Tapping into new solutions

After an initial period of scepticism – “I have a background in science and am

suspicious of new ‘fads’ unless they have good evidence base” – Masha Bennett

trained in EFT and has become a convert. She explains how it can help clients.

After an initial period of scepticism – “I have a background in science and am suspicious of new ‘fads’ unless they have good evidence base” – Masha Bennett trained in EFT and has become a convert. She explains how it can help clients.

Whether or not you are familiar with EFT, I recommend her excellent article.

Masha Bennett is well worth looking up – see link in her article. She is an interesting person and very active in the eft world, as trainer and therapist, – working very effectively in the field of addictions.

Joining in is good for you! The science says so!

On my training workshops, I often ask for a ‘willing volunteer’ to come to the front to be a subject, for when I demonstrate a new procedure or technique.

‘Steven’ (not his real name) was just such a volunteer. Before we start the actual demonstration, I always first ask the subject on a scale of 0-10 how they feel having put themselves forward, and what issue they would like to work with. If they are feeling uncomfortable being on ‘the hot seat’ I work with that first – and so it was with Steven.

P: “So how are you being up here with me Steven .. in front of everyone, and not knowing what’s to come?”

S: “I’m ok I suppose!” (looking anything but)

P: “Are you sure?”

S: “Well ok, actually I’m not happy – not happy at all!” (or words to that effect).

P: “Oh, okay .. and do you want to say what its about, or if you like give it a cryptic title, and tell us where you are emotionally on a scale of 0-10, 10 being the most intense?”

S: “Football. I’m really [cheesed off] as I should be at the stadium watching football! And I’m probably an ’8′! Its Saturday and I shouldn’t be here!”

After a couple of minutes with the process, and Stevens’ rating had reduced to 2.

P: “Okay, so now you’re down to a 2 or so, are you ready to start on the other issue?”

S: “There’s nothing else. That was it. I’m okay now!”

Once the stress of missing Saturday football was cleared, Steven was able to enjoy the rest of the course – and even came on another workshop weekend (though thinking about it, this second one was out of football season!). It really seemed to be the case that his biggest ‘issue’ to work with at that time was that he was missing football.

Occasionally, I regret that I’m not a sports fanatic. At school, I did anything to avoid team games – much to the relief I’m sure of my sport mad friends. I considered myself ‘physically dyslexic’ – and I really was! (now there’s a limiting belief if there ever was one!)

At school, music was my passion – playing it, and listening. I had no time for sport – except I always somehow managed time for regular pub games of snooker including taking a quick sneaky diversion, into The Punchbowl, in Abingdon during the Wednesday afternoon cross country running practices! Thinking back, I and my friends must have looked a strange sight playing pub snooker in our school running gear!

But now, many years later – when I sometimes hear people talk about their Tuesday evening five a side, or going to the stadium to support their club – and how nothing can get in the way of them attending ..  well, I’m a little envious as I know its about much more than the football.

Its about the joining in, the social side, the team effort, the connection, and participation in a group which is of so much benefit. And of course there are many ways other than football where this happens.

- Just like when I played jazz trombone in our trad jazz band on the lawn at The Unicorn Theatre barbeque .. among my best memories, ‘ still gives me a tingle!

.. which reminds me. I’ve recently taken up clarinet!

‘anyone want a clarinet or keyboard player in their band?!

The point is joining in is good for us, and science agrees.

Join in, its good for you! – so says Professor Alex Haslam of the University of Exeter, at the recent British Festival of Science.

WHO predicts depression? A flower for you!

I’ve just heard mention on the radio that the WHO – World Health Organisation predicts that within the next 20 years, depression will be THE TOP MAJOR health problem in the world economically, socially, and of course personally.

http://tinyurl.com/lfsx6l

And yet, most developing countries spend less than 2% of their budgets on mental health care.

So here’s a sunflower to cheer us all up!

Mmm – but seriously, its just as well for the emerging field of positive psychology, and the likes of Martin Seligman, Robert Holden (see my recent post), Gerald Jampolsky,

..  oh, and me and you too!!

