The 2010 “biography” of cancer and its treatment, The Emperor of All Maladies, is an excellent read for several audiences. You will not find a more compelling treatment of oncology’s development over the 20th and early 21st centuries. To read the entirety of the review, please find it at its new home at www.manhattancbt.com.
Posted in Articles, Reviews.
Tagged with book review, cancer, health, health psychology, nonfiction, science.
We each have different ways of managing the stress in our lives. Make no mistake, we all have some stress to deal with. Most of us have been through times when the stress in our lives felt overwhelming. For many of us, these times are few and far between. But for some people, stress can feel overwhelming on a chronic basis.
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Posted in Articles, Reviews.
Tagged with depression, learned_helplessnes, stress.
As previously described, obsessive thoughts about one’s sexual orientation are not uncommon for sufferers of OCD. How can one cope with these troubling thoughts? There are two strategies often used — one good, one bad. We’ll start our discussion with the bad. Continued…
Posted in Articles.
Tagged with obsessions.
Obsessive thoughts can come in several varieties. Among the most popular themes for these thoughts are blasphemy, violence, and sex. One thing all obsessions have in common is that they consist of a thought (e.g., “I want to pick up that knife and stab myself”) followed by intense anxiety at having had that thought. Another thing obsessions have in common is that it is difficult to completely disprove the fear they describe. For example, if someone has an obsessive thought about harming themselves, how can they definitively prove that it’s not true? If someone has an obsessive thought like “I hate God,” how can they then convince themselves that they don’t? If someone has an obsessive thought about wanting to sexually molest their dog, how can they prove to themselves that they will never do it? For people with OCD, the uncertainty that accompanies these situations can be very distressing.
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Posted in Articles.
Tagged with obsessions.
It can be difficult to decide if and when psychotherapy would be helpful. There are many different ways people make this decision. A general guideline that I offer is what might be called the “interference rule.” That is, if a problem is significantly interfering with your ability to live your life the way you’d like, then psychotherapy may be helpful.
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Tagged with Therapy.
“In the words of the Buddha, “¦ ’We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.’ It’s an idea that’s in line with current thinking in psychology. In fact, this simple philosophy — that changing the way we think can change the way we feel — underpins the very practice of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), an approach widely used in clinical psychology and counseling, as well as stress management programs.” So writes Kathy Graham, in a thoughtful article on Buddhism and happiness, which can be found here.
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Posted in Articles.
Tagged with Buddhism, CBT.
ERP and ExRP are kinds of psychotherapy used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ERP stands for Exposure and Response Prevention. Innovations in this psychotherapy over the past ten years resulted in its being given a new name: Exposure and Ritual Prevention (ExRP). The two therapies are similar, and both build on core behavioral therapy concepts. The purpose of this article is to provide information about what these therapies involve, and how they might be helpful to people suffering from OCD.
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Posted in Articles.
Tagged with ocd.
Following is the conclusion section of my dissertation. The dissertation itself is currently in preparation for publication.
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Posted in Articles, Excerpts.
Tagged with meditation, stress.
A stem cell transplant (SCT) or bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a procedure used in treatment of various types of blood cancers. The procedure typically involves significant health risks, and often is followed by both medical and psychological distress. To read the complete article on transplantation, please go to its new location at http://www.manhattancbt.com/archives/173/anxiety-and-depression-in-patients-recovering-from-bone-marrow-and-stem-cell-transplants/.
Posted in Articles.
Tagged with anxiety, depression.