard drive so that it is
  2299. never found. The person trying to feel safe because of the feeling of
  2300. control that comes with being able to check the phone will exhaust
  2301. himself or herself with having to think of all the ways they could be
  2302. deceived. &lt;br /&gt;
  2303. &lt;br /&gt;
  2304. Relationships can become so codependent and enmeshed
  2305. once they head down this slippery slope that they hold no resemblance to
  2306. the loving environment that was originally&amp;nbsp;triggered by suspicion.
  2307. Monitoring someone is futile. If someone wants to cheat they will. There
  2308. is no surveillance mechanism strong enough to track someone who wants
  2309. to be underground. This is hard news to hear for someone in love who
  2310. simply wants to feel safe.&lt;br /&gt;
  2311. &lt;br /&gt;
  2312. The first step in dealing with an
  2313. infraction, whether infidelity, flirtation or mere miscommunication is
  2314. to evaluate your boundaries. What are you willing to do or to put up
  2315. with to stay in this relationship? Is the relationship worth saving? How
  2316. much discomfort are you willing to bear? Are you willing to risk being
  2317. hurt to love this person? For some the answer is no, and for some,
  2318. staying in the relationship is worth the work it will take to stay
  2319. there.&lt;br /&gt;
  2320. &lt;br /&gt;
  2321. So how do you do it? You realize that you are in a
  2322. relationship with a person who is separate from you who has the ability
  2323. to make decisions on his or her own. You accept the fact that no matter
  2324. what you do you cannot prevent yourself from being hurt when you love
  2325. someone. The risk is always there. Then, you nail your feet to the floor
  2326. and take a deep breath. This is the hard part.&lt;br /&gt;
  2327. &lt;br /&gt;
  2328. Distress tolerance
  2329. skills are useful when we are unable, unwilling, or it would be
  2330. inappropriate to change a situation. Learning to coexist with discomfort
  2331. can go a long way in increasing our quality of life. Sometimes learning
  2332. a few skills can allow us to stay in a relationship and thrive versus
  2333. intervening and trying to control and pronouncing the beginning of the
  2334. end for the relationship.&lt;br /&gt;
  2335. Radical acceptance is the first step in
  2336. distress tolerance. Acceptance means being willing to experience a
  2337. situation as it is, rather than how we want it to be , it is a
  2338. willingness to accept things as they are and to learn to exist with the
  2339. fact. This doesn’t mean that what happened is ok, it merely means that
  2340. it happened.&lt;br /&gt;
  2341. &amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
  2342. Repeatedly &#39;turning the mind&#39; is useful as well.&amp;nbsp; To
  2343. be in the actual situation you are in, rather than the situation you
  2344. think you&#39;re in, or think you should be in is a must.&amp;nbsp; Your mind is
  2345. always going to give you other ideas, interpretations, reminding you of
  2346. old strategies.&amp;nbsp; Each time your mind wanders and you notice these other
  2347. thoughts and images, simply bring your attention back to this moment.&amp;nbsp;
  2348. Not judging the situation to be good, or bad, or in any way.&amp;nbsp; Simply
  2349. bringing your attention back to this moment, this situation, and being
  2350. effective in this situation. That means accepting that something
  2351. happened that made you uncomfortable, and resisting the mind&#39;s desire to
  2352. control or fix the situation.&lt;br /&gt;
  2353. Taking a deep breath and finding
  2354. things to distract you from the desire to monitor or control can help.