And it just so happens that today is the UK publication date for Robert Holden’s new book .. Be Happy, for which I have high expectations – being a bit of a fan for his work.

Balance and Health: how do positive emotions lead to good health?

An article by Wayne Jencke,
first published in www.positivepsychologynews.com

Wayne Jencke is the product development manager of Innate Intelligence – an Australian based business that specializes in the Science of Thriving. Innate Intelligence’s Thriving Blog is constantly updated to reflect the latest research that enables people to move from surviving to thriving. Wayne’s ACCEPTional™ Resilience and Positive Emotional Intelligence (EI+™) programs are delivered by affiliates throughout the Asia Pacific and Europe.

This excellent article (which I’m inserting here in full with permission – see footer), explains so much of the science behind the intention of complementary approaches to health and wellbeing.

Whatever the approach used, the common intention for the individual is to bring back their natural balance.  In the west, we’re likely to talk about how unresolved negative emotion is a contributing factor to poor health. Practitioners in the east are not only more likely to say that poor health is a contributor to emotional problems, but further that the blockage and inbalance of chi energy is a major factor in poor emotional and physical health.

Its interesting therefore to remember the yin and yang energies mentioned yesterday, as you read this! ..

There are numerous studies linking positive emotions to improved health outcomes (Steptoe & Wardle, 2005). Several researchers are speculating that the pathway might be the autonomic nervous system(ANS) (Thayer & Ruiz-Padial, 2006). The ANS is responsible for managing homeostasis in the body. It consists of two major parts – the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which generally increases the activity of organs within the body (eg increases the heart rate) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) which has the opposite effects to the SNS (eg slows the heart rate ). A useful analogy is that the SNS acts like the accelerator on your car and the PNS like the brakes.

In healthy human beings the two parts of the autonomic nervous system work synergistically. The PNS is the most dynamic part of the ANS and tends to respond more quickly than the SNS (Porges, 2001). For example when confronted with a stressor, the PNS decreases in activity which allows the SNS to dominate. This activates the so called stress response (“fright, fight or flight”). When the stressor has passed the PNS increases in activity and calms the body restoring it to its normally balanced state. Consequently the PNS is commonly called the calming or relaxation response.

However for various reasons (eg aging, lack of sleep, chronic stress and lack of exercise) the activity of the PNS can decrease which results in SNS dominance. This impacts the body’s ability to function optimally, which can in turn result in physical illness (Masi et al, 2006).

PNS activity is also predictive of emotional health –in particularly the ability to regulate emotions in a healthy and appropriate manner (Appelhans & Luecken, 2006). Lower levels of PNS are associated with depression (Chambers & Allen, 2002), anxiety (Friedman & Thayer, 1993), aggression (Beauchaine et al, 2007) defensiveness (Movius & Allen, 2005), post traumatic stress disorder (Hopper et al, 2006) and hostility (Virtanen et al, 2003). Perhaps when we refer to a “nervous breakdown” we are literally referring to a breakdown (failure of the brakes) in the PNS.

Higher levels of PNS are associated with psychological resilience. For example children with higher levels of PNS are less likely to be effected by marital conflict (Katz & Gottman, 1997). Similarly a longitudinal study found that British Civil servants with higher levels of the PNS are more resilient to stress (A. Britton et al, 2008).

There is also evidence that positive emotions are associated with higher levels of PNS activity. Some of the earliest research by Barbara Fredrickson found that positive emotions resulted in quicker heart rate recovery after people had been exposed to film clips that aroused negative emotions (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998). New research from Barbara’s Positive emotion and Psychophysiology (PEP) Lab has found that PNS is related to positivity and social connectedness (Kok & Fredrickson, no date). Not surprisingly asking people to recall an experience where they felt gratitude results in higher levels of PNS (McCraty et al, 1995). And higher levels of PNS are associated with spirituality (Berntson et al, 2008).

There are a number of interventions that increase PNS activity, especially effective stress management techniques such as exercise (Sandercock et al, 2005), tai chi (Lee et al, 2002), meditation (Takahashi et al, 2005), massage (Delaney et al, 2002) and yoga (Khattab et al, 2007) – as does consuming fish oil (Holguin et al, 2005). And for some reason walking a dog increases PNS more than walking by yourself (Mattok et al, 2006).

