The Psychology of Dysfunctional Families

psychology studies

As an organizing principle we can describe dysfunctional families in terms of the ABC's, where the letters in this case stand for Attachment, Boundaries and Communication. As a subheading we'll talk about the three R's, in this case, Rules, Roles, and Resulting Relationships. The ABC's of unhealthy, or dysfunctional, families include insecure attachment, poor boundaries (either enmeshment or disengagement), and closed communication. Psychologists distinguish three forms of insecure attachment.

In avoidant attachment the parents are emotionally unavailable, unresponsive, and rejecting. The children, not surprisingly, tend to avoid parents and caregivers. When they grow up, avoidantly attached children sacrifice intimacy for an exaggerated form of autonomy and display a dismissive attitude toward attachment. When you see an adult who never seems to connect in an intimate relationship, you may well be looking at the product of avoidant attachment.

In ambivalent attachment the parents are inconsistently available-sometimes distant, at other times intrusive. Children in these circumstances tend to be wary. When they grow up, ambivalently attached children give up autonomy for the sake of a dependent form of intimacy. They lack independent self-esteem and display a desperate need for others and the fear that their needs cannot be met.

Disorganized attachment is the worst of all since parents, to whom children instinctively turn for protection, act as figures of both fear and reassurance. Abusive parents fall into this category. The children seem dazed or confused. When they grow up, disorganizedly attached children have radically unstable relationships and experience a sense of being unreal or internally fragmented.

Dysfunctional families display poor boundaries. There may be boundary violations, such as a father who shares confidences with his daughter about his relationship with the mother, or an adolescent boy who becomes a quasi-spouse to his mother after the death or disappearance of the father. Physical, sexual and emotional abuse all constitute boundary violations. In these situations there is no personal privacy. Or there may be ambiguous boundaries: it's not clear, for example, whether a new step-parent is a "real" parent with authority or just the spouse of the real parent. Where the healthy family occupies the middle ground, unhealthy families fall at the extremes. In an over-attached, or enmeshed family, children have difficulty achieving autonomy. In an under-attached, or "boarding house" family, with a neglectful or absent dad and a neglected mom, children are treated as invisible, and often have difficulty trusting others. In another form of poor boundaries, known as triangulation, one family member may be used as messenger between two others as a substitute for direct communication, or two family members may align against a third. All of these boundary problems prevent a family from functioning in a healthy way.

Dysfunctional families also display poor communication. At one extreme we find no expression of emotions, either verbally or physically. At the other extreme we find an excessive display of emotions, a family in continual turmoil, its members in a constant state of anxiety. Where families deny their problems, children learn to distrust their feelings and their senses. Dysfunctional families tend to maintain an atmosphere of secrecy within the family and isolation from the outside community.

Not every dysfunctional family displays all of these characteristics, but they are the places where one looks to understand what makes a family dysfunctional.

Arthur Wenk, a psychotherapist practicing in Oakville, Ontario, combines cognitive-behavioral therapy (discovering techniques for producing immediate changes) with a psychodynamic approach that helps make changes permanent by addressing the root causes of mental health problems. Art is certified by OACCPP (the Ontario organization for psychotherapists) and EMDRIA (the EMDR International Association). Art's website, http://www.arthurwenk.com/, contains one-page summaries of recommended books on personal growth, brief explanations of common mental health issues, and lectures on parenting, the psychology of families, and the functioning of the brain.

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History of Counselling: How Psychology Came Into Being

psychology studies

Psychology has, until recently, tended to focus on psychological and emotional problems and how to deal with these. This article identifies the key schools of thought, whose philosophies are often diametrically opposed.

Getting caught in the problem cycle

Psychology has developed as a science over many years, with many different ways of considering the thought and emotional processes that affect individuals. The field of psychology includes what has been termed 'Applied Psychology' where knowledge is used by individual practitioners such as counselors and psychologists to help people overcome problems and, 'Research Psychology' where academic psychologists focus on experiments and studies into human behaviour by testing out concepts behind psychological theories and human behaviour. These studies are then used in fields such as Counselling, Coaching, Stress Management and Mental Health.

Although some applied psychologists who work with individuals also undertake research, there are many academic psychologists who devote their whole life work to research without ever actually working directly with an individual. The field of psychology is split into many areas such as Occupational Psychology (work related issues for individuals and organizations), Educational Psychology (children and learning), and Counselling Psychology (mental health and emotional factors).

Until recently the whole world of psychology has tended to focus on the emotional and psychological difficulties experienced by individuals, groups and organizations. Research has focused on identifying a problem, working out what has gone wrong and then considering what needs to be done to put it right.

How Psychology came into being

The word "psychology" is the combination of two terms - study (ology) and soul (psyche), or mind. Back as far as 355BC the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested that the heart was the mechanism for mental processes and in 387BC Plato, another Greek philosopher suggested that it was the brain and not the heart. Without knowing it, the thoughts of these philosophers led the way for what would later become known as the Science of Psychology. Psychology attempts to identify the forces at work behind human emotions and behaviour.

As time went by many people made their own unique contributions to the growing body of knowledge about how the mind works, why people behave the way they do, what can go wrong and what can be done to put things right.

There are many 'Schools of Psychological Thought' that have developed over the years and many of these have very different ideas about why people are unhappy and become emotionally or psychological distressed and the best ways of helping such people.

The four main Schools of Thought are
Analytical Psychology
Cognitive & Behavioural Psychology
Humanistic Psychology
Transpersonal Psychology

All of the schools have gone on to develop many different types of therapies that are on offer throughout the world. However, all therapies owe their origins to one school of thought or another.

Over time all of these schools of thought have gone on to refine and develop their understanding of individuals, some have used research far more than others (as is the case for the Cognitive and Behavioural Schools) to underpin their knowledge about individuals, their behaviour and the causes of psychological difficulties and how best to address these.

And now I'd like to invite you to claim your free E-Course "How to Develop your Counselling Practice" available at http://www.counsellingpracticematters.com/

Gladeana McMahon is listed as one of the UK's Top Twenty Therapists by the Evening Standard. An innovator, Gladeana is also one of the UK founders of Cognitive Behavioural Coaching and an internationally published author with over 20 books of a popular and academic nature on coaching and counselling to her name.

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Food for the Body or Soul? Which Do We Satisfy?

psychology studies

Thousands of experts have spent millions of dollars researching the phenomena of food related issues resulting in today's unprecedented levels of obesity. Every magazine and newspaper, repeats the same old diets in the same old way giving it the same old name of "New."

There was a time when we were mean, lean and hungry. Now we are simply mean and hungry...joke?

During my first visit to India some fourteen years ago I never met a fat Indian. Everyone I encountered looked lean and hungry. On my most recent visit the first taxi driver I conversed with asked me for advice on his obesity and diabetes. Wealthy materialism and spiritual deprivation quickly shows on the body. This is not a perspective that would be considered by the " food or eating disorder experts." Here I am not alluding to those who suffer from bulimia or anorexia, a completely different psychological disorder.

Here I speak of a psychological disorder, otherwise known as soul displacement, which at a great cost to human evolution, is being normalised.

Food nowadays is a multi - billion dollar driven phenomena whereby our appetites are manipulated by manufacturers who are oblivious to the holistic approach to human development. They need to be to make the huge profits from helping us commit suicide by killing ourselves with our manipulated desires.
Politicians who make vane attempts to stop binge drinking and who implement a health food tax in order to prevent us from becoming like the characters from the movie "Wall-E" are compounding problems with their ignorance. I am surely not the only one walking around who is secretly appalled at the state of humanity?

How many wives feed their husbands as a way to demonstrate love? These are time old strategies that ensured the propagation of the species. A comfortable satisfied body will soon succumb to a dull unadventurous and safe lifestyle. Ooh I can hear some people banging the drums of outrageous denial...

A person who feeds the soul will not give us what we want but will give us what we need. We are conditioned to need more and more of what we do not really need in order to deny the soul its true existence. Our daily duties whether we work as an economic slave or are able to live in "relative" freedom (note" relative"- we are not free if something other than ourselves can control our thoughts - think about that!) are filled with the buying, making and consumption of food. Whereas food for the soul comes from the fragrance of a Spring Hyacinth, a summer's Rose and autumn's Lavender. It comes from soul inspiring literature and music, from a deep meaningful conversation with a loved one, a smile across a crowded room, at a bus stop, the warmth of the sun after cold damp and cloudy days. All these and more feed our soul and spirit.

But do we take as much time breathing this soul food as we do gobbling down short energy producing carbs and sugar heavy substances?

