Dear Gentle Reader - a repost from the Globe and Mail on the power of choosing your attitude and how it can shape your life. Full credit to the author. Best regards, Dr. Wayne Coghlan

PSYCHOLOGY

Harnessing the power of positive emotions

Eileen Chadnick

Special to The Globe and Mail, Oct. 24 2013. 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/harnessing-the-power-of-positive-emotions/article15056756/

Jon and Solange are both on the short list for a promotion at work. Jon has more experience and technical know-how. Solange is newer to the job but is known for her exceptionally positive attitude and a track record of resilience, even in stressful conditions. Who has the greater edge?
Before minimizing Solange’s positive attitude as a soft skill, think again. Positivity matters, and in recent years a great deal of science has affirmed that positivity can bolster one’s capacity for critical thinking, resilience, personal growth and, ultimately, greater well-being and success.

Positivity is a very brain- and body-friendly emotion, conducive to bringing our best to our work. How so?

According to Barbara Fredrickson, a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, positivity does more than just replace bad thoughts with good ones.
The pre-eminent scholar on the science of positive emotions says the right dose of positivity can actually change how we think and, over time, even increase our success in life.
In her books, Positivity and Love 2.0, Prof. Fredrickson attributes this to her “broaden and build” theory, based on more than 20 years of research:

BROADEN

Positivity can broaden your mind and open your heart, thus making you more creative and open to new perspectives, she found. A positive attitude can also boost critical thinking skills and ultimately help you to see more possibilities, too. Conversely, negative emotions (such as fear and worry) can limit your thinking and narrow your mindset.

BUILD

People who practise positivity are more apt to build new skills and social connections, acquire new knowledge and reach for bigger goals. Over time, this can create an upward spiral of effectiveness and success.

Paradoxically, whereas negative emotions tend to stick and endure, positive emotions don’t reside in a permanent state. They can be fleeting. To reap the rewards of positivity, one needs to create a steady supply of positive emotions over time.

Prof. Fredrickson is currently teaching a class on the science of positivity through the training organization MentorCoach. (Disclosure: I am a participant.) In a recent lecture, she said positive emotions are more than “icing on the cake” but rather essential nutrients needed for success and well-being.

How much is enough? The more the better, but it turns out the the ideal ratio is at least three positive emotions per negative one. This ratio distinguishes those who thrive from those who merely get by, or worse, languish.

There are many ways to experience more positivity in your life – even when circumstances are challenging. Here are a few ideas that might be helpful:

Commit: Much as people must commit to eating better or exercising more, they must commit to bringing more positivity into their daily lives. Often this calls for reframing situations or trying new perspectives.

Diversify: Prof. Fredrickson cites 10 positive emotions that have been proven to bolster well-being: joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe and love.

Savour: Slow down and enjoy the positive moments – and then savour them again by capturing them in a journal. Identify at least three good things that happened in any given day and talk about them with others. See the rewards compound as you replay them.

Connect: Prof. Fredrickson says the most powerful of all the emotions is “positivity resonance,” when two or more people share a positive emotion. A passing smile, a shared joke, a moment of celebration – the possibilities are endless and can happen with anyone, not just people you know well.

Tap inside: We can have an infinite supply of positivity if we empower ourselves to tap into our internal well. Those who rely only on good things happening externally will find themselves struggling in times of challenge. Positivity can be just a thought away.

Rinse and repeat: It takes repetition to build new habits and to rewire our brains to have a more positive outlook. The good news is that our brains have a tremendous ability to build new neural pathways. You can indeed teach an old dog new tricks if you try.

Eileen Chadnick is a work-life coach and principal of Big Cheese Coaching in Toronto. Follow her at Twitter@Chadnick. Her book, Ease, will be available later this fall.

Rebloged by: Wayne Coghlan, B.Sc., M.A., M.A., D.C.  in Counselling Psychology. Anger Management Collingwood. Anger management; Men's issues; Family and Marital Counselling; Stress Management; Personal psychology and counselling. As also a Doctor of Chiropractic I have a special appreciation of the mind-body connection.

