A recent article in BBC online, written by neuroscientist Bobby Azarian, was titled “How Anxiety Warps Your Perception.” The main points of this article are summarized below.
Azarian writes that “we all know that anxiety affects our emotional state and makes interacting with the world difficult, but what may be less obvious is how it changes what we focus our attention on throughout the day. Anxiety’s effects on attention may shape worldviews and belief systems in specific and predictable ways. It can even affect our politics without us knowing.”
Azarian discusses how we humans have what is like a spotlight for our attention. He calls it an attentional spotlight. With vision, what we focus on is clear while objects around are hazy. Any movement in the hazy area will immediately draw our attention and the spotlight of clear vision will move as we focus in on it. He says that we also have emotional attentional spotlight. We naturally look out for danger but what if we focused on it all the time? How might that impact our perceptions?
Azarian references several different studies which indicate that where we focus our attention can impact things as significant as our political and religious views. Anxiety may actually distort or warp how we decide which candidate to support or which philosophy to believe.
He ends by saying, “Through exercises that work to dissolve anxiety-driven attentional biases for threat, and by becoming self-aware of the way that anxiety influences our attentional spotlight, we can help prevent it from distorting reality, instilling fear, and altering belief systems.”
If you’d like to read the article in full you can find it here.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Azarian? Please leave your comments below.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.
The online magazine Epic just published a summary of the work of psychologist Martin Seligman. In his book Flourish he identifies five elements of emotional well-being and happiness which are summarized below.
The elements according to Seligman are: positive emotion; engagement; relationships; meaning; and accomplishment. The more you can incorporate these into your life the happier you will be, says Seligman.
Positive emotion. These would be emotions of happiness, gratitude, love, contentment, peace, etc. Try to engineer more happy moments in your life. Find ways to laugh more and share with others. Look for things that cause you to feel gratitude. Experience them and take the time to appreciate it. Try keeping a journal and write down things you are grateful for each day.
Engagement. This means being connected and living in the moment. How often do you really feel like you are present and flowing in the moment? Try to find ways to engage your senses and yourself in what is going on around you in the present. One way I like to do this is by taking my time with a meal or snack and really pay attention to the textures and flavors I am experiencing.
Relationships. We all have relationships but how much time and effort are you investing in the ones that matter most? Take time to appreciate your loved ones and friends. Really listen to them and pay attention when they speak. Show them you care and enjoy some time together. When someone significant in your life starts talking to you, make a point of stopping what you are doing and give them your full attention.
Meaning. Do the things you spend your time doing have meaning for you or someone you care about? Do they have value and contribute to your satisfaction? If not, try to think of what it is that you and the important people in your life enjoy and care about. Try to find more ways and times to do more of these things that have meaning. Make a list of things that have meaning for you.
Accomplishment. Do you feel good about what you have accomplished? When you look back over time can you feel proud of your work? If not, spend some time considering what sorts of accomplishments would give you pride. Don’t just think of big things. Try to list accomplishments small (such as paying a compliment to a friend) and large (completing a degree) and then make plans to achieve them.
If you’d like to read the article in full you can find it here.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Seligman? Please leave your comments below.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.
Have you ever wondered if money really can buy happiness? Emma Taylor for M2Women writes that happiness can be bought so long as your money is spent on this one thing – experience. Some of the main points of her article, Science Says Money Can Buy Happiness if it is Spent on This One Thing, are shared below.
Dr. Gilovich says that “as important as possessions might be to a person’s identity and sense of self, they are not as important as a person’s experiences…We are the total of our experiences. We are not the sum total of our possessions, however important they might be to us. If called upon to write our memoirs, it is our experiences we would write about, not our possessions.”
Spending money on new experiences is a great way to experience joy. Some examples include travel, taking a class, going skydiving, dance lessons, learning to play an instrument, etc. The experience creates happy memories and sometimes skills that can last a lifetime. New accomplishments help create a sense of satisfaction and give a new perspective.
If you’d like to read the article in full you can find it here.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Taylor? What are some of your best experiences? Please leave your comments below.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.
Ruth Whippman, the author of “America the Anxious: How Our Pursuit of Happiness is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks,” recently published an article on Quartz titled “America the Anxious.” Some of the main points are shared below.
Whippman is a Brit living in the United States and she observes that people in America spend more time, emotional energy, and money in the pursuit of happiness than any other nation with little to show for it. In fact, she points out that in a recent survey Americans are only slightly happier than citizens of Rwanda. She writes that according to the World Health Organization, Americans are the most anxious people on the planet.
You might rightly question how this is possible. Everywhere you look in the United States right now there are products and services available to help achieve happiness. Yoga studios and gyms are more busy than ever. Parks are plentiful. We have every modern convenience and technology at our disposal so we are we not happy? Why are we so full of anxiety? Oddly enough, a serious of studies at UC Berkley showed that paradoxically the more intensely people pursue happiness the more likely they are to feel let down and feel anxiety, loneliness, and depression.
Whippman argues that we as Americans are going about pursuing happiness in the wrong way. We are taking individualistic approaches that attempt to find happiness alone. She says that nearly all research on the subject of happiness concludes that our happiness depends on other people. The stronger our relationships are with others the happier we are. In other words, we need each other.
If you’d like to read the article in full you can find it here.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Whippman? Please leave your comments below.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.
Walking may turn out to be one of the best cures for depression.
In a recent post on “Healthy Fit Advice” the correlation between walking and decreased depression was discussed. A summary of the main points are below:
Walking is good for your mental health. It clears your head, reduces anxiety, and improves your mood. It also increases blood flow strengthening your heart and muscles.
How do you get started? Try not to over think it. A walk starts with a single step so set a small and reasonable goal. It’s best to plan it out on paper or on your calendar.
A walking app can really help you stay committed. There are several free apps out there and they will remind you to go and keep track of your progress.
Research shows that the better your physical health the better your mental health will be. Walking helps to improve both.
Other important points:
Try to vary your path. New scenery and surroundings will help improve your mood and keep the exercise interesting.
Pay attention to your sleep patterns and see if they don’t improve.
Wear comfortable shoes.
Invite others to join you.
If you’d like to read the article in full you can find it here.
What are your thoughts on walking? Do you feel like the addition of walking might help curb depression? Please leave your comments below.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.
