Trauma, attachment, healing–resources from The Relationship School Podcast

Introduction

In August 2017 I bought ‘The Body Keeps the Score’, a book by Dr Bessel van der Kolk. It has had – and still has – a massive impact on how I think of myself, my Self and my place in the world. As a result, I’ve come to understand that whilst talking therapy is very useful, it complements other body-oriented, somatic treatment modalities. I may write a future post about with materials I value relating to Dr Bessel. For now, I’m posting links to a series of podcasts I’ve been listening to over the last 5 months or so.

The Relationship School Podcast

Hosted by Jayson Gaddis, he describes the Relationship School Podcast as:

A trail blazing relationship podcast promoting unconventional monogamy and marriage--where we teach you how to fight well, master communication, and take your marriage to the next level without compromising your business, family, or integrity.

I’ve listened to these podcasts more because of the people being interviewed, rather than the subject matter per se. Many of the interviewees make appearances in 'The Body Keeps the Score'.

Therefore my own study has greatly benefitted from the insights these scientists and practitioners share. Common themes are trauma and its healing; attachment theory; the physiology of emotion; and Interpersonal Neurobiology
In the sections below, I've used text from the podcast listings to summarise the content.

3 Things Bessel van der Kolk Did To Help Him Through His Recent Trauma – SC 191

A new study shows child abuse should be considered the second largest cause of illness in the U.S.. And yet, our diagnostic system ignores trauma completely. Listen to what trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk has to say about that and get his insight into turning traumatic pain into personal power!

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/3-things-bessel-van-der-kolk-did-to-help-him-through-his-recent-trauma-bessel-van-der-kolk-sc-191/

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Interpersonal Neurobiology – Dan Siegel – SC 158

If you really want to understand interpersonal neurobiology from the man who coined the term, this interview with Dr Dan Siegel is for you.

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/interpersonal-neurobiology-dan-siegel-sc-158/

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Reversing Disease & Illness Using Your Mind & Relationships – Dan Siegel – SC 193

Right now, researchers and the public are fascinated with brain science and Dr. Dan Siegel is a legend in that department. Jayson and Dr. Siegel dig in deep in this one, discussing autoimmune disease, rewiring the brain, GMO food, struggles in the therapy field and so much more.

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/reversing-disease-illness-using-your-mind-relationships-dan-siegel-sc-193/

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The Neuroscience & Power of Safe Relationships – Stephen W. Porges – SC 116

In this week’s podcast, the founder of the polyvagal theory explains the neuroscience of safe relationships and how to create them.

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/the-neuroscience-power-of-safe-relationships-stephen-w-porges-sc-116/

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The 4 Attachment Styles & Not Taking Things Personally – Diane Poole Heller – SC 204

A lot of things you take personally in relationship have very little to do with your partner. Those issues are really the result of YOUR past, YOUR triggers and YOUR perspective…So says long-time Boulder, Colorado therapist & expert in the field of Child and Adult Attachment Theory and Models, Dr. Diane Poole Heller.

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/the-4-attachment-styles-not-taking-things-personally-diane-poole-heller-sc-204/

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Dealing With Your Inner Critic and Inner Child – Richard Schwartz – SC 182

Not a fan of your inner critic? What if that negative voice inside isn’t your enemy but a valuable part of your internal family? Author, psychotherapist and founder of the Internal Family Systems Model (IFS), Richard Schwartz, says our true “Self” exists side by side with the many parts that make us who we are.

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/dealing-with-your-inner-critic-and-inner-child-richard-schwartz-sc-182/

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The Cost Of Stress In Your Primary Relationships with Dr. Gabor Maté – SC 63

Few of us understand the cost of unmitigated stress in our primary relationships and how damaging this can be to us. In this episode, legendary medical doctor and psycho-phisio-spiritual trail blazer Gabor Mate brings some very grounded, practical examples of how relationship stress can impact our lives and what to do about it.

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/the-cost-of-stress-in-your-primary-relationships-with-dr-gabor-mate-sc-63/

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PTSD, Trauma, & Resiliency – 274

If you or someone you love suffers from PTSD check this out. According to the American Psychiatric Association, PTSD can be a disabling condition that impacts about 3.5 percent of U.S. adults. And women are twice as likely as men to have PTSD. My friend Dr Arielle Schwartz goes deep in this episode and defines both trauma and PTSD.

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/ptsd-trauma-resiliency/

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The 4 S’s of Attachment-Based Parenting – 276

One of my mentors, Dan Siegel, is back on the podcast for his 3rd interview.

We cover the 4 S’s from his “Power of Showing Up” book. It’s so good.

https://relationshipschool.com/podcast/attachment-based-parenting/

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Dan Siegel & trauma healing

I'm curating a YouTube playlist containing related resources.

Take aways

There are some profound wounds which get stuck in talking therapy - i.e. a more holistic understanding is 100% relevant re the seat of trauma and the differing ways to treat it.

Resources for a Teenager – SoundCloud

The seventh in a series of posts detailing those resources I’m finding useful on my own particular (life) journey.

Meta

Living in the sticks, I drive quite a lot. Given that we live in a digital time, I'm therefore fortunate to be able to 'make my own radio'.
In fact, I think I've been doing it since I had a mini-disc player, which was aeons ago! I either connect my device via bluetooth to the car radio, or else I plug the source into the audio-in socket. That source these days is most likely to be my Kindle Keyboard, which means I can listen to books read out loud by its text-to-speech feature.

