Psychology Articles

Social anxiety is exhibited by people who are painfully shy and overwhelmed by worry in social situations. Treatment for it is important; you need to eliminate the anxiety in order to have a normal social life and to enhance the quality of your overall life.

If you experience social anxiety, you probably are fearful of being judged critically by others and feeling humiliated, embarrassed or rejected. When you are in a social situation with people you value highly, but don’t know, you probably experience symptoms, such as heart palpitations, hyper-scanning of the environment, self-doubt, over-thinking or even excessive sweating.

Social anxiety disorder is pervasive but it is treatable with counseling, psychotherapy and some medications. Cognitive therapy which re-structures your thought processes is highly effective.

It is important to engage in treatment to enhance the quality of your overall life and the lives of those close to you. Social anxiety disorder usually features persistent, intense and chronic anxiety fueled by the fear of being criticized, shamed or humiliated by anyone you socially value.

These anxieties may have been intensified because of the previous judgmental, insulting or humiliating behavior of others. While engaged in anxiety-laden social interactions, you may know intellectually, that there is no legitimate or realistic reason to feel such anxiety, but often, without treatment, that does little to help.

Generally, men are more predisposed to experience social anxiety than are women. It has been hypothesized that this is because, in our society, men have the primary role of being the initiator of interaction with strangers they would like to know.

Consequently, males search more frequently for treatment for social anxiety than do females. Social anxiety disorder is very common, though males, in particular are loathe to admit it.

Countless men continually struggle with their fears, particularly when in bars or at parties. Social anxiety is hypothesized to be a strong motivator for the tendency of college students to get drunk before or during their parties.

Those with social anxiety often, also, feel apprehensive in performance-based situations; this is called performance anxiety. Their anxiety about being embarrassed, criticized or negatively evaluated is generalized to any spectators who may be present.

The more severe cases of performance anxiety are even generalized to sexual situations where the male becomes anxious about performing well. This sometimes leads him to problems with premature ejaculation or impotence.

Some also see the fear of public speaking as related to both social and performance anxiety. After all, the fear of embarrassment or criticism is central to both.

As stated previously, psychological counseling and medication such as, antidepressants can reduce any combined anxiety and depression that may result. It is also hypothesized that specialized counseling utilizing cognitive behavioral methods may be particularly effective for the longer-term treatment of social anxiety.

For those with less intense fear in social situations, therapy may only need to be short-term. However, for those whose anxieties are pervasive, persistent and overwhelming, long term therapy including both cognitive behavioral techniques and medication, is optimal.

What should you do?

First, seek professional help. This usually involves:

1. Individual counseling or psychotherapy. The purpose of counseling is to understand yourself and your situation clearer.

You get objective feedback, support and guidance from a professional with experience in treating anxiety.

2. Group therapy. Attending therapy in a group setting desensitizes you to your anxiety and teaches you how to communicate better in an environment which is, itself, social.

You get objective feedback, support and guidance, not only from a professional, but also from your peers who are experiencing problems similar to yours. Money should not deter you because both types of counseling can be received from private practitioners and non-profit sliding scale community agencies.

3. Cognitive therapy-oriented self-therapy kits (STKs), articles and books.

If going to counseling seems initially like too big a step, reading articles and books, attending seminars and using cognitive therapy-oriented self-therapy (STKs), also known as “home therapy kits” can help. STKs are self-help programs that use cognitive therapy to tutor you, step-by-step on how to deal with your social anxiety.

As opposed to books and articles, they teach assertive social skills using cognitive therapy in a multimedia format: CDs, DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, audios, videos etc. Cognitive-behavioral tutoring on how to respond assertively in social settings can be very helpful.

In short, combined therapy, utilizing cognitively-oriented individual therapy, group therapy and medication is the treatment for social anxiety disorder that provides the best chances of success.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the Univ. of Southern Calif. He is an expert counselor in Cary, Il with 30 years experience. He provides home therapy kits for social anxiety that he uses with his own patients. They are guaranteed to eliminate your social anxiety and shyness quickly or you get a full, no-strings attached, unconditional refund. Start your new life now; learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

It takes students on a journey through the human mind. Intro to Psychology often looks at human behavior, memory, dreams, personality and intelligence. Students in this course are likely also to learn about abnormal behavior, perhaps even sexual attraction.

In an Intro to Psychology course, students might learn the role that genetics and outside influences have in shaping the mind. They might, as a result, come to understand why people behave differently. Students might also come to understand how, through psychotherapy, psychologists come to better understand and help their patients.

There are different approaches to psychotherapy that students in Intro courses might learn about. Students might come to understand a form of psychotherapy that involves focusing on reward and punishment, positive associations and “desensitizing.” They might also learn more about a form of psychotherapy where attempts to change negative thoughts, feelings and behaviors are made by gaining a better understanding of what might be causing that negativity.

Another approach to psychotherapy that might be addressed in an Intro to Psychology course is getting patients to change the way they think in order to change the way they feel and behave. Another form of psychotherapy involves helping people to make intelligent choices that lead them to become the best person that they can be.

