Third of a Lifetime

Best Tweets for Trauma Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

NEW and REALLY COOL: You can now “like” and “share” this post everywhere with the touch of a button or two at the end of the linked tweets! Feel free to do any or all of that! (And thanks.)

Photo Credit

@lizstrauss “Imagine if we could restore words
back to their original meaning. Words like
peace, joy, wonder, good will, wishes…”

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@DrMelanieG “How do you give in a way that enriches rather than depletes you?”

@larryczerwonka “Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else’s life forever.” ~ Margaret Cho

@DalaiLama “Once you encourage the thought of compassion in your mind, once it becomes active, then your attitude towards others changes automatically.”

@rcinstitute “ThoughtfulThursday: the most important holiday reminder is to stay present with your true needs and feelings.”

@visityourself “Fully living requires embracing the not-beautiful, the not-spiritual, the confusion, and the aversion to it all.”

@DepressionForum “In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” ~ Aaron Rose

Linked Tweets

Depression Resources Over the Holidays
and Throughout the Year

@NAMIMass Know the lifeline 1-800-273-8255 or @800273TALK 24/7 when you or someone you know needs help
[SEO: Between now and New Year's Day, many people you may know are lonely, hurting, and may reach out for help. Be the person who knows how to help them.]

@NAMIMass Depression At The Holidays
[SEO: "Depression can even affect someone who’s never experienced it before. Why does this happen and what can you do about it?"]

@SarahEOlson2009 Top Ten Depression Blogs 2010 | World of Psychology
[SEO: These are all excellent blogs! Highly recommended. You are not alone!]

The Rest of the Best

@psychcentral Authenticity and Body Image
[SEO: Article focuses on cultural norms that undermine women's confidence in their own bodies as they grow up and compare themselves to stereotypical "thin people" and images in magazines, etc., and how that blocks one from true authenticity in life. In a similar way but for very different reasons, many survivors of child abuse grow up with confusion, distortions, and hating their bodies. In my life, I've felt either "separate from" my body, or betrayed by it -- and neither of these lend to personal authenticity.]

@MentalHelpNet Wired for Empathy and Connection
[SEO: Why we are wired for empathy and connection. "In the past social isolation in a community meant certain death and social rejection was the path to a 'broken heart.' Well, Naomi Eisenberger and Matthew Lieberman at UCLA did a study published in 2003 that found that the same areas of the brain light up when experiencing social rejection as when experiencing physical pain." The included 10 minute video, "The Empathic Civilisation", is a gem, and a keeper. Via one long continuous whiteboard, the narrator draws much the history of empathy since the dawn of man -- how it changed history, and why it is relevant today.]

@NAMIMass Therapists Use ‘Canine Assistants’ to Comfort, Cheer Patients; Duke Senses an Anxiety Disorder
[SEO: Fascinating read. A therapist's dog lies on the floor next to a patient with anxiety disorders, or sits on the couch next to one with depression -- and in some cases the dog knows which applies before the therapist does. "How can dogs be that sensitive to human emotions? Experts speculate that people give off tell-tale scents under certain physical or psychological conditions that only dogs can detect. That acute sense of smell also enables specially trained service dogs to recognize when seizures, diabetic comas or heart attacks are imminent in humans."]

@psychcentral Meeting Again for the First Time: a true story about a patient with anterograde amnesia
[SEO: "Samantha remembers everything from before about 15 years ago. She remembers going to college, having friends and ambitions, and falling in love. But her description of the accident is distant and clinical; a factual recitation of what she has been told happened. In a casual conversation you might not realize that you were talking to someone who would, only hours later, have no recollection of ever meeting you." This woman greets her therapist each week as though they are meeting for the first time -- because for her, it is. I've struggled my entire life with memory issues, and having grasp of something just beyond reach has often felt hopeless. But I had context, and short term memory. I honestly don't think I could have endured what this woman faces every hour of every day.]

@SarahEOlson2009 Reading from the Book of 2010: Your Life Lessons
[SEO: "For sometimes in looking back and taking stock, you can more clearly see the paths you’ve travelled – and get a sense of who you’re becoming as you do." A thought-provoking series of questions (and questions within those questions) about "what have been your hard times this year, and how did you get through them?"; "who inspired you this year?"; "when did you feel strongest this year?"; and "what’s it like to remember and consolidate these learnings from your own life?".]