The List

This list is from SoundCloud, which means that it's a series of interviews, thought pieces, and excerpts from longer recordings.

The rationale

1. This is what a good life is: Jonathan Fields interviews Brené Brown in long form - ~50mins. We're the better for it.
2. The Creative Life: I read Elizabeth Gilbert's book "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear". This is Jonathan's interview of Elizabeth.
3. Hoping Others Fail Is Not A Strategy: I have enjoyed many of Jonathan's interviews and GLP Riffs, and this shorter piece asks - "What if you could go about it differently? What if you could reframe winning on both a deeper and larger scale?"
4. The Killer App Is You: this seems pretty much eponymous, and is asking us to believe more in ourselves.
5. Hacking Stereotypes: this is a tremendous story about a female founder moving heaven and earth to assist other women find a life path by giving them opportunities to write software - 'Talento tech femenino de Latinoamérica para el mundo'.
6. Hearts Broken Open: how do we find the strength and the courage to heal when our hearts have been broken open? How do we let the love fall inside? A tall recounted by Parker Palmer.
7. Hope: this is a lovely poem, and a resonant reading by Parker.
8. Courtney Martin and Parker Palmer: the previous poem is read at the end of this illuminating interview by Krista Tippett. Krista and team are a gift to our world. Courtney articles something really powerful: "So I think even just to feel like you’re showing up as your whole self in different settings is a pretty rebellious act."
9. Ray Chetty: I've included this as it was a privilege listening to someone who has intense attention to detail, who is a rounded and decent human being. Tyler is a great interviewer...
10. Cass Sunstein: being a huge fan of behaviour economics, this was (and is) an enjoyable discourse through Cass's domain.
11. The Woodcarver: fantastic that a Quaker should be relating a story from Chinese lore
12. The Divided Life and the Quest for True Self: "Parker Palmer reflects on the consequences of living a divided life and the quest for wholeness".
13. Standing In The Tragic Gap: a challenge for us to to stand in the place of uncertainty between how we'd like things to be, and how they really are. How do we stay there, but keep being vulnerable and open?

The Task

Too much of what we're told seems not to stand up to scrutiny, if we're able to find our own sacred place to stand.

How do we outgrow the needs of others, and loop back to them once we have learned to become that which resonates to our deepest selves. This is my snapshot as I posted this, but the challenge is the activity of a lifetime.

Feedback

Any thoughts, additions, amendments – whatever – please add in respectful and constructive comments below. Thank you!

Resources for a Teenager – ‘Living’

The second in a series of posts detailing those resources I’m finding useful on my own particular (life) journey.

Meta

I’ve chosen these books to hopefully be an accessible way into cultivating inner knowledge, and valuing our inner teacher [or whatever you would like to call it…].

IMHO there is no ‘correct’ way to live, only continual experiments in vulnerability and courage.

I’ve come to believe it’s a life-long practice, with many speed bumps along the way #crikey

The List

To grow, as I come across new materials and / or think of additions.

The rationale

1. Daring Greatly: Brené is reframing vulnerability so that we can welcome it as a superpower. I’m coming to the belief that vulnerability is a vital stepping stone to presence, and that we are fortunate to live in a time to absorb her wisdom for ourselves.
2. A Hidden Wholeness – Parker’s work powerfully resonates with me. I’ve attended three retreats – and counting – based on the insights of the Centre for Courage and Renewal. Their ‘Clearness Committee’ format is the most respectful and dignified way to hold other people which I have come across.
3. What shall I do with my Life? – I remember reading this and thinking: that’s actually really helpful.
4. Sophie’s World – IMHO we should teach philosophy to Primary Schoolers. A brilliant way to create a coherent understanding of the major schools. These are thinking skills and a mind gym we can all benefit from.
5. Mindset [& Bounce] – a vital contribution from Carol Dweck about the Growth Mindset. Aka all feedback is an opportunity to learn, no matter how difficult it might be at the time.
6. When Things fall apart [and they often do] – Ani Pema’s synthesis of this Buddhist lineage will be something I expect to return to time and again. In fact Ani Pema’s ability to convey profound wisdom is something I greatly value. I plan to return to her work in different formats, in future.
7. Man’s search for meaning – out of some of humanity’s darkest hours emerges some rays of light. Night, by Elie Wiesel, taps into the same elemental forces.
8. Quiet – I came away from reading this by thinking that I could well be an introvert, with extrovert tendencies. Perhaps an ‘ambivert’. A fascinating reframe…
9. The Hero with a Thousand Faces – who would have thought that humanity shares many ways of thinking about our existence, when so often we (collectively) seek to differentiate our wisdom traditions?
10. The Art of Asking – just ‘take the doughnuts’: aka let people help you. Something I’ve found very useful myself!
11. Heart Sutra – something to come back to whenever needed. I understand the preamble better than I do the Sanskrit…!
12. Update: Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life - Jon created the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) class [something I've done, and continue to practice].

The Task

It’s been said that there are many ways to live life. Our individual challenge is to figure out a way that works for us, at our deepest levels (and even to discover them in the first place…).
Onwards!

Goodreads

I endeavour to record what I’m reading via my profile on Goodreads.

Resources for a Teenager - blog series

Intro

Living can be a challenge. Feeling like you’re connected - a jigsaw puzzle when the pieces fit together – is a challenge for most of us.

When you love a parent, and lose them before you might reasonably expect to, I can only imagine it’s incredibly difficult.