Psychology is said to have been founded in the 1870s by William (“The Principles of Psychology”) James and Wilhelm (” Principles of Physiological Psychology”) Wundt. They were involved early on in experimental psychology, and they taught the likes of Ivan Pavlov, Granville Stanley Hall and Russ Dewey. Of course, students in Intro to Psychology are likely also to be introduced to Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. B.F. Skinner of “Skinner box” behavioral conditioning notoriety, and Kurt Lewin, founder of modern social psychology, might also be introduced in Intro courses.

Many Intro to Psychology courses explore how personalities develop in children, how and why people are different in terms of thoughts and emotions. These courses also explore different theories related to dreams, what they mean and why they might exist. A few of these theories, Intro students might learn, include the ability to preserve sleep through the experience of hallucination, the ability to develop our personalities and solve problems.

In Intro to Psychology courses, students also are likely to learn the difference between normal and abnormal behavior. They might gain a better understanding of how professionals determine whether patients are afflicted with disorders such as depression or anxiety. As a result, students in Intro courses are likely to learn what the symptoms of these and other disorders are.

Intro to Psychology introduces students to what scientists so far understand about people’s behaviors. The course provides a broad overview that might help students begin to better understand others as well. Some students might find that their interest in psychology is piqued enough that they decide to minor in the subject or venture into the human mind even farther, perhaps by pursuing a degree and career in psychology. Test Drive College offers free psychology courses for students interested in studying psychology. http://www.testdrivecollege.com/ also may be found through Test Drive College.

As a practicing psychotherapist in Cary and Crystal Lake, IL, I have seen all kinds of approaches to the treatment of anxiety come and go.

However, to date, CBT is the best! Research has demonstrated that cognitive behavioral therapy, or, CBT can produce dramatic results in reducing your anxiety.

It works by combining effective mood-enhancing interventions with new cutting-edge techniques that have yielded impressive results. CBT improves your thinking and your ability to accurately assess troubling issues.

Your nervous system then starts to view conflicts calmly and more realistically, rather than in an extreme, panicky or catastrophic way. This dramatically reduces your stress, and helps to improve your sleep and appetite hygiene.

Though few people are privy to it, CBT can be delivered to you, using self-help educational programs, called Self-Therapy Kits, or STKs. When using STKs, CBTs proven interventions are delivered in a multimedia format, which may include any or all of the following: DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, videos etc.

STKs are self-paced, inexpensive and can be used anytime in the comfort of your own home. They teach you how to relieve and cope with your anxieties and frustrations independently.

You can use them anytime at your convenience. You do not have to spill your guts to any strangers or expose yourself to the sometimes dangerous side-effects of medication.

It takes only a few days for them to begin working and the results can be dramatic. They are ideal therapeutic educational tools for people who have particularly private personalities or severe time constraints.

Since you use them in the privacy of your home, using them is like having your own private therapist at your personal disposal. These programs are particularly helpful if you have limited financial resources; they typically cost a one-time fee of anywhere from $9 to $100 or so, and the fee is only a one-time event.

It is not a recurring fee you would have to pay for a private counselor. STKs can be easily located by using an internet search engine.

Are there any drawbacks?

There are two drawbacks to using STKs:

1. They do not address crisis situations as they arise in your life, as would a therapist;

2. STKs are not reimbursable by health insurance policies; and,

What about Crisis Situations?

If you have an unfortunate pattern of being in crisis (for example, feeling suicidal or homicidal) you are not an ideal candidate for using STKs. They are educational tools and are not able to provide the type of immediate attention required in a life-threatening situation.

Crises can only be addressed with a professional counselor who can respond to your needs in real time.

Insurance Coverage:

Insurance companies do not reimburse for educational materials, such as multi-media self-therapy kits (STKs). Therefore, you pay out of your own pocket, but at rates that are dramatically lower than full-fee face-to-face counseling.

As stated previously, these programs are particularly helpful if you have limited financial resources because they typically cost a one-time fee of only $9 to $100 or so, the fee is only a one-time event and you can get your money back if you are not satisfied. The fee is not recurring like the fee for a private counselor and the unconditional guarantee eliminates any risk to you.

Conclusion

When you use an STK, you can be totally honest in your studies, exercises and responses because you do not have to deal with the judgments of another person, as you do in in-person counseling. While it is in your best interest to be honest with a therapist, you may not always do so, particularly when a very sensitive or embarrassing topic arises.

In fact, many people tell stories to their therapists until they feel confident enough to tell the truth. Critically judging you or the facts you present is not helpful when done injudiciously by your counselor, but the concepts about overcoming anxiety presented dispassionately through an STK can guide you judgment-free toward better mental health with no embarrassment.

People who are embarrassed to talk to a professional counselor or who are not able to express themselves easily are particularly attracted to STKs. There are times when a person starts in-office counseling and, after the first visit, chooses to switch to one.

The reason generally given for switching to an STK is a desire for a self-paced experience where they can be in control of how and when they work on things. Some people are simply more comfortable working on their own, in their own environment, and STKs provide an ideal alternative for them.

They are a therapeutic educational modality that help people improve the quality of their emotional life without having to confide in a stranger or take drugs. This form of therapy is very flexible and allows the client to work on alleviating his symptoms, anytime, day or night.