Eat to live and not live to eat" is a motto well worth remembering.

Yet here is the timeless paradox to all this "alternative perspective," one of my dearest soul mates who taught me some profound spiritual lessons said to me one day

"You know Avril I like nothing better than taking you out and treating you to a great big slice of coffee and walnut of cake and seeing the delight which arises in your eyes."

"My great-great-grandchildren ask me, in dreams, 'What did you do while the planet was plundered? What did you do when the earth was unravelling? Surely you did something when the seasons started failing, as the mammals, reptiles, birds were all dying. Did you fill the streets with protest when democracy was stolen? What did you do once you knew?'"
Drew Delinger, poet

Many Articles on Experienced Spirituality, Multidimensional Reality and Personal Growth can be found on

http://www.multidimensionalreality.com/

including free E-Book upon Request

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Loneliness - The Stigma of Shame of the Solitude of Grace?

psychology studies

Writers more than any others know by necessity both of the above. It is from where true creativity arises. When the words that are written come from a source beyond one, one finds it impossible to write simply for something to do.

For me and for many writers reading this, a piece of writing, article, letter or essay arises following considerable time spent in gestation. This can sometimes be likened to a descent into the abyss. It's a two- way process as I dive through some painful human experiences into the depth of my soul to discover the truth of a situation, then so my soul source will arise up to meet me. It's like the meeting of old friends who have been separated for aeons. "Oh yes, I remember this feeling of "home"... wherein lays my heart."

In a world where words issue forth in an endless and often mindless stream of trivial and banal comments, sound bites and attempts at communication, it is the true creator's lot to remain silent and carry the stigma and shame of that isolating silence. To an outsider who is not privy to this process it can appear a lonely despairing role. But the process is a necessary despair; only by plunging into the mud and silt of the dense earth can we discover nuggets of pure gold.

When all outer sources fail one, when one appears to go beyond the pale, and friends and enemies alike step worlds away from one it is then that we are forced into this subterranean darkness.

This is one aspect of the multidimensional process. We are here walking upon this Earth but we know we are not of this planet except as a tiny seed of consciousness. And so we can somehow find peace and comfort whether suffering from the stigma of shame or the grace of solitude, it depends which perspective is dominant at the time.

This process is the natural pre-birth phenomena, before we are plunged into the reality of Earth for our lessons on life, where we may if we are so graced; experience the blissful rapture of human embodiment.

You can be broken down and I will hold and love you that way. You can fall apart and I will hold and love you that way.
You can have nothing to offer for now and I will hold and love you that way.
You can be at your lowest ebb and I will hold and love you that way.
You can be depressed, contorted, wounded or distraught and I will hold and love you that way.
I will do this with no insistence that you be fixed. I can accommodate a you that breaks down and is not available for my needs for the time being.
From: When Love Meets Fear

Many Articles on Experienced Spirituality, Multidimensional Reality and Personal Growth can be found on

http://www.multidimensionalreality.com/

including free E-Book upon Request

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Emotional Self-Imprisonment

psychology studies

Just imagine being given a jail sentence merely because we could not handle our emotions. Think of the public outcry! But conjure with the idea of being given a thirty, forty, even a fifty or sixty year sentence! The level of public indignation about our human rights would surely dwarf any riots we have seen. Add a final insult and tag us 24 hours a day to remind us of our emotional disorders, and the fury would erupt. Yet this is exactly what many of us do to ourselves. We impose life sentences of emotional self-imprisonment and tag ourselves!

And the metaphor gets even more real and even more horrifying, the more one dwells on it.

Because of trauma, shock, hurt or abuse, we can and we do sentence ourselves more harshly still. We commit ourselves to solitary confinement, guarding our inner most emotional secrets with a level of zeal and shame with is extraordinary. This personal imposition can also originate from guilt, abandonment, rejection, or from humiliation, bullying or molestation.

Yet in our hearts we know that were there ever to be any appropriate system of emotional courts with judge and jury, none would convict us as severely as we have done to ourselves. None would find our case proved as warranting such a fierce punishment.

But just focus on this metaphor one more time- when we have the highest criminal prison population on record. And now ponder on the fact that a vast number of us - walking the streets apparently free, have nevertheless imprisoned ourselves in unresolved emotions!

And our level of commitment to the sentence can be astonishing. It can involve a vow of silence and secrecy to ourselves - something we determine to take our grave. This we can deem preferable to a mistaken belief that if we unburden ourselves we will be emotionally pilloried until our death by relatives and friends, and that should be avoided at all cost!

More weird, emotionally speaking, even when the underlying cause can have been in no way of our making or our fault, we still seek to deny that to ourselves and then compound the denial by buying deeper into the shame, humiliation and rejection as if somehow we deserved it!

That can set in train yet more entangled and constraining behavioural thinking. We can use this misconceived buy-in as a stick to beat ourselves harder than anyone else with the same knowledge ever would - or should. And why ever do we do this? Because we have let ourselves think it is our just desserts! The 'tagging' is provided by our self-talk which we encourage sub-consciously to reinforce our worst thoughts about ourselves

And paradoxically we can find we draw strength from our apparent courage and fortitude to shoulder it on our own, when few around us would see any sense or justification in that.

I think it is fair to say that Time once was when maybe this emotional flagellation was deemed to be part of being human and living a human life. Not enough was known then about psychology and the impact of our behavioural thinking.

But no more! No longer is that true. Irrefutable psychological and behavioural truths pile up one on top of another - from one research project after another - each revealing to us ever more about our human nature. More welcome still they reveal to us how we can neutralise and re-frame our reactions to horrific indignities we have endured.

The benefits of encouraging ourselves to end our self-imprisonment, to give ourselves emotional parole and to re-configure the emotional memories and patterns are now well documented.

Why? If for no other reason, because we know now it is no longer necessary for we humans to endure it. And nor is it justified any longer to inflict our emotional shortcomings on others, young or old, for them to replicate what we have done and to resort to emotional self-imprisonment for themselves.

So we should at least talk about these things, share them and unashamedly seek help to understand them. We should cherish the reality that none of us are perfect, that we are unique and most particularly we are blessed with the ability to cure ourselves emotionally.

And if that is not enough, then quite simply accept that we do not deserve this toxic form of imprisonment when help is now at hand. There are number of good proprietary self-discovery books and programmes available to find a new level of happiness.

I strongly recommend you look at the Hoffman Process and at a book called "You Can Change Your Life" by Tim Laurence. Alternatively you may find it helpful to read the self-discovery novel. "Squaring Circles" which I have written. It deals with emotional patterning such as this. It is available from http://www.amazon.co.uk/ of from http://www.squaringcircles.co.uk/ in paperback or online through most UK bookshops. I wish you well.

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Split Personality

psychology studies

I am not talking here about Multiple Personality Disorder (otherwise called Dissociative Identity Disorder), or Schizophrenia.

I refer instead to the parts of us that become 'split-off' due to our childhood experiences and the meaning we gave to these, from our under-developed child-brain.

There are two levels of splitting that take place when we believe that we are 'not good enough' as we are.

The first level happens as we learn that in order to be seen as OK and to be accepted within the family, we have to 'wear a mask(s)', and fulfil the 'role' set for us by our family.

These masks might include the 'smiley-face-everything-is-fine-in-our family' mask; the 'I-feel-no-pain' mask; and the 'I-must-be-a-good boy/girl-at-all-times-and-not-be-a-burden' mask.

We may also have a 'role' to play in the family unit such as the Super-achiever, the Caretaker, the Carrier of the family madness/badness, the Sick Patient, and many more besides. All of these rob us of our authenticity and the feeling that we are OK just as we are, and that we are valued and wanted for just being our real self.

Instead we develop a 'false-self' to please other people and to ensure that we can continue to live with them and to have our basic survival needs met.

For too many people these 'masks' become stuck and they forget they are even wearing them; or they fear ever taking off the mask and having to face, and live with, the stranger who lies beneath; or they may have tried and failed to remove the mask - due to pressure from other people who want/need them to keep wearing it!

A second and deeper split occurs as a result of severe childhood trauma, abuse and abandonment; when the real self, hidden behind the false self, steps or falls back even further....from the back-room and down into the cellar.

Often to be banished and forgotten about. This 'prisoner' is condemned to a life of darkness and the struggle to survive emotionally. It lives in shame of it's own existence. It feels like an alien without a true personality or life of it's own. It becomes the puppet for others to use, whether that be within the family, or with partners later in their life and within their inevitably dysfunctional relationships.

'It' observes the unfolding 'drama' of life as if from a distance, without any feeling of deeper connection to it. It is isolated and hopeless. It feels like an 'it'.

