Third of a Lifetime

Best Tweets for Trauma and PTSD 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

@MichelePTSD “Our sorrows and wounds are healed only
when we touch them with compassion.” ~ Buddha

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@karenkmmonroy “Imagine when you exhale a breath, you can send a blessing of healing into the world — and it matters.”

@lizstrauss “Don’t give with an expectation attached. That’s not giving … that’s passive-aggressive demanding.”

@zebraspolkadots “I’d always had emotions; I’d been taught to deny them so anything other than my ‘normal’ was seen as excessive.”

@AnnTran_ “To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something.” ~ Lao Tzu

@RyanEliason “What you can do or think you can do, begin it. For boldness has magic, power and genius in it.” ~ Goethe

@rcinstitute “SoulfulSunday: ignore the care and feeding of your soul at your own peril.”

Linked Tweets

@DeborahSerani Top 50 blogs by psychology professionals (via @ssanquist)
[SEO: Categories: General Psychology; Forensic Psychologists; School Psychologists; Child and Developmental Psychologists; and Other Specialties. (Congrats to Dr. Deborah Serani for being included at #42!)

@counsellingnews Feeling the blues? Here's a comprehensive list of free educational resources from @beyondblueorg
[SEO: Literally hundreds of free, downloadable guides, worksheets, and fact sheets pertaining to just about every aspect of depression. Most documents are in .PDF format.]

@therapynews Guided Imagery – A Simple yet Powerful Technique for Mind-Body Health
[SEO: Explains what guided imagery consists of and how it may be beneficial. "'Guided imagery' is a technique in which a person is literally guided on a journey of the mind, usually with the purpose of enhancing positive feelings and thoughts, and decreasing feelings of distress, failure, or worry." Years ago I used a guided imagery CD (and regret its loss in moving across country) to relax and sleep better. A very soothing, steady man's voice, accompanied by music and nature sounds, guided me into a meadow, and showed me how to release my troubles in a ball of light. Yes, it sounds hokey, but I did not hear the end of the tape till about the 20th time -- because I was falling fast asleep long before the tape ended every time! I was then in the earliest, scariest aspects of therapy, and good sleep was rare.

Having said that, this post offers a warning: "Those who have experienced significant trauma should see a qualified mental health professional before engaging in this process. Additionally, people who tend to dissociate, have had psychotic episodes, or whose anxiety tends to increase when they attempt to relax may benefit from other approaches either first or instead of guided imagery." Talk with your therapist about this first, and ask for recommendations of specific CDs. I actually believe it was my ability to dissociate that allowed me to utilize the CD, but we're all different, so be careful.]

@Care4Anorexics Self Help for Self Esteem
[SEO: A comprehensive look at how self esteem is created, operates, is wounded, and is restored. Provides a Self Esteem Quick Reference Sheet (PDF), and other helpful tools to work on improving your self esteem.]

@psychcentral Mindful Living Blog: To Seek Approval is to Seek Dependence
[SEO: Illustrates how seeking approval can begin at seemingly small points that gather steam along the way. "Lesson learned: to seek approval is to seek dependence; to seek dependence is to lose your sense of self."]

@therapynews Chronic Pain – All in Your Head?
[SEO: Trauma survivors often are dealing with both physical and mental/emotional pain. Whether the physical pain is directly related to the source of trauma or not, the physical pain exacts a price in trying to cope with the mental/emotional pain. (I am sooo in this place these last few years.) This article addresses the issue that people with chronic pain are often not treated by medical professionals with compassion or understanding. The doctor either doesn't know how to deal with it, or wants someone else to dispense controlled substances, or actually tells you 'it's in your head'. "There is no question that chronic pain has emotional repercussions. Depression and anxiety are common among pain patients, especially those whose pain is not managed adequately."]

