Thu, 16 Apr 2026 05:42:57 -0700WeeblyWed, 27 Jul 2016 02:01:22 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/self-compassion-skills-class-starting-mid-augustCheck out my new self-compassion class starting in mid-August. Learning how to be kind to ourselves, to be our own ally, to meet and hold painful moments from a place of compassion is so important to living an emotionally balanced and meaningful life. In the most simplest of words ~
Note to Self:
Be Kind.
Be Kind.
Be Kind.
(Anonymous)


]]>Mon, 13 Jul 2015 19:59:22 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/10-skills-that-are-hard-to-learn-but-pay-off-forever-rachel-gillettCheck out this excellent article on developing practical and effective skills that truly affect quality of life. Click on the link below to access the article. And remember, it takes 6 weeks to develop a new habit, so pick one (or two) skills to work on for a few weeks then add on skills (one or two at a time) when you feel ready! https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/06/10-skills-that-are-hard-to-learn-but-pay-off-forever/?utm_content=buffer8f83e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer]]>Tue, 07 Jul 2015 14:43:17 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/just-breathe-learning-how-to-deal-with-difficult-emotions

]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2015 21:33:46 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/grief-is-the-price-we-pay-for-love-david-malham-for-the-nytimes-opinion-page Column by David Malham from the Opinion Pages of the NYTimes. Link to original article below.
http://nyti.ms/19b9VvV
Memento MoriI would not have chosen A.L.S. at the Pick Your Disease store, but there are worse things that can happen and worse ways for a life to end. The very fact that it was happening to me and not to my family was itself a relief. Navigating one’s own pain or fear is much easier than navigating a loved one’s.

By last spring, the diagnosis became hard to deny, but as a retired grief therapist I knew not to spend more than a few minutes with “No!” In that regard, as in many others, Buddhists have it exactly right: Getting enmeshed in a resisting “no” and in the unanswerable “why me?” is a recipe for self-inflicted suffering. I knew to focus instead on “what now”? What do I need to address — with myself and with others? How do I respond to the reality of a terminal illness? (A year later, “no” still makes infrequent appearances, but it remains unfed so the visits are brief.)

A few calming truths helped me in responding to the “what now” questions: I’m 73, have had a good life, and am blessed with a wonderful wife and family. If there were a referee to whom I could cry foul, how would I answer if asked: What of the good life you were given? You didn’t question being blessed with the wife and family you’ve loved and enjoyed. You never asked “why” with your good fortune; why do you suddenly find voice to question this event? The truth, of course, is that the good things in our lives are accepted as givens and remain unquestioned. We take notice, and question, only when events hurt or frighten us.

Indeed, my own statements — I’ve enjoyed a good life, there are worse things that could happen, better me than my family — are examples of the psychological immunity we can employ to lessen the blow. We possess the ability to spin our pain so as to soften it and ward off despair. And how fortunate that we can use such a healthy defense to spin-doctor ourselves.

I was, however, disturbed by thoughts of my wife. I became preoccupied with how she would manage a post-David existence. True, she’s always been the one who handled the bills, balanced the checkbook, managed the investments, addressed maintenance issues (her father introduced her to the mysteries of things mechanical and electrical), kept the house organized (parties and special occasions are planned with the attention to detail Rommel displayed in his desert campaign), and all the while prepared terrific meals. Yet I couldn’t help thinking that not since biblical times has woman had so laudable a husband. And since I never fully accepted the idea of a wife throwing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, my anticipatory sadness for her grief made my diagnosis more difficult to deal with.

But I wondered if my worry for her resulted from her serving as proxy for my grief. While consciously thinking that it was just her I worried about, was I actually using my perception of her future grief as a means to grieve for myself? After all, I’m going to miss me, too. I’ve always been fond of my stories and my laughter. And I’ve grown accustomed to my face — my smiles, my frowns, my ups, my downs. Not to mention breathing out and breathing in. Maybe she was serving as stand-in for my own mourning. Nevertheless, most of my worry was about her grief.

That concern activated my background as a grief therapist, and I came up with a strategy of pre-emptive therapy. (Who best to help her deal with widowhood than her husband?) I began collecting a stash of what I considered “Upbeat Widow Stories” that would be available for her after my death. I didn’t mean to turn my absence into an “Ain’t Widowhood Grand” musical, but I looked for stories where widows didn’t merely survive but thrived. And in conversation I deftly smuggled in happy-ending widow stories: Hon, did you see the story about the housewife who after being widowed became Empress of China? Or, did you hear about that widow in Louisiana who now has her own reality show wrestling alligators?

But she discovered the stash, got wise to the happy ending, “Did you hear” stories, and asked if I was doing grief therapy with her. After my fumbling admission she said, “Stop it. If you die before me, I will grieve and I will survive. If I die before you, you will grieve and you will survive.” (Organizer-wife, home repair-wife, philosopher-wife.)