Believing itself to be deeply flawed and feeling the pain of rejection ridicule and hostility, it knows only self-loathing and despair.

Any words of encouragement, care, or concern echo around the dank cellar in which it exists. Nothing good can penetrate - the fear of further wounding is so great. Exposure and shame burn like a branding iron telling all of it's failure as a human being.

It abides in a prison cell which is actually locked from the inside, or the door may be ajar but the prisoner dare not try to escape. The dark damp cell is at least a familiar 'home'.

Maybe you have tried - in vain - to have a relationship with a 'Cellar Dweller'? ©

You may have poured considerable effort and time into trying to coax them out and to help them to believe in your honesty and integrity....but to no avail. Maybe you have got as far as marriage to such a lost soul - who went along with the arrangement in order to have some 'comfort' pushed through the bars of their inner prison. If so, you will get little in return as they won't know how to love, let alone how to show it in a way that reaches another's soul.

They may receive your love but not know how to give back anything meaningful of themselves. They may talk at length without really saying anything about themselves or their innermost dreams, hopes, and needs.....because they are detached from these and unable and unwilling to take the risk of possible rejection by anyone. They have already profoundly rejected themselves.

It seems obvious that they should simply realise that they are now an adult, and that they can change their thought processes, and consequently their feelings and behaviours. However their detachment from life and their self-loathing is so deeply ingrained that any such wise words would be wasted on them. They could not penetrate their protective armour.

They may fear the prospect of living and dying alone, and so form an 'entanglement' with someone - rather then a real relationship. Very few people would settle for the little that the Cellar Dweller can give to a relationship...perhaps only another deeply wounded soul would accept the profound lack of emotional expression and intimacy.

So, outwardly such a couple may appear to 'function' well, and may even have professional jobs. They may be like 'the parent I never had' to one another. But a 'fly-on-the-wall' would witness two aliens living like magnets emotionally repelling one another, and moving around without actually touching.

Shame is called the master emotion - for it's power to disintegrate our sense of ourself. Only by shining a light and taking away the darkness and shadows can anyone be gently coaxed to come to the edge of their sanctuary/prison in the cellar of their life....like a terrified kitten who dreads the next kick. Many will not take that risk and instead they will play safe and play dead.

Maxine Harley Msc Integrative Psychotherapy - Psychotherapy in Sussex and creator of 'The Ripple Effect' Process and Quantum Psyche Process see http://www.qpp.uk.com/

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Dysfunctional Families: The Autocratic Family

psychology studies

I have found it helpful to talk about families in terms of the ABCs (Attachment, Boundaries and Communication) and the 3 R's (Rules, Roles and Resulting Relationships). The ABC's of unhealthy, or dysfunctional,families include insecure attachment, poor boundaries (either enmeshment or disengagement), and closed communication. In the case of autocratic families, poor boundaries may be exhibited by the family head who asserts the right to enter any room of the house at any time without knocking, depriving the rest of the family of any sense of personal space or privacy.

Autocratic families may seem relatively innocuous in comparison to alcoholic or abusive families but they display similar patterns of dysfunctional rules, roles and resulting relationships. The rules in an autocratic family may include not talking back-a child may not address an adult in the same tone with which the adult addresses the child-or not talking at all, in the sense that conversation involving a democratic give-and-take of opinions is frowned upon. There may be unspoken rules against showing, or even talking about, emotions. This often means that the autocrat's problems in dealing with emotions get passed on to the children.

Children in an autocratic family seem to display a number of distinctive roles:

The Rebel may continually confront the autocrat without ever achieving victory, often the case when the autocrat is simply too strong. The Rebel may continue, even into adult life, with the attempt to win acknowledgement, acceptance, or approval.

The Peacemaker accepts autocrat's authority and urges others to do the same. The Peacemaker may enter adult life lacking a healthy sense of self-esteem and depending on others to make all the decisions.

The Fugitive avoids confrontation by keeping out of sight. As an adult, the Fugitive may visit as infrequently as possible and for as short a time as possible. This refusal to engage may appear on the surface as a successful escape from the autocrat's authority, but may be accompanied by problems in forming intimate relationships.

Adult children of an autocratic family may experience difficulty expressing emotions and reading other people's emotions. They may display low self-esteem, relying on the opinions of others to define their self-image or failing to pick up on conventional social signals. As in the case of children growing up in abusive families, the children of an autocrat, determined to avoid that distasteful trait, may instead become an excessively permissive parents. Personal or family counselling may be required to break the dysfunctional pattern that passes from one generation to the next.

Arthur Wenk, a psychotherapist practicing in Oakville, Ontario, combines cognitive-behavioral therapy (discovering techniques for producing immediate changes) with a psychodynamic approach that helps make changes permanent by addressing the root causes of mental health problems. Art is certified by OACCPP (the Ontario organization for psychotherapists) and EMDRIA (the EMDR International Association). Art's website, http://www.arthurwenk.com/, contains one-page summaries of recommended books on personal growth, brief explanations of common mental health issues, and lectures on parenting, the psychology of families, and the functioning of the brain.

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Tips for Being Outgoing When You Have an Introverted Personality

psychology studies

Telling what the difference is between an introvert and an extrovert can be a challenging task. These two types of people are often difficult to tell apart, and one of the main reasons why this is so is the fact that introverts are not easy to recognize. Even if you knew all personality traits that define an introvert, you would have a hard time recognizing one even if they would talk to you, and show you their unique approach to life when trying to win an argument. It takes a lot of time as well as energy to get to know an introverted person.

Can an Introverted Person Be Outgoing?

Many people wrongly believe that an introverted person cannot be outgoing. Introverts are seen as not being sociable, although this does not have to do much with reality. People who have an introverted personality can be very socially active, and have many friends. Moreover, they enjoy spending time with people, but they do not need to be around people to the same extent as people who have an extroverted personality.

Introverted Personality - How to Be Outgoing

Introverted people like socializing with people around them, but they have to put more effort into interacting with the others in order to create friendships and gain new acquaintances than people who are extroverted. Here will be discussed some tips intended to help introverts gain more friends and become more socially active.

Firstly, you need to know that you should try to be more outgoing only if this is what you want. Oftentimes introverts try to fit into their social groups without really enjoying this. Therefore, before trying to fit in with the others, try finding people you are comfortable spending time with, be it introverts or extroverts. After you find friends who you like spending time with, you should try to work on your social skills. This means that you should focus on how to make yourself more approachable. You need to be aware of the fact that introverts seem to be arrogant and rude, so you should put some time into making yourself easier to approach.

Being outgoing does not mean that you should go out every night, but rather learn how to get the best out of socializing with people around you. Moreover, becoming more outgoing does not mean that you will have to forget about spending time alone when you feel like it. Instead, these tips should help you balance these two, and be able to enjoy solitude, but also try to make enough room for other people in your life.

Ana is a freelance writer, and she enjoys writing on any topic.

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Depression As Genetic and Evolutionary Beneficial

psychology studies

If someone were to ask me about depression, or why it even exists in our society, I would have to state that it is probably has to do with human nature, and in that regard there must be some sort of genetic component, or reason why it came into existence. After all, I highly doubt that people wish to be depressed, or that depressed folks would have had the advantage of survival of the fittest to produce offspring, if feeling bad about yourself was the only reason for it. Okay so, let's talk about this for a moment because apparently there is scientific evidence now which would confirm such thinking.

There was an interesting article on the subject of depression in "Medical News Today" entitled; " Depression: Evolutionary Byproduct Of The Ability To Fight Infection?" The piece describes research done by Emory University and others (a video is available on YouTube). Specifically, these researchers have semi-concluded that inflammation is a key component in depression. They have lots of evidence for this, and it is an interesting finding, although it isn't completely proven as of yet.

Even though, I am one with a perpetual happy attitude, I've always been intrigued by the challenges that folks who are depressed face each and every day. I've noted that people who live in climates without much sunshine have a tendency to be more depressed than others and the suicide rates are higher too.

In my studies, I noted that raising the brain temperature 1-degree seems to cure feelings of depression. This would also correlate to the findings here, elevated temperatures, slightly help in reducing inflammation in the human bio-system, is that correct?

Now that we know this information how can we use it to our vantage? Okay so, how do we induce simulated inflammation to create stress in athletes and war fighters to have them kick-butt on the enemy? And also shouldn't we also then be treating criminals with anti-imflammatories to change behavior? And if we give anti-inflammatories to depressed artists, will we lose the creative side of their manic episodes, thus, losing their creative talents, or can we rather cause a new change in the person, creating a hypomanic superstar of humanity, many thoughts, intriguing.