@DrBeckerSchutte Are You Hiding Your Pain? (via @ssanquist)
[SEO: Discusses ways in which we mask or try to hide the pain we feel, and how heavy a burden that mask becomes. "If you are hiding pain, if you are living behind a mask, I ask you what do you risk by allowing yourself to feel some of that pain? Does it feel like you will lose all control if you feel it? Do you feel like it will overcome you? I have felt that way before… and the truth is, it might overcome you for a while, but if you have support in line (a counselor, a therapist, a trusted pastor or friend) you can trust yourself to feel that pain and move through it. It may be a process, perhaps a long one, but in my experience moving through it always leads to a better place."]

@DeborahSerani Acceptance and Commitment Therapy | Psychology Today
[SEO: Describes the basics of and strategy behind Acceptance and Commitment therapy. "ACT focuses on 3 areas: Accept your reactions and be present; Choose a valued direction; and Take action. ... Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is not a long term treatment. The ACT experience of reworking your verbal connections to thoughts and feelings, known as comprehensive distancing, can be extremely helpful in the treatment of depression, anxiety and many other psychological disorders."]

@PsychologyNow 12 Steps to Break Your Addiction to a Person
[SEO: (FYI, this is not in reference to any 12 step program.) "In his book, 'How to Break Your Addiction to a Person', Howard Halpern first explains what an addictive relationship is, then gives guidelines for recognizing if you’re involved in one. Then, he offers several techniques on how to end an unhealthy relationship (or an emotional affair)." The post author lists the 12 main techniques referenced in Halpern's book, including excerpts and some exercises.]

@njsmyth Faking Being Happy Makes You Miserable (study) (via @ssanquist)
[SEO: Well, hmm. This needs more study! The gist of it is, faking being happy when you're not makes you feel worse, while cultivating pleasant thoughts that make you feel happier does not make you more miserable. It makes sense; it's linked to one's own sense of authenticity. But I'd like to see a study that works with trauma survivors instead of bus drivers because (1) there is a built-in pressure for us to "get over it" or "don't worry, be happy" mentality; and (2) it wouldn't be linked to a single profession, which limits the discussion pretty much to "job dissatisfaction". Your thoughts?]

@thereseborchard Therapy Thursday: You Can’t Unlearn It
[SEO: "My therapist swears to me that you can't unlearn your progress. And I'm holding her to it. She says that just because you have a day or week or year where you flop on building better personal boundaries, or silencing the inner critic, or identifying and replacing the old tapes, that you still have all the right stuff inside. You haven't lost any of it."]

Each Friday I serve up items from my Twitter Stream which are gorgeous, funny, awe-inspiring, and/or odd. We’ll get to that, but first a serious note about the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand earlier this week:

@SarahEOlson2009 The Moment Christchurch Shook to Pieces
[SEO: A collection of images from the immediate aftermath, including the immense dust cloud kicked up in the City Business District, seen from afar.]

@heykim “Christchurch Cathedral before quake and after quake.” #nzeq

@SarahEOlson2009 Help the people of Christchurch, New Zealand http://www.redcross.org.nz/donate #eqnz

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And now, my traditional favorite TweetStuff!:

@jayfarquhar ✰☺✰ When the worlds problems feel heavy ..This short film will lighten you ~ Dancing ☺♫•*¨*•★
[SEO: This is a guy named Matt who dances all over the world, getting local people to join in with him. Most of the time! See also Where the Hell Are Matt's Outtakes, which includes funny captions as to why those particular shots were not included in the first video.]

@CatFoodBreath “There is nothing like a cat purring near your head to lull you to sleep.”

@SarahEOlson2009 Sleeping As An Art Form! | DailyCognition
[SEO: Cats in bizarre and/or cute sleep positions, and a couple of dogs, too! My favorite: Papa, Mama and Baby Cats, all sound asleep in a row, flat on their backs.]

@PsychDigest “One’s real life is often the life that one does not lead.” ~ Oscar Wilde

@docmarion Most Beautiful Places In The World
[SEO: Dozens of gorgeous, stunning photos capture these unique landmarks and landscapes.]

