Saving Your Inner Child

Some people laugh off the idea of an “inner child,” a “young part of you” who has suffered, perhaps even been traumatized by parental fights, poor growing up conditions, alcoholism, sexual abuse or other traumas.  Rescuing your inner child can give you new confidence, strength and perspective on life.  This video demonstrates that before fleeing a bad situation, rather than cut off your painful feelings, remember to relate to the child within, “take him or her with you” gather a …

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The Psychology of Perspective

“Keep your perspective,” “Keep it in perspective,” is usually good advice. What is perspective, actually?  Oxford dictionary says it’s an attitude, a position, angle, outlook, even a lookout.  It can be a point of view, a viewpoint, a standpoint.  A perspective is something that guides us.  We tend to act, based on how we see things, what we believe about someone.  When our point of view clashes with conflicting information, it can be confusing and either our perspective changes or …

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Does Intimacy Enhance Sexuality or Destroy it?

Esther Perel writes in her new book Mating in Captivity that there is a paradox of intimacy and sexuality in relationships. For many people, the paradox is that the more intimate, close and secure we feel, the less erotic desire is present in long-term committed relationships. It raises the question, “What is the meaning of love and sexuality in long term relationships?” Paradoxically, erotic desire often flourishes when there is separateness,  a sense of danger, when it is forbidden. It …

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DJAM: What happened to his brain?

Adam Goldstein, or DJAM as he was known was a celebrity D.J. who was found dead on August 28, 2009 of an accidental drug overdose after 10 years of sobriety.  He had just finished filming the first episode of a new reality show called “Gone too Far” for MTV, in which he was reaching out to Amy, a 23 year old Heroin addict, trying to get her to enter rehab. Adam had a family history of addiction.  In a NYTimes article Sunday October 18, 2009 …

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News in the Science of Addiction

The Science of Addiction The following article was published by the Northeast ATTC Network — funded by SAMHSA — Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to educate and improve the quality of recovery.   Their article helps us learn about the effects of substances on the brain as seen through brain imaging.  For the brain image pictures, please refer below to:   “More about how imaging techniques work and  findings…..” in the article Ihttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2851068/maging the Addicted Human Brain (Fowler, et.al.)   Their article states: “Addiction is …

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Focusing: 5 Ways to Find a Felt-Sense

Focusing is a term given to our ability to turn our attention inward, to notice how we experience a life situation, a problem, a difficulty with a relationship or even a point of stuck creativity.   We are gathering a “felt-sense” of a situation, a form of somatic experiencing. Felt-sensing is different than “getting in touch with feelings,” or “thoughts,” and it is not strictly meditation, yet it includes all of those ways of experiencing too. It is essentially a body/mind therapy.  It addresses the whole …

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