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Body Mind Tranquility Blog
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Carmen Calatayud, LPC: Posted on Saturday, January 28, 2012 10:42 PM
Check out this story about the research that links working long hours with depression in the Los Angeles Times. Are you working too much? What are the effects on your life?
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Carmen Calatayud, LPC: Posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 3:49 PM
Yes, that's right, I've decided to offer my recorded meditations and guided imagery for free on this website. In the work I do with clients and groups, I find that sharing the many benefits of meditation with others continues to be a great joy.
My hope is that everyone who wants to learn to meditate and reap the benefits of a calm mind and body can do so no matter where they live, and no matter what their income. Even though the recordings were only $2.99, I don't want anything to stand in the way of you having these meditations.
As soon as I can download the mp3 files to my website (it's a little trickier than I thought so I'm getting some help with this), they will be available to you for FREE.
Breathe. Cherish each moment. Live in the present, as this time will never return. Be here now with the ones you love.
With kindness, Carmen |
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Carmen Calatayud, LPC: Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2011 5:11 PM
I remind my clients, as well as myself, that anxiety is about living in the
future. One of the tough questions I then have to ask is this: "What's so difficult about living in the present moment right
now?" Sometimes the present moment feels unbearable, especially when uncomfortable
feelings arise. It may not be enough to tell yourself to breathe. But what is
causing the anxiety or panic? And in those unbearable moments, what can you do?
According to David Burns, M.D., in his book When Panic Attacks, there are four main theories about the causes
of anxiety. The causes he names include negative thinking, hidden
feelings, avoiding what you're afraid of, and a chemical imbalance. Three of
these causes are things we can work on by ourselves or with a therapist, and
one of them, the chemical imbalance, is addressed by medication. While
medication can help greatly, it doesn't take away anxiety—we all have it. That
means that even if you take medication, it's worth addressing the other causes.
One of the first steps is to breathe, even if you don’t want to. Focusing on
your inhale and exhale, and breathing more deeply than normal, will
physiologically calm the nervous system. If you’re having a panic attack, open
the mouth as wide as possible and breathe in and out through the mouth. This
may sound and look strange, and you may want to do this in private, but it
works—the wide opening of the jaw signals the nervous system to calm down. Keep
breathing in this way until you feel yourself relax. The body can’t stay in a
state of panic if you use this technique.
As for the causes other than biochemical, let’s start with negative
thoughts. Begin questioning your negative thoughts about yourself, and if you
can, share them with a trusted friend or therapist. Getting an outsider to
point out that your negative thoughts are either wrong or not based in reality
can be helpful. See if you can begin to turn those thoughts into positive
affirmations that you begin to use. Believe it or not, we do have the power to
change our thoughts.
When it comes to hidden feelings, many of us have emotions that we stuff
away over time, believing that they will disappear. They don’t. They just get
stored in the body when they aren’t expressed, and as they build up, they become
a source of anxiety for some people. Uncover the feelings you’ve kept hidden
and share them. You may find that old sadness, grief, anger or fear has been
locked away and releasing it can provide relief for mind and body. Releasing hidden emotions
can relieve anxious feelings.
If you're avoiding the thing that makes you anxious, all that does is build
your anxiety into a skyscraper. Sooner or later, you will probably have to face
the thing you’ve been avoiding. Consider working with a therapist to build up the
confidence to face whatever it is you avoid. Once you see that you are able to
face it—and you have been able to all along—you will experience a reduction in
anxiety.
By the way, research shows us that meditating just 10 minutes a day for 8 weeks can significantly reduce your anxiety and help you be less reactive to people and the environment. Peace really is possible.
Anxiety seems to be the fast-moving vibration of our culture, but
we don’t have to live that way. You deserve to feel calm and tranquil.
With kindness, Carmen
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Carmen Calatayud, LPC: Posted on Saturday, September 17, 2011 9:55 PM
If you've ever dealt with a chronic illness, you know how challenging it can be to remain optimistic and hopeful. In the face of a society that worships workaholism and getting ahead, you may find it hard to fit in, knowing that you have limited energy to spend on the multitude of activities that others take for granted. Perhaps there are people in your life who expect you to perform the duties you've always handled. Friends and even some family members may distance themselves from you, unable to cope with your limitations.
Some diseases include depression as a symptom, and others can leave you with long-term situational depression, which is to say that anyone in your circumstances would feel depressed. When your diagnosis is a terminal one, the adjustment of grappling with and accepting that your life is going to end in the near future is one that is best dealt with by getting support from others.
