Post-Traumatic Stress and Brain Change

For a long time after my trauma I felt…. different. I didn’t feel comfortable or safe in my body. I didn’t even feel comfortable or safe in my mind. Suddenly, there were thoughts, emotions and memories that seemed out of my control. In order to deal with it all, I did my best to suppress the problems and carry on with a ‘normal’ life.

I bet you can already guess that I wasn’t exactly successful. The more we avoid post-traumatic issues the more they fester and eventually erupt. On the days that I just couldn’t hold myself together – when I melted down, lashed out or shutdown in order to lessen the stress – I thought the problem, certainly, was me. I was too weak to manage. The truth, I found out later, is the problem was not me at all. The problem is that trauma impacts and changes the brain in significant ways that impair our ability to function.

PTSD How To De-Limit Your Belief in Recovery

Recovering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is challenging. Unlike bronchitis, there is no universal treatment, no definitive timeframe for feeling better, and no way to know what kind of treatment will work. While you try different healing modalities from traditional (talk therapy, cognitive behavior therapy and exposure therapy) to alternative (information processing therapies, hypnosis, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, somatic experiencing) it will be necessary for you to also develop your self-empowered healing skills.

You have enormous healing potential; the goal is learning to access it. Applying your own internal strength to the recovery process means developing not only your recovery skills but also your consciousness. Here’s why….

The Power of Positive Thought

Is There An App For That?
Tools to Help You Find Your Authentic Self

It seems now, more than ever, finding tools to manage stress levels and achieve inner peace is essential. Our busy lifestyles often require us to rebalance by finding the time for daily affirmations. This, in turn, can help us to remain focused, positive and productive. Pressures from work and family life can all add up. Whether you’re a business person, stay-at-home parent or a retiree, we all need a way to relax and recharge.

How can apps be used as spiritual tools? There are a number of options available for your iPhone or iPod Touch. The formats vary from card decks to perpetual calendars and spoken word apps. One advantage to apps is that you can conveniently take all of them with you at all times. Often, you can share single card affirmations by email with family and friends. Take for instance the scenario of a friend who may need your help. Whip out your iPhone, find the right card/message and then send them an affirmation to show your support and encouragement.

A Day In The Life With HIV – Part 4

A low testosterone level is quite common in men living with HIV. I had been HIV infected for almost three years. While I had my share of nagging illnesses; sinus infections, thrush and the like, I always prided myself on feeling pretty good. Recently, after turning 42 years old, I noticed I felt more fatigued than usual. I had little energy after dinner, wanting to sleep more and more each day. My problems were not just with energy levels. In the bedroom I found that my sexual desire had all but disappeared. When I was in the mood I sometimes had trouble getting an erection. When I did, it was not as strong or as long lasting as it once was. To top it all off, I felt sad, and very deeply depressed, even suicidal at times, and finding joy in any activity was difficult. I had all the classic signs of low testosterone and my wonderful doctor felt testosterone replacement may be exactly what I needed.

How Pursuing a Purpose Creates Greater Happiness

Happiness can be elusive. Sometimes it seems the more it’s pursued the harder it is to find. This is especially true for enduring happiness, which is quite different from celebratory happiness, like you might experience at a party. I believe the most fulfilling form of happiness cannot be “found” per se. Enduring happiness needs to be developed. It is the product of a healthy and gratifying relationships and purposeful work.
Research and observations by Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson and senior research fellow Laura Nash, authors of “Four Keys of Enduring Success: How High Achievers Win” found that enduring personal satisfaction comes more from the act of achieving than from the actual accomplishment. This point is significant in a world that measures our success by our accomplishments. It is the endeavor itself that creates feelings of gratification. This is one of the great personal benefits of embracing and pursuing a meaningful purpose.

Coping With Financial Loss

Coping With Financial Loss, At the moment all over the world millions of people have been ‘HIT’ financially – and it’s not over yet! For someone who is ferociously independent and self-reliant it can be one of the most difficult things you can ever face to deal with a financial wipe out – or worse, complete meltdown. Finding the strength to move forward and to grow after a major financial disaster is not easy. If you’re in the older age bracket, or perhaps retired already when it hits, it makes the rebuilding process that much more difficult.
The loss alone is not what does it to you. It’s the realization of all your efforts coming to naught. It’s the emotional tidal wave that overcomes you, completely engulfing you in darkness that can kill you. Literally, these times throughout history, destroy marriages and families and can cause irreparable damage both physically and mentally to individuals. To those most deeply affected it can lead to violence to others and one’s self and even end in death.

Handling New Manager Stress

The moment has come after years of hard work and dedication – entering the ranks of management. New managers face a host of challenges between business tasks and people issues. As a result, expectations of performance change, impacting the process of getting comfortable with the new role. The pressure of competing demands can break individuals who prized the concept of management but found the realities of the function quite different. There are a few ways to ease the burden of new manager stress.
Set Realistic Priorities

The tendency to over-commit can be a big problem. New managers are eager to show they are ready for added responsibilities and tend to accept all assignments given to them. Soon everything is a priority and the quality of work declines. The struggle to please upper management, and stay attentive to employee needs, blurs the process of proper planning. Tips to setting realistic priorities: 

1. Document mission critical goals. Start your planning around the most important top level goals. All sub goals will flow from there and drives individual employee goals. Establish time measures for tracking progress as appropriate (e.g. weekly versus monthly).

2. Build in flexibility. The tendency with setting goals is to get so specific and fixed that changes outside of your control wreaks havoc on an otherwise iron-clad plan. Understand that change is inevitable and the ability to adapt your goals to changing conditions is necessary. Flexibility in goal setting occurs through estimation. That means factoring in buffer space. If it takes two weeks to complete a task, estimate three weeks. If issues come up that impact this task you know that you can adjust quickly and still get the original task done.

Communicate and Delegate

One of the many mistakes new managers make is to micro-manage people and processes. This can result from lack of confidence, lack of trust or knowledge of team competencies, or individual control is the only way to feel comfortable handling business demands. Managers need to establish role clarity early on with employees to share the workload properly. Through team meetings and 1-1’s, a manager can communicate his or her role, how they can help, and what they expect from their team. Recognition is key – offer your team praise and thanks for their help and reward them for strong efforts when deadlines are met.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – Getting Your Life Back On Track

Have you survived a trauma and are still haunted by the after effects? Do you struggle with a bad case of insomnia? Ever feel like you’re literally caught in an instant replay of the moment you felt most helpless while your life was being threatened? Have you noticed that instead of experiencing emotions you are emotionally numb? If you answer, ‘yes,’ to these questions, you’re not alone! In fact, studies estimate that over 5% of the American population (that’s over 15mm people) struggle with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While posttraumatic stress symptoms are prevalent, many people don’t recognize the presence of them in their own lives. We get so used to being awake all night, having nightmares or suppressing disturbing memories that all of that seems normal. The truth is, though, you don’t have to live that way.

A Day In The Life With HIV – Part 3

Living with HIV is not that difficult physically. I personally find that the emotional aspects of dealing with it are far greater. However, once you get over the fact that, YES, you do have HIV and that you will have it for the rest of your life. It’s a just a matter of dealing with it like any other life challenge that you may face. You have to muster the courage within you to keep going and move forward, no matter what. I haven’t been feeling well lately and so I went to my doctor for some tests. It turns out that my hormones are all out of whack. It happens.

Perspective – It’s Uniquely Yours.

Steven Diamond, the founder of StopStressingNow.Com talks about perspective and how it can change your understanding of the reality you live in.

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