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Sleep

A close friend of mine had been on prescription sleep medication, for years. I helped him to successfully combine the following three, non-pharmacological items for quality sleep, without further need for Ambien. I trust that it can also work for you.


My upcoming dissertation research centers on "audio-visual stimulation." "Light and Sound Machines" utilize the AVS phenomenon, in order to facilitate effortless states of deep relaxation. You can freely try AVS here: http://dreamachine.co
 
When visiting the Dreamachine website, you will find the simple, freely accessible program. Just follow the basic instructions. Ensure that you adjust only two of the settings: 1) Change the color to "yellow" - 2) Change the flashrate to "4hz." To start the program, click where it says: "Enjoy your journey." Also, you must first adhere to the precautions highlighted below.

Ideally, you should be seated in a comfortable position with your computer screen about 18” – 24’ in front of you. I recommend an exposure of at least between 8 - 10 minutes.

You can also experience the relaxing effects of AVS, via this freeware download:
www.thepsychologist.com/virtuallightandsound.htm

Or, if you like, you can purchase a reasonably-priced "Light and Sound Machine" here: http://www.elixa.com/mental/Orion.htm

In addition to (or instead of) the "Light and Sound Machine," many people also find relaxing the audio effects of binaural beats (must use headphones):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX_xgkv9MT8

For sleep, I would recommend combining AVS with hypnosis and one of the following supplements:
(Review all disclaimers below, before considering any of the following information.)

• L-Tryptophan (Four 500 mg capsules)
• Kava (An alternative to l-tryptophan: four 250 mg capsules)
• Melatonin (5 - 10mg 30 minutes before bedtime)
• Hemp Oil (10 - 15 drops for pain relief and/or sleep)
• Audio Self-Hypnosis MP3 for Sleep

DISCLAIMERS:

• Always check with your physician, prior to trying any supplements. 

• Sufferers of photosensitive epilepsy should never try AVS.

• Do not apply any of this information while driving or operating heavy equipment.

• Hemp oil contains Cannabidiol (CBD) and other ingredients. You MUST check your local, state, and federal laws before purchasing hemp oil.

What is EMDR Therapy?

I first became acquainted with EMDR, when it was featured on a 1994 episode of the ABC television news show, 20/20. During the show, experts discussed the remarkable efficacy of this relatively new (at that time) therapy. Its reliance upon strange eye movements and purported ease of application / time-efficient resolution of disturbing memories heightened my curiosity.

I soon found myself attending the EMDR Institute's Level I and Level II Philadelphia trainings, which were led by Dr. Francine Shapiro, EMDR's originator. I was also fortunate to have been able to read Dr. Shapiro's newly published, first book on EMDR, between my first and second training levels. I continue to use the therapy with most of my clients, in order to assist them with big and small destructive memories. I am also an EMDR seminar speaker for PESI.

EMDR does seem effective with most patients with whom I have worked. I am excited to estimate that about 60% of my patients have found significant, sustained relief; 30% modest relief; and 10% little to no relief with EMDR.
EMDR appears to be a natural way to process information. As humans, we have the unique ability to heal. It is not time that heals wounds. It is what wedo, over time, which helps us heal. Physically, if we cut ourselves we heal. However, sometimes the wound festers, requiring us to do something to assist the healing. Emotionally, we tend to find relief as we gain new perspective on a disturbing memory and think / feel differently about it, over time. Sometimes the disturbing memory may get "stuck" and "fester," wherein the bi-lateral stimulation of the saccadic eye movements of EMDR seem to help to get it unstuck, allowing us to finally make that link between what we "know" to how we "feel," in order to generate emotional relief.

EMDR is not only "eye movements." It is a therapeutic approach that draws upon many various psychological disciplines and relies upon an eight stage protocol. Although the exact mechanism of EMDR is not fully understood, some experts (See Uri Bergmann's "Speculations on the neurobiology of EMDR," as presented at the 1996 Harvard University-Cambridge Hospital EMDR symposium and featured within the 1998 edition of the journal, Traumatology: http://tmt.sagepub.com/content/4/1/4.abstract and http://www.newtherapist.com/neuroemdr92.html.) believe that it may be related to stimulation of the amygdala to produce natural opiates.

Other experts believe that EMDR may involve some other mechanism associated with the memory processing of REM sleep. Still others believe that it has something to do with distraction. Whatever the mechanism of action, EMDR appears to be a very real phenomenon and remarkable therapy for helping patients to expedite the resolution of their disturbing memories.

As an educator, Jason's passion for teaching helped him to draw courage to volunteer his heartfelt story of grief so that others can understand the potential benefits of EMDR.
Video clip of my former patient courtesy of director Michael Burns.
Film's homepage can be found HERE.



Trailer for EMDR: a documentary film (2011)
Video clip courtesy of director Michael Burns.
Film's homepage can be found HERE. More info on EMDR.
EMDR: a documentary film is "the most in-depth narrative investigation into this treatment, with exclusive interviews featuring the most influential personalities who coordinate EMDR development and training" (quote from emdrmovie.com). Interviews are conducted with Dr. Francine Shapiro (EMDR's originator), Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, patients who have undergone EMDR, and others. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to have been a part of this groundbreaking film, through a featured interview with my former patient and me. As an educator, Jason drew courage to volunteer to share his heartfelt story as a way to enlighten others about the potential benefits of EMDR.


