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Showing posts from March, 2015

Cognitive Distortion of the Month: Dichotomous Thinking

Greetings.  It's been a while since I wrote a blog entry as I had a baby last October and it's kind of amazing how real baby-brain is, which makes writing feel exponentially harder.  Especially when they don't sleep very well.  He's 5 months old now and is being gracious enough to let me sleep in 3-4 hour increments.  So I have that going for me. Steph kicked off our 2015 blog series on Cognitive Distortions , or as some say "thinking traps" with a nice piece on using a Negative Filter when evaluating our life.  If you haven't read it, go check it out . For March, the topic is Dichotomous Thinking.   As it implies, dichotomous thinking is only seeing a situation from two potential angles.  It's all or nothing.  Good or bad.  Black or White.  There's not much room for any grey area.  But, if we take a step back we see that life is full of grey areas and it's actually less likely that we're operating in one of the extremes.  So why do

Understanding Anger – Part 2

As we know, anger is a powerful emotion that can endanger your work, relationships and even your health. Managing anger effectively is important not only for self-care, but also within personal relationships. While experiencing anger is normal, coping strategies to reduce internal frustration can look very different for everyone. Looking to the experts in anger management, the following strategies are found to be the most effective when attempting to reduce internal frustration and anger directed outward.   First, think before you act . It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and to say exactly what’s on your mind. It takes far more practice and skill to take a moment and pause before speaking. Giving yourself and others around you time to gather thoughts can help deescalate frustrating situations. Once you are able to remain calm, it is important to express your frustration in a nonconfrontational manner. Being assertive without offending others can be challenging in itse

Understanding Anger - Part I

Emotions are powerful responses that are unavoidable. As unique individuals, we express our emotions in various ways depending on the situation and people around us. You may have a friend or know someone who is  always happy  and cheerful  or someone who is  cranky  and  moody . But what about anger? Do you know someone who expresses anger frequently? Perhaps you find yourself feeling angry more often. Understanding your emotions is the first step to knowing how to appropriately express these feelings. What is Anger? According to Dr. Charles Spielberger,  anger is “an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage.” Exploring the nature of anger, irritability and agitation are accompanied by both physiological and biological changes. For instance, when you experience frustration or agitation, your blood pressure and heart rate increase, energy hormones increase, as well as adrenaline and noradrenaline. – Family fighting during holidays, a