The benefits of using STKs are convenience, confidentiality and an enhanced quality of mental health for those who are on the move, time-restricted, shy or too withdrawn to talk privately to a professional therapist.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the University of Southern Calif. He is a board-certified counselor and is an author with over 30 years experience. He provides groundbreaking Self-Therapy Kits (STKs) that he uses with his own patients. They are guaranteed to eliminate anxiety, anger and agitation; if not satisfied, you get a no-strings attached, unconditional refund. Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

Sudden fits of anger and violent outbursts are some of the symptoms of Intermittent Explosive Disorder. If they sound familiar to you, be sure to keep reading.

People who manifest IED are normal most of the time, but they also have scary episodes when they erupt with sudden and unpredictable displays of rage. When this occurs, they behave in ways that normally would mortify them.

For example, they might break anything that is immediately available or even set things on fire. They also may harm someone or even try to harm themselves.

Some of us react to frustrations normally, while others react to the very same things violently. This would suggest that there is a behavioral dysfunction in those who react so disproportionately to the original trigger.

This is called Intermittent Explosive Disorder and it may even afflict a person without he or she even being aware of it. It can be hard to understand because when there is no provocation, these patients appear normal and even charming.

However, when a stimulus presents itself, the extreme and abnormal display of rage can be terrifying. In fact, people who suffer from IED seem to manifest such an altered state that, under ordinary circumstances, they appear unaware of the pathological intensity of their behavior or the serious risks it entails.

What causes Intermittent Explosive Disorder? Research seems to suggest that children reared in family settings in which the parents frequently and bitterly argue are likely to express their anger violently and inappropriately, as adults.

Also, poverty-stricken families tend to have a disproportionate share of kids that grow-up to have IED. This could be the result of a family under such stress and experiencing such frustration that dysfunctional displays of anger are more likely to take place.

Also, poverty-stricken kids are more likely to compare themselves unfavorably with others, leading to more dissatisfaction and frustration. Even though none of these factors guarantees the spawning of IED, they make its manifestation more likely.

Other influences on the possible spawning of IED include a possible genetic propensity. Also, watching violent movies and playing violent video games could be additional causal factors for the spawning of IED.

How can you detect the existence of Intermittent Explosive Disorder? Think about your most recent angry episode and answer the following questions.

If the answers to many of them are ‘yes’, then it is more likely that you have IED:

1. Did you feel almost as though an entity within you was compelling you to react with hostility or the causing of harm? Some people report the propensity within themselves to fight is extremely compelling. Their own emotions become so strong that they have a compelling or “involuntary” type of quality to them.

2. Did you feel your anger as a wave? Did you experience it as a feeling or set of sensations boiling within you that you wanted to quickly expel or force-out?

3. Were you normal just prior to the sudden and extreme rage overwhelmed you? Did it erupt suddenly?

4. Is the person with you during your sudden episode of rage frightened? IED patients often trigger terror in those who witness their outbursts.

5. Did you experience regret or remorse after your IED episode? Most IED patients feel great remorse after the fact.

If you have some of these symptoms, it is important that you get some kind of help before things get way out of hand!

This usually involves:

1. Individual counseling or psychotherapy. The purpose of counseling is to understand yourself better and get objective feedback, support and guidance from a professional with experience in treating IED.

2. Marriage counseling related to IED. You and your partner learn how to mitigate the dire impact that IED has had on your partner or kids. You also learn how to communicate better and problem-solve effectively.

Abusive IED communication and anger management versus healthy dialogue and interaction is discussed. You and your partner, together, get objective feedback, support and guidance from a professional experienced in treating IED’s impact on relationships.

Importantly, both types of counseling can be received from private practitioners and non-profit community agencies.

3. Self-therapy kits (STKs), articles and books -If going to counseling seems initially like too big a step, reading articles and books, attending seminars and using self-therapy kits (STKs) can be helpful. STKs are self-help programs that tutor you, step-by-step on how to deal with your abusive anger.

As opposed to books and articles, they teach these skills using a multimedia format: CDs, DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, audios, videos etc.

Important Caveat: If your behavior is dangerous, your first step should be personally consulting with a professional!

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the Univ. of Southern Calif. He is a counselor in Cary, IL with 30 years experience. He provides anger self-help programs to treat rage and IED. He prescribes them to his own anger and IED patients. They are guaranteed to diminish anger and the symptoms of IED while at home or you get a no-strings attached, unconditional refund! Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

As a board-certified counselor practicing in Cary and Crystal Lake, IL, I have treated many patients for depression. Treatment for depression used to have good results.

30 or 40 years ago, if you came to a therapist with symptoms of depression, he could reliably tell you that the odds that you would soon get better were solidly on your side. He would most likely assure you that most episodes of depression run their course, benefit from counseling and end with total recovery, without drug treatment of any kind.

However, in the last several decades something changed in the field of diagnosing and treating depression that has led to a 600 percent increase in patients collecting Social Security disability because of psychiatric illness! There is no question that the contemporary approach to treating psychological problems is the use of drugs.

Between 1974 and today, the outlook for treating depression went from being a positive one to one that sometimes afflicts the patient for life. Why?

