Insomnia
"When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep... and you're never really awake. With insomnia, nothing's real. Everything's far away. Everything's a copy of a copy of a copy." Fight Club
Dont you just love that feeling?
So if you are stuggling with sleep, here are some things to try....
1. Bed is for sleep and sex only. Leave the phone in the lounge.
2. Give yourself a worry time earlier in the evening. Write it down, use a notebook. Then leave the notebook with the phone. And the ipad. And the lap top.
2. Go to bed when you are tired.
3. Not asleep in 20 minutes? Get up, do something boring.
4. Go back to bed when you are tired.
5. Not asleep? Repeat 3 and 4.
6. Get up at the same time regardless of how much sleep you had. Your body will reset itself. Remind yourself it is liek walking away frm a train wreck not a plane wreck.
7. Keep at it.
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- Written by Dr Fran Brinn
- Category: Psych-blog
EMD aaarghhh!
No one knows how any form of psychotherapy works neurobiologically or in the brain. However, we do know that when a person is very upset, their brain cannot process information as it does ordinarily. One moment becomes "frozen in time," and remembering a trauma may feel as bad as going through it the first time because the images, sounds, smells, and feelings haven’t changed. Such memories have a lasting negative effect that interferes with the way a person sees the world and the way they relate to other people.
EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way that the brain processes information. Normal information processing is resumed, so following a successful EMDR session, a person no longer relives the images, sounds, and feelings when the event is brought to mind. You still remember what happened, but it is less upsetting. Many types of therapy have similar goals. However, EMDR appears to be similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Therefore, EMDR can be thought of as a physiologically based therapy that helps a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way.
What happens in a session is that you are asked to bring to mind the worst aspect of the event - the picture or image, the feelings, emotions and beliefs about youself when you think of that image, and you are asked to "just notice" where your mind takes you as the bilateral stimulation (through eye movement, tapping or audio tones) is introduced.
It's a really hard therapy to explain - the key is simply to non judgementally "go with it", and the therapist facilitates the process. If you are able to remain non judgemental when - if truth be told - you are feeling emotionally triggered, and possibly wondering how on earth this technique can work, then the results can be rapid and effective. People can find themselves working through multiple traumatic experiences in minutes.
EMDR does require rigorous training - there is a long process of supervision, study and experiential learning to reach certification. Please ensure your therapist has undertaken an EMDRIA approved training as this is a powerful therapy.
See the links on my page for further information.
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- Written by Dr Fran Brinn
- Category: Psych-blog
The Causes of Gun Violence in America
I just came across this on Facebook, and thought it cuts right to the heart of the problem facing the American Public.
The Causes of Gun Violence IdentifiedWhat is the leading cause of mass gun violence?
Posted by GOOD on Monday, February 22, 2016
What do you think?
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- Written by Super User
- Category: Psych-blog