Posts by Shawna Freshwater, PhD
Eliminate Self-Defeating Behaviors
Eliminate Self-Defeating Behaviors Promote Healthy Life Giving Behaviors Using Your Personality Strengths What Are Self-Defeating Behaviors Self-defeating behaviors are on-going unhealthy negative patterns of behaviors such as the following: stress reactions, negative binge thinking, smoking, self-medicating, substance abuse, poor nutrition, overweight, inactive lifestyle, emotional eating, poor sleep hygiene, toxic relationships, co-dependency, anger, perfectionism, Type A…
Read MoreStress and Risk for Autoimmune Diseases
Stress and Risk for Autoimmune Diseases: Long-term psychological stress can deteriorate multiple bodily systems. Stress hormone levels are elevated and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) becomes dysregulated resulting in impairment of immune system functioning. Stress can lead to increased autoimmune disease activity and trigger exacerbations of autoimmune diseases or make individuals more prone to acquiring…
Read MoreSocial Rejection Hurts. Mindfulness Therapy Helps
Social Rejection Hurts Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps. Brain activation changes. Reduced Social Distress and Social Anxiety. Social rejection can have a myriad of negative outcomes. Social rejection, exclusion, and isolation affects a person’s emotional, mental, and physical health as well as their interpersonal relationships. Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MCBT) Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MCBT)…
Read MoreTherapy for Depression. How does it Help ?
How Does Psychotherapy Help Those with Depression? There are several scientifically proven approaches to therapy for depression that help people recover. These include cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, and psychodynamic. Psychotherapy for depression offers people the opportunity to identify the factors that contribute to their depression and to deal effectively with the psychological, behavioral, cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, and…
Read MoreThe Worst Thing about Depression: a Simple Explanation for Family and Friends
What It Feels Like to Be Depressed What is the worst thing about being depressed? You feel Broken, Hopeless, and Alone. Even if you have people in your life who would support you, you feel like you can’t open up to them. They wouldn’t understand anyway. So you withdraw from everyone. Negative thoughts replay in…
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