It’s because of the “anxiety-depression medication myth.” The myth has ballooned out of proportion to any reality because of the power of modern marketing.

Notice the commercials on TV and what do you see? The ads shape and condition your belief that this or that medication will make you better.

The harm is especially great if you happen to be one of the 65% of sufferers taking antidepressant medications who are failing to improve. Various studies have demonstrated that, in many, if not most cases, these types of psychiatric medications do not work any better than a placebo and, besides that, can also run the risk of serious side effects.

These side effects can include worsening the very mental disorder for which you originally started treatment! If you do not believe me, just look at the warning labels for these drugs on the internet.

They will make your blood curdle. Some experts assert that drug companies have even omitted disclosure of drug trial results when they showed no effects or negative effects.

However, many people are aware of the most common antidepressant side effects because they are so prevalent, including, sexual dysfunction and insomnia. Remember the TV; some of the negative side effects are mentioned in the ads but are done so, so rapidly you do not really notice them.

Also, some of the worst side effects, like significant weight gain and increased lipid and glucose metabolism, can be so unpleasant and troubling that patients taking these drugs often just quit taking them on their own!

A 2005 study mentioned in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 74 percent of patients suffering from schizophrenia quit taking their medication either because it did not work; or because the side effects became unacceptable. Another dangerous problem that affects too many sufferers is the potent addictive potential of the anti-anxiety medications.

Perhaps the worst side effect of all is that you can acquire additional emotional problems or even a more severe form of psychological illness than that with which you started! That’s right, thorough research on this serious subject suggests that after a possible initial alleviation of symptoms, antidepressant drug patients often, subsequently, spiral downward into a chronic phase of dismal long-term depression.

If side effects create additional symptoms or contribute to the acquisition of a more serious illness, you may need to take a new drug that may create even more serious problems. The little known and little discussed effect of these drugs is that sometimes they can actually cause more of the problems they were designed to treat.

This often hidden effect needs much more discussion and exposure to start eliminating the anti-depressant medication treatment myth. What type of treatment for depression and anxiety do I prefer?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a very effective treatment technique. It is based on the well-founded assumption that traumatic or troubling, conflictual situations have caused us to develop certain subconscious patterns of thinking that pathologically affect our view of ourselves, our environment and our history.

As I use cognitive therapy (CBT) with my patients, I isolate, re-structure and replace many of the pathological beliefs and cognitive patterns stuck in the background of their minds. These subconscious beliefs unknowingly to the patients, hypnotize them into feeling terrible about themselves and their situations.

After completion of CBT, the hypnosis is over! Then their symptoms can start to disappear.

During treatment, I will often direct my patient to use an STK, or self-therapy kit at home. These kits are used to reinforce the benefits gained during the consultations; they are used concurrently with the cognitive therapy.

STKs are powerful educational packages. They are designed in different formats, including MP3, CD, DVD, e-book etc.

As stated previously, they effectively re-teach and consolidate the principles of cognitive therapy learned in the therapy sessions. They use imagery, role-exercises and lifelike examples to reinforce the central core of healthy life principles and thinking patterns.

They also accelerate the speed at which ones disturbing symptoms are eliminated. Once the belief systems related to these troubling situations are isolated and replaced, patients are then free of the distorted thinking patterns that were triggered by the troubling event.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the University of Southern Calif. He is a board-certified counselor and is an author with over 30 years experience. He provides groundbreaking Self-Therapy Kits (STKs) that he uses with his own patients. They are guaranteed to eliminate anxiety, anger and agitation; if not satisfied, you get a no-strings attached, unconditional refund. Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

Almost everyone feels inadequate when things go bad. With a chronic self-esteem disorder, though, these thoughts are with you on a daily basis. They occupy the real estate in your head and entirely distort your view of who you are and your capabilities.

Cognitive therapy is a proven treatment that can defuse and even reverse those thoughts. When used for enhance your self confidence and self-esteem, cognitive therapy provides a unique set of tools that can be used to reverse your thinking processes from those of insecurity to those of self-confidence.

Over time, cognitive therapy can actually reverse the way you view yourself and the world. My experience suggests that it works better than psychiatric medications in helping those with mild to moderate feelings of inadequacy.

Treatment with cognitive psychotherapy can greatly enhance your self-confidence and reduce your feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. Cognitive therapy uses a number of tools that help you start thinking and feeling more confidently.

Cognitive Therapy for Low Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence: It Changes the Way You Think.

Cognitive therapy was originally developed as an alternative way to treat symptoms of depression. The central principle underlying its effectiveness is that thinking processes influence one’s moods.

Using this model, feelings of inadequate self-esteem and serious insecurity are produced by a process of ongoing and daily negative and pessimistic thinking. These little demons are known as automatic thoughts (ATs).

They occur to us, automatically, without any conscious effort or volition. For example, a person with a high degree of felt insecurity might have these types of automatic thoughts:

- “I never succeed at everything.”
- “I’m terrible at my job.”
- “I am doomed to fail at whatever I try.”

As in most forms of manipulation, automatic thoughts too may have a grain of truth. However, the person with low self-esteem seriously and negatively exaggerates the pervasiveness and depth of his situation which continues to fuel burgeoning feelings of inadequacy.