There is also PC based software that teaches you to breathe in an optimal way to increase PNS (Lehrer et al, 2003). The software has been effective in treating depression (Karavides et al, 2007), asthma (Lehrer et al, 2007), fibromyalgia (Hassett et al, 2007), anger and anxiety (Reiner, 2008).

The software also appears to be sensitive to a persons emotional state. The software is my preferred coaching tool as it takes all the guess work out of identifying what activates a persons positive emotions – particularly the most powerful positive emotion called contentment (Gilbert et al, 2008). This shouldn’t be surprising given that the software is measuring instantaneous levels of the calming response. I have also made the following empirical observations about factors that increase PNS (as measured by the software):

• Engaging in flow activities
• Resolving a problem
• Practicing mindfulness
• Reflecting on activities that align with values/strengths
• Engaging in an active constructive conversation

We all talk about living more balanced lives – beyond the metaphor perhaps we are referring to a balanced autonomic nervous system that allows us to respond to (and recover from) life’s inevitable challenges.

References
Appelhans, B.M., Luecken, L J. (2006). Heart rate variability as an index of regulated emotional responding. Review of General Psychology, 10(3), 229-240.

Beauchaine, T.P., Gatze-Kopp, L., & Mead, H.K. (2007). Polyvagal theory and developmental psychopathology: Emotion dysregulation and conduct problems from preschool to adolescence.Biological Psychology, 74, 174-184.

Berntson, G.G. , Norman, G.J. , Hawkley, L.C. (2008) Spirituality and autonomic cardiac control.Annals of Behavioural Medicine, 35(2), 198-208.

Britton, A., Singh-Manoux, A., Hnatkova, K., Malik, M., Marmot, M.G., & Shipley, M. (2008). The association between heart rate variability and cognitive impairment in middle-aged men and women: The Whitehall II cohort study. Neuroepidemiology 31 (2), 115-121.

Chambers A.S. & Allen, J.B. (2002). Vagal tone as an indicator of treatment response in major depression. Psychophysiology, 39, 861-864.

Delaney, J.P., Leong, K.S., Brodie, D. (2002). The short term effects of myofascial trigger point massage therapy on cardiac autonomic tone in healthy subjects. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 37(4), 364-71.

Fredrickson, B., Levenson, R. (1998). Positive emotions speed recovery from cardiovascular sequelae of negative emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 12, 191-220.

Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Mitra, R., Franks, L., Richter, A., & Rockliff, H. (2008). Feeling safe and content: A specific affect regulation system? Relationship to depression, anxiety, stress, and self-criticism. Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(3), 182-191.

Hassett, A. L., Radvanski, D. C., Vaschillo, E. G., Vaschillo, B., Sigal, L. H., Karavidas, M. K., et al. (2007). A pilot study of the efficacy of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback in patients with fibromyalgia. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 32, 1–10.

Holguin, F., Téllez-Rojo, M.M., Lazo, M., Mannino, D., Schwartz, J., Hernández, M., Romieu, I. (2005). Cardiac autonomic changes associated with fish oil vs soy oil supplementation in the elderly. Chest, 127 (4), 1102-1107.

Hopper, J.W., Spinazzola, J., Simpson, W.B., Van Der Lol., B.A. (2006), Preliminary evidence of parasympathetic influence on basal heart rate in post traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60, 83-90.

Karavidas, M. K., Lehrer, P. M., Vaschillo, E., Vaschillo, B., Marin, H., Buyske, S., et al. (2007). Preliminary results of an open-label study of heart rate variability biofeedback for the treatment of major depression. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 32, 19–30.

Katz, L.F. & Gottman, J.M. Buffering children from marital conflict and dissolution (1997). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Child Psychology, 26(2), 157-171.

Khattab, K., Khattab, A.A., Ortak, J., Richardt, G., Bonnemeier, H.(2007). Iyengar Yoga increases cardiac parasympathetic nervous modulation among healthy yoga practitioners.Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 4(4), 511-517.

