Depression

Depression is labeled as a “mood disorder”. As many as 20% of the population has experienced depression at some point in their lives. Some people tend to be more predisposed to depression than others. Some people are thought to have a biochemical imbalance that creates their depression. Depression is also believed to run in families. Depression can occur at any time in a person’s life. It may start while he or she is a child. It may occur for the first time in adulthood. If you have one episode of depression, you are likely to have another episode during your lifetime. Many people do not know that they are depressed and only identify that what they have experienced for much of their lives was depression, as they are recovering from it. People often equate the down, “blue” or depressed mood as depression. There are actually a number of symptoms that be manifested. Below are some symptoms of depression. You don’t have to have all these symptoms to be diagnosed as depressed. If you do identify that you have several of these symptoms, you would be well advised to check it out with your doctor or mental health provider. There is effective treatment for depression.

Symptoms:

• Depressed, sad mood, or “the blues”

• Loss of interest in things you used to like to do

• Difficulty with experiencing joy or having fun

• Fatigue, tiredness, or low energy

• Change in appetite

• Sleep disturbances, difficulties with getting to sleep, staying asleep, or sleeping during the day

• Anxiety, fidgety, nervous tension, listless, desire to run away

• Difficulty concentrating, focusing or paying attention

• Feeling overwhelmed

• Feelings of inadequacy, incompetence, or helplessness

• Feelings of hopelessness and despair

• Short term memory problems

• Suicidal thoughts

If you have several of these symptoms, you should be screened or assessed for depression. There are also medical problems and medication issues that can look like depression. If you are depressed, you don’t have to “just live with it”, there are effective treatments for depression. Most people, despite the misguided advice to “snap out of it, need some help to begin to recover.
http://www.mindfuljourneycenter.com/depression/

Assertive Listening

Assertive Listening

Everyone knows that good communication is a two-way street. But what a lot of people don’t know is that listening is an active rather than passive process. It requires a full commitment to really understanding what the other person thinks and feels about the problems, and wants to do to change it.  In other words, the same three things you are learning to express assertiveness, you will also need to listen for and elicit with questions.

If, while listening, you have any uncertain about the other person’s feelings or wishes, ask a direct question. “I am not really sure how you feel about that- could you tell me more?” “What do you think we should try to change in this situation?”

The more active your questions, the more you learn and the better equipped you will be to find solutions and compromises that serves both people needs.

 Key questions to ask others are as follows:

·         “What is the central problem, as you understand it?”

·         “How do you make sense of the situation? What do you think is happening?”

·         “When you are struggling with (name the problem) ____, how does it make you feel?

·         “When you are dealing with (name the problem) ____, what does it make you want to do?”

·         “What do you think needs to change?”

·         “What would you like me to do to help with this?”

Assertive listening is extremely valuable, but remember just because you found out what someone needs; it doesn’t mean you have to give it to them. Traumatic Incident  Reduction and Life Stress Reduction program can help to improve your relationship with others by resolving upsetting events that are preventing you to have healthy relationships.

http://www.mindfuljourneycenter.com/assertive-listening/
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Reduce Stress

Reduce Stress

Stress is the result of tensions that respond to physical and psychological responses. When this happens, it is too much tension and the body reacts with physiological signals for the purpose of notifying us that there is a potential threat to our wellbeing. These signals help us make decisions. In the past for example, a threat could be the presence of a wild animal that makes you fleeing and eventually help save your life. Today the threats for tension start slowly rather than immediately, such as, the threat of not paying the mortgage, health problems, housing search, among other issues of daily life.

The belief that you should be able to solve all the stress at once and be able to do it yourself without seeking other resources of support may actually decrease your ability to cope with the stressors. The origin of stress could be caused by internal or external factors. That is, we can produce stress from internal sources such as beliefs, attitudes and thoughts that adds additional stress to our lives which affect us emotionally and make us unable to confront and solve problems effectively. On the other hand, stress produced by external sources that occur around us. Such as traffic, marital conflict, family and money problems, among others.

Some of the recommendations to manage stressors we face every day could include:

1. Identify beliefs that lead you to have unrealistic expectations about the situation of stress.
2. Listening to music helps to distract and maintain calm while you are in a stressful situation, such as traffic.
3. Always work to enhance self-acceptance and self-esteem help you to judge and not push yourself too far, for example, be in control and want to solve everything at once.

http://www.mindfuljourneycenter.com/reduce-stress/
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Fear and anxiety

Fear and anxiety often produces much harm to people, furthermore affects interpersonal and affective relationships in people. For this reason, it is necessary to know more about this problem.
Fear is considered an emotional reaction caused by the perception of danger. It is a respond to an interpretation of a situation and the welfare of the person. Fear is linked to specific and concrete situations (maybe imaginary). On the other hand, anxiety is considered a sense of threat or danger about something that has not happened (future). Anxiety manifests in the physical-mental aspect if aggravated. Basically the two intertwine, connect and can be perceived as two undesirable sensations that suggest a threat or danger. Both might arise unexpectedly and causing very disturbing development of anxiety disorders.

The following are some data presented by Dr. Friedemann Schaub, you will result interesting. They might even help you identify symptoms or signs about if you could present a clinical picture of anxiety disorder.

1. Very often you overload and worry.
2. You usually think obsessively analyze and worry too compulsively (repeatedly) thinking the worst case scenario.
3. You exaggerate your plans and try to take control of others or external circumstances.
4. You begin to have difficulties in your daily life, such as work, your relationships due to insecurity, doubt and self-sabotaging behavior, in other words incur in past behaviors that you know will cause problems or harm.
5. You experience the feeling of stagnation and blockage (paralysis) to a decision that you should do or move on.
6. Look for distraction and instant gratification in addictive behaviors such as eating, sex, work or gambling.
7. Present with obsessive compulsive behaviors. That is, fixed, repetitive behaviors and difficult to control.
8. To auto medicate by the use of alcohol, nicotine or other drugs.
9. You suffer from insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, chronic pain and changes in weight.

If you have identified with some or most of these symptoms you are likely to suffer from anxiety. In addition, it is likely that although you do realize this, you do not possess the control. When these symptoms have become your lifestyle, everything affects and even can experience other symptoms associated with anxiety and depression.
Learn to know what are the mechanisms operating behind these symptoms and behavioral dynamics may be the first step to freedom. Seeking professional help can prevent further damage. While it is true that drug treatment responds to decreasing symptoms, it is also true that medications will not resolved in the psychological causes to the symptoms. For this, it is necessary to have interventions that are aimed at identifying the root of these problems and to resolve them. The first step is to decide.
http://www.mindfuljourneycenter.com/fear-and-anxiety/

Caroline Rodriguez Mercado, PsyD
Psychologist Counselor

Traumatic Incident Reduction Facilitator Professional Training

BROWARD COUNTY 28 contact hours (Friday to Monday) September 5, 6, 7 and 8, 2014

Location: 7777 Davie Road Ext. Suite 103-B Hollywood, FL 33024

For further information, please contact
Irene M. Rodriguez, MS, CAP, TIRF
(954) 376-0496

http://www.mindfuljourneycenter.com/traumatic-incident-reduction-tir-workshop/