Although illness may seem like something family members and friends should naturally help you with, there are those who are unable to be as supportive as we would like them to be. Getting counseling from a therapist who is trained in mind-body approaches can be a wonderful adjunct to support from your family or community. Mind-body modalities can help to reduce chronic pain, anxiety and depression that accompany physical disease. A psychotherapist experienced in working with people who are ill can offer a safe haven for expressing emotions that may, at times, become overwhelming for you and the people closest to you.
If you have an illness that is difficult to manage, you could benefit from a seeing a psychotherapist who works with physical illness and the challenging emotions that arise.
You may have the physical or medical support you need, but be sure you give attention to your mental, emotional and spiritual needs as well. Knowing that you aren't alone when your physical body hits limitations can make all the difference.
With kindness, Carmen
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Carmen Calatayud, LPC: Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 10:17 PM
Mindfulness has found its way into psychotherapy during the last 25 years, and based on research is now used to treat anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Mindfulness meditation is an ancient practice in Eastern cultures and many teachers, practitioners and mental health clinicians have created ways to make it understandable for our Western culture.
According to Ronald Siegel, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist and writer who teaches mindfulness to psychotherapists, one way to define mindfulness is awareness of present experience with acceptance. When we stop being aware, we have to practice bringing ourselves back to the present moment and accept it as it is.
When most of us experience anxiety, depression, or any kind of pain, our natural tendency is to turn away from the uncomfortable feelings. Although it seems like a paradox, it isn't the feelings that are the problem. It's the fleeing from the feelings that causes the problem. We teach ourselves that escaping from pain helps us avoid it, but the opposite is true. The uncomfortable feelings continue to build up without any release over time, and put us at risk for anxiety or depression.
Instead of avoiding uncomfortable feelings, we can choose to stay with the experience and practice tolerating them. We can breathe through them. What we then learn is that everything changes, including feelings, and they do pass. We can tolerate them and move through them.
What the practice of mindfulness meditation does, in lieu of getting rid of our anxious or depressed feelings, is increase our capacity to bear the experience. As Siegel says, mindfulness gives us the flexibility to be with whatever arises. In addition to the documented beneficial brain changes we gain from mindfulness meditation, we really can practice being more at peace with whatever we encounter in our lives. We can practice being more at peace with ourselves.
With kindness, Carmen
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Carmen Calatayud, LPC: Posted on Monday, August 15, 2011 9:40 PM
During the summer, it can look as though everyone is enjoying themselves with outdoor activities, parties and vacations. Sunshine actually does cheer up a lot of us and give us more energy.
It's still possible that you've noticed a pattern of depression during the summer months. If you're someone who tends to get depressed during the summer months, you may try to talk to yourself out of it, believing that it doesn't make sense to be depressed during this time of year. But depression can strike at any time.
Recent research has shown that there may be a link between a lack of melatonin, the hormone our body creates to help us sleep, and summertime depression. Whatever the reason, if you're feeling depressed even in the midst of summer, honor yourself by getting the support you need.
Selfhelp.org offers these signs and symptoms of clinical depression. If you identify with several of the following signs and symptoms and they just
won’t go away, you may be suffering from clinical depression:
- you can’t sleep or you sleep too much
- you can’t concentrate or find that previously easy tasks are now difficult
- you feel hopeless and helpless
- you can’t control your negative thoughts, no matter how much you try
- you have lost your appetite or you can’t stop eating
- you are much more irritable, short-tempered, or aggressive than usual
- you’re consuming more alcohol than normal or engaging in other reckless behavior
- you have thoughts that life is not worth living (Seek help immediately if this is the case)
If you think you may be depressed, or if others are concerned about you, reach out and ask for help from an experienced psychotherapist. There are effective therapies that support both mind and body. You deserve to feel enthusiastic about your life.
With kindness, Carmen
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Carmen Calatayud, LPC: Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 4:15 PM
Welcome to our blog, where we will share vignettes and information about restoring your mental health by caring for your body and mind. Although body psychotherapy is commonly used in New York, California and Colorado, as well as other parts of the world, there are few body psychotherapy practitioners in the Washington, DC area.
Body psychotherapy means that we include your body in the therapeutic process, in addition to talking with you during a session. Recent research verifies that our emotions begin in the body, and our body gives us signals--sometimes very subtle--about what we are feeling and what we need, if we are willing to slow down and give the body our attention.
Our head, of course, is an important part of our body, and the mind and body work together. We often talk about them as though they are separate, when in truth, they are both part of this incredible machine called the human body. If we can listen to both body and mind, we can tap into our own inner wisdom and ability to heal.
Feel free to browse our website or call one of us for a free phone consultation to learn more about how body psychotherapy can help you enjoy balanced mental health.
With kindness, Carmen |
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