This year is coming to a close. Many of us give ourselves permission to start fresh once the new year begins. For those of you who seek a new beginning, I hope the journey is accompanied with love and encouragement. For each person (and myself!), I wish many things for the upcoming year:
Read moreIllusory Truth & Family Systems
An unhappy fact about human psychology is probably at work here, which makes it hard to abolish lies once they have escaped into the world: We seem to be predisposed to remember statements as true even after they have been disconfirmed. For instance, if a rumor spreads that a famous politician once fainted during a campaign speech, and the story is later revealed to be false, some significant percentage of people will recall it as true--even if they were first exposed to it in the very context of its debunking. In psychology, this is known as the "illusory truth effect." Familiarity breeds credence.
Sam Harris, Lying, p.38Read more
Re: It's Not About The Nail
"Don't try to fix it. I just need you to listen." Every man has heard these words. And they are the law of the land. No matter what.
Read moreCommon Signs of a Stress Response
I'm attending a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) group training, and found some worksheets very beneficial. The breakdown of symptoms or reactions to acute stress can help individuals understand how differently people can respond to a traumatic event. I just wanted to share the PDF here:
Read moreObservations of a Model Minority, 2013
I've spent my life socialized as an Asian-American female, with all its high-expectation stereotypes and perks of being viewed as being agreeable and submissive in group settings. While slowly unraveling parts of these imposed traits and keeping qualities that are truly my own, I have discovered a distinctly diametrical reality for those who are not the model minority. I will preface this post with a disclaimer: I know these experiences will not be the standard for all of an ethnic group, but I feel compelled to compare the different realities I've observed when being a model minority, and when being in association with black Americans.
Read moreCreative People & Graduation!
I enjoy creative people. Creativity can manifest itself in many forms--I think the more creative a person is, the more malleable his or her identity seems to become. It's like possibilities become greater with the openness to divergent thinking. And divergent thinking is pretty neat to me. I just graduated from my Masters of Arts in Clinical Psychology program, specializing in Marriage and Family Therapy today, and one concept that has resonated with me for some time is about promoting thinking as opposed to doing.
Read moreGroup Loyalty in a Culture that Celebrates Individuality
My growing up in collectivist cultures in Southern California has offered some insight into the identity formation for many Asian American females. The individualist, capitalist culture of this country may cause conflict for many collectivist people as they transition into adulthood. It's a concept many professionals may confuse as unhealthy boundaries or enmeshment within one's family system, but when working with each person in therapy, a new culture and definition of normal must be explored.
Read moreA Personal Reminder:
I was on FaceBook and saw a post about a gorgeous singer who admitted to believing she was ugly and undesirable as a young adult. She looked back at past images and realized how attractive she's always been, and discovered how detrimental negative thoughts can be. These damaging thoughts repeated in her mind for decades, yet outsiders would never have thought that she could feel so dark and lonely on the inside.
Read moreMental Illness: What is it to you?
If someone asked you what mental illness was to you, what would you say? How would you answer such a question? To be asked has so many implications. Does the person think you have a mental illness? Do you even feel comfortable or informed enough to answer correctly? If someone asked me right now, I would hope the following words could help give mental illnes, mental wellness, some substance or an image to understand.
Read morethe Hippo Went Across the Campus to the Library
The hippocampus is a structure in the brain that is shaped like a seahorse. Learning and memory formation occurs in the hippocampus (memories are stored everywhere, but the hippocampus plays a major role in memory formation)--past studies with mice have indicated how stress can inhibit this process.
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