  2355. Engaging in activities is often helpful. One should focus their
  2356. undivided attention on the activity alone, and attempt to push away any
  2357. thoughts that try to come in related to the trigger. Mindless, or
  2358. tedious activities usually work best for this, such as needlework,
  2359. washing dishes, filing papers, etc. It is important not to attach any
  2360. opinions to the activities you are engaged in because doing so opens the
  2361. door to judgmental thoughts and images related to the triggering event.&lt;br /&gt;
  2362. &lt;br /&gt;
  2363. Finding
  2364. meaningful activities outside of your relationship can help you to keep
  2365. perspective and a healthy sense of your significance. Volunteering or
  2366. engaging in activities with a purpose helps redirect your attention upon
  2367. others. There is a tendency to become hyper-focused on your
  2368. relationship when triggered to anxiety, and developing contributing
  2369. skills helps move your focus to others.&amp;nbsp; Examples of contributing skills
  2370. would be doing someone a favor or making someone a nice card for a
  2371. &quot;just because&quot; occasion, or writing a letter to a loved one, telling
  2372. them how much you care. Contributing not only helps distract you from
  2373. your own painful emotions but it helps you build a sense of self respect
  2374. and gives back meaning and purpose to your life that may feel
  2375. diminished due to the current circumstances in your relationship. Doing
  2376. things for others can be very rewarding, especially when the act is
  2377. unsolicited. This distress tolerance tactic is very effective.&lt;br /&gt;
  2378. &lt;br /&gt;
  2379. Self-soothing
  2380. is a skill that many of us neglect when triggered to anxiety. This is a
  2381. skill in which one behaves in a comforting, nurturing, kind, and gentle
  2382. way to oneself. You use it by doing something that is soothing to you
  2383. such as taking a bubble bath, or spending time in nature. It is used in
  2384. moments of distress or agitation to great avail when you are feeling
  2385. afraid and compelled to act.&lt;br /&gt;
  2386. &lt;br /&gt;
  2387. Committing yourself to a relationship
  2388. based on mutual respect and refusing to allow yourself to take that
  2389. first step towards losing self-respect despite your partner&#39;s actions is
  2390. a must. Once you take that first step down the slippery slope you not
  2391. only lose your self-respect, you give your relationship the seal of
  2392. doom. What feels like it will save the relationship and make it &quot;safe&quot;
  2393. for you is actually the guaranteed way to keep you in anxiety and pain.
  2394. Monitoring also prevents the offender from being able to redeem himself
  2395. or herself, and takes away their dignity, which ensures that they will
  2396. never be able to perform up to their highest capabilities in the
  2397. relationship.&lt;br /&gt;
  2398. &lt;br /&gt;
  2399. Sometimes outside support is necessary to enable you
  2400. to thrive in a relationship where your trust has been broken. As a
  2401. psychotherapist who specializes in anxiety, I have seen relationships
  2402. dissolve due to infidelity and the ensuing mistrust, but I have also
  2403. seen them heal and grow. Having an advocate to help you navigate the
  2404. uncharted waters of relationship insecurity can go a long way towards
  2405. helping you decide whether to stay in a relationship or leave.
  2406. Psychotherapy can help you keep your dignity and to step into your power
  2407. and use the situation as an opportunity for growth. If you need
  2408. assistance in dealing with relationship anxiety call me at 770-789-0847
  2409. or email carolyn@growhealchange.com for a free consultation. For more
  2410. information see my website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt;www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
  2411. &lt;br /&gt;
  2412. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  2413. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7QV2weCAHxfIZC0DXYRPhpt21IQKhBXnx1tWFAQiSO6HyJH6TwO1U7u0JfLztoYBTK2XYUYtS0t9N_vkmxKPIA3hiJTOwp8I9JcvY96cnTXy4feI9m0T0-eWZXh5k_y8W1okcywogbg/s1600/infidelityimages.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7QV2weCAHxfIZC0DXYRPhpt21IQKhBXnx1tWFAQiSO6HyJH6TwO1U7u0JfLztoYBTK2XYUYtS0t9N_vkmxKPIA3hiJTOwp8I9JcvY96cnTXy4feI9m0T0-eWZXh5k_y8W1okcywogbg/s1600/infidelityimages.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2414. TRU Integrative Health and Wellness offers many good opportunities for support and self-care. From massage and reiki to meditation groups, psychotherapy&amp;nbsp; and yoga, there is a supportive community waiting to assist you on your journey. See our website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; to see what exciting things are going on at TRU and how we can help you! </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-cope-with-fear-of-infidelity-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7QV2weCAHxfIZC0DXYRPhpt21IQKhBXnx1tWFAQiSO6HyJH6TwO1U7u0JfLztoYBTK2XYUYtS0t9N_vkmxKPIA3hiJTOwp8I9JcvY96cnTXy4feI9m0T0-eWZXh5k_y8W1okcywogbg/s72-c/infidelityimages.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612613253823866619.post-2528825131289347859</guid><pubDate>Thu, 30 Aug 2012 02:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-08-29T22:23:50.703-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety therapist buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety treatment atlanta</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">anxiety treatment Buckhead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">OCD</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">panic</category><title>Motherhood: The Anxiety Maker </title><description>For those who struggled with anxiety
  2415. before motherhood, becoming a mother may have kicked things into
  2416. overdrive. Even if you didn&#39;t have anxiety before your child was born,
  2417. after birth the world may seem like it will never be a safe place again.