@JoyBing “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” ~ Albert Einstein

@AmazingPics The extraordinary face of the Moon | Discover Magazine
[SEO: "This is actually a mosaic of about 1300 separate images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Wide-Angle Camera — the total size is a whopping 24,000 x 24,000 pixels, producing a resolution of about 145 meters/pixel. The full-size version is a monster 550 Mb TIF file (seriously, don’t grab that one unless you need it!), and you can get a more palatable 1400 x 1400 pixel version with labels, too. ... But it’s also one of the highest resolution image ever made too! You can appreciate that if you look at the full-res 145 meters/pixel zoom-and-panable version, which is simply extraordinary."]

@pourmecoffee Go Discovery!

@TerryWardWriter Shuttle Discovery’s last launch as seen from 13th St. South in Cocoa Beach, Florida

@Quotes4Writers “Writing well means never having to say, ‘I guess you had to be there.’” ~ Jef Mallett

Best Tweets for Trauma and PTSD 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

@LillyAnn “The only people with whom
you should try to get even are those
who have helped you.” ~ John Southard

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@lizstrauss “Trust is believing in you. Even when I’m not there, when I’ll never know what you do, I can bet on you and win.”

@karenkmmonroy “If something is authentically yours, you can’t lose it. Let your dream be free from worry of loss.”

@PsychDigest “He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.” ~ Raymond Hull

@MetaVisions “A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.” ~ John Quincey Adams

@AnnTran_ “To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something.” ~ Lao Tzu

@DeepakChopra “EnlightenedLiving: Be comfortable with and embrace paradox, contradiction, and ambiguity. It is the womb of creativity.”

Linked Tweets

@dlhampton Neuroplasticity….The play dough in your head (via @AlwaysWellWithn)
[SEO: Neuroplasticity is the latest buzzword, but the science behind it is fascinating. "The brain is pretty much like play dough minus the funky smell. It is changeable, malleable and adaptable even into adulthood. This quality is called neuroplasticity. Technically, neuroplasticity is defined as the property of the brain to change its structure and function. We are talking real physical changes here. The changes occur in response to actions we commit, our senses and perceptions, and even our thinking and imagining. Basically, what we do and think every day in our lives."]

@psychcentral Hate change? A story that will inspire you to embrace change, let go of the cheese, so you can move on with your life.
[SEO: I never really paid attention to the big deal made of the "who moved my cheese?" era. This article explains with humor and insight why (1) "corporate America and psych ward programs had so much in common" [my favorite line!]; and (2) that moving the cheese is really a part of life. The only aspect I find missing here is the idea that we each can, in some way, make at least some of our own cheese — rather than needing to seek it outside of ourselves. (Yes, it’s a silly metaphor, but it makes the lessons derived very clear.]

@Mindful_Living Compassion: An Increasing Global Movement (via @huffingtonpost)
[SEO: Details latest research into compassion, both inwardly and in global movements; includes video "The Charter for Compassion". Plus, there's more on the role of neuroplasticity. "Is there someone in your life who is suffering, maybe yourself? Can you sense what the feeling is? Is there an authentic wanting or pulling to help? What is one small thing you can do today to help out? Perhaps even just wishing the person or yourself well, safe from harm, free from whatever this suffering is. This intentional attention not only primes your mind to be more compassionate, but apparently can take advantage of your brain's plasticity and change your brain."]

@patriciasinglet Stigma of Child Abuse (via Blooming Lotus)
[SEO: Second of a two part series discussing the stigma of child abuse. If it sounds as though Faith is angry, well, maybe we all need to get a bit angry at people who persist in blaming the child and providing excuses for the abuser. "From what I understand, in some circles there is a stigma associated with having been abused as a child. I say that this is something that I 'understand' rather than 'experience' because I will not spend two seconds with a jack@$$ who is going to judge me because other people hurt me." Words of wisdom, not just for child abuse survivors, but domestic violence and other violent crime survivors, and rape survivors, as well. The discussion continues in the comments.]

