Posts tagged with 'relationships'
Nourishing self-esteem – first post
30th August 2008
People who are low in self-esteem are often self-defeatingly, self-protective. They would like other people to accept and respect them for the good qualities they have. However they fear that, if they are seen to have certain strengths, they will at some stage fail to live up to other's expectations …
Relationships, self-esteem and health - second posting
17th August 2008
Looking at research like the studies by Stinson on self-esteem, relationships and illness (Stinson, Logel et al. 2008), it's easy to start to see self-esteem as a "the-more-the-better" quality. It is true that higher self-esteem is robustly associated with higher levels of happiness, increased initiative and less tendency to depression …
Relationships, self-esteem and health - first posting
16th August 2008
Poor relationships damage our health. Recent research powerfully demonstrates this point (Stinson, Logel et al. 2008). In these studies, relationships were assessed in three different ways - relationship quality (closeness, trust, satisfaction), number of friends, and relationship stress. Sheldon Cohen (Cohen 2004) has argued that these three aspects of relationships …
Checking in with Larry - next morning
6th July 2008
This is a continuation of yesterday's blog about regular check-ins/life planning with my great friend Larry. And now it's Sunday morning around 7.00am. Yesterday we went out to the 'hut' at Carbeth knowing that there was a good chance that the owner, Gerry, might in fact be using it himself. …
Checking in with Larry - first evening
5th July 2008
On the train to Glasgow. It's a Saturday afternoon in early July and I'm heading over to meet up with my old friend Larry to spend 24 hours or so together looking at how our lives are going. We've been getting together to do this three or four times a …
Recent research: eating disorders & PTSD, relationships & libido, and IBS
26th June 2008
Holzer, S. R., S. Uppala, et al. (2008). "Mediational significance of PTSD in the relationship of sexual trauma and eating disorders." Child Abuse Negl 32(5): 561-6. [PubMed] Mediational analysis suggests that sexual trauma often links to subsequent eating disorder via posttraumatic stress symptoms - particularly physiological arousal and avoidance. Therapeutically …
Recent research: exercise & mental function, mindfulness, smoking, fatigue, and lots on depression
23rd June 2008
Here are some articles - mostly published in May - that I found particularly interesting: Angevaren, M., G. Aufdemkampe, et al. (2008). "Physical activity and enhanced fitness to improve cognitive function in older people without known cognitive impairment." Cochrane Database Syst Rev(2): CD005381. [PubMed] Exercise seems to improve cognitive function …
Healthy and unhealthy behaviours can be 'infectious'
15th June 2008
There was an interesting study of over 12,000 people published in the New England Journal of Medicine recently (Christakis and Fowler, 2008) looking at the way that stopping smoking seems to help those around us stop smoking as well. So if I stop, the chances of my spouse smoking decrease …
Peer groups: Cumbria spring group - first reflection
12th May 2008
Why are these groups often so great, so welcome, so precious? Real life is very rich - theories only capture aspects of this richness. However a theory, that I like a lot, highlights one reason why these peer groups are so important. The theory is Self-Determination Theory (SDT). It has …
Conflict & disagreement, in and out of therapy
27th February 2008
Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger. Franklin Jones Conflict and disagreement aren't meant to be easy. Human beings are social animals that mostly need to get along with those around them in order to survive. As hunter-gatherers, our ability …