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Book: The Anxiety and Worry Workbook

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Book Title:

The Anxiety and Worry Workbook: The Cognitive Behavioural Solution.

Author(s): David A. Clark and Aaron T. Beck.

Year: 2011.

Edition: First (1st), Illustrated Edition.

Publisher: The Guildford Press.

Type(s): Paperback and Kindle.

Synopsis:

If you are seeking lasting relief from out-of-control anxiety, this is the book for you. It is grounded in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), the proven treatment approach developed and tested over more than 25 years by pioneering clinician-researcher Aaron T. Beck.

Now Dr. Beck and fellow CBT expert David A. Clark put the tools and techniques of CBT at your fingertips in this compassionate guide. Carefully crafted worksheets (you can download and print additional copies as needed), exercises, and examples reflect the authors’ decades of experience helping people just like you.

Learn practical strategies for identifying your anxiety triggers, challenging the thoughts and beliefs that lead to distress, safely facing the situations you fear, and truly loosening anxiety’s grip – one manageable step at a time.

Book: The Art Of Resilience

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Book Title:

The Art Of Resilience – Strategies For An Unbreakable Mind And Body.

Author(s): Ross Edgley.

Year: 2020.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Harper Collins.

Type(s): Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Bestselling author and award-winning adventurer Ross Edgley has been studying the art of resilience for years, applying all he has learned to become the first person in history to swim around Great Britain, breaking multiple world records. Now Ross focuses on mental strength, stoicism and the training needed to create an unbreakable body.

Ross Edgley famously ran a marathon pulling a 1.4-tonne car and climbed a rope the height of Everest (8,848m), after living with Yamabushi warrior monks in Japan and partaking in Shamanic pain rituals with fire ants in the Amazon jungle. On his epic 1,780-mile journey around Great Britain, which lasted 157 days, Ross swam through giant jellyfish, arctic storms, ‘haunted’ whirlpools and polluted shipping lanes, going so hard, and so fast, his tongue fell apart.

Ross’s previous book, The World’s Fittest Book, was a Sunday Times bestseller and explored the science of physical fitness. Now, in The Art of Resilience, Ross uses his swim experience and other amazing endurance feats, where he managed to overcome seemingly insurmountable pain, hardship and adversity, to study the performance of extreme athletes, military and fitness specialists and psychologists to uncover the secrets of mental fitness and explore the concept of resilience, persistence, valour and a disciplined mindset in overcoming adversity.

This ground-breaking book represents a paradigm shift in what we thought the human body and mind were capable of and will give you a blueprint to become a tougher, more resilient and ultimately better human – whatever the challenge you face.

Book: Anxiety Free – Unravel Your Fears Before They Unravel You

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Book Title:

Anxiety Free – Unravel Your Fears Before They Unravel You.

Author(s): Robert L. Leahy, PhD.

Year: 2009.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Hay House UK.

Type(s): Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Dr. Robert L. Leahy’s techniques to treat negativity and improve mental health have been proven easy, effective and popular by many people worldwide, while his books have been translated into eleven languages and are a valuable source used throughout the world in training other behavioural therapists.

His latest book Anxiety Free presents his simple and powerful techniques for coping with anxiety and worry in a straightforward and engaging manner, and can help you overcome your fear and doubt – permanently.

Are Lifestyle Factors Advantageous as First-Line Interventions in Mental Health?

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Research Paper Title

The Effect of Exercise on Mental Health: A Focus on Inflammatory Mechanisms.

Background

A growing body of research suggests that neuropsychiatric disorders are closely associated with a background state of chronic, low-grade inflammation.

This insight highlights that these disorders are not just localised to dysfunction within the brain, but also have a systemic aspect, which accounts for the frequent comorbid presentation of chronic inflammatory conditions and metabolic syndromes.

It is possible that a treatment resistant subgroup of neuropsychiatric patients may benefit from treatment regimens that target their associated proinflammatory state.

Lifestyle factors such as physical activity (PA) and exercise (i.e. structured PA) are known to influence mental health. In turn, mental disorders may limit health-seeking behaviours – a proposed “bidirectional relationship” that perpetuates psychopathology. PA is renowned for its positive physical, physiological and mental health benefits.

Evidence now points to inflammatory pathways as a potential mechanism for PA in improving mental illness. Relevant pathways include:

  • Modulation of immune-neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter systems;
  • The production of tissue-derived immunological factors that alter the inflammatory milieu; and
  • Neurotrophins that are critical mediators of neuroplasticity.

Methods

In this paper, the researchers focus on the role of PA in positively improving mental health through potential modulation of chronic inflammation, which is often found in individuals with mental disorders.

In a related paper by Edirappuli and colleagues (2020), they will focus on the role of nutrition (another significant lifestyle factor) on mental health.

Results

Thus, inflammation appears to be a central process underlying mental illness, which may be mitigated by lifestyle modifications.

Conclusions

Lifestyle factors are advantageous as first-line interventions due to their cost efficacy, low side-effect profile, and both preventative and therapeutic attributes.

By promoting these lifestyle modifications and addressing their limitations and barriers to their adoption, it is hoped that their preventative and remedial benefits may galvanize therapeutic progress for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Reference

Venkatesh, A., Edirappuli, S.D., Zaman, H.P. & Zaman, R. (2020) The Effect of Exercise on Mental Health: A Focus on Inflammatory Mechanisms. Psychiatira Danubina. 32(Suppl 1), pp.105-113.