That’s when I finally accepted that trying to protect her was not only wrong, it was impossible. Grief, after all, is the price we pay for love.

Grief is a normal and healthy experience after loss. But so is resilience. Over the years an interesting change in grief therapy has been the emphasis on resilience; the awareness that people normally find healthy ways to adapt and live with loss. That’s not to say it’s a quick and easy task. It’s not that grieving suddenly ends and the person forgets and moves on. No, what happens is that a weight that initially feels unbearable becomes, in time, manageable. The grief becomes compact enough, with the hard edges removed, to be gently placed in one’s heart.

That awareness of resilience reminded me that 10 years earlier, when my wife was given a diagnosis of a form of leukemia that had a 20 percent survival rate, her sister said to her, “It’s not fair, this shouldn’t be happening to you,” and my wife answered, “Why not, who should it be happening to?”

During her long stay in the hospital, people would tell me that talking to her was easy. What they really meant was that they were not afraid to talk to her. Her abundant coping skills served to comfort the visitor as well as herself.

My wife was also intuitively aware that her illness would, in a sense, be worse for me and for our son because we would want to help but be powerless to do so. And indeed it was her positive attitude that helped us manage that difficult period. As we left the hospital one evening I said to my son, “I don’t know what these visits do for Mom, but they do wonders for us.”

And she continues to do wonders. Her stubborn optimism and her “yes” to life make it easier for me to manage my A.L.S. Example: An aspect of the disorder is its effect on my speech, including the way I laugh. If I laugh too hard I make involuntary honking sounds. But my wife loves it and hopes that if I get better I’ll keep the honking. You know you’re loved when your involuntary animal sounds are considered endearing.

As for myself, I don’t believe we must, as philosophers ancient and modern advise us, memento mori (remember that you must die). In Muriel Spark’s novel “Memento Mori,” a character says, “It’s difficult for people of advanced years to start remembering they must die. It is best to form the habit while young.” But it’s not that we forget that we will die; it’s that we work hard to not remember it. Yes, we accept the plural “we will die,” but it’s the particular, the “I” that we have trouble with. It’s easier to accept “we” because the “I” believes it can hide when the others in the “we” are taken. When it comes to the particular, we are, each of us, facing death new and uncomprehending. Like the dying character played by Edward G. Robinson at the end of “Little Caesar,” we catch ourselves asking, “Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Rico?”

But why should we remember? The religiously inclined argue that we must remember that there’s a life after this. Remembering means staying focused on the prize. The secular argument is to remember so that we live with heightened awareness that this is it. Live mindfully every day for someday your story will end. But I have a third reason that both religious and secular can embrace: We want to be (lightly, only lightly) aware of death not because our story will end, but because the stories of those we hold dear will end, perhaps before ours. The awareness of premature or unexpected endings can motivate us to routinely demonstrate our love to those important to us. Let’s not save our affection, as if a rare wine, for special occasions. Give and receive it as essential nourishment.

Finally, I like what Thomas Moore wrote in “The Soul’s Religion”: “I have made many mistakes and done a lot of foolish things, but when I look back on the person I was, I feel affection for him and laugh at him.” A comforting sentiment. Also comforting is my wife’s promise that she will dress in mourning for no more than two years. One would be enough but I know her, and she’ll insist on the full two.

David Malham is a retired grief therapist.

]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2015 15:25:13 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/self-compassion-not-self-criticalnessThis article provides an excellent infographic on self-compassion and how self-criticalness is not self-compassion. Click on the link below to go to the article:
http://my.happify.com/hd/self-compassion-infographic/]]>Tue, 30 Dec 2014 21:27:24 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/how-to-work-with-those-negative-pesky-thought-loopsThis is a useful, practical article on five strategies for working with those negative thought loops we all can get caught up in. And, good news is these strategies really do work! Click on the link to read the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-jain/negative-thoughts-throw-them-out-and-four-other-ideas_b_6308030.html
]]>Mon, 22 Dec 2014 22:24:38 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/5-ways-to-slow-down-and-appreciate-this-time-of-year-or-any-time-of-yearNo matter what tradition you are celebrating, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle this time of year. This link to an article by Ed Halliwell gives you five ways to slow down and appreciate what's going on around you. Click on the link to open the article: http://www.mindful.org/mindful-voices/the-examined-life/five-ways-to-slow-down-and-appreciate-the-season  ]]>Thu, 04 Dec 2014 04:10:29 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/compassionate-abiding-with-yourself-pema-chodron-talking-to-oprah-winfrey-on-working-with-sadnesshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/02/pema-chodron-exercise-suffering-discontent_n_6255410.html 
Excellent short clip on how to get out of the sadness rut. Click on the link above to go to the video and and talk transcript.
]]>Tue, 02 Dec 2014 13:54:18 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/namebreatheallow-managing-emotions-during-times-of-stress-by-katie-conlon-fulfillment-dailyExcellent on-line article by Katie Conlon from Fulfillment Daily on managing emotions during stress, rather than your emotions managing you. Original link http://www.fulfillmentdaily.com/best-kept-secret-keeping-cool/

The Challenge: Our emotions can get the best of us during times of stress.
The Science: Just noticing and labeling emotions can help calm our us down.
The Solution: The NBA technique holds the secret to staying calm anytime.

