Tag Archives: Feelings

Does Art Therapy Promote Healing for Cancer Patients?

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by Kayla Blanche Tse, LMFT

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“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” — Rumi

What are the benefits of art therapy for healing cancer and chronic illnesses?

Cancer and chronic illnesses bring physical and emotional challenges that begin at diagnosis and continue throughout treatment and beyond. These life-challenging experiences bring forth a wide-range of fluctuating emotions. Common feelings are fear, anxiety, anger, hopelessness, grief, depression, loss-of-control, guilt, low self-esteem, and body-image issues. Such feelings are not easily expressed verbally. Art therapy is a non-verbal form of communication that accesses part of the brain not easily reached through talk therapy alone. It provides welcome expression and relief, while creating opportunities to process heavy emotions. Art Therapy is a a holistic approach to cancer care, treating the whole mind-body-spirit versus focusing on the emotional or physical symptoms. It is a welcome layer of emotional support, increasing hope and building self-esteem from the creative process itself.

What is art therapy? AmyDylan_hands2-680x453

During an art therapy session, art is created as a way to increase self-awareness and including a sense of control that is so quickly lost when facing a chronic illness. It allows the expression of complicated emotions. With the gentle support and guidance of an art therapist, one can develop effective ways to cope with symptoms, high-levels of stress, and opening the often feared discussion of life and our mortality.

How do I know if art therapy is right for me?

Art therapy is a safe and enjoyable way to relax and create hope. No art experience is needed since the creative process is ultimately the focus, not the finished art product. Art therapy is about the process of creative expression, processing emerging emotions with the art therapist, and the release of long-held feelings. These experiences with an art therapist influence the mind-body-spirit connection that is considered essential to healing and well-being during treatment.

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What can I expect?

The art therapist works with you, suggesting an art therapy “directive” or instruction, that is suited to your situation, physical capabilities, and healing goals. The art therapist has intimate knowledge of how certain art materials are more appropriate for different situations and individuals.  There is a wide array of artistic media, such as drawing, painting, magazine images collage, clay, or mixed-media.

 

How Well Do You Read Other People?

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Body Language Quiz | Test Your Emotional Intelligence

with Greater Good the Science of a Meaningful Life

Facial expressions are a universal language of emotion, instantly conveying happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and much more. Reading these expressions is essential to compassion and empathy.

Take this short quiz to measure your emotional intelligence. Try to identify the emotion conveyed in each of the 20 photos. Each answer will pinpoint the exact muscles involved in that emotion and explain the subtle differences between expressions, drawing on pioneering research by psychologists Paul Ekman and Dacher Keltner. Some emotions appear more than once.

When you’re done, share your score and have friends take the quiz.

Click here for link to test

Source: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/ei_quiz/

Contact me if you are feeling the holiday blues and would like to talk to someone who can help you. I offer a free 20-minute phone consultation, if you have any questions about my style of therapy or to see how I may benefit you. 

Follow my blog and feel free to share it, if you are interested in learning more about healing, psychology, mindfulness, and all things related to helping you feel good about yourself.

For more inspiration see Quotes to Inspire.

For more information on my style of therapy see About & Approach

Select this to see my ad on Psychology Today.

 

 

Are You Excited or Scared?

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Translating Our Feelings

by Madisyn Taylor

Sometimes the feelings of being scared and excited can elicit the same physical response in our bodies.

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When new challenges and opportunities show up in our lives, we may diagnose ourselves as feeling scared when what we really feel is excited. Often we have not been taught how to welcome the thrill of a new opportunity, and so we opt to back off, indulging our anxiety instead of awakening our courage. One way to inspire ourselves to embrace the opportunities that come our way is to look more deeply into our feelings and see that butterflies in our stomach or a rapidly beating heart are not necessarily a sign that we are afraid. Those very same feelings can be translated as excitement, curiosity, passion, and even love.

There is nothing wrong with being afraid as long as we do not let it stop us from doing the things that excite us. Most of us assume that brave people are fearless, but the truth is that they are simply more comfortable with fear because they face it on a regular basis. The more we do this, the more we feel excitement in the face of challenges rather than anxiety. The more we cultivate our ability to move forward instead of backing off, the more we trust ourselves to be able to handle the new opportunity, whether it’s a new job, an exciting move, or a relationship. When we feel our fear, we can remind ourselves that maybe we are actually just excited. We can assure ourselves that this opportunity has come our way because we are meant to take it. 

Framing things just a little differently can dramatically shift our mental state from one of resistance to one of openness. We can practice this new way of seeing things by saying aloud: I am really excited about this job interview. I am really looking forward to going on a date with this amazing person. I am excited to have the opportunity to do something I have never done before. As we do this, we will feel our energy shift from fear, which paralyzes, to excitement, which empowers us to direct all that energy in the service of moving forward, growing, and learning.

Source: http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2014/45518.html

This article is printed from DailyOM – Inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fulfilling day. Register for free at http://www.dailyom.com

Contact me, if you are interested in working with a therapist trained in Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB). I offer a free 20-minute phone consultation to discuss any questions you may have and to find out how I may benefit you as your personal therapist.

Follow my blog and feel free to “Like It” and “Share it,” if you are interested in learning more about healing, psychology, mindfulness, and all things related to helping you feel good about yourself.