Fibromyalgia, chiropractor, collingwood, fibromyalgia, counsellor, counselor, psychologist, psychology, psychotherapy, anger, repressed anger, mind body, Coghlan, pain, aching, Anger management,

Fibromyalgia, Repressed Anger, Chiropractic Therapy  


 Please note that I wear two professional hats... counselling and chiropractor. To access the chiropractor side of things please visit http://drwaynecoghlan.blogspot.ca/

It has been my experience that the majority of patients I encounter with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia have chronic unresolved emotional issues. Usually, it is some form of unresolved anger or grief, and usually some form of persistent anxiety or apprehension. 

Now that is a bold and sweeping statement, and I appreciate that a disease as complex as fibromyalgia will have many different components to it. This is definitely not a one-size-fits-all statement. Yet the pattern persists.

And I’ve had some people become quite annoyed because I asked if they considered if unresolved issues were somehow a factor in their illness.  I expect their unwillingness to explore the question was defensive of the implication that their fibromyalgia was somehow “in their heads.” To which I sympathize. People with fibromyalgia yearn for legitimization that they do indeed have a “real” disease.  Yet an inability to even explore the question may keep people locked in their pattern of mind-body dissonance.  

It is not such a radical idea that the mind and body are intricately interlinked and that what is unresolved in one part, may negatively affect the other. There is credible research that supports, that for many people diagnosed with fibromylagia, personality types, emotional intelligence, and life circumstances play a huge role in the complex web of factors that foments this debilitating condition. A few examples are listed below.

Over my many years in chiropractic practice, I have come to appreciate that easily 2/3 of conditions I treat originate, or are strongly influenced by emotional factors. And 2/3 of the conditions I treat are more mechanical in nature. That extra 1/3 would be the overlap between the two.

I have also come to appreciate that, often, when I put my hands on a patient’s upper back, there is a different feel to the muscles when the person is dealing more with an emotional injury, than physical. More so, the degree and generality of tension throughout the upper back, neck, and shoulders.

It is not so much that anger gets locked into the body, more so that emotional and physical patterns become interlinked and chronic. When the physical pattern is relieved, often the emotional pattern is free to be expressed. I have had patients break into tears when they are finally able to relieve their angst.

Along with my Doctor of Chiropractic qualifications, I also hold a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology. When appropriate, some empathetic questioning can help a patient understand where deeper issues are operative.

Fibromyalgia is a complex disorder where one factor triggers the next in a cyclic web pattern. We can argue if anger is the start or the result of fibromyalgia, yet it is part of the cycle. If we can intervene at any point of the cycle, we can reduce the impact.

Along with physical healing – massage and adjustment where appropriate, eating healthy, quality and quantity of rest, invigorating exercise, nurturing the spiritual self….  emotional healing can also play a significant role.

If you, or someone you care about is afflicted with fibromyalgia… please arrange a no obligation consultation and perhaps allow me to work with you.

Best regards, Dr. Wayne Coghlan

There is much information on fibromyalgia on the internet, some of it good. One has to be careful, however, to discern the useful information from what is, at best entertaining, and some that may be harmful. I usually look at the source of the information and if it is research based rather than someone’s opinion or anecdotal information. A stronger source of credible information is Google Scholar – which allows access to academic research.

Rather than restate the background information on the disease, I will refer the reader to the following sites for reference. What I do wish to address is the connection between fibromyalgia and repressed anger. Please read on…..

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all  

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia

There is a good body of knowledge that personality and emotions can play a significant role in the onset and aggravation of fibromyalgia. In particular unresolved anger can manifest in an emotional – psychological – neurochemical - physical cycle that, if it does not precipitate, can aggravate the ongoing condition.

A few examples:

“Anger towards oneself, which is anger-in, was higher in patients with fibromyalgia patients than in the rheumatoid arthritis sample. A stepwise regression model showed that the anger-out scores and the anxiety scores predicted the level of pain severity, and this explained 32% of the variance in the fibromyalgia syndrome group. Although anger-in is consistently higher in fibromyalgia patients, it is the behavioral expression of anger, together with anxiety, that predicts the severity of the pain.” Kemal Sayar, Huseyin Gulec, Murat Topbas. Alexithymia and anger in patients with fibromyalgia. Clinical Rheumatology. October 2004, Volume 23, Issue 5, pp 441-448. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10067-004-0918-3