If you are someone who suffers from depression, and you have noted when you are depressed, and those periods which you were not, I'd sure like to have you send me an e-mail so we can talk about it, and see if your episodes of depression could be explained away by these researchers findings. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Self Help Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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The Meaning of Your Clothes in Dreams

psychology studies

The seriousness of the scientific dream translations and the importance of your dreams are proved by the fact that all mental illnesses can be cured through dream translation. The unconscious mind that produces your dreams works like a psychiatrist and psychologist. This means that the unconscious mind is a font of trustful information.

The unconscious words in dreams seem to be incomprehensible to your eyes because you ignore the unconscious logic, and you ignore the meaning of the most important dream symbols. When you'll learn the dream logic and the meaning of the basic dream symbols, you'll be able to understand the basic meaning of any dream.

The possibility to have lessons directly from the wise unconscious mind is an advantage that surpasses all the advantages you could have in life. The unconscious mind is God's mind. This is a scientific and religious truth that the under-developed modern civilization has to accept.

However, our civilization is atheistic and materialistic. Now that we can easily understand the meaning of dreams and have a direct communication with God through dream translation, the absurd modern civilization will come to an end because it is totally contrary to the truth. The formation of a new civilization will mark the human history.

Of course, this transformation will take time.

If you want to save time and surpass your historical time right now, you have to study the scientific method of dream interpretation for a while, or submit your dreams for a professional dream translation. Dream therapy is a magical solution that is not based on the mindset of the hypocritical world. You enter into contact with God. You learn the bitter truth. Then, you are transformed, and you become really superior; you become a wise human being.

The unconscious mind criticizes your attitude, giving you many clues, and helping you understand your mistakes. The poetical and philosophical dream language speaks to your heart.

I will give you an example, so that you may see how the unconscious mind sends you important messages in dreams. Here is a paragraph of a dream dreamt by a divorced woman:

'I wanted to try on a beautiful dark blue dress, but I didn't dare to try it on because it was so beautiful. Then, the man from work encouraged me to try it on. While I was starting to put the dress on, my ex-mother in law was watching me with disapproval, so I decided not to try the dress on, but promised myself that I would wear the dress no matter what anybody said. I've had several other dreams about this man.'

Dream Translation

'I wanted to try on a beautiful dark blue dress, but I didn't dare to try it on because it was so beautiful.'

The clothes you wear in dreams represent your social image. They represent what you show to the world about yourself.

The blue color represents understanding in dreams. You wanted to seem to be a person who understands how the man you love feels, but you were afraid to do so.

If you would wear the blue dress, then you would show him that you are a comprehensive person. You would show him that you understand his interest and that you are interested on a having a relationship with him too.

However, you are afraid to show him that you understand what is happening between you. You are polite but you are distant, without being friendly.

'Then, the man from work encouraged me to try it on.'

You have to tell me how you characterize this man so that I may understand what part of your personality he represents. He seems to be a positive part of your personality, which understands that you must help the man you love feel confident by showing him that you love him too, and you understand how he feels.

'While I was starting to put the dress on, my ex-mother in law was watching me with disapproval, so I decided not to try the dress on, but promised myself that I would wear the dress no matter what anybody said. I've had several other dreams about this man.'

The mother in dreams represents the wild and primitive side of the human conscience, which is totally absurd. If this was your mother she would represent a negative part of your personality that belongs to your wild side. Your ex-mother-in-law has a similar meaning, with the exception that since she is the mother of your ex-husband, this means that she represents the negative side of your husband's personality.

In other words, you are still afraid to show to another man that you want to have a love relationship with him because you are still afraid of the negative side of your husband's personality. You are afraid to face the same problems again in another relationship.

This is why you don't wear the blue dress that represents comprehension and understanding. You are afraid to show to the man you love that you want to have a relationship with him and you understand how he feels.

The fact that you had many dreams about him indicates that the unconscious mind is giving you information about him in your dreams. He is a very important person for you; he could be your perfect match. Your next dreams will give you more information about him.

The unconscious mind is very generous and it sends us many dreams about the person we love, especially before we have a relationship with them. You can learn many things about the man you love only for translating the meaning of your dreams. You should keep a dream journal and write down all your dreams. This is an important period of time for you.

As you can see, in a simple dream scene the main problem of this dreamer is clearly visible: she is afraid to show to the man she loves that she loves him too because she had traumatic experiences in her first marriage. She is afraid to face similar problems again. So, she doesn't have the self-confident behavior she should have in order to encourage this man to approach her.

This is a part of a long dream, but I'm not allowed to publish the entire dream. I'm only giving you a lesson in order to show you how the unconscious mind opens the dreamer's eyes.

The unconscious mind speaks with images and scenes. This way, it shows many things at the same time to all dreamers.

The same way that the unconscious mind showed to this dreamer that she is not helping the man she loves in any way, the unconscious mind will help you learn how to successfully solve your problems.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung's research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.

Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com/

Click Here to download a Free Sample of the eBook Dream Interpretation as a Science (86 pages!).

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An Approach to Psychological Counselling

psychology studies

Many forms of psychotherapy today are being offered; although it must be confessed that the most used form is an eclectic form made up from aspects of various cognitive-behaviour techniques plus procedures taken from other therapies.

In any case, cognitive-behaviour therapies presuppose that psychological disturbance can be ameliorated by modifying the irrational/illogical/unscientific thoughts that the person automatically thinks about certain situations.

It is true that irrational thoughts such as 'everyone hates me', 'I can't cope with my life' and 'I hate myself' may accompany negative moods. However, their mere presence is no guarantee of their causative status and efforts to demonstrate causation founder on the rocks of the sheer complexity of human experience.

Frankly speaking, psychologists cannot control all necessary variables in studying human functioning and if they were able to exercise such control their research would be of human beings that do not exist in this present world, beings stripped of their essential humanity.

Efforts to argue that when clients are taught to modify their thoughts that their distress diminishes must indicate that the 'problem' was bound up with irrational thoughts in the first place are not convincing. In all forms of cognitive-behaviour therapy much more is involved than just teaching clients to think differently. For human interaction always involves more than just thinking.

Moreover, cognition itself is more than 'just thinking rationally or logically'. Cognition involves the broad area of knowing so it can also be connected with imagining and willing.

Attachment Phenomena

Undeniably, humans are attached to their mothers from their earliest time of existence. After birth, attachment behaviour can be observed throughout life.

Humans are born into an attachment matrix of some type and to some extent, the quality of that attachment continues with them unless effective therapeutic interventions occur or other life-events profoundly modify that attachment type.

Four types of attachment types have been identified: secure, anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant.

The first type of attachment pattern is found in positive mother-child bonds where the child is said to have found 'a secure base'. The person emerging from this type of attachment will tend to find it easy to establish relationships throughout life.

In the second type, the anxious-preoccupied one, the child tends to be 'clingy' and to grow up that way. On growing up, they will confess to wanting close relationships with others but fear others don't want the same closeness to them. 'Do you really love me?' they ask.

In the third type, the child and then later the adult will pride themselves on their independence and their ability not to want intimacy with others. Such an outlook can lead to problems in intimacy relationships such as marriage.

In last category we find those who are highly ambivalent about relationships; they desire close relationships but are fearful that they will be hurt by rejection or abandonment.

Therapy

During childhood it is hypothesised that the child builds up 'a working model of attachment' with the primary caregivers so as to predict what will conceivably happen if the child does such and such.

This type of therapy can be used with children and parents. It is also being used with adult clients in romantic relationships particularly those with difficulties involving infidelity.

However, to this point my experience only stretches to using it as way of understanding why certain clients act the way they do. (Interestingly, the above categories bear some resemblance to the personality types identified by the famous early psychoanalyst, Karen Horney.)

Dr Ian R Ridgway is a Christian psychologist with 20 years experience in counselling and tertiary teaching. He relates the Christian faith to his vocation to assist others by developing a quality relationship built on trust and unconditional acceptance of the client (though not necessarily of all s/his behaviour). He provides an individual professional service as set out at http://psy-services.yolasite.com/

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Dream Interpretation - The Meaning of Dreams About Children

psychology studies

All dreams basically work like psychotherapy because you have to transform your wild nature into human nature. This is why you have many behavioral lessons and numerous explanations about all matters.

The unconscious mind that produces your dreams helps you participate of your psychotherapy and understand what is happening to you. You understand how your brain works and what influences your behavior.

The scientific dream translations help you feel safe because you understand the wise messages of the unconscious mind. You have an internal vision of what is happening in your brain. You understand how you can control your behavior and become strong. You also understand that the information you have is true and fits with many other factors.