Cognitive therapy teaches and tutors you to identify and restructure your negative thoughts so that they become more positive and more in tune with reality. With practice, you will then be able to identify and reverse the strong but distorted beliefs fueling your low self-esteem.

The emphasis is on thinking “with perspective” or with a heightened sense of balance and objectivity. People find that when viewing things more objectively and realistically, they usually experience an enhanced sense of confidence.

Cognitive Therapy for Low Self Esteem Works this Way:

Most problems have discrete components or elements. They include:

- the conflict as is viewed by the person
- the persons specific conscious or subconscious thoughts about it
- the persons emotional feelings about it
- the persons bodily sensations
- the persons specific behaviors that took place before, during and after the conflict situation occurred

In cognitive therapy, you learn to dissect problems into their components. Once a person dissects them into their parts, problems that were previously viewed as overwhelming, become much more manageable.

During consultations, the therapist teaches you how to use cognitive therapy’s many tools. Then between consultations, you will do homework that has been assigned to help you learn how to correctly apply the cognitive therapy tools to your own issues.

The goal is to make small changes in your thinking and behavior each day. Then over time, these small adjustments lead to lasting improvement in self-confidence and self-esteem.

In addition to consulting a therapist, one way to learn and practice these cognitive skills is by using self-therapy kits (STKs). They are compact self-help programs that tutor you on how to identify and restructure negative automatic thoughts.

They teach these skills by using: CDs, DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, audios, videos etc. and are used at home and are self-paced. They provide psychological and cognitive therapy tutoring and use behavioral exercises and employ ways to monitor your progress.

Two of my most successful patients use them every day and they have improved both the pace and quality of their cognitive therapy outcomes many times over.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the University of Southern Calif. He is a certified counselor in Cary, IL and an author with over 30 years experience. He provides cutting-edge Self-Therapy Kits (STKs) that he uses with his own patients. They are guaranteed to eliminate anxiety, anger and agitation; if not satisfied, you get a no-strings attached, unconditional refund. Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

After over 10 years in studying human behaviour from the psychological and the sociological perspectives in detail I am left with only one conclusion and that is that human behaviour is not governed by the cognitive functioning domain, but human behavior is governed by the inner soul of man, which technically speaking means the Inner Interactive System of man. The main reason that we are not governed by our thinking is because each of us have the ability to choose, whatever we want unless we take away the ability to rationalize through different chemicals or drugs.

Proof of this lies in the scientific facts that we all have unique finger prints, DNA, looks, hair, voices and so many other unique features that makes evolution of a unique person impossible, especially due to the number of different molecules and atoms that have to come together; all at the same time in order to become functional. We cannot have man evolving piece by piece over millions of years. Man cannot live for more than 50 days without food and less than 6 days without water. So the whole inner system of man to come together and function holistically with some big bang theory and evolving over millions of years is totally impossible.

Lets now get back to emotions and emotional functioning. The fact that man is uniquely different makes him a very illusive creature to pin down and understand his behavior. It is fairly simple to understand the holistic make up of man scientifically and the medical sciences have proved to be fairly proficient in these areas. The illusive part of man is the way he thinks and behaves; this is most challenging to the sciences and thereby makes it totally impossible to create a social norm or a normal individual.

Behavior and the expression thereof is totally different in every single individual. To be able to rationalize human behavior, we need to look at the holistic person; as every individuals finger print, DNA, looks etc are all different in every scenario. Behavior is therefore the illusive part of the psychological discipline as it is the psychologist who claim to be the experts in this field.

I have found that many of them become both insulting and aggressive; when I pointed out the fact and proved to them that they are lacking the understanding of the word unique. If something is unique it is impossible to ever be normal. The whole psychological discipline is based on Social norms. Behavior can never be diagnosed as normal, however people could have numerous similarities and I think the impossibility of being normal is an embarrassment to the psychological fraternities doctrine, as science has proven the exact opposite.

Although Psychology has marketed themselves under the medical sciences, their degree is not a science degree it is an arts degree. Behavior can never be a science as there are no starting points or ending point for it to be classified as a science; as everyone’s behavior in the same environment or different environments are completely different to each other.

How a person behaves is not necessarily what he feels and what he feels can only be expressed through an emotion or emotional functioning if you please. So emotions are secondary to the cause of the emotion. So how does one come to a rational discipline called Emotional Intelligence? The only rationality that would make any sense, is if one uses a social norm as a standard from which the emotional intelligence can be established from?

However, what you feel is often not necessarily expressed at all, but only expressed to the extent that a person wants to portray themselves through an emotional expression or reaction, meaning that the expression of the inner feeling through emotions cannot be relied upon when trying to understand peoples behavior. This is why we have introverts and extroverts. These people are labeled due to their intensity of expression, and not on their true inner picture or feelings. This creates false perceptions.

The big question then would be: Do we understand what we mean when we talk about “The Mind”; which in reality is made up of the Cognitive, Physical, Emotional and the Conative (Will Power) functioning holistically all in harmony with each other, but with different functioning purposes all under the control of self, mostly expressed as “me” or “I”? The truth is we have so many different theories about human functioning; that the most predominant whom marketed their theories very effectively was Psychiatry and Psychology. The point is that these are Psychological theories and not a science and can never be a science although marketed under the pretence that it is a science.