“Through biological and behavioural mechanisms, patients with fibromyalgia may also show an increase of pain in response to emotions. Anger, and how it is regulated, may be particularly important in chronic pain.”…”Our study suggests that anger and a general tendency to inhibit anger predicts heightened pain in the everyday life of female patients with fibromyalgia. Psychological intervention could focus on healthy anger expression to try to mitigate the symptoms of fibromyalgia.” Henriët Van Middendorp, Mark A. Lumley, Mirjam Moerbeek, Johannes W.G. Jacobs, Johannes W.J. Bijlsma, Rinie Geenen., Effects of anger and anger regulation styles on pain in daily life of women with fibromyalgia: A diary study. European Journal of Pain Volume 14, Issue 2, pages 176–182, February 2010.  DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpain.2009.03.007

This study demonstrates increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions, as well as increased emotional-avoidance strategies, in women with fibromyalgia. Henriët van Middendorp, Mark A. LumleyJohannes,  W.G. Jacobs, Lorenz J.P. van DoornenJohannes,  W.J. Bijlsma, Rinie Geenen., Emotions and emotional approach and avoidance strategies in fibromyalgia.,  Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Volume 64, Issue 2 , Pages 159-167, February 2008

http://www.jpsychores.com/article/S0022-3999%2807%2900328

Repeated traumatic experiences during childhood and as adults can be discovered in many cases, which helps to understand some of the difficulties met in psychotherapy with FMS patients. Modified psychotherapy techniques are recommended using pain-centered behavioral methods initially, and progressing only later to an insight orientated approach. P. Keel, Psychological and psychiatric aspects of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS)., Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie, December 1998, Volume 57, Issue 2 Supplement, pp S97-S100

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Wayne Coghlan, B.Sc., M.A., D.C. M.A. in Counselling Psychology. Anger Management Collingwood. Anger management; Men's issues; Family and Marital Counselling; Stress Management; Personal psychology and counselling. As also a Doctor of Chiropractic I have a special appreciation of the mind-body connection.

Anger Management and Life Skills

Wayne Coghlan, B.Sc., M.A., D.C. M.A. in Counselling Psychology. Anger Management Collingwood. Anger management; Men's issues; Family and Marital Counselling; Stress Management; Personal psychology and counselling. As also a Doctor of Chiropractic I have a special appreciation of the mind-body connection.

Anger Management 101

For Individual, Couples & Group Counselling.

A psycho-educational format to develop understanding of toxic anger and skills toward effective personal anger management and life skills.

 

Overview of Anger Management

Most people attend an anger management program because their inability to better manage their anger has created conflict with life partners, family members, employment situations, and commonly enough, the law.

For many who attend anger management, it is perhaps a matter of not having learned the skills necessary to better cope with conflict. This program will help you learn more constructive thought patterns and skills.

For others, anger emerges from long-term conflicts and behaviour patterns. In many cases, these conflicts and behaviours are passed down in families from one generation to the next. These can be deep issues, and while it is necessary to learn and practice the skills of anger management, do consider seeing a counsellor or therapist to better help you identify, manage and resolve your hurts and conflicts.

If there are deeper conflicts a person may react with: anxiety/panic, avoidance, denial, dissociation, emotionally attacking another person, projection, transference.

]

Some people have just become worn out with resentment, hostility, fighting within themselves, and fighting against the world.

For many people, the issue is dealing toxic people that you have to live and work with. The skills developed through this program will help you understand how other people’s anger affects you and how to more constructively interact with such people.

This program is also suitable for people who wish to enhance their life skills for career, and relationship (marriage) success.

The anger management program is a psycho-educational presentation and discussion format. The intent is to teach a better understanding of anger, and skills to more constructively manage this emotion.

Purpose of the Program

1        Learn to manage anger effectively.

2        Stop violence or the threat of violence.

3        Develop self-control over thoughts and actions.

The program is intended to be delivered over ten sessions generally a week apart. The best experience is through personal/individual participation. This allows more detailed discussion and counselling of personal issues and privacy. While group therapy can be very effective, there is limited discussion of personal issues and limited privacy.

Each session is approximately one hour to 90 minutes.

$20 to cover the cost of the workbook.

$60 per session for individuals or couples.

In group counselling $20 per person per session. There are no groups at this time. 

Short term counselling is also available.

This program has been accepted for court purposes. 

Please call 705 445-5401 or EMAIL drwaynecoghlan@gmail.com with your questions. 

