We have some really interesting guests scheduled during the months of May and June including Bill O’Hanlon who will be talking about his new release entitled, The Change Your Life Book. In this book, Bill gives great examples of small changes that can create dramatic shifts in your life over time.

We’ll also be featuring Kittisaro and his wife, Thanissara in two separate interviews entitled “The Magic of Mindfulness” and “Return of the Sacred.” Listening to each of these beautiful souls speak was quite moving for me, as I am sure it will be for you. While their words are poetic and inspirational, they manage to open us up to practical ways we can integrate heartfelt peace and consciousness into our everyday activities.

Psychiatrist Tim Jennings will be discussing Drug Free Treatments for Depression noting nutritional supplements and lifestyle changes that can help, as well as a new technology called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Dr. Jennings has been using TMS in his office and is seeing phenomenal results for people using this intervention.

Towards the end of the month, we’ll also be interviewing neuroscientist Joseph Ledoux who will be talking about his band the Amygdaloids as as we feature some songs off their new EP. As many of you know, I have long admired Dr. Ledoux’s research which has helped us understand our emotional brain and the way fear responses are conditioned. We’ll talk a little about this, as well as how he is using his music to increase awareness about mind, brain, and mental disorders.

Mind of the Matter airs every Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. eastern time and the shows are also available as podcasts or mp3 downloads that you can listen to at any time. To access the show’s website and listen to some shows, click here.

About a year and a half ago, I was reading a book called the Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. Written by British psychiatrist, Iain McGilchrist, the book was quite fascinating and made a strong argument that our culture is suffering because we have idolized specialities of the left-hemisphere like language, logic, and linear thinking and neglected specialties of the right-hemisphere which is connected to the world in a more holistic and non-verbal way. He notes our ability to connect intuitively and emotionally with our souls, bodies, loved ones and our ability to enjoy music, humor, and metaphor are all preferences of the right hemisphere. Yet, the silent wisdom of our right-hemispheres is often relegated to the realm of the “woo-woo” or irrelevant because it’s knowledge cannot be pinned down or proven in a clear, tangible way.

The book moved me and spoke to something I felt has been fundamentally missing in our modern-day approaches to psychotherapy. Over the last few decades as we sought to get credibility for psychotherapy as a healing art, and obtain insurance reimbursement, we had to create a system of diagnostic categories and treatment interventions that could be measured. While this certainly gave us a common language for discussing various symptoms, researching possible causes, and identifying specific treatments, it also stripped away the humanness of what we do. In recent years therapists have been urged to only use cognitive-behavioral therapy, medication, or other “evidence-based” treatments. Yet, research shows that successful treatment depends on the quality of the relationship with the treatment provider more than it does on any particular technique.

When you are in emotional pain, what makes you feel better? Chances are it is meeting with someone who seems interested in understanding what’s going on; gives you the feeling they care about your well-being; and respectfully collaborates with you to bring some peaceful resolution to the problem. That’s what people remember from their therapy experience, they do not say, “Wow, she helped me identify all my cognitive distortions. That cost-benefit analysis of my negative thinking really saved the day!”

In addition to feeling they are connecting to a non-judgmental person who cares, I find that showing people ways to use music, nature, meditation and imagery soothes pain and inspires motivation; sharing funny stories and metaphors gives perspective and changes thought; playing games and using humor lightens anxiety and strengthens new patterns.

Is all of that coming from the right-hemisphere and not the left? Not really- but I am referring to the right-hemisphere metaphorically because it gives a way to begin thinking about these issues and having conversations about them. Others have referred to the same concepts as analytical vs. intuitive, masculine v. feminine, science vs. art, Windows v. Mac, etc.

Whatever you want to call it, there is definitely a paradigm shift occurring in our culture that recognizes the value of infusing all of our senses, our hearts, and our general humanness into our endeavors again, whether it be education, business, politics, medicine or science.

What do you think? Do you think our systems have moved too far away from being human for the sake of being efficient, exacting, and meeting bottom lines? How do you think things need to change? Please leave your comments below!

To listen to a recent radio interview I did on this topic for Mind of the Matter radio with Dr. Susan Hickman, click here.

Did you know that resentment isn’t caused by people or past events? The response is actually caused by a glitch in communication between the logical and emotional mind. If your logical mind has a thought about an upsetting event, the emotional brain reacts as if the event is currently happening and sends the anger response to get you to stop the event from happening in the current moment. Once you clear the perception of a current threat, the anger recedes. That’s it. You don’t have to forgive anyone or change yourself.