I thought it’d be helpful to breathe life back into this blog - after a prolonged quietude – by making a record of those of the resources I’m finding useful on my own particular journey.

I’m offering them here so that others may refer to them, choose what resonates, and read, watch, mark, and inwardly digest to support a life more fully lived.

I hope they are useful!

Materials

I’m planning to coalesce my findings – to begin with – about ‘Living’; Economics; and Fiction.

These signposts will (probably) be books; videos; blogs & online articles; and podcasts.

I’ll hopefully have bandwidth to provide a minimalist commentary.

Series

I plan to embed a number of widgets in these posts.

It may well be that the order is a bit haphazard (according to the collation of various types of materials), and that the order is the type of material, rather than the theme. I’d apologise, but better to ship than be perfect… ;D

Feedback

Any thoughts, additions, amendments – whatever – please add in respectful and constructive comments to the posts. Thank you!

Brené Brown and wholeheartedness

Introduction

A quick post about a recent discovery I made, and grateful for the serendipity that brought me!

I recently gained a new Twitter follower, @kabbenbock, over at @souterconsults. I usually find out about new followers through an e-mail alert, and those with bios that resonate with me I check out, and follow back, as appropriate.

@kabbenbock IRL is Andy Smith, who I was aware of him as one of the authors of The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change.

I felt flattered to be followed by someone like Andy, and checked out his Twitterstream before tweeting my thanks for the follow. One of his tweets was:

Great storytellers create a purposeful narrative, sucking us in, forcing us to make it our own buff.ly/Sy9Php @kareanderson
— Andy Smith (@kabbenbock) September 18, 2012

Kare Anderson’s article includes this quote:

Ironically, the sharing of one’s vulnerability with trusted others is one of the prime gateways to overcoming shame according to the star of one of the ten most watched TED talks, Brene Brown. In Daring Greatly, she describes the paradoxical power of embracing our vulnerability and acknowledging our fears as a path towards being more courageous and connected with others. That means letting go of the need for certainty and control.

This intrigued me, and I sought out Brené’s TED talk.

Brené Brown

The following is an except from Brené Brown’s bio page:

Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW is a research professor at the University of HoustonGraduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame.  

Brené is a nationally renowned speaker and has won numerous teaching awards, including the College’s Outstanding Faculty Award. Her groundbreaking work has been featured on PBS, NPR, CNN, and has appeared in The Washington Post,Psychology Today, and many other national media outlets.

Her 2010 TEDxHouston talk on the power of vulnerability is one of most watched talks on TED.com, with approximately 5 million views. She gave the closing talk, Listening to Shame,  at the 2012 TED Conference in Long Beach. 

TED Videos

The videos are below. The first has now reached 6.1m views; the second is on its way towards 1.5m. Half a dozen of these combined views are from me! ;-)

The Power of Vulnerability

The blurb for this TED talk is:

Brené Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share. (Filmed at TEDxHouston.)  

Listening to Shame

Blurb for this one is:

Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behavior. Brené Brown, whose earlier talk on vulnerability became a viral hit, explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.

IMHO even more powerful than the first talk. I love Brené’s admixture of vulnerability, insight, and joy. Thank you, Brené! :-D

I've put in YouTube versions of these talks as they're easier to tweak to fit in the blog design...

Videos for further context

I've gone a bit crazy with all these videos, but this for me is extraordinary stuff! Let me know if it takes an age to load...

TEDxKC - Brené Brown - The Price of Invulnerability

Shame & Empathy by Dr. Brené Brown

Resources

Check out Brené’s resources page for links to videos, podcasts, and online articles.

Books

I’m still in the early stages of exploring Brené’s work, however I’ve cued up Brené’s books on my Amazon wishlist:

1. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (BUT IT ISN'T): Telling the Truth About Perfectionism, Inadequacy and Power
2. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to be and Embrace Who You are
3. Daring Greatly

Podcasts

I’m a big fan of podcasts, and have listened to the Smart People Podcast interview with Brené. The first 5 minutes or so are context, which I’ve fast-forwarded when I’ve listened to the podcast again! ;-). Direct link

You may also want to check out this interview with Koren Motekaitis with is rather tremendous. Direct link.

Wholeheartedness

On of the key outcomes for Brené’s research has been that some people are what she calls “wholehearted” – in summary, they are confident that they are ‘enough’ and worthy of other people’s love.

I guess that’s the point of her writings, so I plan to read them after Loving What Is by Byron Katie, and Coming to Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The books-to-read pile is growing! ;-)

Graphics

These are some graphics from Brené’s website which I am posting here to bring to a wider audience. I’m seeking to “be the change I’m trying to create”.

 

Wash up

I’m sharing these materials as they have resonated strongly with me. Whilst I’m keen to read all three books straight away, I sense that part of me is seeking in them “the answer” which I am coming to realise doesn’t really exist. I am confident that they will, however, be part of the solution!

I also like the idea that they are something to ‘move towards’, rather than ‘move away from’ – in the words of a buddy of mine. That puts Brené’s work in the same category as the positive psychology movement, in that it is creating new skills, rather than sorting out the past. Time to leave the past and create the future!

UPDATE 06/10/12: Added link for podcast interview with Koren Motekaitis.

How can you learn greater well-being? What is Positive psychology? -- Some insightful concepts

Introduction

I was pleased to be able to attend another showing of the movie ‘Happy’ – hosted by Dr Deborah Jima-Otero at the Newcastle Centre for Positive Living, part of Northumbria University.

