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Monthly Archives: March 2013

  1. Let This Video Mess with Your Mind & Get the Creative Juices Flowing..

    Okay, so this may not qualify as an inspiring story exactly, but this video dance is funny, wacky and messes so much with your perceptions, that it automatically defeats rigid thinking and gets your creative juices flowing.  How bad could that be?  Seriously, check this out.  I guarantee you’ll laugh and shake your head at what you’re seeing. Enjoy!

    Watch Black and White Tights Dance

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  2. The Cost Benefits of Two V.A. Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress

    Evaluators from the Minneapolis VA Health Care System assessed the impact of a course of prolonged exposure or cognitive processing therapy on mental health and medical service utilization and health care service costs.

    Data on VA health service utilization and health care costs were obtained from national VA databases for 70 veterans who completed prolonged exposure or cognitive processing therapy at the VA medical center. Utilization of services and cost data were examined for the year before and after treatment.

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  3. Can Guided Imagery Have a Cumulative Effect?

    A man suffering from anxiety gets some immediate relief from listening to guided imagery, but the anxiety returns.  He wants to know if he can hope for some kind of cumulative effect over time, or if he will just have to keep administering it to keep his anxiety down.

    Question:

    How does guided imagery help in the long term?  I feel better after I do it, but my anxiety returns.  Can I expect some accumulative effect?

    Jack

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  4. Proof that “Mental Rehearsal” Changes the Brain in Stroke Patients

    Researchers from the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of Cincinnati’s Academic Medical Center looked at the impact of “mental practice” (the imaginal rehearsal of physical movements) on affected arm movements in stroke patients, as well as changes in cortical mapping in the brain.

    Mental practice (MP) is a noninvasive, inexpensive method of enabling repetitive, task-specific practice (RTP) which has been shown in past studies to increase affected arm use and function significantly more than just RTP alone. 

    As a next step, this 10-subject case series examined the possibility that cortical plasticity is a mechanism underlying the positive treatment effect from mental practice (MP) when combined with RTP (repetitive task-specific practice). Ten chronic stroke patients (mean = 36.7 months) exhibiting stable, moderate motor deficits, received 30-minute therapy sessions for their affected arms 3 days/week for 10 weeks, emphasizing valued activities of daily living (ADLs).

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  5. Lessons Learned from Caring for My Husband

    Question:

    I have attended a couple of your programs. At the one in Virginia and the Washington DC area, you mentioned some tips for the caregiver for your loved one with cancer.

    It was a listing of 'helpful hints' for people/family who are impacted by the diagnosis of life-threatening cancer - i.e. setting boundaries with others who want to share their story...etc.

    Would you be so kind as to repeat this?  As an oncology nurse manager, I have to assist the caregiver as well as the person with cancer during this process, and I thought what you were speaking about would be a help to them and their journey.

    Thank you and be well

    Tom

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  6. A Journey from Grief & Heartbreak to Healing & Growth

    We got this really beautiful note from a man who’d suffered the terrible loss of his soul-mate and life partner to complications from Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It’s a wonderfully honest and eloquent description of a person’s journey through grief and heartbreak to healing and growth - and very inspiring. Here it is:

    “This isn't a question - it's a great big Thank You Note!

    “My soul-mate and life partner, died due to complications from chemo and radiation treatments for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (actual cause of death was end-stage lung disease - not a nice condition). “She was diagnosed with NHL in 1998 and had multiple therapies. However, her remissions were never long lasting. Towards the end of her physical life, we had some really awesome conversations, and I was able to hear her beautiful wishes for me.  I made sure she knew what an honor it was for me to be her caregiver and to walk beside her during our time together. She was a beautiful, happy woman, my little bird, and I miss her very much.
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  7. Procrastination, “Bumper Stickers,” and How to Get Things Done!

    This week's update comes from Health Journeys contributor Traci Stein. She is the creator of popular guided imagery titles including Healthy Self-Esteem and Free Yourself from Procrastination. She has also written articles for the Health Journeys blog. Sign up here to receive her free report about Overcoming Procrastination.


    Hello,

    Many people have asked me about specific aspects of why we procrastinate. If you’ve read my recent Health Journeys article or my PsychologyToday.com posts on this topic, you know that there are a variety of reasons why we put off those things that we have consciously agreed to do. Luckily, there are also many effective strategies for getting things done – well, and on time.

    One thing that can get in the way of getting things done is lacking confidence that we have the ability to achieve the larger goal. This is also known as “low self-efficacy.” When our self-efficacy is low, it’s like a part of us saying, “I know I can’t do it, so why even bother?” And if we think we really cannot do something, we are unlikely to stick with it, and may not even give it s serious try in the first place.

    So, what can we do about this? In the hypnotherapy world, we talk about the “trances” people walk around in all of the time. The messages that we consciously and unconsciously tell ourselves, in one form or another, often for years on end, shape our idea of “truth.” And these messages become like our personal bumper stickers. Ask yourself what yours says. Does it say something discouraging, like, “Mary: Can’t complete tasks on time” or  “Joe: It won’t work out anyway, so what’s the point in trying?”

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  8. Guided Imagery Helps with Traumatic Brain Injury

    We were copied on this encouraging comment on Face Book – a woman reporting on the value of targeted guided imagery for TBI to someone who, we assume, is struggling with brain injury symptoms:  

    I wanted to tell you about guided imagery for TBI. I have been using guided imagery CDs personally and professionally for over ten years for stress, insomnia, depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, anger, etc. and they are amazing.  Belleruth Naparstek has a recent audio recording out for TBI and the vets I see in my counseling practice are having wonderful results. I highly recommend you go to her website and check it out. Love and blessings to you!
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  9. Mind-Body Tools Help Post-Deployment Couples

    Researchers from the firm of Collinge & Associates in Eugene, Oregon, reported on pilot data from phase I of a project to develop and evaluate a self-directed program of integrative therapies for National Guard personnel and significant others to support reintegration and resilience after return from Iraq or Afghanistan.
     
    Data was reported on 43 couple pairs.  The intervention was an integrated multimedia package of guided meditative, contemplative, and relaxation exercises (on CD), and instruction in simple massage techniques (DVD) to promote stress reduction and interpersonal connectedness.

    A repeated measures design with standardized instruments was used to establish stability of baseline levels of relevant mental health domains (day 1, day 30), followed by the intervention and assessments 4 and 8 weeks later.

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  10. She Can't Stop Crying when the Imagery Plays

    Hi BR.

    I am an Occupational Therapist and have recommended your work to my patients.  I also use your Healthful Sleep for myself. You are every mother, friend and lover and your incredible voice stirs some very deep parts of people as you are well aware. I love to listen and it makes me feel nurtured and at peace.
     
    The only problem is, for me, it also very often makes me cry uncontrollably - that is how deep it touches. Sometimes, a good release is what I need and am seeking, and it never fails to turn on the spigot when I have been holding too much inside.
     
    But I was wondering for general stress relief or for sleep issues..(which was the main reason I bought your first cd) - is this really a GOOD thing? 

    I am not certain if I am stirring up the quagmire, and maybe this is too strong for a sensitive soul… or what?
     
    I can’t seem to put it in perspective. I would appreciate your thoughts on this kind of response that I am having…  and the applications I am seeking it for. .. and generally what you might think.
     
    Thank you for you.
    Carol

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