@therapynews Love Yourself
[SEO: It's more than just a platitude. "If treating yourself lovingly, kindly, and patiently does not come naturally, you might want to write a list of 100 things you could do to show how much you cherish yourself. There is a special technique for this exercise." The technique is described, and then the purpose. "What we practice we become. If you practice paying attention to what you body-mind-spirit wants or needs and provide it, not only will you get in the habit of attending to yourself, but you will notice cues sooner, be more in touch emotionally, and take time to rejuvenate before you start running on fumes."]

@psychcentral Dealing with low self-esteem? Here’s where it may have derived from and what you can do to build it back up.
[SEO: "Regardless of their experiences, some people seem to struggle more than others with their self-esteem. Why? According to Howes, a shaming environment may be one explanation. In shaming environments, individuals internalize the idea that if they act out, they’re not just behaving badly, but they are bad. ... 'If the message that you are fundamentally bad is drilled in enough times, it tends to stick. And this belief that you’re bad at your core colors your entire perspective on life.'"]

@DrBeckerSchutte So powerful: There’s nothing fluffy about love!
[SEO: "Let’s be clear. Self-love is not the soft option. Most of the time, for me anyway, the easy option would be to blend in: to hide aspects of myself, my vulnerability, and my power so that I’ll be liked by as many people as possible. The soft option would be to alter myself, subtly or otherwise, to fit in. But as long as I keep asking myself to fit in, as long as I reject the parts of myself that I find undesirable, I’m almost certainly going to be doing the same to other people."]

@goodthingZ Are you sabotaging your happiness? (via @positivepresent)
[SEO: I don't often feature articles about happiness here. I suppose that discloses my own bias, in that I believe most trauma survivors, especially early in their healing, cannot grasp the concept of happiness being possible until some other basic issues are dealt with. I also find many articles about happiness seem to tritely blink away those issues, as if you can make them not relevant by just wishing it were so. This isn't one of those articles.

"To truly love yourself, you have to support your own happiness. You have to be 100% behind yourself, supporting your own actions, choices, and decisions. If you don't think that accurately describes you, you've got some work to do! First and foremost, you must believe that your happiness is worthwhile. As Buddha has said, 'You, as much as anyone in the universe, deserve your love and affection.' And in order to do that, you must value your own happiness."]

@NAMIMass Tiptoeing Out of One’s Comfort Zone (and of Course, Back In)
[SEO: Interesting discussion of how people create/find their personal comfort zones, and how those constructs can help one move either forward or backwards. "So being slightly uncomfortable, whether or not by choice, can push us to achieve goals we never thought we could. But it’s important to remember that we don’t need to challenge ourselves and be productive all the time. It’s good to step out of our comfort zone. But it’s also good to be able to go back in."]

@psychcentral Therapist Within: Evolving Your Inner-Critic: Making Self-Criticism Constructive (Part 1)
[SEO: Explores why we often don't give ourselves internally the same respect and consideration we'd offer anyone outside of us. "What might that feel like for you? To not be singled-out for 'special treatment' quite so much? To have the inner-critic (or perhaps the inner-bully) pulled back into line? To escape the unjust punishment that's maybe been reserved just for you? And yet, to still feel the constructiveness that (useful) feedback can bring?"]

I’ve been deep in WordPress bootcamp this week, to be continued (probably forever!) I need some silly, right now! Each week I rescue the gorgeous, weird, funny, and well, just stuff I like, from my Tweet Stream. We’ve got a lot of linky goodness today — enjoy!
 

@Quotes4Writers “Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea.” ~ Richard Ford (Pulitzer Prize-winning Novelist)

@heykim Hundreds join pillow fight in Great San Francisco Pillow Fight (pics) (via @DailySource)

@pourmecoffee See a comet close-up as a NASA spacecraft flies right the hell past it
[SEO: It's as "you are there" as you're likely to ever be.]

@InboxNspire “If there is one spot of sun spilling onto the floor, a cat will find it and soak it up.” ~ Jean Asper McIntosh

@goodthingZ Huge Libraries Around the World (magnificent pics!)

@Quotes4Writers Procrastination

@Flipbooks 80 Natural Wonders Of Africa (pics)
[SEO: Beautiful pictures; also an interesting feature is that for each picture you can click to see the satellite view of that place.]