For example, when you have dreams about children you ignore or about children you know but who are not your own children, they represent various immature parts of your own personality. If you are an adult, a dream about children is a warning. The children who appeared in your dream are parts of your own personality that didn't evolve with time. This means that your behavior is immature in many ways.

After having a dream about children, you will understand your immaturity and pay attention to your reactions. You'll stop acting like a child.

Then, you'll have a positive dream about intelligent and sensitive people who have helped you in life. These people represent parts of your personality that are intelligent and sensitive like them.

If after having a dream with a negative meaning you have a dream about the same topic with a positive meaning, this means that you are evolving.

Your progress is visible because you see mature and positive people in your second dream. This means that you stopped being immature like you used to be when you had the dream about children. You understood that you have to be serious in order to be respected. You also understood that you must always be very careful and pay attention to all dangers. Now you are not a child.

The wise unconscious mind always shows you the truth in your dreams. You are cured from a mental illness, or you learn how to prevent a mental illness thanks to the unconscious guidance. You learn how to pay attention to all dangers, and how to avoid what is bad.

The unconscious mind is your natural protector. You also learn how to avoid diseases, accidents, and other misfortunes.

You verify that you are always protected thanks to the unconscious guidance because you are saved from trouble numerous times. You recognize your salvation when you see many unexpected problems happening in your reality, and you remember that you could avoid being in a bad situation only because you had a dream warning about this matter. The unconscious mind doesn't let you fall into hidden traps.

You can trust the information you have in dreams more than you can trust any information that comes from ignorant and selfish human minds. Your safety is guaranteed because the unconscious mind is your natural protector.

Now, let me tell you the meaning that your own children have in dreams. Your children represent your moral image.

Your moral image is the image you give to the world about who you are. This image shows to the world if you respect your moral principals or not; it reflects your attitude before life's challenges.

The people who appear in your dreams, as well as the animals and objects you see in a dream have a symbolic meaning. Unknown children represent immature parts of your personality. Your own children represent your moral image. Your house represents your psyche. Your car represents your life. You have to learn the meaning of the dream symbols and understand the dream logic in order to translate the meaning of a dream.

This is a simple matter now that I continued Jung's research, clarifying all the obscure points in his work. Today you have a road map with a big cross showing you exactly where you'll find the treasure of wisdom.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung's research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.

Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com/

Click Here to download a Free Sample of the eBook Dream Interpretation as a Science (86 pages!).

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God: A Logical Counter

psychology studies

God and Psychology

Recently I was discussing God with one of my friends who is of the opinion that people only believe in religion for 'psychological' reasons: i.e. because their parents were religious, because they grew up in an environment of Christianity, or because they were brainwashed by charismatic and rhetorical speakers. He also thought that Christianity naturally promotes racism, hatred and inequality. I however, being Christian myself (Quaker to be more precise) think that this is unfair, and doesn't consider both sides of the argument.

Now, before I begin I must freely confess that both my parents are Christian: I'm not going to try and hide that to make my opinion appear more objective, those reading this may well think 'aha, he himself grew up with it and knew no better,' Believe this if you want, but understand that if you believe we all hold beliefs because of psychological factors, then atheism is also a belief, and therefore subject to psychological explanation. I once knew a man that ardently declared his atheism. When I got to know him better, he revealed that his father had been Catholic, and had beaten him very often in his youth. He tells me I only believe in God because of psychological reasons... Yes, we are all subject to psychological factors which influence decisions, but becoming atheist does not grant immunity from this very basic human condition.

I hope that the arguments I use will be considered objective, logical and rhetorical, because I believe, contrary to much atheist thought, that religion is logical.

Returning to the debate with my friend, his first line of argument was to suggest that Christians promote inequality. My counter is simple: yes, it is true that many 'Christians' have engaged in warfare under religious pretences, and committed atrocities in the name of God. Does this mean they are Christian? No. People who believe we are not equal obviously aren't true Christians. If I told you I was a scientist and never performed a single experiment but rather threw random chemicals together into a pot, would I be a true scientist? No. Similarly rejecting something because it has previously generated negative experiences or events, is not a ground for discarding it. Scientists created the nuclear warhead, not Christians, but do we attack science as being inherently immoral? No. Science has given man the terrifying ability to push a button and instantly destroy thousands, if not millions, of human beings. Yet do we decide to give it a rest? No. We accept it has drawbacks and terrible potential, but it also creates liver-transplant machines and intravenous feeds which save lives. Do we call for the abolishment of politicians because they start wars? No. Human beings can always twist and misuse ideas to their own ends, religion is the same. Just because a body of people have misused to it to, as my friend quite rightly says, promote inequality, sexism, and dictatorship, does not mean that religion as a whole is evil.

True Christianity promotes loving your neighbour as yourself. Jesus marks this out as the most important commandment, because from it all other commandments naturally follow.

In Galatians it says: "...we are all one," therefore people that make arguments against Christianity as promoting inequality:
a) haven't read the Bible
and
b) are obviously unable to separate individual faith based on evidence, understanding, experience and love from organised religion.

His second line of argument was to suggest that though the Bible does have moments where it seems to be promoting morality, at the same it contains "rape, child slavery and sexism" and promotes these alongside it.

Firstly, rape, child slavery and sexism exist in many modern films: that doesn't mean these things are 'promoted'. Does Orwell's 1984 necessarily say that Communism and Oligarchical Collectivism are a good thing? No. The Ten Commandments expressly forbid murder and the disrespect/harm of others and this message is further enforced in the New Testament.

My friend was right about one thing though, yes, the Bible is in part a product of its time. Things were different then, and so naturally approaches to overcoming problems were different. For example: in the Old Testament we see polygamy and incest is accepted in some cases, whereas in the New Testament it is not. Consider then that in the Old Testament the population of the whole earth could be numbered in thousands. Measures were required to ensure the human race survived, but often even then polygamy, or extra marital sex was only as a last resort, for example: if the wife was infertile. Incest was also not necessarily the same thing that it is today, the blood was probably purer and would not lead to deformity, damage, or mutation as it does now. Scientists believe it would have taken eight people to populate the world today (bearing in mind there are eight people on Noah's ark). Out of eight people there is only so much that can be done before inbreeding inevitably occurs. We are all related therefore, however distantly. But coming back to my friend's argument: he is right, the Bible is partly a product of the circumstances in which it was conceived.

But, it also goes beyond this. Just because something is written two thousand (roughly AD 10-30 - The Jesus Papyrus) years ago, it doesn't mean that it is outdated or that its principles become irrelevant. Psychologists use the works of Freud, Jung, and even more ancient philosophers: does their work become irrelevant just because time has passed? No. True, some ideas that were contemporaneous may now be less relevant, but others have become universal truths. Allow me to very simply demonstrate a universal truth from the Bible that anyone can accept, atheist, Christian, or of any denomination or belief. The Garden of Eden is frequently disregarded as being absurd, impossible, and convenient. Here's my theory: The Garden of Eden is a metaphor, and it's a brilliant one at that. It's a metaphor for the human condition that has retained its hold on the imagination since it was written. Human beings are obsessed with what is forbidden. Humans beings are obsessed by knowledge: just look at science: does the unethical nature of their practices stop them pursuing secrets ardently to their culmination? No. And I'm not criticising science here: I follow the science articles in The Week avidly to see what the next discovery will be. We also see everyday that people fall prey to the promise of power, they make deals that they shouldn't, they make choices that they even know they shouldn't: but the power is just too tempting.

It's a metaphor for puberty as well. Children aren't ashamed to be naked and free. They aren't ashamed if they speak what they feel honesty.
"I want a toy!"
"No it's mine!"

They aren't afraid to ball in tears in front of a crowd of people and they never make apologies for being who they are. Then with age comes wisdom, and 'knowledge of good and evil': of embarrassing secrets, of our own bodies. People want to cover themselves up because they're afraid 'I'm not ripped enough' or 'my bum's too big' etc. Knowledge brings shame, alongside the gift of reason and enlightenment.

It's also about a man's obsession with women. People often say that it's sexist because Eve takes the fruit first. That's one way to look at it: but who's the bigger fool, the fool, or the fool who follows? In Paradise Lost Milton paints a picture of Adam as uxorious to the point of self destruction. Adam chooses to take the fruit because he can't live without woman, without Eve. So it's also a story about love. Human love that is so powerful it causes them to defy the divine, and who hasn't felt their love for someone is causing them to fall? That our addiction to someone is almost unhealthy? That is doesn't make sense? Adam gives us paradise for Eve, and isn't that the case of most people: they sacrifice something to continue or further a relationship?