The original intentions of psychologist was to study mans holistic behaviour, but sadly the industry has lost the initial understanding and have focussed more on the cognitive functioning of man. Now although psychiatry has been the best at marketing the theory, they definitely have lost the plot by focusing on the thinking (cognitive functioning) of man. You will hear that they claim that the mental aspect of man (Cognitive) is predominant and whereby they have reversed the process intentionally. I know there is a hidden agenda behind their theory.

Their discipline was changed in 1961 and thereafter they concentrate on the mental aspect and the name mental was adopted and marketed to mean that the cognitive functioning was the controlling factor in human behavior. Well it is very easy to prove that is a myth and totally untrue. It does not matter what I am thinking I still have a power called Free Choice which is based on what my belief system are and those beliefs, likes and dislikes are called personal standards. So if I believe that I should have integrity and honesty I would choose to do be honest by behaving and doing the right thing.

Depending on the intensity of importance of a belief or construct, this would determine what we would choose to do, as there are millions of different thought processes that go on in our Brain or Cognitive function every day, but ultimately the choice rests on our personal values and not the cognitive functioning. Some of these “experts” have focussed their attention on emotions and called their discipline “Emotional Intelligence” meaning that they perceive that emotions can be used to quantify or understand behavior.

Now let us analyze the word “Mind” and what does it mean: This is one true definitions and it is pretty well-defined and fairly descriptive: safe to say it has been misconstrued and been misinterpreted intentionally in order to market false doctrine;… anyway here is the true definition: “Mind” – “The human consciousness that originates in the brain and is manifested especially in thought, perception, emotion, will, memory, and imagination” – http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mind.

The definition includes all parts of the holistic functioning which are: Cognitive Functioning, Emotional functioning, Conative functioning (Will Power) and Physical functioning (Behavior). Please notice that consciousness originates in the brain because it is the organ that gives us the ability to rationalize and reason information effectively. However, when one talks about the mind it should mean the holistic functioning or behavior of man.

There is a lot of confusion here, because the decision-making process is done within the Soul called (Me, I, My, Self,) The brain rationalizes information and allows us to reasons effectively, but the fact remains that “I” still have the ability to act upon that information through the choices I make. So if “I” use “My” ability and choose to do something then it is plain logic that my behavior is governed by “Me” and not the brain. So if “I” say that “I” have made up my mind then one must understand that “I” have chosen a certain option which my brain may or may not agree with.

Therefore, the theory that I am governed by my thoughts is not true, I am governed by my belief system between what is right or wrong, good or bad, likes and dislikes. These beliefs are called Personal Values, and these personal values sets the standard whereby “I” would make different choices or decisions. So the brain and the soul interact with each other. If I believe something to be right I would choose what I believe to be right or wrong resulting in my “Behavior” and that behavior is expressed through my emotions. I therefore express my inner feelings or reactions through emotions.

Man has a unique tool called “Conative functioning” meaning the power to over rule the emotional, cognitive and physical functioning and this behavior is commonly known as “Will Power” often described as perseverance ability. Therefore the mind is not only been falsely perceived as solely “cognitive” functioning, instead of the “holistic functioning” of a person which needs to be clearly differentiated from the present perceptions or understanding that has been portrayed through the psychological theory as Cognitive or mental behavior.

Dr. Neil Whitehouse Ph.D Interdisiplinaty Studies (Function Intelligence)
The author received his Master Degree in Sociology and combined the disciplines of Psychology and sociology receiving a Doctorate in Philosophy. Both these degrees were done through the Commonwealth Open University with the head office based in the Virgin Island.

http://www.career-advice-jobs.com/Human+Behavior.html

There are five little-known, but very effective ways to eliminate your stress, depression, anger or parenting problems. They include cutting-edge self-help treatments and the following:

1. LOCAL UNIVERSITIES

Universities that have schools or programs in psychology, counseling or social work sometimes provide clinics that offer inexpensive therapy to members of the community. Services are typically provided by graduate students under the intense supervision of the faculty. The graduate students provide these services in order to log sufficient experience to earn their counseling degrees or licenses.

Being new to the field, their efforts are overseen by fully qualified professors. TIP: Contact the school of counseling or social work at a local university and ask if there is a program providing low-cost counseling to the public.

If not, ask the school to refer you to inexpensive therapists in the region, such as recent graduates.

2. HELP HOTLINES AND “WARM” LINES

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255) provides free phone counseling, 24 hours a day, if you are in severe distress or suicidal crisis. Also, some local mental health organizations offer “warm lines.” They are like hotlines, only they provide phone counseling that does not have to be emergency-oriented.

They are usually staffed by volunteers; they are a useful free option for those who need to talk things out. Ask your county’s mental health agency if there are any such warm lines in your area… or type “warm line,” the name of your state and the name of your problem (such as “depression” or “addiction”) into a search engine and see what appears.

