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Book Review - Highly Sensitive Person 

8/28/2016

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In The Highly Sensitive Person, psychologist Elaine Aron, PhD describes what it’s like to be an HSP. Comprising 15-20% of the population, people with this trait have nervous systems that are more sensitive to stimulation than average. According to Aron, this increased sensitivity can mean “that you are more easily overwhelmed when you have been in a highly stimulating environment for too long, bombarded by sights and sounds until you are exhausted in a nervous-system sort of way.”

Many people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) may also relate to the description above. Individuals with BPD are often very sensitive to environmental factors and other forms of stimulation (or lack thereof). For both HSPs and people diagnosed with BPD, there is often an optimal range of stimulation that is very narrow. In fact, there are many parallels between BPD and being an HSP, and Dr. Aron’s book provides information that can be helpful to both groups.


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Mood Tracker App Review:  Daylio

8/15/2016

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Since finding out if there is a pattern to your moods and symptoms is such an important first step in diagnosing, mood tracker apps could be beneficial in establishing a pattern.  Mood tracking is documenting your emotions day to day to see if there is any kind of noticeable pattern. An app is a very convenient way to do this and there are dozens, if not hundreds, of apps available for both Android and Apple systems.

Different apps approach mood tracking from different angles, and you might want to try a few if you are trying to narrow down a trigger or environmental influence. Daylio is a mood tracker that keeps is simple and versatile. It’s based around a daily micro-diary concept with a simple mood scale and activity tracking.


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Social Media and Politics: Put On Your Flameproof Pants and Enjoy

8/9/2016

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Politics and social media are like macaroni and cheese–the really spicy kind with habañero peppers. Take one wrong bite, and you get burned. Once politicians realized how much attention they could gather just by doubling their Facebook posts and tweets from the 2012 election, it took off. Now, the election feels like it’s been going for decades, and your Canadian friends are wondering when it will all be over. Despite the heat of the current political season, if you take care, you can still engage with your friends on social media.

1. Select Appropriate Topics and Venues
When you open your Facebook or Twitter accounts, you will likely find a whole host of political discussions, memes, images and rants all over your feed. Probably the best advice for engagement is to realize that you are not obligated to correct every mistake, teach everyone who seems misguided, or argue with anyone who proposes a debate topic. With this idea in mind, you can freely select the various campaign proposals and positions in any particular venue that you like. You might decide to engage people on your own turf by sharing news stories or asking questions, or you may prefer to argue with others in a group that is not directly connected to your personal account.


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Massage Envy? The Importance of Healthy Indulgences

8/6/2016

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Our society views alternative healing as a luxury, but our ancient civilizations healed themselves with methods people now view as superfluous or indulgent. New scientific research, along with personal testimonials about the efficacy of modalities such as massage, cranial sacral therapy, acupuncture, frequency, sound therapy and yoga, show that such “luxuries” can be an important way to experience complete healing. We, as patients and care providers, now have more tools to manage a thorough whole-body regimen for the improvement of our health and well-being.

As our stress increases in our environment and our daily lives, so do mental health related symptoms such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress syndrome. These diagnoses lead patients to seek outside support through psychotherapy, counseling or alternative modalities. From my experience as a massage therapist, my clients come to me for physical and stress relief rehabilitation for their body. Many times the massage session is sufficient, but other times during the session the client begins to release deeper emotions, memories, patterns and thoughts which creates the need for greater support. When additional support is needed, the integration of mental health and alternative healing arts modalities should be considered.


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Meditation for Improved Mental Health:  Dealing with the Cause of Stress

8/2/2016

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​Meditation
 has been an integral part of many spiritual and religious traditions for thousands of years. However, research into the health benefits of meditation has been relatively recent.

Since the 1950s, hundreds of studies have been conducted on the effects of meditation by measuring changes in the brain and body. Overall, these studies have shown that meditation can have a positive effect on health, particularly mental health.
 



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