New Harbinger Publications Inc. Logo
Off the Couch - The Latest in Psychology and Mental Health

Current Articles | Categories | Search | Syndication

Articles from mindfulness
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
8 tips for mindfully processing grief

Grief happens to all of us at some time in our lives. You may think that grief happens only after the death of a loved one, but you also grieve after any major change in your identity such as losing a job, divorce, kids going off to college, or moving. No matter the cause, grief can be one of the hardest experiences of your life. Not only can grief feel emotionally unpredictable, but it is often physically and mentally stressful and exhausting. The following tips can help you mindfully navigate the path of grief:

Read More..

Posted By newharb / 12:12 PM / Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
break mindless eating routines

excerpt from Eating Mindfully


skill builder: create new eating habits

  1. Make two lists, one of the foods you eat “mindfully,” and the other of the foods you eat “mindlessly.” Foods eaten “mindlessly” are those you avoid, restrict, define as “bad,” those that produce strong emotions of guilt, and/or induce over- or out-of-control eating. Mindful foods may produce emotions, but they are mostly positive or neutral emotions. Mindful foods are eaten willingly, without reservation or fear. If youdon’t divide foods into these categories consciously, you may have an internal sense of your emotionalreactions (carefree eating versus eating that results in guilt, stress, or fear). Getting in touch with the wayyou react to each of these categories of foods is important. The first step to changing any behavior is to become more aware of it. Bring these categories into your conscious, deliberate thoughts.
  2. Next, think about how to take food out of the two categories. Remove the “bad” label from a cookie by giving it a purpose. Is your intention to have a snack? If so, eat the cookie in mindful bites, or use it to satisfy a raving for sweets. Or, give yourself a prescription for a once-a-day dose of a cookie. Start with the foods you eat mindlessly. As you begin to be more comfortable, start to experiment by sampling foods you’ve completely cut out of your diet, or foods that you are intensely afraid of or are reluctant to eat. Conquer your fears.
  3. Break out of your standard routine. Whether you go to the grocery store and buy the same items week after week, or zoom down the aisles looking for the Specials, do something different. Examine and buy an exotic fruit like a mango, papaya, or an Asian pear. Or, try a loaf of gourmet whole wheat bread. Add a touch of spice and variety to your meals. Walk through the store mindfully examining each item. Be aware of products you’ve never noticed before. Touch and turn over packages, smell the fruits, examine everything, and buy a new food.
Read More..

Posted By newharb / 9:00 AM / Thursday, June 17, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
your inner life—& you—are worthy of attention

Calming Your Anxious Mind


Anxiety, fear, and panic are indeed upsetting. A central theme in this book is that most people have not been properly educated about the nature of these feelings (they are not you and not permanent), and certainly have not been properly trained to handle them in a skillful, meditative way (using affectionate, non-judging attention to alter the old mind-body habits of struggle and reactivity). The result is that there is a tendency to identify with anxiety, fear, or panic, and to become lost in the aversion to them as it arises, fills your awareness, and drives your consciousness moment by moment.


It can be helpful to remember that your inner life—distressing or not—is worthy of attention, and so are you! In fact, your best hope for changing the distress you feel is by trusting that turning toward the experience is the way home. The processes of anxiety, fear, and panic may generate doubts and discouraging thoughts that distract you from actually turning attention toward the unfolding experience, but don’t let yourself be fooled! There is a different way to relate to the pain of anxiety, fear, or panic besides taking them as an identity, or making war on them.

Read More..

Posted By newharb / 9:00 AM / Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
worry

Excerpt from Calming Your Anxious Mind


Worry is another way thoughts and feelings can affect health. We have seen how worry can be understood as the patterns of thinking driven by feelings of anxiety. Often, the content of the thoughts reflects a person’s attempt to cope with or eliminate the discomfort and ill ease present as part of their experience of anxiety.


  • About two-thirds of Americans classify themselves as worriers.
  • About half of that group classify themselves as moderate worriers who worry between 10 and 50 percent of the day.
  • The rest of the worriers report that they worry more than eight hours a day.
  • Worry has been related to health problems. These include cardiac arrhythmias in patients who have had heart attacks, increased blood pressure in laboratory animals, and asthma in both adults and children.
  • Uncertainty as an aspect of worry is particularly potent and toxic. When people are confronted by situations of high uncertainty, when they do not know what will happen next or how they should act, they can experience destructive feelings of helplessness and frustration. Uncertainty keeps people in a constant state of semi-arousal, unable to relax, and the price of this ongoing tension and stress is high.
Read More..

Posted By newharb / 9:00 AM / Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
bringing home the lessons of grief

excerpt from Grieving Mindfully


It is extremely important to remember that the lessons of grief are at their most potent not when they are being learned, but when they are being integrated into your life. It is one thing to read about these ideas, but it is quite another thing to put these ideas into practice. Grief has the power to radically change your life, to encourage a more meaningful, richer life, but only when its lessons are manifested in the way you live your life every day. This means becoming a more active and more mindful participant in your life.