My Christmas Eve Favorite TweetStuff is a bonanza of goodness and fun! Truly, there is something here for just about everyone — gorgeous, amazing, inspiring, cool science, and laugh out loud awesome stuff! Enjoy!

@SarahEOlson2009 Four hour video time lapsed to two minutes; yes, the moon really did turn red. Solstice Lunar Eclipse

@tobywneal Everyone should try Christmas in HI at least once
[SEO: A great peek into cultures and customs in a Hawaiian Christmas! Pictures and commentary.]

@imaginewriters “If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.” ~ Isaac Asimov

@Gimundo 6 Clever, Fun, and Inspiring Christmas Videos
[SEO: This 6 video set includes "Food Court Hallelujah Chorus" and "How To Wrap A Cat For Christmas". On a different note, is a short documentary wherein the filmmaker asks dozens of people in Chicago and Detroit: "If you could have anything, without limitation, for Christmas, what would that be?" Many people seem stumped, hesitant to say a dream out loud. Some go to the stock "$1 million" answer. Then it gets poignant. A man asks merely for gloves. A woman wishes she could see her whole family again, though she knows it will never happen. People become more reflective. "Do I wish selfishly for myself, or ask for something for everyone?" So... what would you want for Christmas?]

@PsychDigest “I’m living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart.” ~ e. e. cummings

@AmazingPics Animals Giving a High Five
[SEO: Lots of unusual shots of animals giving high fives. Who knew crocodiles were such good sports! I especially like the anteater in the black sweater waving from on top of the washing machine! (You'll just have to look to verify whether I made that up. ]

@Tamavista “Generosity gives assistance, rather than advice.” ~ Vauvenargues

@goodthingZ Incredible Snapshots of Sonic Booms
[SEO: Who knew you could SEE sonic booms.]

@DrAverySlyker “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” ~ John Wooden

@pourmecoffee Winner of YouTube Play of Year: Father films one-armed son winning swim heat. Nice.
[SEO: At the same link, the runners-up, also amazing sports feats by young 'uns.]

@heykim The YEAR 2010 in 60 seconds

@Splinteredones “Stop a moment. Close your eyes and imagine internal peace. That’s how peace comes, individually wrapped.”

Best Tweets for Trauma Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

NEW and REALLY COOL: You can now “like” and “share” this post everywhere with the touch of a button or two at the end of the linked tweets! Feel free to do any or all of that! (And thanks.)
 

Photo Credit

@Tamavista “Make voyages. Attempt them.
There’s nothing else.” ~ Tennessee Williams

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@goodthingZ “You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

@visityourself “Before trying to accept a painful situation, accept your own aversion to the situation. Breathe into the aversion.”

@PsychDigest “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” ~ St. Exupery

@Tamavista “The subconscious is ceaselessly murmuring, and it is by listening to these murmurs that one hears the truth.” ~ G. Bachelard

@soulseedz “Say ‘yes’ to now. Say ‘I don’t know’ to mystery. Say ‘thank you’ for the gift of being alive.”

@karenkmmonroy “Spirit cherishes and ego prizes.”

Linked Tweets

Holidays

@psychcentral Reflecting on 2010: A Self Compassion Break (via @Mindful_Living)
[SEO: "...we need to look back on our lives so we can learn from the past, be more intentional in the present and be well in the future. What we need in the process is a little self-compassion."]

@ssanquist 21 Holiday Stress Busters (via Beyond Blue)
[SEO: A light-hearted list of 21 slides about how to simplify, prioritize, and delegate your way through the holidays. I especially like "Hold Onto the Wonder": "Even though I'm one stressed-out chick during the holidays, I still manage to enjoy myself. Because even stress can't steal away the wonder of the season. Nothing can. Not illness, to-do lists, dysfunctional families, or crummy weather. If you feel your wonder begin to go, grab it back! It's your best shield against stress."]

@psychcentral Ack! Christmas is next week. Are you ready? Get relaxed with these Holiday Survival Tips
["Wouldn’t it be nice to get through the season with just a little less stress and a few more moments, and calm and peace?"]

The Rest of the Best

(A special thanks to @goodthingZ who consistently tweets unusual, thought-provoking resources!)