You don't have to believe in God or in the literality of the Garden of Eden story to see that this book is profound, and full of profound teaching. Atheists often cannot understand how someone can turn to the Bible for guidance, as they view it as ignorant, but if you read the Bible you begin to see that there are numerous examples of acute observation of human nature, and of the way the world works. There is a famous line which states someone who commits sin will not only be cursed but for ten generations after their family will be cursed. Is this a harsh punishment from an unjust God (as atheists like to argue) or is it actually an observation that someone prone to behave badly will probably pass this on to their children, who in turn will pass it on to theirs, making it a hard cycle to break from.

Therefore I disagree with the views that the Bible doesn't make sense and is ignorant, which is obviously a stance I'm expected to take. But looking at it from what, to me, is a logical perspective: there's more psychological insight into human beings in that one exceedingly story, than in all of Freud and Dawkins put together.

I apologise if I offended anyone reading this article, unlike aggressive atheism I am perfectly fine with acknowledging many people have differing views from me. I intend no disrespect, and have been motivated to write this counter argument because of the numerous attacks upon my own system of belief: which is one of loving others, caring for others, striving for friends and family, upholding moral principles, and humbling before a being infinitely greater than I am.

Thank you for your time,
Feel free to post responses and comments.

Joseph Sale is a Creative Writing Student at the University of Birmingham and the author of two books: 'Dark Age Heroes' and 'Z.A'

To find out more about him and his work you can visit his website at: http://www.taliesinbooks.com/

Alternatively you can follow his Twitter feed at: josephwordsmith

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Ghana Life: Taxi and Trotro Mottoes

psychology studies

Visitors to Ghana during the second half of the twentieth century may have been surprised to find that road traffic was dominated by two categories of public transport vehicles: taxis with brightly painted yellow wings and trotros, old Bedford trucks with locally constructed wooden bodies of traditional and distinctive design. A common feature of both categories, however, was that the vehicles carried clearly painted mottoes or slogans, in English and vernaculars, reflecting the owner/driver's hopes, fears or guiding principles. A study of these mottoes is a survey in microcosm of the philosophical and aspirational life of the community.

In the advertising stakes, trotros have the big advantage of incorporating large wooden headboards and tailboards on which their mottoes can be painted in large bright letters. Consequently, each trotro carries two mottoes, front and back. The two mottoes are usually quite different, but as they cannot both be viewed at the same time, no confusion results. Taxis, however, carry their mottoes on the back of the vehicle, usually on the vertical surface of the boot (trunk) lid. Often only one motto is presented but a second is sometimes painted on the rear window, presenting the observer with the opportunity to read both together. Needless to say, they are often conflicting and sometimes contradictory in a robust neo-Hegelian philosophical tradition.

Mottoes and slogans taken from the Bible are very popular. Often, only the name of the book and chapter and verse numbers are given, leaving the reader the task of looking up the reference. One of the most common that is fully expressed is, 'Behold what God hath wrought!' said to have been the first words transmitted by Samuel Morse in demonstrating his new invention of the electric telegraph, but usually rendered in the Twi vernacular as, 'Hwe Nea Onyame aye.'

The two most popular themes are God and money, with devotees proclaiming in the vernacular that, 'God is King,' and 'Money is King,' in roughly equal numbers. However, many vehicles carry the one word, 'Awurade,' another popular name for God often used to express surprise or amazement. In many cases the amazement may be connected with the unexpected opportunity to earn a livelihood.

Many drivers use the mottoes on their trotros and taxis to express their gratitude for help in acquiring their vehicles, with expression like, 'Good Father,' or, 'Good Uncle,' or, 'Boafo ye,' it's good to have a helper. Others proclaim ruefully how long it took them to reach this point with slogans like, 'Boafo ye na,' or 'Helpers are scarce.' Many others complain bitterly in English about life's hardships with, 'Poor man no chop,' or, 'No brother in the army,' or 'No time to die,' taken as the title of Hannah Schreckenbach's illustrated book of trotro slogans to which the reader is referred for a more comprehensive exploration of this theme.

As most professional drivers are male it is not surprising that another set of popular slogans expresses relationships with women. Often seen in English is, 'Fear Woman,' perhaps a reflection on past employment by one of the wealthy women traders who own fleets of public transport vehicles. Some drivers like to display the names of their wives or girlfriends with 'Vida,' being especially popular in Tema. 'Awoa ye,' or 'It's good to give birth,' is often seen, as is the more direct, 'Love pee.'

Finally, there is a category of popular mottoes of a more philosophical nature, some expressing the hope that things will get better. There is the agnostic motto, 'Who knows?' and another is, 'No condition permanent,' used by Ian Smillie as the title of his book about the Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC) of Kumasi University. Another is the more verbose, 'Let my enemies live long to see what I will become in the future,' seemingly favoured especially by taxi drivers. Even more commonly seen is, 'Nyame bekyere' or, 'God will provide,' giving God the last word in His contest with the monetarists.

John Powell
To learn more about the intriguing story of the grassroots industrial revolution in the turbulent Ghana of the second half of the twentieth century, read John Powell's novel The Colonial Gentleman's Son or his non-fictional account The Survival of the Fitter. More details of these books and photographs of the informal sector artisans of Suame Magazine in Kumasi will be found on the following websites.
( http://www.ghanabooksjwp.com/ )
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_28?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+colonial+gentleman%27s+son&sprefix=the+colonial+gentleman%27s+son.

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Are You a Slave of Your Dangerous Ego?

psychology studies

You are always trying to please your ego, even though its desires are mainly absurd. You need an internal vision of your brain and psyche and many behavioral lessons in order to understand that your adored ego is in fact very dangerous. The unconscious mind produces your dreams in order to give you the vision you need, so that you may understand your reality.

Your ego is in fact your worst enemy.

Your ego controls your behavior when you have a strong human conscience. It is the central component of your personality. However, your personality is composed by numerous other parts. Your ego is only one important part of yourself. Your ego should be your best friend because it is the center of your human conscience.

However, your human conscience is one-sided and under-developed. It works based on only one psychological function and it has an attitude introverted or extroverted. Thus, your poor human conscience is idiotic. You must develop your human conscience by acquiring consciousness. This means that you must discover the existence of numerous different components of your personality, which you don't know, but belong to your personality.

Your psychological functions are: thoughts, feelings, sensations, and intuition. Only one of these four functions is completely developed in your human conscience. Another one is half-developed. However, the half-developed one cannot be totally opposite to your main psychological function.

Therefore, if your main psychological type (introverted or extroverted) is based on thoughts, your second half-developed psychological function cannot be your feelings, which are totally opposite of thoughts. The same way, if you belong to a psychological type based on feelings, your second half-developed psychological function cannot be your thoughts.

So, if you belong to a psychological type based on thoughts or based on feelings, your second half-developed psychological function can be your sensations, or your intuition.

If you belong to a psychological type based on sensations, your second half-developed psychological function cannot be your intuition, which is totally opposite from your sensations. The same way, if your main psychological function is intuition, your second half-developed psychological function cannot be based on sensations.

Therefore, if you belong to a psychological type based on sensations or intuition, your second half-developed psychological function will be based on thoughts or feelings.

The psychological functions that are not working in your human conscience, are working in your wild conscience, the anti-conscience, which is your animal personality. The anti-conscience is an evil animal like a shark. However, it can think and prepare many logical traps for your conscience.

Since you are idiotic because you work based on only one psychological function and you somehow use another psychological function only sometimes when you try to solve your problems, you are an easy victim for your terrible anti-conscience. It uses many tricks in order to imprison your conscience into the labyrinth of craziness.

Your anti-conscience is constantly trying to make you accept doing what is bad, showing you that this way you'll have many advantages. This is a trick. The anti-conscience pretends to be your helper, while it is in fact a murderer. It wants to kill your human conscience through craziness, and control your behavior in the place of your ego.

Your idiotic ego easily believes in the false promises of your anti-conscience, which pretends to be yourself.

Your anti-conscience gives you a second, wild personality, composed by many absurd tendencies. When your ego follows the absurd ideas of your anti-conscience, accepting its suggestions as if they could help you achieve your goals, you gradually lose your mind. This means that you become crazy, without understanding what is happening to you.

You cannot perceive your own absurdity. This way, your anti-conscience manages to generate a mental illness within your conscience, while you believe that you are a 'normal' person.

The absurd components of your personality keep pressuring your ego and demanding a superior position for its image. Your ego is an idol, or better saying, a puppet manipulated by your evil anti-conscience.