  2418. How can it, with your heart walking around outside of your body now?
  2419. All of a sudden you are surrounded by potential dangers, like accidents
  2420. waiting to happen, illnesses lurking in the background waiting to pounce
  2421. and potential calamities everywhere.&lt;br /&gt;
  2422. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200206&quot;&gt;
  2423. Recognizing
  2424. that you have anxiety and taking steps to intervene are vital to your
  2425. health and the health of your children. Children pick up on the energy
  2426. of the anxiety, and may see your anxious energy as the cue that they are
  2427. unsafe or not capable of coping with what life throws at them. In order
  2428. not to communicate a message of fear to your child, you must take steps
  2429. to tame the beast.&lt;/div&gt;
  2430. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200206&quot;&gt;
  2431. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2432. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200266&quot;&gt;
  2433. Talking
  2434. back to your anxious thoughts goes a long way towards addressing the
  2435. problem. Actually logically looking at what you are believing and
  2436. fearing can help you determine if your fears are unfounded or
  2437. legitimate. When fears are legitimate you can plan a course of action
  2438. and take steps to ensure your child&#39;s safety and security. Unfounded
  2439. fears are more nebulous and cannot be planned for or addressed using
  2440. logical methods. Reassuring yourself when you have an unfounded fear can
  2441. help you relax.&lt;/div&gt;
  2442. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200266&quot;&gt;
  2443. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2444. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200367&quot;&gt;
  2445. Having an
  2446. outlet outside of your children for socialization and support is helpful
  2447. too. Seeing other mothers who cope with potential situations without
  2448. fear is a good model to assist you in stepping out into situations that
  2449. you logically know are safe but still feel uneasy about. Having other
  2450. women to discuss your fears with who will help you reframe them and
  2451. support you is invaluable.&lt;/div&gt;
  2452. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200367&quot;&gt;
  2453. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2454. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200451&quot;&gt;
  2455. Good
  2456. self care is vital. As mothers we are trained by society to believe
  2457. that taking care of our children is selfless and that caring for
  2458. ourselves is indulgent and selfish. This is simply not true. You must
  2459. fill your own tank to overflowing before you can provide the abundance
  2460. of love and caring you want to provide for your children. Take a walk,
  2461. spend time with friends, read a good book, take a bubble bath. Spend
  2462. time on things that bring you joy. Maintaining your identity outside of
  2463. your children models what a strong, independent woman looks like, and
  2464. you want them to grow up with the skills to care for themselves. How can
  2465. they do this if they have never seen it done?&lt;/div&gt;
  2466. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200451&quot;&gt;
  2467. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2468. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  2469. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsn-d8R5kDtMTP6jOIVwf8Zc-Ho8I_0PC8rLfkMODhuszIgKPJRcYeLI0GkhifBvGIIpJaaOMeUIrXlSXc34RXnMILjaaCXB1dBY0dMm1bs-f_VuN23X46L__H7mBrbGfixP0v4YH8JEE/s1600/anxious+motherimages.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsn-d8R5kDtMTP6jOIVwf8Zc-Ho8I_0PC8rLfkMODhuszIgKPJRcYeLI0GkhifBvGIIpJaaOMeUIrXlSXc34RXnMILjaaCXB1dBY0dMm1bs-f_VuN23X46L__H7mBrbGfixP0v4YH8JEE/s1600/anxious+motherimages.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2470. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200500&quot;&gt;
  2471. If
  2472. anxiety is too much for you to deal with on your own, seek help. A
  2473. qualified mental health professional is trained to help you address the
  2474. symptoms. As a psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, I have seen the
  2475. benefit of therapy to help mothers cope with anxiety and thrive. Please
  2476. call me at 770-789-0847, email me at Carolyn@growhealchange.com or see
  2477. my website at&lt;a data-mce-href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&quot; href=&quot;http://www.carolyntuckertherapist.com/&quot;&gt; www.carolyntuckertherapist.com&lt;/a&gt; to contact me for a free consultation.&lt;/div&gt;
  2478. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200500&quot;&gt;
  2479. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  2480. &lt;div id=&quot;yui_3_2_0_20_1346186516200500&quot;&gt;
  2481. TRU Integrative Health and Wellness offers many ways to assist with combating anxiety from holistic nutrition that can take the place of prescription medication to reiki, massage and yoga there are many opportunities for good self care. See &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.growhealchange.com/&quot;&gt;www.growhealchange.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information. &lt;/div&gt;
  2482. </description><link>http://growhealchange.blogspot.com/2012/08/motherhood-anxiety-maker.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsn-d8R5kDtMTP6jOIVwf8Zc-Ho8I_0PC8rLfkMODhuszIgKPJRcYeLI0GkhifBvGIIpJaaOMeUIrXlSXc34RXnMILjaaCXB1dBY0dMm1bs-f_VuN23X46L__H7mBrbGfixP0v4YH8JEE/s72-c/anxious+motherimages.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>

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