@heykim HILARIOUS ~ RS ~ @sarah_ross We just sweeted your tweet. Hope you like (via @wesingyourtweet)
[SEO: "You tweet it. We sing it. Songs in 140 characters or less!" See all the tweeps whose tweets they've sweetened in their sidebar!]

… the more they stay the same! Photo Credit

In the next few months, I’m planning some key changes for Third of a Lifetime.

One dismaying fact about pulling together links for my “year end PTSD Resources” project was the huge number of broken links in the 50+ weekly Best Tweets series. The existence of a “broken link checker” plug-in — and zillions of very inventive, possibility-creating plug-ins for self-hosted WordPress — changed my world-view on the state of this blog.

So I’m happy to announce that Third of a Lifetime is moving to its own domain in the next couple of weeks — but I’m also pleased to add that nothing’s really changing! I’m keeping the same theme, with a few more bells and whistles. WordPress will automagically redirect links from this URL to the new one, so all the inbound links previously created won’t break. That WP began offering this mapping service clinched the deal. The new URL is not in service yet, but let’s say that it’s not changing much, either.

Also planned in the near future, my book Becoming One will be formatted for Kindle and other ebook formats. Both paper and ebook versions will be available for purchase directly from the new blog site, as well as from all of the usual suspects.

There’s more, but I need to pace myself. I’ve got my “dream big” thing going again, and I like the direction in which this is all moving. (Movement: my word for 2011!)  I will formally announce when the new blog site is ready for the world! Thank you for your support, both here and on Twitter, and (soon! shhhh) Facebook.

Best Tweets for Trauma and PTSD 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 “If you thought it was impossible to walk,
would you consider trying anyway, or never try?
Now apply that to your other impossibles.”

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@LillyAnn “Every new destiny requires a different past. Choose to live a new future and aspects of your past must change.”

@zebraspolkadots “Just as I was taught that I was powerless and learned to be helpless in abuse, I can learn to discover and live an empowered life today.”

@BreneBrown “My mantra when I’m trying something new and feeling awkward + goofy: Effort + the courage to show up = enough.”

@_StaceyChapman What you can be, is true to yourself.

@soulseedz “If only you could see yourself with complete acceptance, you would fall in love and never stop falling.”

@karenkmmonroy “Try very hard to listen to your heart because it doesn’t shout.”

Linked Tweets

The Art and Science of Saying ‘No’

@zebraspolkadots Finding My Voice
[SEO: "I knew I had to start somewhere -- but I was so afraid of conflict of any sort that I would begin to shake and panic even at the IDEA of speaking up about what I wanted, needed or to voice an emphatic 'NO' to someone who I viewed to be more powerful than I was. So -- I began with finding my voice in places where there was no personal entanglement...asking for this table instead of that table at the restaurant, telling someone 'this isn't a good time' instead of taking a phone call when I was doing something else...understanding that I did not need to explain my thoughts, feelings or actions to anyone, that I did not have to constantly be apologizing."

@LillyAnn Letting Stress Go to Voicemail (by @YogaHopeSue via @elephantjournal)
[SEO: A detailed look at the chain of connection between not saying "no", which causes release of stress hormones which do major long term physiological damage (not to mention emotional issues) -- and what to do about it. "By regulating the emotional reaction, we can head-off the stress response and save ourselves from possible long-term, and even deadly, illness; but how do we do that? The answer is practice. This practice is not as simple as learning how to say no. This is the practice of mindfulness. To practice mindfulness is to cultivate an awareness of your inner experience, or your inner sense. Only by noticing, acknowledging and suspending judgment of your inner experience can you choose what is right for you."]

@heykim Zen and the Art of Saying No (via @CarlaYoung @ShellyKramer)
[SEO: More on learning to say "no". "For every 'Yes' you say to some random request, there is a corresponding 'No' to a potential future opportunity that you can’t take advantage of because of overload. And for every 'No', there’s a corresponding future 'Yes' in the form of space for the universe to fill in with opportunity. So when you say 'Yes' to something that you know isn’t the right fit or that you don’t really want to do, what are you saying 'No' to? Is it even possible to know what opportunities you fail to see while gazing in the wrong direction?" Article lists five ways to practice the art of saying "no".]