@goodthingZ 5 Powerful Ways to Forgive Those Who Have Wronged You
[SEO: Great article; very detailed about what forgiveness means or doesn't mean, and how to go about it to clear the clutter of energy devoted to negativity. What I like is that here there are not just two choices: forgive and be free, or don't forgive and be miserable. The third choice is: don't forgive, but cultivate acceptance.]

@Mindful_Living When You Just Can’t Sleep
[SEO: "One of the reasons anxious thoughts continue to spin is because we’re caught up in them relating to the problem of sleep from the anxious thoughts instead of stepping out of the whirlwind of the mind and relating to the anxious thoughts."]

@goodthingZ An Awesome Guide to Inner Peace (“this article is superb!”) (via @aflourishinglif)
[SEO: "Showing up as a loving presence to yourself is one of the most sane and compassionate things you could ever do."]

@ssanquist Let Sleeping Dogs Lie – or not?! (via Discussing Dissociation)
[SEO: The post author, Kathy Broady, LCSW, has a cute pile of new puppies (pics included!), and outlines the many ways in which puppies (or kittens!) enrich your life, and add to your mental well-being. She provides specific benefits of having a pet for each of several mental disorders or conditions. I've had cats in my life since I was three months old. They love unconditionally, make me laugh, and provide an anchor to reality in times when I've not been all that convinced I was real. All of that is priceless.]

@goodthingZ 9 Ways to Innovate Yourself
[SEO: "Sometimes we are stuck into looking at something in a set way. It can be the way we go about a particular task or problem. It becomes a ‘given’ that we unquestionably assume it’s just the way things are. A fresh new perspective can give it a whole new meaning and to our own amazement we realize there is a better way of dealing with it we never imagined could be possible."]

@NAMIMass Mindfulness Meditation On A Par With Antidepressants At Preventing Depression Relapse
[SEO: "Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is being increasingly used as a psychotherapeutic approach for stress reduction, pain management, behavior change, and for self-management of symptoms of depression. MBCT does not use drugs, but teaches patients how to be aware of and to a certain extent regulate emotions so they can spot triggers of relapse early, plus make changes in lifestyle that help them gain a sense of balance in mood and hold the gains for longer."]

@goodthingZ 10 Life Lessons from the movie “Elf”
[SEO: "You might not share my affinity for elf culture, or for Buddy. But I guarantee that you'll gain something from the life lessons I gathered after watching the film yet another time."]

It’s Friday! Every week I rescue some Tweety goodness from my Tweet stream — weird, funny, sweet, inspiring, beautiful — it’s all here! Enjoy!

(*Special thanks to @heykim, who always posts neat stuff, but was really on a tear this last week!)

@darthvader “Just how many planets *do* I have to blow up before I’m named TIME’s Person of the Year?”

@heykim WOW what WAS that in the sky over Georgia??
[SEO: Sure, it's an optical illusion. Whatever.]

@goodthingZ 10 Most Creative Crosswalk Advertising
[SEO: Some of these crosswalks are both quite creative and elaborate.]

@hemmingwayscat Oh dood…….. COOL! (via @Splinteredones)
[SEO: A Christmas tree made entirely of green (colored) books!)

@heykim COOL~ Christmas music using borrowed iPhones and iPads (via @BettyBuckley)
[SEO: Either you will think this is the coolest thing ... or you won't. But I do.]

@Splinteredones Amazing shapes of sea shells part 3/3 (via @itamusedme)
[SEO: See also the links to parts 1 and 2 at bottom of post.]

@heykim Top 10 Everything of 2010
[SEO: From TIME, the top 10 of 50 different subjects, from the last 12 months. I could lose a few days here.]

@LisaKiftTherapy “Once you are real, you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.” ~ Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

Best Tweets for Trauma Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

NEW and REALLY COOL: You can now “like” and “share” this post everywhere with the touch of a button or two at the end of the linked tweets! Feel free to do any or all of that! (And thanks.)

Photo Credit

@karenkmmonroy “What if you are not as broken as you
keep telling yourself? What if you have
everything right now that you need?”

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@LisaKiftTherapy “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

@Tamavista “What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it.” ~ Saint-Exupéry

@rcinstitute “TruthfulTuesday: the only way to be empowered is to have full grasp of the truth.”