 

Dr. Wayne Coghlan, Counselling Psychology

Anger Management

Anger Management

 
http://collingwoodcounsellingpsychology.blogspot.ca/

 211.ca Collingwood Connection

411.ca

http://411.ca/business/map/

Counselling, counseling, anger management, Collingwood, psychology Collingwood Anger Management


Wayne Coghlan, B.Sc., M.A., D.C. M.A. in Counselling Psychology. Anger Management Collingwood. Anger management; Men's issues; Family and Marital Counselling; Stress Management; Personal psychology and counselling. As also a Doctor of Chiropractic I have a special appreciation of the mind-body connection.

https://maps.google.ca/

LinkedIn http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/dr-wayne-coghlan/19/413/127

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog while visiting his counsellor for anger management in Collingwood, Ontario. The counsellor, Wayne Coghlan, did the best anger management and marriage counselling in Collingwood. Not only was he the best counsellor in Collingwood, but also the best at counselling in Collingwood. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog while visiting his counsellor for anger management in Collingwood, Ontario. The counsellor, Wayne Coghlan, did the best anger management and marriage counselling in Collingwood. Not only was he the best counsellor in Collingwood, but also the best at counselling in Collingwood.  The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog while visiting his counsellor for anger management in Collingwood, Ontario. The counsellor, Wayne Coghlan, did the best anger management and marriage counselling in Collingwood. Not only was he the best counsellor in Collingwood, but also the best at counselling in Collingwood. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog while visiting his counsellor for anger management in Collingwood, Ontario. The counsellor, Wayne Coghlan, did the best anger management and marriage counselling in Collingwood. Not only was he the best counsellor in Collingwood, but also the best at counselling in Collingwood. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog while visiting his counsellor for anger management in Collingwood, Ontario. The counsellor, Wayne Coghlan, did the best anger management and marriage counselling in Collingwood. Not only was he the best counsellor in Collingwood, but also the best at counselling in Collingwood. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog while visiting his counsellor for anger management in Collingwood, Ontario. The counsellor, Wayne Coghlan, did the best anger management and marriage counselling in Collingwood. Not only was he the best counsellor in Collingwood, but also the best at counselling in Collingwood. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog while visiting his counsellor for anger management in Collingwood, Ontario. The counsellor, Wayne Coghlan, did the best anger management and marriage counselling in Collingwood. Not only was he the best counsellor in Collingwood, but also the best at counselling in Collingwood.

Anger Management Collingwood

Wayne Coghlan, B.Sc., M.A., D.C.

M.A. in Counselling Psychology.  Anger Management Collingwood. 

• Anger management.
• Personal, Family and Marital Counselling. 
• Stress Management
• Personal psychology and Counselling.

As also a Doctor of Chiropractic I have a special appreciation of the mind-body connection.

Anger Management 101

·     A psychological -educational approach to anger management.  Offered individually, for couples, families, or groups.

 This program has been accepted for court purposes.   

Topics covered include: 

• What is anger – how to make it useful – how to avoid toxic anger?
• Developing self control over your thoughts and actions. 
•  Alternatives to passive and aggressive anger.
•  Communication and conflict resolution skills.
•   How to get along better with yourself and others. 

Why you should attend:

• Your inability to manage your anger has created conflict in your significant relationships,             
• Your inability to manage your anger has created conflict in your employment. 
• Your inability to manage your anger has created conflict in your community. 
  
• Your inability to manage your anger has created conflict in your your success in life. 
• You seek skills to better cope with other people’s anger. 
• You are tired of being angry and bitter and fighting with the world.
• You seek life-skills to promote success in your relationships and employment. 

Presented by:

• Wayne Coghlan, B.Sc., M.A., D.C. drwaynecoghlan@gmail.com, 705 445-5401. 

Please feel free to call or email to drwaynecoghlan@gmail.com

211ontario.ca 

https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=counselling+psychology+collingwood&ie=UTF-8&ei=BfpSUruLLaT4yQHcgoHgBw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAjgK

Anger management; Men's issues; Family and Marital Counselling; Stress Management; Personal psychology and counselling.Counseling,
Anger Management Collingwood. Anger management, Counselling Psychology, Family and Marital Counselling, Men's issues, mind body, Personal psychology and counselling, Stress Management, Counseling, Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Ontario