I truly like the manner within which Michael Burns uses his film's narrative to blend EMDR stories into compelling evidence for the use of this therapy as a powerful method to transform emotional pain. This transformation has the real potential to help prevent unanalyzed hurt from impacting its negative ripple effect throughout the lives of individuals, families, and society as a whole.

As a psychologist, I have been using EMDR since 1995. I wholeheartedly agree that it remains a most remarkable approach for helping people to expedite the resolution of disturbing memories. The 2007 research of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk even demonstrates that EMDR is likely more effective than psychotropic medication for the sustained improvement of symptoms associated with clinical anxiety and depression.

I highly recommend this remarkable documentary for graduate psychology students, health care providers, and anyone else who is interested in EMDR and how the mind works to heal itself.

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"Never apologize for showing feeling.
When you do so, you apologize for the truth."
-- Benjamin Disraeli

Emotions in the Brain

The Secret Life of the Brain
Premiered on PBS, Jan. 22, 2002

South African plant the future prozac?

Image hosted by www.washingtontimes.com.

http://www.washingtontimes.com 

Liquid Kanna Sceletium on Amazon

When Life Becomes Too Heavy: A Patient's Reflections on Depression[Reprinted with permission.]

I was shocked to find out that I suffered from depression most of my life. I knew that my experience of abuse was unique but the struggle I have with daily thought, I thought were the normal, private wars everyone was challenged with. I was just not as adept at managing them as everyone else was. After all, I grew up to believe that not much of what I am is worth anything, so why should this trait be any different. I was just one person trying to be the best I could be, with what little I was.

When my first psychologist sent me for evaluation to a psychiatrist, I was aghast at his initial diagnosis. Depression was something other people experienced. I suffered from nightmares and disruptive thoughts of what my father did. I struggled with the things he lead me to believe about myself, those life lessons that are supposed to build your child up to face the world, not the ones that tore me down in a tenacious effort to manipulate me back into his abusive desires. I did not see myself as a victim or someone who suffered with depression. What I saw was a child who told her father no and was now being punished for it.

I believed everything that came to me after that point was the life I deserved. Life was my punishment. Any wrong doing from others, or misfortunes that happened upon me, were a direct result of my disobedience.

I did not understand them to be part of the vicious nature of depression.

Silencing thoughts of a picturesque life was paramount to my survival. Dwelling on what I couldn’t have only made my existence that much harder to bear. I knew that AI could not change the Hand of God by committing suicide (as I have learned, those thoughts lived within another Ego State). I knew that I was to live as I was until the day God decided. The only perceived control I had was that of my thoughts and not allowing them to go to “the happy place”, made the incarceration tolerable until death would bring me freedom.

Life was punishment. Death my freedom. Depression a somewhat manageable disease of the mind. The three didn’t add up.

It wasn’t until the psychiatrist started asking specific question about my past, that I began to see the patterns of my life fitting into the symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder. Although I still believed I had no control over how the world interacted with me (I’m still not so sure about it). I just now knew and understood that I had been suffering from depression for many years without having put a label on it.

When a diagnosis becomes personal, it changes meaning. It did not change the core belief that I was being punished but it did offer the chance of some relief while I remained alive. It at least gives me something to work with. It game me some dreaded hope that life would be less of a burden. Like the alcoholic seeking relief, if I could get through y days a little easier by taking a pill, I didn’t think God would mind so much.

I’ve come to understand the cycle of depression very well. It doesn’t make it easier (somewhere within, we still believe we are being punished) but I understand it better. Learning the cyclic changes has helped me to mostly better cope with existence. In fact, some of the Ego States even understand depression to be just what it is and not punishment, although I am not one of them.

My days are filled with murky sadness. Energy is sapped from every parcel of my body like water from a desert. They are days of heavy air making it difficult to take a breath. Each activity is a calculated event, colossal in achievement, yet small in size. Getting up from where I breathe to get a drink. Grasping the remote control to change the channel. Finding words to speak. I thought I was a procrastinator but it turns out differently.

Depression is a cruel master.

Power of Self-Talk

Our thoughts affect our feelings. Our feelings affect our actions. Our consistent actions affect our future. Nonetheless, most of the time, the majority of us are unaware of exactly what we our inner voice is telling us, at any given moment. And, most of our self-talk is NOT 100% true. Understanding the nature of our self-talk is an invaluable first step toward real, empowered change.

I highly recommend Dr. Harriet Braiker’s 1989 “Power of Self-Talk” article, which appeared in Psychology Today magazine. I actually share it with each of my new patients. It is a concise overview of an aspect of a commonly used approach in counseling, namely "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy." The early beginnings of CBT was independently developed by renowned American psychologist, Dr. Albert Ellis and psychiatrist Dr. Aaron T. Beck. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was also popularized by Dr. David Burns' 1980 book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy.

Dr. Braiker's article is hosted as a .doc file by UCLA here: http://www.college.ucla.edu/ucadvconf/powerpoint/Cog-Restr-talk.doc

TED.com hosts ideas worth sharing!
"Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world."