Kok, B. E. & Fredrickson, B. L. (no date). The process of other-focus: Evidence for a psychophysiological model. Retrieved October 3, 2008 from http://www.bethanykok.com/BEK_APS_5_23_08.pdf

Lee, M.S., Huh, H.J., Kim, B.G., Ryu, H., Lee, H.S., Kim, J.M., Chung, H.T. (2002). Effects of Qi-training on heart rate variability. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 30(4), 463-70.

Lehrer, P. M., Vaschillo, E., Vaschillo, B., Lu, S.-E., Eckberg, D. L., Edelberg, R., et al. (2003). Heart rate variability biofeedback increases baroreflex gain and peak expiratory flow.Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 796–805.

Lehrer P.M., Vaschillo E, Vaschillo B, et al. (2004) Biofeedback treatment for asthma. Chest, 126, 352 – 61.

Masi, C.M., Hawkley,L.C., Rickett, E.M., Cacioppo, J.C. (2006). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and diseases of aging: Obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Biological Psychology, 74 (2), 212-223.

Mattok, M., Koike. H., Yokoyama, T., Kennedy, N.L. (2006). Effect of walking a dog on autonomic nervous system activity in senior citizens. Medical Journal of Australia, 184(2), 60-62.

McCraty, R., Atkinson, M. Willer, W.A. Rein, G. Watkins, A.D. (1995), The effects of emotions on short-term power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability. American Journal of Cardiology, 76 (14), 1089-1092.

Movius, H.L., Allen, J.N. (2005). Cardiac vagal tone, defensiveness and motivational style.Biological Psychology, 68, 147-162.

Porges, S.W. (2001). The polyvagal theory: Phylogenetic substrates of a social nervous system. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 42, 123–146.

Reiner, R. (2008). Integrating a Portable Biofeedback Device into Clinical Practice for Patients with Anxiety Disorders: Results of a Pilot Study. Applied Psychophysiology Biofeedback 33, 55–61.

Sandercock, G.R., Bromley, P.D., Brodie, D.A. (2005). Effects of exercise on heart rate variability: Inferences from meta analysis. Medical Science Sports Exercise, 37(3), 433-439.

Steptoe, A. & Wardle, J. (2005). Positive affect and biological function in everyday life.Neurobiology of Aging, 26, S108-S112.

Takahashi, T., Murata, T., Hamad, T. Omoria, M. Koska, H, Kikuchi, M, Yoshida, H., Wada, Y. (2005). Changes in EEG and autonomic nervous system activity during meditation and their association with personality traits. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 55, 199-207.

Thayer, J.F. & Ruiz-Padial, E. (2006). Neurovisceral integration, emotions and health: An update. International Congress Series, 1287, 122-127.

Virtanen, R., et al. (2003). Anxiety and hostility are associated with reduced baroreflex sensitivity and increased beat-to-beat blood pressure variability. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(5), 751–756.

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This article is © 2009 PositivePsychologyNews.com. The original article was authored by Guest Author on October 7, 2008, and can be seen here. To join the discussion about this article, click here.

Are you more yin or yang today?

According to Chinese philosophy, yin and yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole. Everything has both yin and yang aspects. These aspects constantly interact, never existing in absolute stasis. wikipedia entry here . In case you’re wondering exactly what ‘stasis’ means ~ its along the lines of standing still, static balance between opposing forces, abnormal state where normal flow of liquid is slowed or stopped. ‘Human Homeostasis’ refers to the body’s ability to regulate physiologically its inner environment to ensure its stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment and the weather. wikepedia entry here

So we’re talking again about balance – hence the good reason for pausing and asking yourself .. ‘am I more yin or yang today?’ !!

Yin is symbolic of the earth, moon, water, female or woman, right, stillness, night, darkness, autumn or winter, interior, cold, deficit, bottom, concave and in the human body it also refers to blood, body fluid (such as secretion) or simply put, it refers to substance including muscle or body mass.

Yang is symbolic of heaven, sun, fire, male or man, left hardness, movement, day, brightness, spring or summer, exterior, heat excess, top convex, and last (if not least), it refers to Qi energy which is activity produced by the energy in the human body.