The Rest of the Best

@goodthingZ Coping With Grief on Valentine’s Day — 7 Tips to Make the Day More Manageable
[SEO: "Anniversary reactions occur on the anniversary of an important event or holiday. These times remind us of the person who’s no longer with us, which can cause the pain of grief, he said. 'Even the most resilient people have this.' With its focus on love, relationships and romance, Valentine’s Day can be especially difficult.'"]

@kseniaoust Telling the Truth
[SEO: Poignant and achingly honest... I can't think of any trauma survivor who would not identify with some part of this blog post. "We thought we can lead the perfect existence right under the nose of the underlying truth -- always escaping the facing of it, always maneuvering in and out, walking on eggshells, balancing day in and day out. Why are we so afraid of it? Because. Because when we do spill, we get punished, we get judged, we get ousted, we get diminished. I learned it the hard way. I told the truth, and look what happened. The fake got ripped off and I saw my family as it really was, I saw people in my life as they really were, but the worst of all was -- I saw myself for who I really was."]

@intuitivejournl Learning to Love Yourself (via @patriciasinglet)
[SEO: A tough challenge for many people, including trauma survivors. Article details the consequences of not learning to love yourself, and offers suggestions regarding how to heal by learning self-care and eliminating negative self-talk. "Overall, have compassion for where you are at. Self love is not something that is going to turn around in a day. There will be relapses and high and low points along the way. Remember that each low point is peeling back another layer on the way to healing."]

@DrCilona Creative Expression — Instrument of Healing
[SEO: Article describes benefits and healing powers of creative expression at the various stages of life. "'Creative activities can be highly beneficial in the management of stress,' he believes, 'particularly the stressors associated with chronic life issues, such as coping with physical illness, a demanding job or troublesome relationships.' As a result, he says, 'Individuals can experience a decrease in stress, anxiety and uncomfortable physical symptoms and improvement in symptoms of depression.'"]

@psychcentral 12 Foolproof Tips for Finding Focus
[SEO: "Focus isn’t all or nothing. It’s not something we either have or don’t have. It’s a skill that we can cultivate. And practice makes perfect (or at least good enough)."]

@catatonickid When Everyone Else is Perfect Except You (via Treating Anxiety Blog)
[SEO: "One of the cardinal cognitive distortions of anxiety: Thinking everyone else has it together 100%. That everyone else in the nearby vicinity’s better than you because, well, it just seems obvious at the time. For the same reasons my self-esteem’s been dented along the way to wherever I am now. Thinking like that not only increases the likelihood I’ll panic, it increases the amount of pressure I put on myself, and the degree to which I’m then able to recognize what is and isn’t anxiety talking."]

@goodthingZ 5 Strategies to Survive the Winter Doldrums
[SEO: "It’s early February and the winter already feels long, cold and confining. When you crave sunshine and warmth but are facing another winter blizzard it’s easy to get stuck in a negative mood."]

It’s been … a week. Seems like a week and a half! So much going on, but it’s Friday! This is my chance to send out gorgeous, amusing, odd, silly, inspiring bits of tweets I noticed throughout the week. Enjoy!

Note: I’ve been captivated all week by tweets from the ground in Cairo made by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. There isn’t just one that could capture the ups and downs and ultimate high of the last 24 hours in Egypt. The Egyptian people have a long road ahead still but … wow!

@SarahEOlson2009 Gabrielle Giffords asks for toast
[SEO: Gabrielle Giffords' story continues to amaze me. We all take for granted that we can ask for toast. But consider the implications. A month after being shot in the head, she can not only connect a thought into the mechanics of speech to ask for toast, but she knows what toast is; she knows she wants and likes it, and can express that. Anyone who ever dealt with brain injury, or the after-effects of stroke (which I did with my mother), knows that Giffords' progress is truly remarkable.]