I was grateful to do this, as I had become aware of what I believe is some really insightful wording relating to positive psychology, in the context of a course run from October 2011 to help attendees improve their quality of life, and well-being.

Deborah kindly assented to me reproducing the wording – with the appropriate attribution.

Descriptive text from NCPL’s “Eight week programme in positive living”

This is verbatim from the course outline:

Dr Deborah Jima-Otero and Dr Matthew Lewis from The Newcastle Centre for Positive Living (NCPL) at Northumbria University are pleased to announce their eight week programme in positive living, starting on 20th October 2011 every Thursday 6.30-8.30pm, for members of the general public.

Using scientifically validated exercises from the field of positive psychology, the programme aims to introduce participants to techniques which will enable them to experience more positive emotions and flourish in life.   It will seek to help the group of participants to assess their personal well-being and satisfaction with life; plan a meaningful and satisfying life for themselves and try out various exercises which are aimed at increasing positive emotions and decreasing negative emotions.  These guided exercises will be completed during the weekly sessions and in the participants' own time between these sessions.

What are the benefits of positive emotions beyond ‘feeling good’?

Research has shown that positive emotions have a number of beneficial effects, beyond simply ‘feeling good’. 
Happier people:

• Are more creative and better at problem solving – Positive emotions broaden people’s outlook, bringing more possibilities into view.  Greater openness makes them more creative as they are more likely to let go of preconceived ideas and think outside the box.
• Are more productive and successful – They are more engaged both at work and play and tend to take less time off work due to sickness.
• Are more resilient – They tend to bounce back from life’s setbacks more quickly.
• Experience more fulfilling relationships with others - They are also more likely to help other people and benefit from social support themselves.
• Are healthier – They tend to lead healthier lifestyles and research has shown that they even live longer!

What is positive psychology?

Positive psychology is at the heart of much of our work at the Newcastle Centre for Positive Living (NCPL).  In a nutshell, positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning and is concerned with positive aspects of human life such as happiness, well-being, flourishing, engagement, meaning, accomplishment, and positive relationships.  The aim of the field is to redress the imbalance that has emerged in the field of psychology from emphasising ‘misery and suffering’ (i.e., shortcomings such as depression, anxiety, drug addiction, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder) to understanding factors that make life worth living (i.e., potentials and human strengths).

Building ‘psychological immunity’

Positive psychology is keen to promote the idea that the full range of emotions have their place in human existence and that we need to give ourselves the permission to be human and accept that we all experience life’s ups and downs. So positive psychology is not about being ‘happy clappy’ but about being real.  However, it espouses the view that through hard work and practicing scientifically validated interventions (and experiencing setbacks along the way!)  individuals can learn resilience and build up their ‘psychological immune system’.  The idea is that, like physical immunity, individuals with a strong psychological immune system may still ‘get sick’ but this happens less frequently and when setbacks occur they get over them more quickly.

Prevention through cultivating the positive

Positive psychology is not targeted at fixing problems (i.e. remedial) but works on getting people to their upper range of well-being.  If you imagine a scale of well-being ranging from -10 to 0 to +10, psychology has traditionally focused on getting people who may be a -8 on the scale up to 0 or 1.  Positive psychology, by contrast, also focuses on those who may be at 0 or +1 or +2 and teaches them how to get to +8 or +10.  It helps individuals who may be ‘getting by’ in life to truly flourish, find meaning, and build resilience. In this respect it is much more preventative in its approach.  For example, Martin Seligman the founder of the field of positive psychology, has found in his research that learning optimism prevents depression and anxiety in ‘at risk’ children and adults, roughly halving their incidence over the next two years.

also

Finally, we would like to point out that you may find this course personally challenging at times as it may involved changing deeply entrenched habits. We do not advocate the view that there are a few ‘easy steps’ to happiness. Instead, we believe it takes commitment, motivation and hard work. We aim to support and encourage you on this journey but ultimately the main drive and effort needs to come from you. That said, you also need to accept that you will experience challenges and setbacks along the way – these are all part of being human!

Take away

Key points for me:

• Well-being and meaning is something that can be developed and grown – chiming with my recent reading of ‘Mindset’ by Carol Dweck, and ‘Bounce’ by Matthew Syed
• Well-being and happiness is about being authentic, and raising one’s “mean” state of experience
• Going through the exercises is personally challenging
• I really like the idea of a “psychological immune system”

Arguably these are incredibly important life skills that many more people would benefit from, and deserve to be part of a wider set of life skills courses that form part of everyone’s basic education. What do you think?

“What are the skills that build positive emotion, gratitude, optimism, purpose, engagement in life?”

Intro

Since last June, I've been working with a start-up called http://happie.st. Our tagline is 'get rewarded for doing the things that make you happy".

I've come across some awesome personal development materials since then, and have got stuck into a lot of podcasts, DVDs, books, articles etc. ;-). For the eagle-eyed, you probably already know that! lol

This post records some of my recent discoveries, and the inspiration they provide:

• Some reflections by Martin Seligman, arguably the moving spirit behind Positive Psychology, and someone I first learned about on my Psychology undergraduate degree – as he had convincingly put forward the theory of ‘learned helplessness’.
• A summary from Time magazine about Positive Psychology
• Links to some courses on Positive Psychology I have found (in the UK)
• Widget showing some of my Goodreads books and account

Marty Seligman

I find listening to a podcast of someone gives a fantastic flavour of the person, and whether I’m going to enjoy / like / benefit from their writings.