@karenkmmonroy “When the ego hears ‘accountability’ it thinks reckoning/judgment. Spirit thinks fuel for the life I want.”

@TheNaturalVet “When asked if my cup is half full or half empty, my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup.” ~ Sam Lefkowitz

@CarePathways “Living involves tearing up one rough draft after another.”

Linked Tweets

Holidays

@therapynews The holidays are a happy, carefree time for everyone, right? Not necessarily…
[SEO: "One of the most common sources of family stress are, the judgments that are, often expressed surrounding your life choices." The author poses two choices. The first is to speak up, as an autonomous adult: "point out a behavior, state how it affects you and then ask for change. Clearly, one statement over a holiday dinner table is not going to break through years, maybe even generations, of harmful family dynamics, but it is a start." The second choice is to consider therapy to help you develop strategies for managing the impact that your family’s behavior has on you. (My opinion: if you've gone through years or generations of harmful family dynamics, spontaneously speaking up without a lot of forethought and objective counsel is most likely counter-productive.) A lot of family dynamics do fall somewhere between the extremes, so the advice in this article may be of help.]

@SarahEOlson2009 4 Steps to Decrease Emotional Vulnerability at the Holidays
[SEO: "In order to reduce your vulnerability it’s important to understand what triggers an emotional response and to generate strategies to manage the emotions that might occur during the holidays."]

@goodthingZ One Powerful Word: A Simple Approach to New Year Resolutions
[SEO: I like this. Instead of making a list of resolutions which fall by the wayside around January 4th, the author suggests that you choose one powerful word or phrase to focus upon intently throughout the year. "Your word might be eminently practical. Or it might be creative. It might be light-hearted. Or it might be laser-focused. It simply needs to be the perfect word for you." She offers a list of questions by which to discover your word; a list of words and phrases to get you thinking about it, and suggestions of how to "unleash the power of your word".

I want to focus on "movement". Spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, I want to create steady movement. What is your word?]

The Rest of the Best

@DrMarsha An introduction to Neuroplasticity — The Brain Can Change Itself
[SEO: Neuroplasticity refers to how "we are constantly adapting and growing, and every stimulus we receive changes the way our brain functions on both a conscious and unconscious level. And it is now through brain scanning and dissection that we know this to be true." Research increasingly points to the fact that we can change how our brain is hardwired. "It turns out that the ego, motivation, and love are critical factors in achieving the benefits of brain plasticity. One of the most powerful techniques to attain this state lies in meditation."]

@MichelePTSD Phases of Healing PTSD — Desire and Commitment
[SEO: On healing PTSD: "We have to really desire it, and we have to know that there will be phases of it. I’ve been thinking more about the similarities between learning to dance and PTSD. Actually, the processes (and you could substitute learning any activity here) have similar phases." This is an older post that is first in a series.]

@SarahEOlson2009 Sleep Deprivation May Ease Fearful Memories (via Psych Central)
[SEO: It's interesting, and may make some sense of the puzzle of memory for some people, but it's never been true for me. I have sleep deprivation *because* of the fearful memories, and they don't ease a bit. Do you find this article to ring true for your own experience?]

@goodthingZ 5 Ways to Keep Your Mind Fit
[SEO: "The picture of a human as a holistic entity is breaking through today. More and more people recognize that we are more than our body, that we consist of several parts which are all equally important. There are mainly three parts that we focus on, body, mind and soul. It´s also common knowledge today that all three of these parts need stimulation for us to feel as good as possible. Body exercise is training the body and the muscles, while soul exercise is for example meditation. What this article is about is mind exercise, how we can increase our mind fitness."]

@psychcentral Banishing Body Shame: An Extreme Form Of Negative Body Image
[SEO: The article ties much of body shame to childhood abuse/trauma. "When we grow up to have shame-based beliefs about our essential being, we then have more difficulty managing the ups and downs that come with life. We are more likely to develop instincts encouraging us to flee, rather than be present, and preferences to block out emotions because we don’t know how to soothe hurts or manage pain. Remember that feelings of shame live in the body and get stored there. Shame can evoke strong urges to shrink ourselves and disappear, or it can produce high levels of agitation and irritability, making it incredibly uncomfortable to be in the present moment. Behaviorally, shame gets reflected in patterns of withdrawal, secrecy, avoidance, deception and self-destruction. It handicaps our ability to get strong in interpersonal relationships and sets us up for dysfunctional ones." The article continues with specific self-help strategies to overcome body shame.]

