Anxiety and Communication

5 Things Not to Say to Someone Experiencing Anxiety

When someone is anxious, it can be tempting to lend reassurance. Still, even well-intended comments sometimes hurt. This article offers several helpful points, among them are the following: Telling an anxious person that they need to get it together or that they are ‘ok’ is often not helpful. An expression of empathy for where someone […]

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For three years I denied my body the nutrition it needed. My teeth broke, my hair thinned, my periods stopped. But, in that too-small body I was praised…

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting since 2020. Most of that reflection is done in the mirror, incidentally. For more than three years I had denied my body the nutrition it needed to function. My teeth broke, my hair thinned, as I did, and then it fell out in loud clumps in the shower. My periods stopped as my body tried to distribute the few calories I was giving it to my vital functions. My blood pressure plummeted. My social life disintegrated as I turned down offers of gatherings out of fear there would be food I couldn’t avoid. My feet bled in my shoes from excessive walking. I ruptured a tendon in my fist from over-exercising. I was constantly cold and miserable. But I was beautiful. They said.

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Interpersonal problems and recognition of facial emotions in healthy individuals

Recognition of emotions in faces is important for successful social interaction. Results from previous research based on clinical samples suggest that difficulties in identifying threat-related or negative emotions can go along with interpersonal problems. The present study examined whether associations between interpersonal difficulties and emotion decoding ability can be found in healthy individuals. Our analysis

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[Correspondence] Shared decision making with psychological safety

Psychological safety is defined as a shared belief that individuals within a team or group are able to take risks without fear of being embarrassed or punished.1,2 Psychological safety consists of an environment in which people feel respected and comfortable to speak up and express their ideas, opinions, and concerns, which is essential for effective communication and collaboration and encourages creativity and innovation.

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Basic Tenets of Separation Theory

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Ahead of Print. This article outlines the basic tenets of separation theory, including the fantasy bond and the voice process. The fantasy bond is a unifying concept explaining how human beings seek security in fantasies of fusion in an attempt to heal the fracture related to interpersonal trauma compounded by death anxiety. Painful elements in parent–child interactions are incorporated in the form of a negative thought process or “voice,” creating a division in the personality between the self and the anti-self. My colleagues and I developed a methodology called “voice therapy” to expose and contend with people’s destructive attitudes and attacks on themselves. The article also describes the evolution of a group of more than 100 associates and friends who have lived in close proximity and shared their innermost feelings in an ongoing group experience for more than 40 years. These people contributed significantly to the evolution of separation theory. Together, we developed an implicit set of values based on understanding factors that hurt people in their psychological development. The article specifies the concepts learned from observing the reference population and delineates findings from research in the neurosciences, attachment theory, and terror management theory that validate the key concepts of separation theory.

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From Climate Anxiety to Climate Action: An Existential Perspective on Climate Change Concerns Within Psychotherapy

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Ahead of Print. With the growing body of knowledge climate change stands out as one of the most important contemporary problems. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms the urgent necessity to reduce greenhouse gases emission, as the window to address the problem is becoming narrow. Rising temperatures and bushfires, melting glaciers and droughts make the acceleration of climate change evident, and citizens around the globe are increasingly worried about the magnitude of the problem. In this article, we propose an existential perspective on climate change-related concerns. Although environmental worries are legitimate, they sometimes cause severe anxiety and distress so aggravated as to be discussed within the framework of psychotherapy. In the course of this research, we examine the experiences of 10 Swedish psychotherapy clients addressing their climate concerns within treatment. We engage them into in-depth conversations about the experience of climate anxiety and inquire about the individual pathways toward recovery. Moreover, we propose the existential perspective as a tool to understand such experiences. We aim to address all existential concerns, as described in Ernesto Spinelli’s themes of existence framework: death anxiety, spatiality, temporality, meaning, relatedness, authenticity, freedom, and responsibility. All of the above are present in participants’ reports of climate anxiety. In conclusion, we emphasize the value of introducing existential perspective to practitioners working with clients experiencing climate distress.

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Walking through the valley of the shadow of death—The psychotherapy of the head and neck cancer patient expressing suicidal ideations and impulses

Journal of Clinical Psychology, EarlyView.

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Younger people abandon smartphones for less anxiety, brain fog and mental strain

Shunning his smartphone for a “dumb” one changed the way Jose Briones engages with the world — and he likes it that way.
The 27-year-old Colorado resident turns to CDs when he wants music, instead of streaming it.

When he has to get someplace, he prints out directions before setting out or, if needed, falls back on the sometimes-forgotten practice of asking a stranger which way to go.

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Prevalence and variables .associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among Chilean higher education students, post-pandemic

Mental health among university students is a public health problem in Chile, understanding that this population is susceptible to mental disorders. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and variables influencing depression, anxiety, and stress in Chilean university students. A representative sample (n = 1,062) of Chilean university students and a cross-sectional study design were used.

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