3. SELF-HELP SUPPORT GROUPS

Support groups are volunteer self-help forums where you meet with others who are confronting similar emotional issues. No professional therapist is routinely present; the groups are typically free and can be very helpful.

TIP: Inquire at local churches or the social work departments of local hospitals to determine if there are support groups in your area. If this does not work, use a search engine to search for a nonprofit organization that deals with your situation. Then contact the organization and ask to be referred to a support group in your area.

For example: The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance has a network of over 1,000 peer-run support groups available nationwide; it also offers online support groups. (Call 800-826-3632, or go to its website. Select “Find Support,” then “Find a support group near you.”)

4. HELP WITH PSYCHIATRIC DRUG COSTS

Most major pharmaceutical manufacturers have “patient assistance programs” that provide their psychiatric drugs at no, or at a greatly reduced cost. However, you are only likely to qualify if you have no health insurance and very limited financial resources.

Check the web site of the Partnership for Prescription Assistance. It can help you determine whether you are eligible for assistance (888-477-2669). Or contact the relevant pharmaceutical manufacturer directly to inquire about its patient assistance program.

Also, the web site of the National Alliance on Mental Illness lists the 800 numbers for many commonly prescribed psychotropic drugs. (Call 800-950-6264, or go to its website and select “Medication,” then “Prescription Drug Assistance Program.”).

5. And, as Noted Previously, Self-Help Programs

What if you are a private person and don’t want to talk to a stranger about your problems? If you have a private personality or severe time constraints then using self-help programs, called Self-Therapy Kits, or STKs are for you. They are educational programs that you can use by yourself in the privacy of your own home. In a sense, using them is like having a private therapist at your personal disposal.

They are educational digital programs and may include e-books, CDs, DVDs, MP3s or any combination thereof. They are inexpensive and teach you how to relieve your anxieties and frustrations by yourself.

They are helpful if you have limited financial resources; they typically cost a one-time fee of anywhere from $9 to $100 or so and the fee is only a one-time event. It is not like a weekly fee you would have to pay for private counseling.

STKs can be easily located on the internet by searching for self-help. STKs can include any or all of the following: DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, videos etc.

They are self-paced, inexpensive and can be used anytime in the privacy and comfort of your own home. They provide invaluable psychological information and use visualization, behavioral exercises and convenient systems to accurately monitor your feelings and progress.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate in counseling at the University of Southern Calif. He is a practicing psychotherapist and an author with over 30 years experience; he provides groundbreaking Self-Therapy Kits that he uses with his own patients. They are absolutely guaranteed to eliminate anxiety, anger and agitation; if not satisfied, you get an unconditional refund. Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

The most important strategy for passing the Examination For Professional Practice In Psychology (EPPP) is to begin preparing now! If you are in graduate school do not wait to begin studying. Be proactive. A good place to start your search for study information is on the Internet. Learn everything you can about the test. Learn which topics will be covered, and how extensive your knowledge and understanding of them needs to be. A good place to start is at the site of the organization that makes it all possible, The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. They have all kinds of interesting information on the examination for you to read.
Start reviewing commercial test preparation materials. Beg, borrow, or steal used copies of the major study guide programs from friends and colleagues. You can find used copies online; eBay is a good source. If money is not an issue, consider buying new versions of EPPP study materials from the major test preparation publishers: PsychPrep, Academic Review, Taylor Method, or the Association for Advanced Training in the Behavioral Sciences. At the very least, buy a few of the less expensive commercially available study guides, such as the EPPP Secrets Study Guide or EPPP Flashcard Secrets. Read reviews of EPPP study materials to help you select the most appropriate.
Flashcards are an important component of your study plan. You first need to remember the key terms and concepts before you will be able to answer questions on the examination.Use software to create flashcards of the psychology topics you want to remember. Make flashcards of important, difficult, and unfamiliar concepts.
The best flashcard programs are driven by sophisticated algorithms that optimize learning and maximize recall of the information. The program helps in several very important ways. It minimizes the time it takes to memorize items by scheduling the presentation of the flashcards at optimal intervals. It does this by only presenting flashcards that it predicts you are about to forget. In this way, no time is wasted reviewing flashcards that you have already memorized. The use of a flashcard program allows you literally to maintain your recall of the information indefinitely (as long as you continue to do the scheduled repetitions).
Online discussion groups on preparing for the EPPP are an excellent source of information. They not only discuss which topics you need to study for the exam, and how, but also offer advice on coping with the length and difficulty of the EPPP study process. Fellow examinees can be your best source of support. One helpful group is the Preparing To Take The EPPP Discussion List on Yahoo! Groups.
Make use of the free advice, EPPP study materials reviews, and testing strategies on sites devoted to preparing for the exam, such as How To Pass The EPPP Exam Without Even Trying!
Learn how to test well on the specific type of multiple choice examination represented by the EPPP. There are specific strategies for taking this type of test. These test taking skills will also serve you well in graduate school classes. Look for test taking advice on EPPP preparation sites on the Internet.
Learn how to study. Good study skills and habits will see you through to the end of this process more efficiently. Don’t waste your time trying to cram for the national psychology exam. Just because you’ve made it to graduate school, doesn’t mean you can’t improve your study skills even more. There are many good books on how to study. Go ahead. Read one. I promise not to tell your classmates.
Stress. Anxiety. Discouragement. Feeling overwhelmed. Agggg! Where does it all end? It ends with you. Learn to control your mental state. Learn how to remain calm, focused, and motivated while thinking about studying, while studying, before the exam, and during the exam. Repeat after me, “It’s just a test.” Learn how to relax. Keep your spirits up. Keep moving forward. Eat right, exercise, go out, and socialize. Get enough sleep. Don’t study all the time. Take frequent breaks. Taking care of yourself in this way will improve your effectiveness.
Remember, the Internet is your friend! Browse sites about the EPPP. Read discussion groups on it. Learn how other examinees cope. Many students and postgraduates seek out a professional, such as a counseling psychologist, to support them psychologically and keep them on track. Do whatever it takes to keep going.