If you watch animals in the wild, you don’t see them carrying grudges and holding resentments toward each other. Why? Animal minds are not as complex as human minds. They are not able to reflect on the past or project into the future. Animals are totally oriented to the present, so their minds don’t send a lot of unnecessary adrenaline if there is nothing posing an actual threat in the current moment. Dr. Jon Connelly, a mentor of mine, illustrates it with this story:

“If some monkey saw some other monkey monkeying around with his monkey girlfriend, he’d run up to that other male monkey snarling, posturing, and showing his teeth until that other monkey beats it out of Dodge. Two weeks later, you see the monkey sitting up in a tree eating a big, fat banana. It’s a nice sunny day and his girlfriend is scratching his back in just the right spot and you ask, ‘Hey, what about that other monkey? Aren’t you still pissed off?’ He’d say, ‘What monkey?’ You say, ‘The one that was monkeying with your girlfriend two weeks ago.’ The monkey looks confused and says, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Then he goes back to eating his banana.”

Dr. Connelly came up with a funny, clever way of bringing the mind to the present that clears resentment quicker than anything else I’ve seen. First give your mind something to consider that it realizes you don’t need to do anything about RIGHT NOW. Then say out loud, “There’s nothing I need to do about that right now.” After you use the process with a few obvious statements, apply it to things from the past. Here’s an example:

1. People are polluting the Mississippi river. Stop them, stop them right now!

(You reply, “There’s nothing I need to do about that right now.”)

2. The population is exploding in China, go ahead stop it, stop it right now!

(There’s nothing I need to do about that right now.)

3. There is a Civil War soldier being shot at in 1862, do something, do it right now!

(There’s nothing I need to do about that right now.)

Now- try applying the same responses to something from your past. See the examples below for some ideas for how to do this.

4. Stop him from saying that to you when you were a kid. Stop him right now.

(Now reply: “There’s nothing I need to do. I’m not a kid. It’s not happening.)

5. Stop him from doing that to you back then. Make him be more enlightened. Do it now!

(There’s nothing I need to do about that right now.)

6. Make her be nicer to you. Make her be a more compassionate person. Go ahead- do it!

(There’s nothing I need to do about that right now.)

Now check out how you feel. I hope this gives you ideas for ways to coax your mind back to the present and release what is beyond your responsibility or control. The present moment is where you have power. All there is to do right now is anything that would bring you more peace and joy in your life. Be that monkey and go get your fat banana!

Drs. Sharon Richie-Melvan and Diane Vines have written a book about this subject called Angel Walk: Nurses at War in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Sharon is a nurse, White House Fellow, and retired Colonel from the Army while Dr. Diane is a professor of nursing at the University of Portland and the first civilian nurse White House Fellow. However, these distinguished women humbly share stories and interviews from those nurses who have served on the battlefield from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan.  These stories give civilians and families of military personnel an understanding of the experience that most veterans avoid sharing directly with those who have not served. Many Veterans don’t share these stories because they don’t want to traumatize others or believe that anyone who hasn’t served could understand what they’ve been through. Drs. Sharon and Diane sensitively present their accounts, and then follow with ways we can support and assist our service men and women in their readjustment after deployment.

The second section of the book is rich with resources and hopeful accounts of ways that people can recover from the stress of war and reintegrate back into life successfully. The authors caution that it takes time and both veterans and their families need to have realistic expectations. The authors also address Military Sexual Trauma that occurs for one in seven women who have served and do a nice job of removing the stigma of seeking support for overcoming such traumas. Many military personnel worry that seeking help from the VA will go on their records and impact their careers. While the VA is doing better about acknowledging that you do not have to have mental health problems to develop post-traumatic stress, the authors note other places soldiers can seek support outside government systems if they want.

If you or someone you care about is struggling with post-traumatic stress and readjustment back to civilian life, read this book. It will help you understand what they are going through and how to be sensitive to their needs. Once I began reading it, I could not put it down. Highly recommended!

Thanks to all our Battlefield Angels who risked their lives to protect ours.

Photo Credit Department of the Army

For Veteran’s day, I was asked to rerun this post about a veteran with whom I had the privilege of working in April, 2011.

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of working with a courageous Iraq war combat veteran who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the war and suffered severe flashbacks.

He asked if Rapid Resolution Therapy (RRT) would work for him, given the TBI. While I told him I was not sure how the TBI would impact things, I was sure we could clear the impact of the trauma. I reassured him that he’d already completed the hard part by surviving the war. He laughed and agreed that meeting with me could not be any worse than what he’d already experienced in combat.

When the soldier arrived at my office, he had a service dog with him, which led me to think he had a visual impairment. So, I offered to fill out the paperwork for him as he verbally gave me his answers. The soldier laughed and said,

“I can see just fine. My service dog accompanies me because my flashbacks have been so bad. When I have a flashback, my dog walks in a circle around me clearing the area to protect me and other people. Then, he licks my face and helps me wake up and come back to the present time and place.”