Marty at the RSA

Martin Seligman at the RSA in London: I've listened to his podcast, and it’s highly insightful and enjoyable. Full disclosure: I used to be a Fellow of the RSA.

MAPP programme promotion podcast

Having searched iTunes for ‘Martin Seligman’, I was also listening to another podcast, and found the early proceedings highly meaningful.

I’ve listened to a particular section a number of times, and I've (roughly) typed up a couple of minutes the proceedings of the Virtual Information Session (http://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/graduate/mapp) from about 4mins 30secs - involving Marty Seligman:

• "Back 8 years ago, when I found myself president of 160k psychologists, I asked myself the question "what do psychologists do well?", "what don't we do well?"
• I thought what we did pretty well was suffering: depression, trauma, anxiety, anger, victims and the like
• But, what psychologists didn't do well, what there was no science, no practice of, was what makes life worth living: positive energy, positive emotion, engagement
• So, as I looked around, I decided that my initiative as president of that Association would be to cheer-lead for, raise money, do some of the science, or the possibility of a science of practice, on what makes life what worth living, the positive side of life
• I should say that what was behind that was some of my experience as a clinical psychologist, as a therapist for many years
• And initially, I had believed that all you needed to work on was suffering; if you got rid of suffering, you automatically got happy
• We were astonished to find out in clinical practice that occasionally when things went really well and you were able to alleviate anxiety, depression, anger: you didn't get a happy person, you got an empty person
• So the question was, so what are the skills that build purpose and meaning in life, they're different from relieving depression? What are the skills that build positive emotion, gratitude, optimism, purpose, engagement in life? And so that became my mission
• [...]
• Starting about 4 / 3 years ago, as the science was beginning to develop along, I began to become concerned about application; that is, how can we take the things we're learning about gratitude, about pleasure, about strength and virtue, about creating purpose, and bring them into the real world"

I feel the point about an 'Empty person' is incredibly powerful, certainly for my own life. I'd actually bought 'Learned Optimism' (http://amzn.to/J6djq7) a couple of weeks back, and I'm also reading 'Happier' (http://amzn.to/Jrve7w).

I feel that this will be a rich vein for investigation and learning for me. I find the description of ‘empty’ a trigger to do practical things to build my own levels of positive emotion, gratitude, optimism, purpose, and engagement in life :-D

I'd be fascinated to hear any thoughts and feedback you may have. By the way, MAPP stands for ‘Master of Applied Positive Psychology’.

Courses

For now, studying at the University of Pennsylvania, at Martin’s knee, is a bit of a long shot, so here are some closer to home:

• Eight Week Programme in Positive Living at Northumbria Unversity – in Newcastle
• Applied Positive Psychology MSc at the University of East London, similar to UoP course
• Positive Psychology (Short Courses) at my (other) Alma Mater, City Uni in London

Time document

Useful summary of Positive Psychology which puts things into a nutshell:
The New Science of Happiness

Goodreads widget

I’m whacking this in here, as it’s a useful place for me to share what I’m reading :-)

Justin's bookshelf: to-read

The Genius In All Of Us: Why Everything You've Been Told About Genes, Talent And Intelligence Is Wrong

by David Shenk

Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals

by Heidi Grant Halvorson

Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice

by Matthew Syed

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rule-breakers, and Changemakers

by Dave Gray

What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question

by Po Bronson

Wash up

I hope you find these materials useful and insightful. I’d love to get your feedback, and what else you’d suggest. Thanks for reading!

Join us for the North East Premiere of 'HAPPY' on World HAPPY Day

Background

You may be aware that I’ve been working at happiest Limited since last June. I feel very fortunate to have learnt a great deal, and discover a treasure trove of resources around the practice of happiness. I.e. that one’s level of happiness and well-being is something that one can grown, through regular practice and habitual behaviour.
This post provides the context to a happiness-related event I’m involved in organising in Newcastle upon Tyne, and invites you to attend and bring your friends!

Happiness at Work event

I was thrilled to attend the recent Happiness at Work event, organised by Codeworks:

This month we’re taking a different approach to our Think and a Drink event with the topic of Positive Psychology and its effects in the workplace.  We’ve got speakers and discussions and even a chance of taking part in some of the very first research studies on the subject with our friends at Northumbria University.  Here’s a little taster of what you can expect.
Positive Psychology is a new branch of Psychology which focuses on enabling people to grow and fulfil themselves. Professor Martin Seligman, who is generally credited with igniting the interest in positive psychology when he was appointed President of the American Psychological Association in 1998, describes it as enabling people to ‘flourish’. A positive psychological state in which we feel positive emotions, engagement, achievement, positive relationships and a sense of meaning in our lives.
Research also demonstrates that a positive psychological state seems to protect against illness and prolong longevity. It also enhances resilience, very important given the challenging and unpredictable economic climate we are experiencing.

At that event, the seeds of local action were sown, so please read on for details of the event in February.

We’re showing a movie, and you’re invited!

We’re showing a movie on 11th February in Newcastle upon Tyne. Once in the afternoon, and for the second time in the evening. Please use these links to book online.
The following is the descriptive blurb:

Happy People = Happy World

On World HAPPY Day, February 11, 2012, thousands of people will join together in communities across the globe to watch the film HAPPY and begin their journeys toward healthier, and happier lives. We want everyone in the North East and Cumbria to be part of this amazing, worldwide event so we are screening the film twice, at 2.00pm and 6.30pm, at The Centre for Life in Newcastle.