We all have to deal with stress in our lives from time to time.  Often we feel stressed because we’ve been triggered by something – a particular word or phrase, a specific space or environment, or perhaps a person who pushes our buttons.  When we are triggered, we often experience extreme emotion (for example, anger or anxiety). Our Brain’s Threat-Detector Triggers in our environment activate a part of our brain called the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls our “fight or flight” response. In short, the amygdala’s job is to identify threats in our environment, and prepare our bodies to either flee or fight in response to those threats.

Amygdala Hijack Unfortunately, when the amygdala is activated (usually during times of stress), we become less able to think clearly and complexly because our brain is focused on survival. In other words, when we encounter something stressful, the amygdala takes over by sending signals to our body that danger is nearby, causing our level of stress hormone to increase. Our body tenses, and emotions run high. In these moments, we become less capable of dealing effectively with the situation at hand.

This happens because the amygdala responds in the same way to “social threats” (for example, a co-worker ignores us or says something mean) as it does to life or death threats (like a hungry bear running towards us). While the amygdala was (and is) important for survival in life or death situations, it can often get in our way when it reacts to the common but non life-threatening triggers we all encounter every day.

Acting in the Heat of the Moment For example, we might be in the middle of an important meeting, and a colleague says something that we find rude or offensive. Before we know what’s happening, our amygdala has activated, we feel angry and physically tense, and we respond with an inappropriate attack on that person.  Later, once our body and mind have calmed down again, we regret how we acted in the heat of the moment.

So how can we calm our brain in times of stress? Recent research reveals that identifying and naming our feelings (called “affect labeling”) during a moment of stress serves to decrease brain activity in the amygdala, and increase brain activity in part of the prefrontal cortex (the part of our brain that controls more complex thinking). This study showed that the simple and perhaps silly-sounding act of labeling our feelings is, in and of itself, calming to our amygdala.

In other words, talking ourselves through a moment of stress by labeling our feelings in that moment can actually calm us down and allow us to think more clearly and effectively about how best to handle a stressful situation.

How to manage ourselves when we are triggered Suzanne Kryder suggests a technique based on the principle of affect labeling that is known by the acronym “NBA.” This technique (outlined below) can be extremely helpful during times of stress in calming our amygdala and helping us think more clearly.

NBA Technique

• Notice: Notice when you are feeling triggered. This can often be the hardest part! Ask yourself:

                        What am I feeling in my body?  

                        What emotion(s) am I experiencing?  

For example: noticing your shoulders are tense and your jaw is clenched, and that you feel frustrated and angry

• Name: Name these feelings and thoughts. Say to yourself:

                         I am noticing... I am noticing…

For example: “I am feeling anger and frustration right now.  I’m noticing that my shoulders feel tight and I’m clenching my jaw.

• Breathe: Take a few long deep breaths. Remember:

                         Deep breaths send oxygen to your brain.
                        Breathing can help to calm you.

• Allow: Allow these feelings and sensations to be there. Remind yourself:

  You don’t have to change how you are feeling in the moment. Simply noticing and acknowledging what’s going on inside can be extremely helpful and calming.

What you can do The next time you find yourself triggered by a stressful situation, no matter how big or small, practice NBA – notice and name how you are feeling emotionally and physically, breathe deeply, and allow those feelings to be present.  By doing this, you will be able to access a greater sense of calm, and be better able to deal with the situation at hand.  Try it – it really works!

Katie Conlon:
Katie Conlon, M.A., MAPP is a Trainer, Coach, and Consultant. She works with the Center for Leadership and Organizational Change at the University of Maryland and runs her own private practice, The Phoenix Nest. She is an Assistant Instructor in the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of the faculty of the Flourishing Center’s Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology. Katie also develops curriculum for George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. She earned a master's degree in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in counseling and personnel services from the University of Maryland. Previous articleWhy Waiting in Line Can Actually Be A Gift Next article4 Ways to Control Your Mood with Nothing But a Pen You may also like November 4, 2014 4 Ways to Control Your Mood with Nothing But a Pen October 24, 2014 Why Waiting in Line Can Actually Be A Gift
]]>Wed, 26 Nov 2014 19:15:54 GMThttps://www.annemaderlmft.com/tools-for-living-blog/in-praise-of-gratitude-harvard-mental-health-letterExcellent article on gratitude. http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/harvard_mental_health_letter/2011/november/in-praise-of-gratitude

And if you're interested in developing more of an "attitude of gratitude", check out Grateful160 - It's free. It's easy. And it really works. http://grateful160.com/




 

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