@MentalHelpNet Anxiety Therapy
[SEO: The post author finds Mindfulness-based therapy to be "the most direct and effective approach for helping people change the underlying patterns of emotional and cognitive reactivity that sustain the emotional suffering of anxiety and depression. ... The main theme in Mindfulness Therapy is ... learning to recognize your patterns of habitual negative thinking, beliefs and emotions and then responding to the inner suffering with mindful-awareness, choosing to care for your inner pain with full and immediate presence. This is mindfulness: not resisting or avoiding your pain, not thinking about your pain or trying to analyze it, and not becoming overwhelmed by it, but instead learning to form a relationship with it based on acceptance, friendliness and genuine caring, or love."

@MichelePTSD Breathing is a natural stress reliever -- are you making use of this free resource?
[SEO: From NPR, you can listen to or read this story. "As it turns out, deep breathing is not only relaxing, it's been scientifically proven to affect the heart, the brain, digestion, the immune system — and maybe even the expression of genes."]

@mnt_psychology Mindfulness-Based Therapy Helps Prevent Depression Relapse
[SEO: Discussion of research results: "Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy appears to be similar to maintenance antidepressant medication for preventing relapse or recurrence among patients successfully treated for depression, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals."]

@goodthingZ Helping a Significant Other/Spouse Heal from Loss or Trauma
[SEO: "The book 'Healing Together: A couple’s Guide to Coping with Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress' has a wealth of insight for spouses who have experienced a natural disaster, a serious injury or accident, violence, loss of a loved one, war service, or other kids of trauma. It also provides some guidance on when professional assistance may be needed." The article discusses how trauma which impacts either one or both partners also impacts the relationship, and lists "recovery steps" to cope with that impact. It also discusses "psychological first aid", which must be given in the early stages following trauma to provide a sense of connection, safety, and support.]

It’s Friday, and time to rescue little nuggets of wonder, beauty, inspiration, and oddity from my Tweet stream. At the end of year, we’re all a bit too busy, so take a few moments to sit back, relax, and enjoy!

@CarePathways “The man who has no inner life is a slave to his surroundings.”

@pourmecoffee 50-foot-tall Christmas tree made of lobster traps on Beals Island, Maine

@Quotes4Writers “Don’t annoy the writer. They may put you in a book and kill you.” ~ Anonymous

@kathiekeeler ‘You owe it to us all to get on with what you’re good at.’ ~ W. H. Auden

@goodthingZ Patterns in Nature
[SEO: Gorgeous close ups of patterns in flowers, peacocks, fish, zebras, and from farther away, patterns in sand, ice caves, mud flats.]

@Quotes4Writers “One of the things that draws writers to writing is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life.” ~ Tobias Wolff

@goodthingZ Bend MultiMedia Desk/Digital Workspace- the desk of the future (Pics and video)
[SEO: The desk IS the computer.]

@Splinteredones “Results are in: there is no dainty way to eat a pomegranate.”

@BlondeTXGoddess ~ Tranquility of my heart ~ (via @HappyProsperity)
[SEO: This is like a scene from a relaxation video. ]

@Quotes4Writers “Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life.” ~ Lawrence Kasdan

@summitmalibu “You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Special Request: If you find value in this blog showcase, please add the Dissociation Blog Showcase link to your blogroll so others can find it. Thanks!

We have amazing writers amongst us who give insight and hope to anyone struggling with dissociation, or to their loved ones. It’s a brain trust, and I treasure it. When I find new blogs, I update the Dissociation Blog Showcase (DBS) on Sunday evenings. Tonight I’ve added the following two new blogs:

Multiplicity

The Family In Mind

Please use the DBS link above to access these blogs, and check out the entire directory of (currently) 183 dissociation-related blogs!

As always, be careful and safe. Many of these blogs do not provide trigger warnings, nor are they obligated to do so.