@lizstrauss “If you’re not ready to be relevant, be entertaining.”

@AmazingPics Chinese New Year, 2011 (via @big_picture | Boston.com)
[SEO: Bunnies everywhere! (Year of the Rabbit) The Big Picture captures big spectacle so well.]

@GuruQuotes “People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.” ~ Bob Dylan

@docmarion “To treat your facts with imagination is one thing, to imagine your facts is another.” ~ John Burroughs

@heykim AWESOME ~ Surrender 7 minutes of your time for this
[SEO: Jake Shimabukuro plays "Bohemian Rhapsody". Who knew the ukelele could be that complex and beautiful!]

@PsychLounge “It requires a great deal of faith for a man to be cured by his own placebos.” ~ John L. McClenahan

@AmazingPics Mind Blowing Wild Nature Photographs (via @Creative_Fan)

@PsychDigest “Living is being born slowly. It would be a little too easy if we could borrow ready-made souls.” ~ St. 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 four new blogs:
 

Being Elle

CrystallBall7′s Blog

Me, Myself and i

Secrets of a five year-old prostitute

Please use the DBS link above to access these blogs, and check out the entire directory of (currently) 192 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.

Still on the way: I’ve received requests for inclusion of some DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) information and awareness sites, which are not “blogs” per se. I’m still 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.) Thanks!

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 and PTSD 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

@MindfulBoston “The first step for digging yourself
out of a hole is to NOTICE that you are even in the hole.
Noticing what is true is of primary importance.”

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@soulseedz “Gratitude is like a gearshift that can move your mind from anxiety to peace, from stuck to flowing, from fear to love.”

@dailyrandom “Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

@rcinstitute “ThoughtfulThursday: when you speed through life, you can’t access your true needs or feelings. Pause. Breathe. Reflect.”

@PemaQuotes “When we are willing to stay even a moment with uncomfortable energy, we gradually learn not to fear it.”

@Tamavista “The past can’t see you, but the future is listening.” ~ Terri Guillemets

@CarePathways “If you can make peace with just one today, let it be yourself.”

Linked Tweets

@NAMIMass Posting About Health Concerns on Facebook, Twitter
[SEO: "... health insurers will often turn to social networks to check out someone’s story — especially when that person is receiving medical leave or disability payments from an insurer. If you’re filing (or intending to file) a health insurance claim, be careful."]

@DrKathleenYoung Dear John: On Redefining Rape
[SEO: Read this: a needed spotlight on H.R. 3, a bill seeking to further limit federal funding for abortions, which presently only allows funding in three instances: rape, incest, and danger to the mother’s life. Per Dr. Young, the proposed legislation seeks the following changes: "Rape must be 'forcible' and incest must occur before 18. One major concern is how this may further contribute to our cultural minimization and misconceptions regarding rape and incest in general. The risk here is that a precedent could be set, redefining rape and incest overall."]

@psychcentral Veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg
[SEO: This is an excellent, lengthy interview with Dr. Frank Ochberg, a pioneer in bringing PTSD to an official diagnosis in 1980. While aimed mostly at veterans, Dr. Ochberg acknowledges, "And it seems to me that PTSD is the outgrowth of the experiences and the observations of the men who suffered in war, and women who have suffered from being battered and raped and being the subject of incest." The sources of our trauma may differ dramatically, but the ways in which the human psyche deals with the fallout of that trauma are remarkably similar. We can all learn from each other.

Dr. Ochberg discusses stigma still attached to the diagnosis; dangers of becoming suicidal or homicidal in untreated cases; the sense of veterans' alienation upon trying to reintegrate as a civilian; the prevalence of women veterans having joined the military to escape abuse at home; types of therapies available; helpful medications; survivor's guilt; advise for partners; and other resources for help.]