If you want to find safe freedom on Earth, you must get rid of your absurd ego and learn how to be humble, without letting your anti-conscience use your ego to destroy your human conscience. Humbleness means wisdom and balance. Your ego is merely a false idol.

Your personality must be controlled by the unconscious wisdom, and not by your evil anti-conscience, or by your one-sided and under-developed human conscience. When you'll manage to transform your anti-conscience into a positive component of your conscience through consciousness, you'll be able to make your decisions alone, without depending on the unconscious guidance. You'll become wise.

However, until you'll manage to completely develop all your psychological functions through dream therapy, you must eliminate your dangerous ego and obey the unconscious guidance. If you keep making mistakes because you are lazy and you don't think about the consequences of your actions you cannot be cured from a mental illness, or prevent a mental disorder.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung's research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.

Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com/

Click Here to download a Free Sample of the eBook Dream Interpretation as a Science (86 pages!).

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The Psychotherapy of The Unconscious Mind and Extroverted Psychological Types

psychology studies

Carl Jung discovered that all human beings belong to a certain psychological type, which is defined by an introverted or extroverted attitude. Each psychological type works based on only one psychological function completely developed, and on another one half-developed.

Our four psychological functions are: thoughts, feelings, sensations, and intuition.

All psychological types are absurd and must be corrected. They must develop both attitudes; introverted and extroverted. They also have to learn how use their four psychological functions at the same time.

Extroverted types are very superficial and materialistic. They don't easily become mentally ill like the introverted psychological types, but they are ridiculously materialistic in all matters. They cannot understand that there is also a spiritual reality, and that there are more important issues in life than the material ones.

Extroverted psychological types based on feelings simply follow the opinion of the world. They are people without a clear personality. They are unable to make logical conclusions independently of their feelings.

Extroverted types based on thoughts are true guardians of the laws already pre-established by the knowledge of the world.

You simply have to agree with them because there is no way you may ever make them agree with you. In case you have a different opinion, a different knowledge, or another vision of the world, you have no chances to ever convince someone who belongs to the extroverted psychological type based on thoughts that you could be right and he/she could be wrong.

The extroverted psychological type based on sensations is a predominant one in our world. Those who belong to this psychological type care only about having material pleasures. They are immoral and indifferent.

Their indifference to justice is disgusting. They are unable to understand the meaning of spirituality or abstraction. Everything for them has a material and obvious explanation. Those who belong to this psychological type rule our world, along with those who belong to the extroverted psychological type based on thoughts.

The extroverted psychological type based on intuition is a constant pursuer of new opportunities. Those who belong to this psychological type cannot work long in the same project. They have to constantly look for something else.

This is why they don't reap the benefits they could have from their initial effort. For example, they build a successful new business, but they have no patience to keep working on it. They are always looking for better opportunities, and never developing their initial projects.

Those who are extroverted seem to be balanced according to the judgment of the absurd modern civilization, which works based on selfishness. However, the truth is that extroverts are too far from sound mental health.

The fact that they don't become neurotic as easier as those who are introverts doesn't mean that they are more balanced. It means that they their immune system is more resistant to craziness than the immune system of the introverted types.

However, since everyone inherits craziness in their brain, as I could discover after continuing Carl Jung's research, all psychological types are absurd. In a few words, everyone needs psychotherapy. This is why the divine unconscious mind that produces our dreams and possesses undoubtable wisdom sends us information and guidance in our dreams.

If you want to acquire sound mental health and also protect the mental health of those who are around you, you must pass through a process of psychotherapy through dream translation. You only have to write down your dreams in a dream journal and translate their meaning according to the scientific method of dream interpretation. Carl Jung discovered the only right method of dream interpretation as I prove with my work, and I simplified his method for you.

Now you can understand how to triumph over life's challenges without making mistakes and suffering. The unconscious guidance in your own dreams will help you understand how to successfully transform your personality and achieve your goals. The unconscious psychotherapy is safe because it is based on sanctity. You are cured by eliminating your wild nature and learning how to be wise.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung's research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.

Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com/

Click Here to download a Free Sample of the eBook Dream Interpretation as a Science (86 pages!).

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Can Science Explain Human Consciousness?

psychology studies

With advances in brain scanning equipment, neuroscientists can now observe what the brain is doing when the person is aware of remembering, imagining, feeling, thinking and even making choices.

Before the invention of this technology, it had been well known that when a brain is damaged, then the mind doesn't work so well. In one case example, after a patient had a stroke, he could still speak fluently, but not in a way that made sense: nor could he understand spoken or written language. This unfortunate individual had damage in the area where the left parietal and temporal lobes meet, known as Wernickes's area.

There is now a growing body of research evidence for a close relationship between brain activity and mind activity. And scientists are now wondering whether our thoughts and feelings are nothing more than a side-product of a hard-wired biological thinking machine.

If it is only the electrical and chemical activity of the brain that gives rise to consciousness, then all deep human thought, ethical concern, and mystical experience would appear to be no more than physical phenomena.

Brains have been compared with computers. But could you accept that a computer's processor and memory chips have consciousness? Likewise, how could you imagine the brain's neurones and synapses having a private subjective experience? It seems counter-intuitive to argue that physical entities have human awareness.

Can philosophy help us with this issue? In addition to an account of reality provided by scientific materialism, there are actually three other major traditional views that are relevant - that of idealism, dualism and Eastern world monism.

Idealism, as a philosophical view, holds that physical entities like brains cannot have human awareness because only what we are conscious of can be real. The trouble with this view is that it amounts to claiming the brain - being part of a physical dimension to life - is something of an illusion.

Dualism holds that both brain and consciousness are equally real but exist in different parallel realms of reality - occupying physical space and not occupying physical space - that have nothing to do with each other. However, dualism doesn't make much sense when we remember that it is a feature of everyday experience that the two do interact - one's conscious experience is affected by physical things seen in space and it in turn influences one's speech and actions.

Eastern world monism is a viewpoint claiming that both conscious mind and brain are real and there is no difference between them. (Some monists argue this sameness is because both have been created out of Infinite Source which alone is real.) But guess what, there is a problem too with this view, the difficulty being in differentiating categories within the one divine creation.

Emanuel Swedenborg, was no stranger to this topic. Before becoming a spiritual philosopher, he had been a theoretical scientist, reviewing the anatomical studies of researchers who studied the brain in the laboratory. Although his groundbreaking insights into the brain were to remain generally unrecognised, they included the importance of the endocrine system in emotional life and the localisation of cognitive activity in the cerebral cortex.

Swedenborg's ideas suggest there is something right and something wrong in all the four

major philosophical views so far mentioned. For him the conscious mind is real for it is part of the reality he calls the spiritual world in which we are aware of after bodily death, where he says ideas, feelings, values all have a substantial reality. But according to his view, it is also right to say the brain is real for it is part of the natural degree of creation which is a crucial physical base for spiritual life.

It is his position that the conscious mind and brain are not disconnected as the dualists

thought but rather form a coherent whole. So for him the brain is an embodiment of mind where neural patterns and chemical processes within the brain mirror the private subjective experience and intentions of mind. So when neuroscientists observe neural pathways lit up on their scanning images this would be the physical manifestation of the working of the mind. And just as the mind affects the body so the body affects the mind - suffer concussion with a bang on the head and your conscious mind goes away for a while.

He also says that space, time, matter, and person are all real - as the monists think - but not in the same undifferentiated way. Instead, reality for him consists of a series of discrete degrees, the lowest being that of physical matter and the highest being a heavenly reception of divine love and wisdom. The conscious mind is discretely different from the material brain, but inside every brain there is something of mind.

Swedenborg was not denying the importance of the physical side of mental life. He used the term correspondence to say that the working of the brain corresponds to the working of the mind. In other words for him brain and mind are two essential aspects of mental life.

This is a holistic view that can accommodate the objective findings of modern neuroscience without devaluing the importance of our private intentions and the spiritual dimension. Our sense of free personal choice is not an illusion even if it is constrained by factors that can be studied by science.

Copyright 2012 Stephen Russell-Lacy

As a clinical psychologist, Stephen Russell-Lacy has specialised in cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy, working for many years with adults suffering distress and disturbance.

He edits Spiritual Questions a free eZine that explores links between spiritual philosophy and the comments and questions of spiritual seekers. You can share your views and find out more about making sense of life.

His book Heart, Head and Hands draws links between the psycho-spiritual teachings of the eighteenth century spiritual philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg and current ideas in therapy and psychology.