Special End of Year Note: I’ve received requests for inclusion of some DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) information and awareness sites, which are not “blogs” per se. I’m planning to add a new section for these types of sites to the index, so please let me know if you have any favorites. (The two sites currently in the queue are DID World Map and DIDiva.com.) This addition must be put off until January, however, because I am knee deep in a project I am attempting to pull together by the end of the year. Plus, just end of year/holiday frazzle dazzle … my plate is now a platter. But I will follow through on this! Eventually.

If you, or someone you know, experiences dissociation and blog about it, write to me with the URL at

sarah.e.olsonATgmailDOTcom

I review each blog before adding it to the Showcase. Thanks so much for the feedback and well-wishes for this project!

Best Tweets for Trauma Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

NEW and REALLY COOL: You can now “like” and “share” this post everywhere with the touch of a button or two at the end of the linked tweets! Feel free to do any or all of that! (And thanks.)

Photo Credit

@Splinteredones “Peace is always there. No matter how often
I lose it with the crap in my head –
Peace is there, underneath, waiting for me.”

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@soulseedz “Your mind, body and spirit want to be in harmony. They are triplets separated at birth, longing to be reunited.”

@CarePathways “Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”

@rcinstitute “TruthfulTuesday: honesty isn’t just speaking the truth; it’s living with the intention not to deceive.”

@Love_Forgive “Nothing can be changed until it is faced.” ~ James Baldwin

@zebraspolkadots “What label is limiting you?”

@karenkmmonroy “It’s here: the now. What are you doing with it?”

Linked Tweets

@fromtracie The November Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse is Here
[SEO: Posts linked in categories which apply regardless of theme: Poetry; Art Therapy; Healing/Therapy; Advocacy and Awareness; Aftermath; Survivor Stories; In The News... followed by this month's theme posts: Holiday Triggers.]

@psychcentral The Awakenings Project
[SEO: "The Awakenings Project is a grass-roots initiative whose mission is to assist artists with psychiatric illnesses in developing their craft and finding an outlet for their creative abilities through art in all forms. The Awakenings Project also works to raise public awareness and acceptance of the creative talents of people living with psychiatric disorders who work in the fields of fine art, music, literature, and drama."]

Meditation

@DrJennifer [Did You Know] Taking a few moments every day to tune into yourself would benefit you in numerous ways?
[SEO: A list of the many physical, emotional, mental and spiritual rewards of meditation, and why these are good reasons to take a few moments to meditate.]

@CognitiveTherap Meditation and Mental Health
[SEO: "Meditation helps place worries, fears, and disappointments in a more rational perspective way giving a true picture. It helps the depressed person to analyze his negative thinking pattern more logically." Discusses meditation's role in alleviating anxiety, stress, and depression.]

@psychcentral Book Review: Total Relaxation: Healing Practices for Body, Mind and Spirit
[A lengthy, detailed book review of "Total Relaxation: Healing Practices for Body, Mind & Spirit" [1998] by Dr. John Harvey, a relaxation and self-development specialist. Discusses why “zoning out” is not at all equal to “relaxation”, and delivers “…effective relaxation techniques…that will allow you to achieve Total Relaxation.” The review describes the five types of relaxation, and the accompanying CD with four guided practices of about 15 minutes in length: Differential Relaxation (muscular), Diaphragmatic Breathing (autonomic), Autogenic Training (autonomic), and Meditation (mental).]

The Rest of the Best

@MentalHelpNet Depressed? The Sacred Art of Distraction
[SEO: "Mindfulness is the ability to be more present to the direct experiences of the moments we are living. However, there’s a time and a place for everything and when we’re feeling particularly depressed, becoming mindful may not be the most skillful endeavor. When the brain is locked into automatic negative thinking it’s pretty difficult to drop into a nonjudgmental awareness and that very difficulty feeds the cycle of perceived failure. Enter the art of distraction."]

@DrKathleenYoung Making Decisions about Therapist Self-Disclosure
[SEO: How much should a therapist disclose of their personal life to a client? Post discusses the when, how, and why, both from the clinician's point of view and that of the client. It's an important issue; I never made progress with any therapist until I found one who was willing to show an appropriately open, human, vulnerable side. (Key word: "appropriately".) Before then, it was just someone talking at me.

