Empowering Strategies:

1. Mentally: adopt new empowering beliefs. Start by examining 3 or 4 core beliefs. Are they serving you in a positive or negative way? If they are negative, develop a new mindset and if they are positive cultivate them further. Say positive affirmations to yourself on a daily basis; create vision boards or develop an action plan.
2. Socially/ Emotionally: acknowledge and express your feelings in a constructive way and seek support from family and friends. Start a gratitude journal or list. Let go of resentments or grudges and release toxic emotions such as shame and guilt. Engage in fun and stimulating social activities and periodically try new activities.
3. Physically: nourish your body by eating healthy food, doing regular exercise, engaging in relaxation, mindful or meditative activities to release physical tension in the body.
4. Spiritually: derive strength from your spiritual/ religious beliefs and community and if you don’t identify with spirituality or religion, adopt a life philosophy that speaks to a perspective about positivity or love. Participate in support groups and read inspiring materials.

Specialized Therapy Associates has a wide array of therapeutic services that can help support clients in their journeys towards true Self-Empowerment. Please call the Intake department at (201) 488-6678 to find out more information about available services.

The post Self Empowerment: An Achievable Goal first appeared on Specialized Therapy.

The post Self Empowerment: An Achievable Goal appeared first on Specialized Therapy.

Yes, it is “good” to process grief, but often in our society we are given messages such as “get over it,” “it’s time to move on,” or “don’t dwell on the past.” These messages minimize the importance of the bereavement process and when grief is not processed it can lead to more serious forms of emotional disturbance or mental illness.

What is Grief?

Grief is multifaceted and it is the response to the loss of someone or something that one was deeply fond of or loved. One may have feelings of sadness, yearning, loneliness and isolation, loss of control, difficulty concentrating, numbness, guilt, remorse and anxiety. The DSM V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) makes a distinction between normal grief versus complicated or prolonged grief. “Normal grief is not persistent, not as intense, is not disabling or life-altering and is not experienced as a severe threat by a bereaved individual.”

Types of Loss

This is certainly not a comprehensive list but some types of loss include: death, loss or change in jobs, divorce, personal injury or illness, retirement, moving, life stage transitions in quarter life, mid-life and older adulthood, letting go of a plan or dream, etc.

Stages of Grief

Although there are several who have written about the stages of grief, psychiatrist, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, was one of the pioneers and she introduced her theory about the stages of grief in her book, “On Death and Dying” in 1969. Before her death in 2004, she and grief expert, David Kessler adapted her 5 grief stages described below in their book, “On Grief and Grieving.”

• Denial: One is often in shock immediately after a loss and denial can help as a temporary defense mechanism to survive feelings of overwhelm.
• Anger: Although there are usually many emotions underneath anger, it tends to be the most dominant after a loss because one may feel abandoned or deserted and it can serve as an anchoring feeling when things may seem confusing or meaningless.
• Bargaining: Guilt is often associated with this stage and one may feel as though one wants to negotiate ways to prevent feeling the pain of loss or prevent further loss.
• Depression: One may have bouts of intense sadness that may feel endless or feel like withdrawing.
• Acceptance: One integrates permanency of loss, finds new meaning in life, new relationships and interdependencies may be formed or engagement in new interests.

Coping With Loss

Everyone grieves in their own way and it can vary dramatically from one person to another depending on one’s background, beliefs and relationship to what was lost. However, generally speaking, some of the steps that can help are to acknowledge one’s loss and look at the ways in which one’s life has changed, to give oneself permission to cry and feel emotions that may arise, to be gentle with oneself and engage in self-care activities, to identify supports and positives in one’s life and to talk about one’s feelings with family, friends or talk with a psychotherapist or healing professional.

The post Good Grief! Let’s Process Loss first appeared on Specialized Therapy.

The post Good Grief! Let’s Process Loss appeared first on Specialized Therapy.

“What’s the big deal? It was just emotional abuse.” I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard this sentiment being expressed whether it is directly from a client, a perpetrator, or commentaries made by media forums, the general public, or other social networks that reflect a lack of awareness about the ramifications of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse can be just as devastating as physical or sexual abuse. In fact, because this type of abuse is often quiet and unobtrusive, it is more likely to be overlooked and can be even more damaging if left untreated.

What is Emotional Abuse?

Emotional abuse usually includes mental and verbal abuse and can be accompanied by or separate from physical and sexual abuse. It undercuts an individual’s foundation of self-worth and value. It can occur in different environments such as the family, workplace, or other social venues.

There are different forms of emotional abuse; below are 3, but this is certainly not an all-inclusive list.

1. Control and Domination
2. Being bullied, humiliated, monitored, manipulated, punished, intimidated, exploited
3. Isolation and Alienation
4. Refused love and attention, being ignored, abandoned, harshly criticized, belittled
5. Terrorizing
6. Being interrogated, ridiculed, embarrassed, blamed, threatened, screamed at

How Emotional Abuse Can Affect Human Physiology

There are numerous effects on the heart, mind, and body during abuse. Research has shown that any form of abuse including emotional abuse can negatively alter neurotransmission in the brain and neurotransmitters are essential messengers that control communication throughout the body. The body cannot tolerate being out of homeostasis for long periods of time without becoming ill. The limbic system (which regulates functions including emotion, behavior, and motivation) and the sympathetic nervous system (which is the body’s emergency response system and activates the fight-or-flight response) become overloaded during abuse and can cause detrimental effects on the body. How to

How to Recover from Emotional Abuse

The “good news” is that with support and treatment the body can often restore itself and return to a state of equilibrium. It’s important not to minimize the effects of emotional abuse. However, it is equally important to take steps to empower and strengthen oneself rather than feeding any maladaptive belief systems that may have been reinforced throughout the abuse. For example, a negative belief might be, “I will always be victimized because it’s happened to me so often.”

Getting support and self-empowerment are the keys to recovery. Although perpetrators of abuse are always responsible for their behavior, it is essential that survivors of abuse also understand that they are responsible for their recovery and healing.

There are many paths towards recovery and different methods work for different people but generally, it is important to use an approach that will nourish the heart, mind, and body. Connect to the heart to establish feelings of love, safety, non-judgment, and peace which in turn reduces toxic or obsessive thinking. This can be done through meditation practice, visualization, or relaxation exercise. Help your mind reframe defeating beliefs to more empowering beliefs about yourself and potential and nourish your body with healthy food, regular exercise, and engage in fun social outlets.

You don’t have to do it alone – get support! Specialized Therapy Associates has a wide array of therapeutic services. Please call the intake department at (201) 488-6678 to get more information.

The post Emotional Abuse: How to Adapt and Overcome first appeared on Specialized Therapy.

The post Emotional Abuse: How to Adapt and Overcome appeared first on Specialized Therapy.