Why is it that some people can easily ask for support when others struggle acknowledging the need for others? There may be countless underlying factors that contribute to this trait, and some may be the following:
Read moreSome Writings on Creativity
Re: How Our Brains Work Creatively | Bell Beth Cooper
I am a new fan of her writing! She succinctly supports her writing with neuroscience findings, and I agree with the discrepancy of being a right-brained or left-brained person. There is no distinct brain hemisphere correlations to creative or logical behaviors; however, I think describing behaviors as left or right-brained can help facilitate intentional neural rewiring.
Read more5 Love Languages: What's Yours?
My partner is not a person of many words (INFJ <3). Today though, he said something that made me feel very appreciated and special. He said, "I choose to be with you." It made me smile the biggest smile, and I felt warm all over. Those were his words, and in my mind I thought:
Read moreMy Wish for You
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
8 Ways to Promote Language in Young Children
I am an advocate of shaping the whole child, which includes the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical parts of a little person. I encourage the parents I work with, especially those in lower income situations, to promote language acquisition of their children as much as possible. There are countless studies indicating how important it is to develop a child's language the first few years of life. It is that crucial to the academic and internal success for a child's lifetime.
Read moreRe: 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!
L to R: Rachel Liptak, Audrey Milburn, Nancy Flores, Ashley Hahn, Michelle Dastmalchi, Kaylin Zabienski, Me
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.
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