On This Day … 13 September

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Events

  • 1848 – Vermont railroad worker Phineas Gage survives an iron rod 1 1⁄4 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter being driven through his brain; the reported effects on his behaviour and personality stimulate discussion of the nature of the brain and its functions.

People (Deaths)

  • 1999 – Benjamin Bloom, American psychologist and academic (b. 1913).

National Day of Encouragement

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Introduction

The National Day of Encouragement in the United States was announced in 2007 and occurs each year on 12 September.

The first proclamation for the Day of Encouragement was made by Mayor Belinda LaForce of Searcy, Arkansas on 22 August 2007. In September Mike Beebe, the Governor of Arkansas, signed a proclamation making 12 September 2007 the “State Day of Encouragement” for Arkansas.

Later, President George W. Bush also signed a message making 12 September the official “National Day of Encouragement.”

The Encouragement Foundation is making plans to get more states involved in the National Day of Encouragement in the future.

What is the Purpose of the Day?

The National Day of Encouragement is a day meant to remind us that encouragement matters.

Brief History

It all started when a group of high school students attending a leadership forum were asked to come up with a solution to the biggest problem that faced young people in their day.

  • The problem: a lack of encouragement.
  • The solution: 12 September.

The National Day of Encouragement is a day dedicated to uplifting those around us and making a positive impact, no matter the magnitude.

Book: The Age of Addiction – How Bad Habits Became Big Business

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Book Title:

The Age of Addiction – How Bad Habits Became Big Business.

Author(s): David T. Courtwright.

Year: 2019.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Harvard University Press..

Type(s): Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, and Kindle.

Synopsis:

We live in an age of addiction, from compulsive gaming and shopping to binge eating and opioid abuse.

Sugar can be as habit-forming as cocaine, researchers tell us, and social media apps are deliberately hooking our kids.

But what can we do to resist temptations that insidiously rewire our brains? A renowned expert on addiction, David Courtwright reveals how global enterprises have both created and catered to our addictions.

The Age of Addiction chronicles the triumph of what he calls “limbic capitalism,” the growing network of competitive businesses targeting the brain pathways responsible for feeling, motivation, and long-term memory.

Book: The ACT Workbook for Depression and Shame

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Book Title:

The ACT Workbook for Depression and Shame: Overcome Thoughts of Defectiveness and Increase Well-Being Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Author(s): Matthew McKay, PhD, Michael Jason Greenberg, PsyD, and Patrick Fanning.

Year: 2020.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications, Workbook Edition.

Type(s): Paperback and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Conquer your self-defeating beliefs and create a more fulfilling life!

Do you feel like you are broken? Are you depressed because you believe that you are somehow defective, unwanted, or inferior? Do you feel self-conscious and insecure, constantly comparing yourself to others? Are you sensitive to criticism, or terrified of rejection?

Feeling flawed and inadequate often stems from negative childhood experiences. If you grew up in a highly critical environment, you might feel unworthy of being loved, or have a deep sense of shame about your perceived defects. You may tell yourself there is something inherently wrong with you that prevents you from forming satisfying relationships, finding happiness, and succeeding in life. So, how can free yourself from the self-defeating beliefs that keep you trapped in the depths of depression?

Grounded in evidence-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), this workbook will give you the tools to identify and dismiss your core beliefs of personal defectiveness, and build a life based on positive choices and values that bring vitality and a sense of personal fulfillment. You will discover ways to develop psychological flexibility, freeing yourself from old habits and unhealthy coping mechanisms, and alleviating symptoms of depression. Finally, you’will learn to see yourself in all your wonderful complexity, with kindness and compassion.

The truth is you are not broken, and painful memories of the past do not have to dictate your future. If you are ready to heal and treat yourself to the care and compassion you deserve, this book will show you how.

Book: The ACOA Trauma Syndrome

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Book Title:

The ACOA Trauma Syndrome: The The Impact of Childhood Pain on Adult Relationships.

Author(s): Tian Dayton.

Year: 2012.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Health Communications.

Type(s): Paperback and Audiobook.

Synopsis:

The ACoA syndrome is a post-traumatic stress reaction in which pain from the stress of growing up with parental addiction emerges years even decades later in adult relationships.

Adult Children of Alcoholics suffer from a post-traumatic stress created by their dysfunctional family situations.

Through insightful analysis and thoughtful examination, bestselling author and renowned psychologist Tian Dayton shows ACoAs how and why this family trauma has such a profound effect on adult relationships and provides the tools for marshalling resilience and restoring health and happiness.

Dr. Dayton explores how our brains and bodies process childhood trauma and how those traumas can become the catalyst for unhealthy, self-medicating behaviours including drug and alcohol abuse, food issues, and sex, gambling, and shopping addictions.

Readers who have experienced previous trauma will learn how they developed PTSD and how they can heal both personally and interpersonally.

Book: Abnormal Psychology

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Book Title:

Abnormal Pyschology.

Author(s): Ronald J. Comer and Jonathan S. Comer.

Year: 2018.

Edition: Tenth (10th).

Publisher: Worth Publihsers.

Type(s): Hardback.

Synopsis:

Taking a look at the field of abnormal psychology, including major theoretical models of abnormality, research directions, clinical experiences, therapies and controversies, this book covers personality disorders, the psychodynamic perspective, neuroscience, the ’empirically-based treatment’ movement, and more.