Wow. I was totally impressed with this soldier and his dog. He told me he’d not been allowed to drive due to the flashbacks, and hated depending on his wife to take him places. He could not be around his children when they were playing due to his low tolerance for loud noises and “screaming” sounds since the war. Here this guy dedicates his life to fighting for our freedom, and now post-traumatic stress had imprisoned him. I was totally dedicated to this mission to fight for his freedom now.

We cleared the emotional impact of his traumatic memories in just under 2 hours. Though the TBI caused him to have some delay in his speech and thought process at times, he had a wonderful sense of humor and a keen intellect. His favorite part of RRT was the “goat and the snowflake” story (see this post for an explanation).

Upon hearing this story and playing the “pants” game to help him stay present, the soldier quickly realized that the horrific images were just images now. Similarly, the emotional intensity he had been feeling cleared as his deeper mind “got it” that those events had been completed and no longer were in existence. We only had to discuss one event in detail, and he was able to apply the same concepts to the other traumatic events he had experienced. I watched in amazement as he smiled and said, “Yes, there is no IED exploding. It no longer exists. My commanding officer is okay now and is not pinned under that truck. I am not getting shot at this moment. There are no piles of beheaded bodies that I have to clean up anymore. Those guys left their bodies and they are at peace now.”

Three days after our session, I gave him a follow-up call. He said, “I feel great. I have not had any flashbacks, even when my kids were screaming or I heard a loud noise. I have been driving again. I am able to imagine being on the beach watching the cranes when I feel stress and it immediately calms me. I am free again.”  Then, three weeks after our session, his psychologist from the VA called to find out what we did because he couldn’t believe how much this better this soldier was doing.

I thanked this brave soldier for his service and we celebrated his return to freedom! You do not have to be imprisoned by trauma or your past. There is a way to return to freedom and reclaim your life.

Courtney Armstrong is a Licensed Professional Counselor as well as a Master Practitioner and Associate Trainer in Rapid Resolution Therapy. She has a private counseling practice in Chattanooga, TN where she specializes in treating trauma, anxiety, and grief. To contact Courtney, click here. To learn more about Rapid Resolution Therapy, click here.

A RAND Corporation study has shown that nearly 20% of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression upon their return home. Even older veterans, like those who served in Vietnam, can experience a resurgence of PTSD when they retire and have more time to reflect on the past. So what are symptoms of PTSD and how can we assist our veterans in overcoming it and enjoying life again?

PTSD can occur after someone has witnessed or been involved in an event that was life threatening or was an extremely disturbing event out of the realm of normal human experience. Symptoms include reexperiencing the event in the form of nightmares or flashbacks; feeling easily startled, anxious, or irritable and on edge most days; avoidance of anything that reminds you of the event; and/or feeling numb and detached from things.

Fortunately there are better treatments available for PTSD than there were 20 years ago, and the majority of these treatments can bring relief in as few as one to ten sessions. Treatments usually involve training you in effective ways to calm your emotions and bodily responses, reprocessing the traumatic memory (or memories) so they do not replay or haunt you, and creating new meaning in your life in spite of the trauma.

I use a method called Rapid Resolution Therapy® that has been very effective in clearing PTSD. RRT differs from other methods in that the person does not have to relive the painful emotions associated with the event in order to clear it. In addition, this approach seems to shorten the time needed in therapy with many of my clients reporting complete relief from PTSD symptoms within 1-6 sessions.

Other treatments for PTSD include Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. SSRI antidepressants like Paxil, Zoloft, or Lexapro have also been shown to reduce symptoms, but work best if the person is also involved in trauma-focused therapy of some sort.

Many Vets don’t seek treatment for PTSD because there is still a stigma attached to going to a “shrink” and frankly, they don’t want to discuss what happened. I understand- the horror many Vets have witnessed and experienced is beyond human imagination. Some Vets are also haunted by the missions they had to carry out that harmed or killed others in order to protect democracy. They often do not feel a therapist could understand or be able to relate to these experiences, unless the therapist has also had experience in combat. However, what is most important is that you find a therapist who has the capacity to understand what the experience was like for YOU, knows how to assist you in reprocessing the memory, and collaborates with you to access your resilience and reconnect with life.

PTSD is treatable. Sometimes symptoms clear on their own, but the earlier you seek treatment, the better. If symptoms go on for a year or longer, the less likely they will subside without treatment. For more information on combat related PTSD, visit the National Center for PTSD. Click here for more information about Rapid Resolution Therapy®.

Courtney Armstrong, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and nationally known speaker on trauma and grief. She is the author of Transforming Traumatic Grief: Six Steps to Move from Grief to Peace After Sudden or Violent Death of a Loved One.