@FaithLotus Study: Connection between Sleep Deprivation and PTSD Memories
[SEO: Discussing a study premised on healthy volunteers' reactions to watching traumatic car crash videos, then half of the group were intentionally sleep-deprived, the other half, not. The sleep-deprived group reportedly had fewer fear-associated memories from the crash videos. Therefore, the study concluded that sleep deprivation may help treat PTSD. Blogger Blooming Lotus believes the study to be rather flawed, and explains why. I agree with her.]

@psychcentral Therapist Within: Coming To Your Senses: Moments of Mindfulness In The Everyday
[SEO: "How often do we ignore this life, this moment, that we’re actually in – instead, daydreaming about what we might wish would happen, or wishing that this present moment wasn’t happening? Or projecting ourselves forwards or backwards in time, remembering past pain or imagining future plans. Ignoring our present."]

@catatonickid Trauma and Anxiety: Why It Matters If You Tell! (via Treating Anxiety Blog ~ HealthyPlace)
[SEO: "Life only has meaning when we are able to process it sufficient that it becomes part of our story, a piece that fits into the puzzle of our lives. When we are able to speak of the difficulties in our lives, they stop simply being problems and start to become ways to know ourselves - Something that tells us something about who we are, about what life is, and something we don’t have to be so terribly afraid and anxious about anymore."]

@SarahEOlson2009 5 Steps to a More Resilient You
[SEO: "There are no secret short-cuts to building greater resilience in your life. Most skills you can learn to help build resiliency are things that are going to take lots of time and lots of practice. ... It’s naturally going to take some time — usually months, at least — in order for you to change things about yourself. This includes building resiliency." These are five steps you can start on today.]

@goodthingZ 6 Ways to Navigate thru Stressful Situations
[SEO: From Tiny Buddha blog, "Since conflict is inevitable, we have two choices: allow stress to consume and control us, or find ways to navigate stressful situations with a sense of inner calm."]

@DrKathleenYoung Beautifully put description of engaging in therapy ~ Personal Reflections by Christine
[SEO: It's really difficult to find examples of what "good therapy" looks like. This essay provides a very personal look into that process. It begins with the pre-conceived notions and slanted expectations with which one might enter therapy, and evolves into something entirely -- surprisingly -- different. And far better. The subtleties of the therapy process captured here are wonderful. It's not about what the therapist says per se. It's about his skill in knowing when and how to say it.]

@psychcentral Challenging Our Cognitive Distortions and Creating Positive Outlooks
[SEO: Describes eight types of cognitive distortions (such as "Diminishing the Positives"; "Overgeneralizations"; "Making Everything a Catastrophe"; and "Jumping to Conclusions"), and what you can do to challenge them. The goal is to lessen your anxiety, and to look at parts of your thinking process in a more positive light.]

It’s Friday! Yippee! Every week I rescue items from my Tweet stream that are funny, gorgeous, odd, or just strike me as special for some reason. It’s a mixed lot this week — enjoy!

Note: I do not in any way mock the seriousness of what is transpiring in Egypt even as I write. I do, however, freely mock “news organizations” who can’t buy a clue, and who’ve done their best to try to change our collective national identity from “citizens” to “consumers”.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

@pourmecoffee “Egyptians camped out in Cairo. For Americans, think of it as like the release of new Apple product if Apple made freedom.”

@Khaledtron This is Epic, Fox News has no idea where Egypt is on a map. #jan25

@QuakerQuotes “The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it! ~ Pearl S Buck

@SarahEOlson2009 This is *not* a cat sneaking the leftover cat food on my back porch. #RockyRaccoon

@goodthingZ 13 Snapshots of the World’s Rarest Birds
[SEO: Simply gorgeous!]

@MindfullyChange “Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.” ~ Mark Twain

@AmazingPics Stunning. beach + sunset + crashing waves: Now and Forever by Bruno Abreu

@Quotes4Writers “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” ~ Jack London

@SarahEOlson2009 Popovich and his circus cats (YouTube)
[SEO: All animals are said to be rescues, and all appear to be quite loved, and happy to do tricks. (Yes, I said cats can learn to do tricks! ]

@Tamavista “Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.” ~ Gide