It is my sincere hope that you find these tips helpful. More importantly, I hope that you understand why you should begin studying for the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology now!

Keith Steel, known as The EPPP Study Guy, is the expert psychologist who teaches you how to pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). Everything you need to know is covered: What materials to study, reviews of commercial study materials, advanced flashcard programs, and study strategies specific to the EPPP. Visit How To Pass The EPPP Without Even Trying at http://eppp-study.blogspot.com.

Being a parent is considered to be the most satisfying and rewarding role one can have in life. However, it can become agonizing when your adolescent or teen starts exhibiting serious behavior problems, such as truancy, delinquency, unending defiance, abuse of alcohol or drugs etc.

Then the pleasure of parenting rapidly goes away. If you are having these problems with your teen, it doesn’t mean you will never be able to go back to your normal life. All you may need is to avail yourself of one of the new self-therapy kits, otherwise known as STKs.

STKs are a type of therapy that focuses on helping you to eliminate or quickly reduce the symptoms of your adolescent’s behavioral problems, including truancy, defiance and the abuse of alcohol or drugs. STKs are completely safe and bring you peace of mind.

After all, there are no dangerous side-effects because there are no medicines for you or your kid to take. Your first step is just to browse a selection of Self-Therapy Kits (STKs).

Then select one that will show you step-by-step how to quickly and easily eliminate your kid’s self-defeating behaviors. Warning: Your teen and adolescent’s misbehavior can turn into a permanent problem, reaching far into adulthood, if you do not apply the tested and proven principles of behavior modification to him or her now.

An STK is professionally designed to give you important behavior assessment skills. It will take you through relevant aspects of your family history, your teen’s history, assess options for your teen, then show you how to implement and carry out a thorough but simple behavioral program to bring your adolescent quickly to the straight and narrow.

It will also provide valuable information regarding the application of rewards and consequences-including exactly what rewards and consequences to use.

Some of the ways that an STK will help you to get your teen under control are:

1. The use of daily personal coaching through phone or internet

2. The providing of visual and audio examples of teen misbehavior and the specific solutions to use

3. Expert email consulting to troubleshoot problems when you need it

4. The providing of specific back-up techniques to implement quickly if something goes awry.

These groundbreaking self-help packages for parents, restores appropriateness, power and flexibility to your parenting. STKs use next generation media, including books, MP3s, CDs, DVDs, Email, audio and visual formats; they can make you an expert parent in days!.

STKs fascinating multimedia methods deliver:

1. Direct coaching

2. Targeted information

3. Visual or auditory modeling (showing exactly how it’s done)

4. Inventory-taking of available consequences (which ones are available and will work)

5. Discrimination of the best consequences to use in your program from the worst

6. Specific ways to discriminate sound from poor adolescent discipline techniques.

Most teenage behavior problems occur as a result of the use of improper consequences, improper choice of target behavior (You have to pick your battles) or through repetitive stressful crisis-oriented communication, such as shouting, hollering, name-calling, insulting and threatening. When these dysfunctional parenting methods are used, they can lead to outright defiance, substance abuse and anti-social or criminal behavior on the part of teens.

Parenting STKs has led to global improvement in the well-being of both the parent and the child. If you are thinking about the stress that a change in parenting may cause, rest assured that a gradual and systematic introduction of a healthy parenting program will not cause any major adjustment distress. However, initially, you might face a little resistance or some testing for one to two weeks or so.

You don’t need to worry about that because the STK will tell you exactly how to deal with it so that it will evaporate quickly.

The following are 2 additional benefits that the use of STKs provide:

1. Refreshing relief from the doubt and anxiety of not knowing what to do about your teen’s misbehavior. That’s because, depending on the duration of your kids misbehavior and its seriousness, an STK will assist you to quickly devise a specialized behavior program that will bring you immediate relief from the stress, anxiety and panic that your misbehaving adolescent has caused.

2. Early ways to detect the almost hidden budding of a new problem and a remarkable behavioral-consequence inventory to pinpoint exactly what you should do to eliminate it immediately.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the University of Southern Calif. He is a practicing counselor. He is an author with over 30 years experience and he provides groundbreaking Self-Therapy Kits (STKs) that he uses with his own patients. They are absolutely guaranteed to eliminate anxiety, anger and agitation; if not satisfied, you get an unconditional refund. Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits