For their latest rave about our highly unique community, see here:
The post The NY Times Loves Oakland appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
You may have heard about the pioneering research of Dr. Paul Ekman, who has catalogued the facial expressions (all the way down to every one of 43 facial muscles) for each of the core emotions, which he’s identified as sad, happy, fear, anger, contempt, disgust and surprise. His work, popularized by the tv program, “Lie to Me,” and the great animated feature, “Inside Out,” deals with the decoding of “microexpressions,” expressions that flash across a person’s face so quickly that we often don’t see them, especially if the person doesn’t want us to know what they are actually feeling. With practice, these expressions can be recognized, and he’s just released a new version of his online training program. More about it here: https://www.paulekman.com/micro-expression-training/
The post Reading the Truth in a Person’s Face appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
We spend a lot of time in therapy talking to our younger selves. (“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Faulkner) But this is a hilarious and oddly thought-provoking experiment Stoney Emshwiller ran 38 years ago – he recorded a bunch of questions for his older self, and now he’s recording the answers. http://boingboing.net/2015/11/06/man-interviews-himself-38-year.html
The post Talking to Your Older Self appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
The NY Times ran an article today (http://nyti.ms/1fXyhww) summarizing data on what keeps people exercising that might surprise you. ”
“People whose goals are weight loss and better health tend to spend the least amount of time exercising… Rather, immediate rewards that enhance daily life — more energy, a better mood, less stress and more opportunity to connect with friends and family — offer far more motivation.” Researcher Michelle Segar recommends counting everything you do to move around – climb the stairs, walk to the store, count it all.
It applies to any habit change: measure what you want to watch grow – smoking cessation, increased extraversion, whatever – and remind yourself, often, with as much variety and engagement as you can, how the change benefits the way you feel.
The post Want to Build a Habit? Focus on Feeling Good. appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
It’s time to stop pinning my love of sappy movies on, “My daughter dragged me…” She was gratified when I cried at “What a Girl Wants,” and happy to sit on the stairs of a sold-out theater (we snuck in) to see “Skyfall.” We’re both still recovering from the moment when (Spoiler Alert) Bambi’s mother is gunned down. I was the one who suggested, “Inside Out,” and I’m not afraid to tell the world. Two of the scientists whose work I most admire have my back on this one:
The post “Inside Out” Will Bring Out Your Insides, or Why Sad Can Be Just What You Need appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
Dr. John Gottman had the idea to study how happy and unhappy couples talk to each other, and compare. About 40 years later, we know a LOT. Here’s a DVD I highly recommend to all the couples we work with.
The post Great Guide to Talking to Your Partner appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
Great article in Buzzfeed today about, “17 Fitness Tips That Will Actually Make You Psyched To Work Out.” Like so many things, success rests on how we think about it. Here’s the link:
The post Exercise: What’s the Attitude That Makes It Part of Your Life? appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
Manliness should come with a warning label! See Dr. Jim O’Neil’s cogent description of ways that being masculine could be bad for you. From the APA Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity website: http://division51.net/homepage-slider/mens-mental-health-and-gender-role-conflict-a-call-to-action/
The post Is It Good To Be Manly? Not Always! appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
If mindfulness meditation were a drug, it would be selling at record levels. Study after study keeps rolling in about its effectiveness in treating anxiety, depression, PTSD… But we’ve never seen a truly approachable, online tool for people who are ready to try it. That changed with Headspace.com, created by the entirely charming Andy Puddicome, a bald British ordained Buddhist monk and circus performer. Starting with brief, 10-minute videos and audio guides, he’s made meditating both inviting and readily understandable. 5 stars to this excellent program – thousands of people are already being helped.
The post Give Headspace some of your head space appeared first on |The Bridge Counseling Center For Psychotherapy & Coaching | Oakland and Berkeley.