One of the hardest steps in this process can be putting the lessons of grief into practice. Many people I have worked with have a passive appreciation of the concept of mindfulness and the positive transformation of suffering long before they integrate these ideas into their everyday life. By exploring specific areas of their lives, they help this passive appreciation to develop into a more active, dynamic process. It becomes an invigorating, life-affirming task, even though there are still many emotional ups and downs along the way.

Read More..

Posted By newharb / 9:00 AM / Thursday, May 13, 2010
Monday, May 03, 2010
what is mindful motherhood?

excerpt from Mindful Motherhood


First, I want you to know that being mindful is not yet another goal you must achieve to be a good mom. It’s not about becoming a perfect Zen mama who stays calm, cool, and collected in the face of anything that comes; uses only organic baby foods, clothing, and linens; stays on a career path while also being available to her family; and stays fit and trim all the while. The last thing I want to do with this book is put another giant task on your list of “things I must do to be a good mom.” Mindful motherhood is not about becoming someone other than who you already are.


Mindful motherhood, simply put, is being present, in your body, and con¬nected with your baby no matter what is happening. It’s being aware of your experi¬ence from moment to moment, as it is happening, without pushing it away, trying to make it stay, or judging it as bad or good. It is meeting each situation as it is, and over time, more and more often, approaching whatever is happening with curiosity and compassion.

Read More..

Posted By newharb / 9:00 AM / Monday, May 03, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
being at home in the moment

excerpt from The Mindful Woman


I vividly remember a time when I completely understood what the Buddha meant about seeing the miracle of single flower being life changing. My husband, Gene, and I had a trans-Pacific-ocean courtship. To help bridge the miles, he once sent me red roses. After my sons were asleep, I took the time to luxuriate in every aspect of the fullest rose, exploring its textures, colors, and the varying shapes of petals, stem, and stamen. To my surprise, tears of joy began to slip from my eyes, and I felt enveloped in love and connected to both the man who sent the roses and their creator as well.


Although my rapt attention to the flower was the act of a young woman wildly in love, the experience of it has become an enduring touchstone reminding me of the power and joy a few mindful moments can bring. Thirty-some years later, I clearly remember that particular rose and can revisit the pro¬found sense of wonder and awe I experienced while focusing on it.

Read More..

Posted By newharb / 9:00 AM / Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
lives in transition

by guest blogger Dr. C. Peter Bankart, author of Freeing the Angry Mind

The only answer that I have been able to come up with that makes any sense to me anyway is to demand of yourself to pay close attention; to be mindful and respectful of the natural world, to cultivate a wide universe of relationships, and to hold dear to your heart the philosophical and religious truths that sustain you. It is equally hard to let go of the illusion of permanence when things are good, as it is to recognize that the future is full of infinite possibilities, when everything seems stuck in the middle of a black and white winter.

Read More..

Posted By newharb / 9:00 AM / Monday, April 26, 2010
Page 1 of 6First   Previous   [1]  2  3  4  5  6  Next   Last   
Print  

related books

Body Image Workbook Mindfulness Solution to Pain Insomnia Workbook Quiet Your Mind & Get to Sleep Walking After Midnight
Bookmark and Share

Subscribe

Twitter

Facebook

YouTube

LinkedIn

NH Authors on Huffington Post Syndicate  
NH Authors on Psychology Today

 
Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D.
"Emotional Fitness"

 
Bill Knaus, Ed.D.
"Science and Sensibility"

 
Cassandra Vieten, Ph.D.
"Mindful Motherhood"

 
Jefferson Singer, Ph.D.
"Life Scripts"

 
John P. Forsyth, Ph.D.
"Peace of Mind"

 
Jonathan Kaplan, Ph.D.
"Urban Mindfulness"

 
Karen Leland
"The Perfect Blend"

 
Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.
"The Science of Willpower"

 
Lisa Firestone, Ph.D.
"Compassion Matters"

 
Marilyn Krieger, Ph.D.
"The White Knight Syndrome"

 
Mary Lamia, Ph.D.
"The White Knight Syndrome"

 
Randi Kreger
"Stop Walking on Eggshells"

 
Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, MS, LPC
"Teen Angst"


Rick Hanson, Ph.D.
"Your Wise Brain"

 
Robert Firestone, Ph.D.
"The Human Experience"

 
Ronald Alexander, Ph.D.
"The Wise Mind Open Mind"


Russ Federman, Ph.D., ABPP
"Bipolar You"

 
Russ Harris, MD
"The Happiness Trap"

 
Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D.
"Here, There, and Everywhere"

 
Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D.
"Get Out of Your Mind"


Susan Albers, Psy.D.
"Comfort Cravings"

 
Susan Pease Gadoua, LCSW
"Contemplating Divorce"

 
Troy DuFrene
"Fumbling for Change"

NH Authors on Psych Central

  Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.
"Mindfulness & Psychotherapy"

  Suzanne Phillips, Psy.D., ABPP
"Healing Together for Couples"

  Pavel Somov, Ph.D.
"360º of Mindful Living"

a blog by Russ Harris, MD