World HAPPY Day inspires action for increasing happiness in our own lives and in the world. Research suggests that happy people are healthier and live longer, they are more likely to care for the environment and less likely to commit crimes or go to war. Happy people help others more often and are more optimistic and creative. Increasing happiness benefits us as individuals and communities in infinite ways – it is a goal worth sharing.
Roko Belic, director of the Academy Award® nominated “Genghis Blues” now brings us HAPPY, a film that takes us from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of Namibia, from the beaches of Brazil to the villages of Okinawa to explore the secrets behind our most valued emotion.

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Screening Programme

Afternoon

2.00pm ‘Happy Networking’ – an opportunity to relax over a drink, catch up with friends and meet lots of new, like minded people
3.00pm ‘HAPPY’ – be one of the first in the North to experience the inspiring new film by Roko Belic
4.30pm ‘Happy talk’ – share your feelings about the film, learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.
5.30pm Event draws to a close

« Click here to book the matinee »

Evening

6.30pm ‘Happy Networking’ – an opportunity to relax over a drink, catch up with friends and meet lots of new, like minded people
7.30pm ‘HAPPY’ – be one of the first in the North to experience the inspiring new film by Roko Belic
9.00pm ‘Happy talk’ – share your feelings about the film, learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.
10.00pm Event draws to a close

« Click here to book the evening showing »

The Film

Happy - A Documentary Trailer from Wadi Rum Films on Vimeo.
For more information about ‘HAPPY’ go to - http://www.thehappymovie.com

How you can get involved

Please come and join us – the links again: afternoon and evening. Come to both if you like ;-). Key activities:

• share your feelings about the film,
• learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and
• find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.

NLP Practitioner – first impressions

Introduction

I’m putting this post together after completing the ‘Practitioner’ course of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), which finished on Monday.

[I’ve made extensive use of links to NLP-related articles on Wikipedia – which has a suite of pages addressing the gamut of issues in this area.]

Preconceptions

I must admit that I’m pretty sceptical of people who profess to turn your life around like Tony Bobbins (ok, so it’s a spoof), and I’m not really a big fan of TV hypnotists and Vic Reeves-style “I Will Cure You” stuff.

Loose impressions I’d picked up about NLP included such tropes as ‘vulcan mind control’ and something to do with the Dark Side. ;-D

My background

Perhaps this is all a bit of an amorphous mass of my own preconceptions, but I’m a psychology graduate, and have an interest in self-improvement and have read up about skills like Emotional Intelligence and assertiveness (amongst others).

The course itself

You should be able to find more information about the course from this link, but essentially it was about providing a practical introduction to skills that attendees could use for improving self-awareness and communication with other people.

Tutor and assistants

The course was run by Kay Cooke of The ME Group in Hexham, Northumberland. Kay is an accredited NLP Trainer, and was assisted by presence of a revolving team of Master Practitioners (i.e. people trained with skills to assist other people [my typology]).

Structure

The course comprised two 4-day clusters, run from Friday morning through to Monday night (i.e. over the weekend). Hours were 9.30 until 4.30-5 o’clock.

At times it was quite full-on, and was pretty much a synthesis of best practice tools and techniques for communication (e.g. “Deep structure and surface structure” from Noam Chomsky). There was a combination of theoretical learning, and practical exercises (e.g. visualisation) both with Kay and between other members of the group.

The Group

It was a small group of 5, with 3 men and 2 women. Ages ranged from late teenager to middle-age {I think I can get away with that! ;-)}.

I think the small group worked well – there is a lot of material to cover, and a larger group might well be more difficult for the trainer to optimally instruct.

Impressions

My over-arching feeling was that Kay draws upon a deep well of learning, training and personal insight to deliver a (potentially) tricky subject very adeptly. She made it look ‘simple’ when that’s definitely not the case.

When I questioned her about the wider context that NLP sits in (i.e. how we all live, in our different ways) she posited that NLP material is ‘simple’, and in many ways I would agree with her. However, NLP material definitely challenges many implicit and unconscious assumptions we all make about living.

What’s working for you, what would you like to change?

Kay made clear that the NLP framework is just that – a framework. If you’ve got things in your life which are going well, great: but if you’ve got stuff you’d like to work on, then NLP might be able to help.

There was also an ongoing discussion about process versus content: in that what I might call ‘traditional’ / ‘talking’ therapies, the therapist and client talk through issues; whereas NLP typically keeps content out of the interaction and seeks to come to a different perception of issues and events, in order to influence how the client’s subconscious is dealing with them.

Importance of ethical dimension

One of the things I struggled with at first was how one might be able to use powerful tools and techniques in such a way which was responsible and ethical. The penny dropped during the second 4-day cluster, in that:
a) I was only training for the Practitioner level, so interventions with other people were probably beyond my skill level, and
b) the ethical context was using NLP is / was absolutely crucial

I think this boils down to only ‘helping’ people if they ask to be helped, and—even then—closely observing the person to ensure any assistance was appropriate and that the flow of any intervention closely matched the situation. If you take someone on a ‘journey’, you’ve got to be able to bring them back, as it were…

Conclusions

Why the controversy?

The two founders of the NLP movement had a falling-out, and in compiling this post, I became aware of the extensive controversy surrounding NLP (e.g. vis-a-vis science).

Kay’s training is validated by The Society of NLP (logo to the right).

Whilst I understand that people often have very good reasons to get heated about things, personally I found the material pretty insightful and resonating (although not sure what that says about me! ;-D).

