Resources
Here are some articles that I thought would be of interest...
Sarah Bowen, a research scientist in the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington, invited smokers who wanted to quit to participate in a study. Each brought an unopened pack of their favorite brand of cigarettes. When the smokers were all there, Bowen seated them around a long table. Then the torture began.
http://goo.gl/5wM2c
A Stress-Relieving Article for Professionals, By Lauren M.
“I was trying to do it all on my own: I know how to meditate. I know how to do my job. I am an addictions counselor. I arrived at the UVA mindfulness meditation meeting because something inside me told me that I wasn’t OK. I was in a lot of internal pain — otherwise known as being extremely stressed. I take my life experiences very seriously. I try not to let them get by without noticing. I don’t always know how to ask for help, or know if I even need help at times. I didn’t consciously know what I was asking for that night, I just showed up, along with a few others, both meditation teachers showed up… and Help showedup.” http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/05/07/a-stress-relieving-article-for-professionals/
Mindfulness Meditation: Reducing Anxiety by Focusing on the Present Moment, By SUMMER BERETSKY
“The dream prompted me to think back to the anxiety management class I’d taken in graduate school. It was a semester-long course where we practiced many CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy) techniques, including a technique called mindfulness meditation. Put simply, mindfulness is the state of being aware of your surroundings and living in the moment instead of thinking about what just happened or what’s about to happen. It tends to have a calming effect (and I can vouch for this personally) if you’re prone to worrying about the past or the future. You focus on experiences that we tend to overlook day in and day out – the ins and outs of your breath, the way your feet feel as they’re touching the floor, or the quiet hum of the electric lights above you. Things that nobody would ever notice if they weren’t paying attention.” http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/01/11/mindfulness-meditation-reducing-anxiety-by-focusing-on-the-present-moment/
The largest-ever public health study on meditation shows multiple health benefits, By S Ghosh, May 19th, 2011
“One of the largest public health studies conducted so far on on meditation was published recently, based on a representative national survey of 19,209 Australian women. The survey indicates that nearly 35 per cent of women in the age group 28 to 33 practised meditation or yoga. In the 56- 61 age range, that figure…”
Biologic effects of mindfulness meditation: growing insights into neurobiologic aspects of the prevention of depression. Copyright © 2011 Canadian Medical Association, Simon N. Young, PhD
“A recent paper in the Archives of General Psychiatry confirms that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) “offers protection against relapse/recurrence on a par with that of maintenance antidepressant pharmacotherapy.” It is a tribute to the accumulated wisdom of humankind that a traditional Buddhist meditation practice going back 2500 years, which was originally designed in part to deal with the problem of human suffering, has been successfully adapted to prevent the relapse of depression in the modern era. Buddhist meditation techniques were originally adapted by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founding executive director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School for mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Reviews of MBSR studies suggest that it decreases depression, anxiety and psychologic distress in people with chronic somatic diseases and that it reduces stress, ruminative thinking and trait anxiety in healthy people. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is similar to MBSR and is designed to change some of the cognitions that are associated with depression.” http://goo.gl/eouLY
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
"Cognitive-behavioral therapy stresses the role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. It is based on the belief that thoughts, rather than people or events, cause our negative feelings. The therapist assists the patient in identifying, testing the reality of, and correcting dysfunctional beliefs underlying his or her thinking. The therapist then helps the client modify those thoughts and the behaviors that flow from them. CBT is a structured collaboration between therapist and client and often calls for homework assignments. CBT has been clinically proven to help clients in a relatively short amount of time with a wide range of disorders, including depression and anxiety." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy
How effective is CBT for Anxiety?
Lo Jong Mind Training
"Mind Training is a practice in the Buddhist tradition based on a set of proverbs formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Chekawa. Through the practice we undertake to connect with our world in an unconditionally positive way, and also to take full responsibility for our experience of it.Unlike many practices it does not require that you sign on to a particular system of beliefs, nor is it something that you can only do on your meditation cushion. In fact, the best practice is often done out in the world, with exactly those people and situations that upset and irritate you the most."
Lo Jong
"Lojong is mind training, a practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa. The practice involves refining and purifying one's motivations and attitudes. The fifty-nine or so proverbs that form the root text of the mind training practice are designed as a set of antidotes to undesired mental habits that cause suffering. They contain both methods to expand one's viewpoint towards absolute bodhicitta, such as "Find the consciousness you had before you were born." and "Treat everything you perceive as a dream.", and methods for relating to the world in a more constructive way with relative bodhicitta, such as "Be grateful to everyone." and "When everything goes wrong, treat disaster as a way to wake up."
About Buddhism
“The founder of Buddhism in this world was Buddha Shakyamuni who lived and taught in India some two and a half thousand years ago. Since then, millions of people around the world have followed the pure spiritual path he revealed. The Buddhist way of life of peace, loving kindness and wisdom is just as relevant today as it was in ancient India. Buddha explained that all our problems and suffering arise from confused and negative states of mind, and that all our happiness and good fortune arise from peaceful and positive states of mind. He taught methods for gradually overcoming our negative minds such as anger, jealousy and ignorance, and developing our positive minds such as love, compassion and wisdom. Through this we will come to experience lasting peace and happiness. These methods work for anyone, in any country, in any age. Once we have gained experience of them for ourselves we can pass them on to others so they too can enjoy the same benefits.”
I know that if you change your mind, you change your world. You can transform adversity into a path to happiness.
Effective Mindful Therapy & Consulting
For more information, call me @ 917-691-4574 or email.I can answer your questions, provide a brief free consultation, and we can set up an appointment.
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