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The Psychology of Healthy Families

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Leo Tolstoy wrote one of the most memorable opening sentences of any novel in Anna Karenina: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." If we alter the word "happy" to "healthy," we will have a pretty good description of the psychology of families. If all healthy families are alike, it may be useful to get an idea of what healthy looks like. Let's concentrate on the ABC's of families, where the letters in this case stand for Attachment, Boundaries and Communication. As a subheading we'll talk about the three R's, in this case, Rules, Roles, and Resulting Relationships. (I am using the word "role" not to signify a part in a drama from in its second dictionary definition, "the characteristic and expected social behavior of an individual." The last two R's refers to what happens when the children in each situation grow up to become adults.)

The ABC's of a healthy family consist of secure attachment, good boundaries, and open communication. Let's see what that looks like in detail in terms of our three R's. The rules for producing secure attachment in a child shouldn't come as any surprise: react to a child's needs; play with the child; and engage in contingent communication, in which the quality, intensity and timing of the parent's response reflect the signals actually sent by the child. In other words, the communication between parent and child is truly a two-way street. What is the role of a securely attached child? Such children are outgoing, empathic and confident, knowing that if they communicate their needs, the world will provide them with a way to get their needs met. The resulting relationships when the child becomes an adult display a high level of self-esteem, shared feelings, and intimacy.

A boundary, for our purposes, represents the limit that defines you as separate from others. The rules for good boundaries include the right to say no and the freedom to say yes. With healthy boundaries, we choose what to let in and what to keep out. Healthy boundaries apply not only to individuals within the family but also to subsystems. For example, a healthy family draws a boundary which protects the couple from intrusion by the children. The role of someone with good boundaries includes a healthy self-image and a strong sense of self that allows the individual a healthy balance between separateness and belonging. The resulting relationships display true intimacy, which requires the participation of two separate individuals. (Symbiosis is not the same as intimacy.)

The C in our ABC's of healthy families stands for open communication. The rule in this case represents an absence of rigid rules or roles. In a healthy family there are no family secrets. The role allows for personal privacy that permits both emotional bonding and individual autonomy. The healthy family allows outsiders into the system. The resulting relationships when the child becomes an adult provide an open communication of both thoughts and feelings and display a strong sense of empathy--the ability to comprehend another person's emotions.

The functional family is balanced and flexible; it can adapt to the situation. Usually this represents a middle ground, but that depends on the circumstances. If you were defending a child against an abductor, you would want to be abusive, angry and intrusive. If, on the other hand, you were a bystander at a bank robbery, you would want to be passive, silent and unattached, even though we would not think of these characteristics as healthy in normal circumstances.

A healthy family may not display every single one of these traits, but this picture generally describes family health.

Arthur Wenk, a psychotherapist practicing in Oakville, Ontario, combines cognitive-behavioral therapy (discovering techniques for producing immediate changes) with a psychodynamic approach that helps make changes permanent by addressing the root causes of mental health problems. Art is certified by OACCPP (the Ontario organization for psychotherapists) and EMDRIA (the EMDR International Association). Art's website, http://www.arthurwenk.com/text, contains one-page summaries of recommended books on personal growth, brief explanations of common mental health issues, and lectures on parenting, the psychology of families, and the functioning of the brain.

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Information About All Matters in Dreams

psychology studies

The unconscious mind that produces your dreams works like a psychotherapist, and also like a spiritual guide. Your psychological transformation through dream therapy is also a spiritual purification.

The unconscious mind gives you true information about all matters in order to help you preserve your mental stability. You also have trustful information in order to understand your reality or predict your future.

For example, when you have dreams about traveling in a ship, this means that you have to pass through a long period of studies and research. A dream about traveling by ship is preparing you for a long journey. You have a lot to learn.

The meaning of the trip by airplane is totally different. It doesn't mean that you will faster attain your goals. When you are traveling by plane in dreams this means that you have attained a higher level of knowledge, after abandoning your old ideas. The airplane reflects your psychological evolution.

You have to learn the meaning of the most important dream symbols in order to translate the meaning of dreams. These symbols were discovered by Carl Jung and by me, who continued his research and completed his mission. You also have to learn the dream logic.

After learning the basic lessons about the meaning of dreams and about how to use this knowledge in your daily life, you will have a powerful tool guiding you all the time. Your own dreams will give you fresh and trustful information about everything that is important for you.

Through dream translation you will learn how to deal with life. The unconscious mind will prepare you to face all life challenges with wisdom and at the same time, positively transform your personality.

This means that your dreams are more important than the false news you read in newspapers. All dreams contain important messages that protect your peace of mind and your mental health.

The unconscious lessons help you achieve your goals based on the laws that predetermine the functioning of our planet. You have to learn how to find solutions based on real situations. This is why the unconscious mind shows you many truths you ignore in dream messages.

Therefore, even though most people believe that dreams are unimportant and that you must make your decisions based on your conscience, the truth is the opposite. The unconscious mind possesses undoubtable wisdom, while you are an under-developed primate who is constantly influenced by your wild nature. Your dreams are more important than your ignorant conclusions.

You need guidance if you want to avoid repeating common mistakes made by the human race. You need information about everything that you ignore.

If you want to really understand the meaning of life, you must be humble and admit your ignorance.

If you are proud of yourself and you believe that you already know the most important aspects of the human life, you are very far from wisdom. I advise you to study the dream language for a while. I greatly simplified the complicated method of dream interpretation discovered by Carl Jung, clarifying all the obscure points in his work.

You will be surprised with all the knowledge you'll acquire thanks to dream translation. You will understand that this knowledge is real because it will fit with various aspects of your reality. You will observe that the unconscious mind knows things about you that you have never told anyone, even to your best friends. Thus, you will be convinced of the fact that your dreams really show you everything you need to know about all matters.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung's research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.
Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com/

Click Here to download a Free Sample of the eBook Dream Interpretation as a Science (86 pages!).

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A Different Dimension Behind Dreams

psychology studies

Through dream translation according to the scientific method you find explanations for the meaning of life and for the meaning of death. You also understand how to cure a mental illness, or how to prevent a mental illness before becoming mentally ill. You also understand that evilness and craziness are synonyms.

Therefore, the religious mystery of all religions is scientifically explained in dreams. The unconscious mind that produces your dreams is God's mind. God is saintly and wise as described by all religions of the world. Now that Jung's discoveries and my discoveries help you completely decipher the symbolic meaning of all dream images, you can have a direct communication with God.

Today you can have a special knowledge that various past civilizations that believed in the importance of our spiritual reality had. At the same time, you can have many scientific explanations about the functioning of your brain. The interpretation of the meaning of dreams gives you numerous alternatives.

You are probably impressed with the technological progress of our civilization. You certainly believe that our knowledge surpasses the knowledge of previous civilizations. However, the truth is that the wisdom of ancient civilizations that paid attention to the meaning of dreams could help them more than the technological progress of our historical time can help us today.

The knowledge of the world is related to your material reality, while the most important matters of the human life don't belong to the material dimension. You must pay special attention to the different dimension existent in dreams.

Your dreams are not only images and scenes that work like psychotherapy. They give you information about things that you could never learn otherwise.

For example, dreams about dead people give you information about the people you lost, especially if you loved them and you cannot accept their death. However, you have objective information about dead people in dreams only when these people are very important for you.

Dead people in dreams usually have a symbolic meaning. They represent parts of your own personality that have a negative or positive meaning, depending on the characteristics of the personality of the dead person who appears in a dream.

Dead people in your dreams cannot serve as an example to be avoided or to be followed. Your behavior already is like their behavior.

In other words, they are not dead parts of your personality, but parts that characterize your behavior because you didn't pay attention to their mistakes, in case they are negative. The example of the dead people couldn't help you avoid repeating their mistakes. If they are positive, this means that you are imitating their positive behavior because you admire their qualities.

This double dimension in dreams gives them a power that you cannot find in any technological creation. Your dreams create a bridge that unites you with God, and at the same time, they cure your mental disorders and physical diseases. Dream therapy works like alternative medicine, the same way it works like psychotherapy.

Your physical health depends on your mental health. Everything in your life is related to your mental health because your psychological and spiritual transformation is your mission in life. You also have the moral obligation to help the world find peace and happiness. Your sensibility and your sensitivity must help the world find solutions to all problems.

Today you can understand the scientific explanations to all mysteries related to the functioning of the human brain thanks to dream translation. These explanations prove that sound mental health depends on sensitivity and goodness. The same scientific explanations help you find explanations for all the mysteries contained in the religions of the world.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung's research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.

Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com/

Click Here to download a Free Sample of the eBook Dream Interpretation as a Science (86 pages!).

online psychology course degree in psychology

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