Part of the toolkit

Viewed in the context of many other ways of seeing the world, I felt it was an entirely legitimate subject area, and useful addition to the canon of self-improvement activity.

‘Everything in moderation’ is a useful dictum, and I personally gained some useful insights and elements of new self-awareness. What’s so bad about that? I’m still waiting to learn the vulcan mind control techniques <sigh>.

So, a summary of my first impressions. Doubtless there will be others, and I will do my best to post them here. :-)

Combat Stress – caring for Veterans' mental health

Introduction

For my undergraduate degree, I studied Psychology, and fascinating it was – it’s related to the human condition, but both the physical and metaphysical perspectives [well, something like that – Ed.].

I was also a member of the URNU, the University Royal Naval Unit, and loved that as well. A little bit of background (i.e. a related post) can be found here.

Based on a gut instinct that our servicemen and women could be treated more respectfully and looked after better, I’ve recently donated to Help for Heroes. Based on my background though, I’ve got a closer affinity to Combat Stress, and this post is designed to help you understand why.

I realise that there are a number of quotes from the Combat Stress website, but I’m guessing you’ll bear with it…!

About Combat Stress

Why Combat Stress exists

Combat Stress is the UK's leading military charity specialising in the care of Veterans' mental health.

We treat conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety disorders.  Our services are free of charge to the Veteran.

Since 2005 the number of ex-Service men and women seeking our help has risen by 72%.  And we have a current caseload of more than 4,300 individuals. This already includes 102 Veterans who have served in Afghanistan and 400 who served in Iraq.

In March 2010 our Patron HRH The Prince of Wales launched our major fundraising campaign – The Enemy Within Appeal.

The £30 million, three-year appeal is designed to help us treat the escalating number of psychologically injured Veterans who are turning to us for help, by:

• Establishing 14 Community Outreach Teams nationwide
• Enhancing clinical treatment at our three short-stay treatment centres

If you need help yourself

This link has the map referred to below in the following quote:

Combat Stress provides effective treatment and support to Veterans of the British Armed Forces who are suffering from mental ill health.

If you or perhaps someone in your family has a problem, then please call us for an informal chat.

Our services are free of charge and regardless of War Pension/Armed Forces Compensation Scheme status.

We have people in your area ready to take your call –8.30 am to 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday.  Simply click on your region in the map [below] for contact details of your local Support Desk.

Veterans do not have to have seen active service in order to qualify for our help – but if you are in any doubt, just ask us.

Some facts re the Falklands War

At a recent Combat Stresss fund-raiser that I attended, Lieut-General Robin Brims addressed us, and mentioned the problems that service personnel faced returning home after fighting in the Falklands War.

I don’t really have time to substantiate the following quote which I believe backs him up, but it’s from here and quotes Guardian and Observer sources:

Since the war, hundreds of veterans, both Argentinian and British, have committed suicide. Numbers of suicides are not recorded by the MoD, but the South Atlantic Medal Association claimed in 2002 that more British ex-servicemen from the Falklands have killed themselves since the 1982 conflict than died in action: 264 they estimated (300 is more recently quoted).

An example is Lance Corporal Colin Deary who lost three friends in the Falklands, was discharged from the army eight years later with drink problems, and in 1994 stabbed himself to death. Similar reports have been made about the Argentinian troops.

[…]

As in all wars but still not adequately recognised by the military establishment, the servicemen and women suffer to varying degrees from post traumatic stress disorder. Many soldiers found it hard to return to normal life, ended up getting into trouble and committing crimes.

Simon Skinner suffered flashbacks and stumbled from one crisis to another attempting suicide on several occasions, becoming an alcoholic and getting into debt, and finally in 1995 having his final flashback. ‘He got out of bed, stood to attention, marched out of the room as if in a trance and, stumbling, fell down the stairs. He died five days later.’

Video highlighting the issue

The Enemy Within Appeal

Caution: this advert features a simulated flashback some viewers may find disturbing.

On 11 March 2010, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, launched the Combat Stress Enemy Within Appeal at St. James's Palace. 

This accompanying advert highlights the emotional 
impact of PTSD on the lives of Veterans and their families.

The key aims of The Enemy Within Appeal are to:

• Raise £30 million to enhance and develop mental health services for Veterans.
• Raise awareness of the plight of Veterans suffering from psychological injury.
• Encourage Veterans and their families to seek help earlier.

Please help us in any way you can.

N.B. You can now follow us on:

 

Enemy within appeal leaflet

This gives info on the appeal mentioned above – probably best viewed in Fullscreen mode…

The Enemy Within appeal leaflet

Wash up

Hopefully you get the general idea. I’m expecting to do another Byte Night sleep-out in the Autumn, but plan to devote any future fund-raising activities to help this cause. I hope you can support me. :-)

Schizophrenia – disambiguation

I have a long-term interested in Psychology, having graduated in 1992 as a Bachelor of Science from the University of Bristol.

The point of this post is to say that (IMHO) it is wrong to view Schizophrenia as being synonymous with split personality, as the quotes from Wikipedia (below) attest.

I get frustrated when the word schizophrenia is used when ‘split-personality’ would be more appropriate.

Schizophrenia is defined by Wikipedia [accessed 25/5/09] as:

“Schizophrenia (pronounced /ˌskɪtsəˈfrɛniə/ or pronounced /ˌskɪtsəˈfriːniə/), from the Greek roots skhizein (σχίζειν, "to split") and phrēn, phren- (φρήν, φρεν-, "mind") is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality.