A few months into therapy, I blurted out, "You know what I like about you best? You're not afraid to show your weaknesses." He modeled strength by being willing to say "I don't know" rather than make it up. He made me feel more "normal" by admitting he didn't like to walk downstairs to his kitchen in the dark late at night. He helped me laugh at how absurd life can be at times. All of these things were crucial to my ability to trust him, and to confide things I'd told no one.]

@Cascadia Adults who feel grateful have more energy, more optimism, more social connections and more happiness. (via @Abeeliever)
[SEO: "A growing body of research suggests that maintaining an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional and physical well-being." The research backs up that a benefit of gratitude accrues to both adults and children. The article discusses ways to find gratitude in your own life, and also the ways in which "gratitude" can be misused or amount to overkill.

However ... "Being grateful also forces people to overcome what psychologists call the "negativity bias" -- the innate tendency to dwell on problems, annoyances and injustices rather than upbeat events." I disagree. People are far more complex than this statement. In my own experience, gratitude doesn't "force" anything. It "allows" an opening, which is a very different way of looking at it. Reality is not always "positive", and sometimes there's just no way to "force positive" your way out of a situation. My reality comes with a "negativity bias" -- and I don't consider it an option or even desirable for it to be "forced" into something it's not. What I strive for is not "overcoming" or "forcing", but balance.

Even so, it's a fascinating article. It includes a graphic about how to help kids be grateful, and an interactive quiz, "How Grateful Are You?"]

@MichelePTSD Healing Thought of the Week: Bring it down one notch
[SEO: "This nifty little tool provides you a thought process and loop designed to gradually -- and through your own empowered actions -- bring you down to a place of comfort."]

@psychcentral Curious about clinical hypnosis? Here’s what it is and what to expect
[SEO: "... what lies at the heart of peoples’ problems is the quality and direction of their focus: they focus on feelings when they’d do better to focus on rational thinking, they focus on explaining problems and finding blame rather than developing solutions, they focus on what can go wrong instead of what can go right, or they focus on the negative past when they’d do better to focus on building their positive future. Clinical hypnosis can help change both the quality and direction of your focus."]

@DrKathleenYoung Interesting research on happiness using Iphone app!
[SEO: "We developed a smartphone technology to sample people’s ongoing thoughts, feelings, and actions and found (i) that people are thinking about what is not happening almost as often as they are thinking about what is and (ii) found that doing so typically makes them unhappy." Post includes link where you can participate in the "Track Your Happiness" research project.]

It’s December already! Yikes. I’m not ready for year-end yet — but that doesn’t stop me from watching two cats playing patty cake endlessly. And there’s other stuff, too! Enjoy! And happy weekend.

@abisola35 “There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.♥ ~ Anonymous (via @ssanquist)

@goodthingZ 40 Breathtaking Examples of Bird Photography
[SEO: I love these colorful, often majestic photos, especially the ones that show parents interacting with offspring. And who knew that baby black swans are actually light gray!]

@Quotes4Writers “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” ~ Anatole France (1844-1924)

@StarrLitLove Photo: Don’t let the …

@DrCesa How To Manage Your Twitter Addiction (via @adamsconsulting)
[SEO: "Twitter addiction: is it real or is it just another way for the people around us to make us feel guilty about something we really enjoy?" How do you know if you're a Twitter addict? How do you use it at work if you aren't allowed to? (oops) Includes a video made by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Pollack on Twitter addiction. I bow to their expertise in the subject!]

@Tamavista “No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place.” ~ Zen
[SEO: Anyone who has ever shoveled snow knows this is just wrong on so many levels. ]

@goodthingZ Giant Optimus Prime Transformer Ice Sculpture

@SeinQuest “If you are not being yourself, then who are you being?” ~ Hanns-Oskar Porr
[SEO: Is this a trick question?]

@SarahEOlson2009 The Shadow knows how to make like a stuffie…
[SEO: Shadow is one of our wonderful cats.]

 

My Favoritist Favorites, the Best for Last

@SarahEOlson2009 “Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus” (YouTube)
[SEO: On November 13, 2010, a wonderfully accomplished 100 member choir secretly invaded a Mall food court and began flash mob singing "The Hallelujah Chorus". They are great!]

@StarrLitLove “Cats Playing Patty-cake, what they were saying…”
[SEO: Even if you're not a cat lover, you have to admit it is funny! The English translation is perfect!]