Tagged With "hearts"

Ulf Sandstrom and Gunilla Hamne of Peaceful Heart Network have spent years in Africa and now in Europe teaching survivors of civil wars and other traumas the Trauma Tapping Technique (TTT), which uses a simplified version of EFT tapping to relieve stress and trauma from the body without using words. They recently released a free app (available in multiple languages) with easy-to-follow video instructions. This would be a great way to introduce children to tapping. Here's what they had to...

There is one sure form of guidance you can follow every moment of the day, even in today's most turbulent of times, to ensure that you follow the path in life that is truly right for you, truly good for you. The simple way of describing this form of guidance is: making self-loving or self-compassionate choices for yourself in the present moment . Be guided by your heart-sense regarding your every thought and action . When things don’t turn out the way you want them to, instead of blaming and...

So, how does Teri Wellbrock bring herself back into a state of calm once the anticipatory anxiety has been triggered? Here is Teri's personal go-to list. Please keep in mind she created this plan on a trial and error basis. She loaded her coping skills toolbox with exercises, fidgets, courses, books, therapy suggestions, and techniques discovered through personal research. Following is her top seven strategies, however, please note that she has a much larger bag-o-tricks to pull from if needed.

This is beautiful. I do believe that the heart-sense is indeed the surest form of guidance we have, but for many of us who've experienced childhood trauma, trusting that heart-sense or even finding access to it can be nearly impossible. So many of us have closed our heart spaces out of a need to defend ourselves and survive horrible circumstances, or we've intellectualized everything, getting stuck in our heads (or both). Thanks for these tips on overcoming that, Bob.

Bob, beautifully written. I wish real love could be found in every church. Jesus gave only 2 commandments Love God and Love your neighbor. However, sadly love is the last thing you find in a church. What you get is judgment, meanness, superiority, lack of support. Money is what speaks in most of these houses of God. All you need is 1 kind and loving person to heal. If you are lucky you will find him/her or else the pain never goes away.

Great list, Teri! I'll add another: Knitting. It's my portable therapy. I tend to get anxious when there's turbulence on a plane flight so I always take a knitting project with me when I fly. It's meditative and soothing. Here's some information and research about the health benefits of knitting: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com...enefits-of-knitting/ Thanks again for your great and useful post!

Wonderful! Thanks for the knitting suggestion. I have a friend who swears by knitting when she flies, as well.

Teri... and here's another one: Jigsaw puzzles. I can get absorbed in a puzzle for hours. While not portable like knitting, jigsaw puzzles are meditative and relaxing. I always have one going on a table in my home. I'm a psychotherapist and will pass on your suggestions and post to my clients and followers. Thanks again!

Yes!!! I am a fan of jigsaw puzzles, as well. Great reminder! Thank you. And thanks for passing along my post. I have a website that has links to resources regarding ACEs, trauma, hope and healing . . . including my podcast. Many ACEs Connection members have joined me on air to discuss the healing work they are doing and/or their own healing journeys. If you'd ever like to join me, please reach out at info@teriwellbrock.com . I am now booking into August and beyond (on summer hiatus to...

Love it! Another fellow jigsaw puzzler! Thank you for the information about your website and podcast and also for your invitation. I am interested and will be in touch! Blessings, Diane

What a lovely collection of ways to calm yourself while away from home (or in general). Just looking at your coloring projects, your photos, and Sammie help me feel calmer. Your coloring and photos are just stunning, Teri. I second Diane's suggestion of knitting while flying. It helps distract me from my anxiety even if I have to "frog it" (rip it back) afterward because I made so many mistakes .

Aw! Thank you, Laura! You made me heart smile with that. My dad and sister were/are phenomenal artists and I can't even draw a straight line with a ruler. LOL! But, coloring and photography and writing . . . THOSE I can do. For years I told myself I wasn't artistic because I couldn't draw or create magnificent artwork like them. So glad I found my own creative outlets. Now I admire and applaud their work while being appreciative of my own. I may have to give knitting a whirl. Who knows,...

Alison, thanks so much for bringing this app to our attention here! I will be checking out soon!

Could saying “thank you” help you to live longer? For many decades, behavioral cardiology studied only the impact of so-called “negative traits”—such as stress, depression , and anxiety—on people with cardiovascular disease. The field got its start in the late 1950s with the work of cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman , who found that “Type A” behavior—characterized by hostility, time urgency, and competitiveness—doubled the risk of coronary heart disease. Over the next five...

This is sure good news for all of us, but in the context of this group, it’s especially useful to anyone hoping to combat the possible long-term effects of ACEs/trauma on cardiovascular health (and just wanting to heal). My concern for ACEs/trauma survivors (or anyone, really) is that sometimes cultivating gratitude can come at the cost of fully acknowledging and processing traumas. There can be a sense guilt just for admitting to oneself — not to mention others — that some very bad things...

For an "alternative" view on gratitude, check this out: "Gratitude Lists Are B.S. — It Was an 'Ingratitude' List That Saved Me" by Liz Brown http://www.goodhousekeeping.co...ude-lists-dont-work/

Laura: Please feel free to share these articles as a post so more people will see them. I LOVE the ingratitude list and your comment. To me, it reads like a blog post and I LOVE your voice. It's clear, curious and honest. I LOVE gratitude lists. Now, after my 40's, but while knee-deep in healing I wanted to punch anyone who said something that felt like, "Turn that frown upside down" because it felt minimizing. It didn't just feel minimizing, sometimes it was, as in denial. Plus, all the...

Your analogy of baking a cake is spot on (speaking of reading like a blog post )-- the desired ingredients will vary from baker to baker and from cake to cake, but without all the essentials, we're just not going to end up with a cake and we have to admit that and then do something about it or go cakeless .... which would be a shame. Let me reiterate -- I am all for gratitude lists and for an "attitude of gratitude". My husband and I still have a gratitude list still on our laptop desktop...

Thanks for raising the question, Laura. I too believe in the power of being grateful (Read 'The Book of Joy' for some words of wisdom about this from the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu) BUT I absolutely agree that sometimes it feels to me that gratitude can be used as a simple answer to address painful, difficult situations. I really do not believe those that have done the work about gratitude intend this (nor the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu - their chapters include things like 'Nothing...

Great question that provokes much thought, Laura. I agree; too much gratitude could invalidate the seriousness and necessity for addressing difficult situations. And like Cissy said, self-care is awesome, but it doesn't quite work for someone who currently has self-hate. It's so important to accept both gratitude and ingratitude, happy and angry, easy-going and difficult. Life is about all of these and more. So although the overall goal is something positive, we must recognize and accept...