Distortions in perception may affect all five senses, including sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, but most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction.

Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood,^[1] with approximately 0.4–0.6%^[2][3] of the population affected.

Diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reported experiences and observed behavior.

No laboratory test for schizophrenia currently exists.^[4]”

The entry continues:

“Despite its etymology, schizophrenia is not synonymous with dissociative identity disorder, previously known as multiple personality disorder or split personality; in popular culture the two are often confused.”

Wiktionary defines it thus [accessed 25/5/09], and thereby shows there is an informal use of the term:

Noun

schizophrenia

1. (pathology) A psychiatric diagnosis denoting a persistent, often chronic, mental illness variously affecting behavior, thinking, and emotion
2. (informal) Any condition in which disparate or mutually exclusive activities coexist

For the purposes of balance, I am including the Wikipedia entry on Dissociative Identity Disorder [again, accessed 25/5/09]:

“Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a condition in which a single person displays multiple distinct identities or personalities (known as alter egos or alters), each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment.”

I realise this is probably a hopeless cause, but nonetheless worthwhile!

Technorati Tags: psychology,schizophrenia,split personality,disambiguation

… "one can't believe impossible things."

"Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Alice in Wonderland.

Lovely quote sent to me by lovely Kay Cooke.

Props to The Victorian Web

Technorati Tags: imagination,literature,psychology

Psychology experiments - Zimbardo and Milgram

I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol, in Psychology. It was a fascinating three years, and always relevant: i.e. it's about people.

I did a variety of modules

• Social - about groups of people
• Developmental - "from sperm to worm" apparently ;-)
• Neuropsychology - about the brain and its physical functioning
• Neuropsychopharmacology - chemicals in the brain, and also the effect of recreational drugs
• etc.

This post is all about giving me an excuse to re-visit a couple of top experiments - basically social psychology, about how compliant people can be to authority. They involve two titans of the field, Philip Zimbardo and Stanley Milgram.

Most of the following text is taken from Wikipedia.

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Philip Zimbardo

"In the year 1971, Zimbardo accepted a tenured position as professor of psychology at Stanford University. There he conducted the infamous Stanford prison experiment, in which 24 normal college students were randomly assigned to be "prisoners" or "guards" in a mock prison located in the basement of the psychology building at Stanford (three additional college students were selected as alternates, but did not participate in the experiment).

The students quickly began acting out their roles, with "guards" becoming sadistic and "prisoners" showing extreme passivity and depression. Prisoners and guards rapidly adapted to their roles, stepping beyond the boundaries of what had been predicted and leading to dangerous and psychologically damaging situations. One-third of the guards were judged to have exhibited "genuine" sadistic tendencies, while many prisoners were emotionally traumatized and four had to be removed from the experiment early.

Ethical concerns surrounding the famous experiment often draw comparisons to the Milgram experiment, which was conducted in 1961 at Yale University by Stanley Milgram, Zimbardo's former high school friend."

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Stanley Milgram

"The experiment

The role of the experimenter was played by a stern, impassive biology teacher dressed in a technician's coat, and the victim (learner) was played by an Irish-American accountant trained to act for the role. The participant and the learner (supposedly another volunteer, but in reality a confederate of the experimenter) were told by the experimenter that they would be participating in an experiment helping his study of memory and learning in different situations.^[1]

Two slips of paper were then presented to the participant and to the actor. The participant was led to believe that one of the slips said "learner" and the other said "teacher," and that he and the actor had been given the slips randomly. In fact, both slips said "teacher," but the actor claimed to have the slip that read "learner," thus guaranteeing that the participant would always be the "teacher." At this point, the "teacher" and "learner" were separated into different rooms where they could communicate but not see each other. In one version of the experiment, the confederate was sure to mention to the participant that he had a heart condition.^[1]

The "teacher" was given a 45-volt electric shock from the electro-shock generator as a sample of the shock that the "learner" would supposedly receive during the experiment. The "teacher" was then given a list of word pairs which he was to teach the learner. The teacher began by reading the list of word pairs to the learner. The teacher would then read the first word of each pair and read four possible answers. The learner would press a button to indicate his response. If the answer was incorrect, the teacher would administer a shock to the learner, with the voltage increasing for each wrong answer. If correct, the teacher would read the next word pair.^[1]

The subjects believed that for each wrong answer, the learner was receiving actual shocks. In reality, there were no shocks. After the confederate was separated from the subject, the confederate set up a tape recorder integrated with the electro-shock generator, which played pre-recorded sounds for each shock level. After a number of voltage level increases, the actor started to bang on the wall that separated him from the subject. After several times banging on the wall and complaining about his heart condition, all responses by the learner would cease.^[1]

At this point, many people indicated their desire to stop the experiment and check on the learner. Some test subjects paused at 135 volts and began to question the purpose of the experiment. Most continued after being assured that they would not be held responsible. A few subjects began to laugh nervously or exhibit other signs of extreme stress once they heard the screams of pain coming from the learner.^[1]

If at any time the subject indicated his desire to halt the experiment, he was given a succession of verbal prods by the experimenter, in this order:^[1]

1. Please continue.
2. The experiment requires that you continue.
3. It is absolutely essential that you continue.
4. You have no other choice, you must go on.

If the subject still wished to stop after all four successive verbal prods, the experiment was halted. Otherwise, it was halted after the subject had given the maximum 450-volt shock three times in succession. This experiment could be seen to raise some ethical issues as the experimenter did not truthfully tell the people involved what the real test was for."