Monthly Archives: March 2012
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Posted: March 23, 2012Read more »
This prayer was written by Eitan Baum for the healing of his mother, Naomi Chava bat Chaya Hendel in Menachem Av of the year 5771 or 2011 by the Gregorian Calendar. It is very much in the style and wording of Jewish prayer.
Wayfarers Prayer upon Embarking on the Journey of Healing
May it be Your will, merciful and healing Father, to lead me on this journey in peace, to accompany me in peace, to stand by my side and to give me life, health, happiness and peace.
Give me the strength to bear this cancer with dignity, and the power to endure it and be healed. Protect me from pain, sadness and despair, and from all the discomforts that are drawing near. Send skill, wisdom and understanding to my doctors and nurses, Your faithful messengers, to sow goodness and light in my body. Help the chemicals accurately do their work, rooting out disease and bringing compassion to the healthy parts of my body making room for the good to strengthen and take root. -
Posted: March 23, 2012Read more »
Dear Belleruth,
I am working with a woman who is afraid to close her eyes. The very idea creates extreme anxiety, and therefore I cannot use meditation or guided imagery with her, even though both of us believe it could be very beneficial for her. Obviously this has to do with her traumatized past, involving childhood sexual abuse. Any suggestions?
Dr. Jim
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Posted: March 23, 2012Read more »
Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle examined whether an early intervention targeting negative beliefs of female assault survivors could mediate the subsequent development of chronic PTSD.
Ninety recent female assault survivors were randomized to 3 four-week early intervention programs: (1) brief cognitive behavioral therapy, (2) weekly assessment or (3) supportive counseling. Changes in negative beliefs were examined before and after the intervention. -
Posted: March 23, 2012Categories: Update from Health JourneysRead more »
Forgot the name of that great movie you just saw and want to heartily recommend? Proper-noun challenged in general? Welcome to my world.
As luck would have it, AARP recently posted ten excellent tips to try and keep our gray matter happy and healthy. Some of these ideas won’t be news to you, but still, this list can serve as a good reminder. So here it is, with some edits and tweaks. The original piece was by Beth Howard in AARP’s January issue.Read on for Ten Ways to Boost Your Brain
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Posted: March 18, 2012Read more »
Hey, so take a look at a serious contender for Most Adorable Kid in America and read his story, which we found on a website called Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Fighting Cancer One Cup at a Time…Awesome that he can flash that radiant smile and exude such radically cute charisma, after being through what he’s been through – but there you have it. Definitely makes you want to complain less…check this story out:
When Corey was 1-year-old, he was diagnosed with stage 1 Wilms' tumor, a pediatric kidney cancer. A 2 pound tumor was removed, along with his right kidney and some lymph nodes.
Unfortunately, just 3 months after finishing chemotherapy treatments, Corey's cancer relapsed to his lungs and lower spine area. He was paralyzed for a few weeks until the new chemotherapy and radiation treatments started working. After finishing an intensive 24 week protocol that kept Corey in the hospital most of the time, Corey enjoyed 10 months of being cancer-free and relearned how to walk. -
Posted: March 18, 2012Read more »
Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA investigated whether trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) could be effective with very young children, ages 3-6, exposed to heterogeneous types of traumas.
A feasibility study with 11 children was followed by a pilot with 64 children, randomly assigned to either a 12-session manualized TF-CBT protocol or a 12-weeks wait list condition.
In the randomized design the intervention group improved significantly more on symptoms of PTSD, but not on depression, separation anxiety, oppositional defiant, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders. -
Posted: March 18, 2012Read more »
Question:
Dear Belleruth,I have been a fan of your work for quite some time & recently sought out the services of a clinical hypnotherapist to quit smoking. I have had two wonderful sessions w/ my hypnotherapist & have one to go, and I’m now thinking that this is something I could see myself doing.
For the last 21 years I have taught welfare recipients how to look for work, along with self-esteem enhancement included in the curriculum.
I am writing to ask for any advice that you may have in this area. I will be 50 in September with a head full of salt and pepper locs (an African-American hairstyle) that I do not want to alter.
With the governmental cuts to welfare, we see that we may only last a few more years before our program is disbanded.
Thank you in advance for any advice, suggestions or recommendations of where I may get training & other business considerations. I am even open to online training.Sincerely,
Gloria S. -
Posted: March 18, 2012Categories: Update from Health JourneysRead more »
I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in Atlanta next month for a day-long workshop on Friday, April 20th on guided imagery and posttraumatic stress. More details for Emerging from the Heart of Darkness: Guided Imagery and Breakthroughs in Healing Posttraumatic Stress are right here or you can call call Cecelia Thompson at (678) 235-3910 or e-mail her at [email protected]
Many thanks to Trudy Scott, for giving guided imagery a shout-out in her new book, The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, & End Cravings. -
Posted: March 08, 2012Read more »
We got this happy feedback from a doula in Albuquerque, NM. And because we all love and appreciate the work that doulas do (not to mention those terrific childbirth educators), we were all pretty eager to post this.
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Posted: March 08, 2012Categories: Hot ResearchRead more »
Researchers at Simmons College in Boston compared the immediate effects of mindful breathing (MB) to two alternate stress management techniques: progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on negative reactions to repetitive thoughts. The study tested whether decentering (a term that means gaining detached distance and perspective from thoughts and beliefs, so that one no longer adheres to them as if they were Absolute Truth) is unique to mindfulness meditation or common across all three of these approaches. (More information on the concept of decentering is found here.)
