Search Results for: Polyvagal Theory

Compassion and the Art of Having Fun

…t happiness is really all in our minds, and starts with our self-view. The theory is that when we can feel a deep sense of gratitude toward ourselves, appreciating our basic good nature, when we feel self-love, self-worth and self-compassion, we are more capable of meeting life’s challenges with success and grace, minimizing a lot of anxiety and depression. There’s simply no possibility of having fun in life — enjoying the precious experience that…

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disorganized attachment, dan siegel, ambivalent attachment, avoidant attachment, mindsight

Identifying Your Child’s Attachment Style

…part of a featured interview series with Dr. Dan Siegel, an expert in the theory of Mindsight, a fundamental concept that explores the dynamics of healthy relationships. To learn about how to develop an earned secure attachment, join Dr. Daniel Siegel and Dr. Lisa Firestone for the online course “Making Sense of Your Life: Understanding Your Past to Liberate Your Present and Empower Your Future.” Idealization of Parents Idealization of parents yo…

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VIDEO: Dr. Allan Schore on the Role of Shame in Suicide

…e probably – Silvan Tompkins, the famous psychologist studying personality theory used to say that although terror strikes, shame strikes much more deeply into the body and into the heart of man. And what happens to us in these overwhelming shame states – now these individuals are literally living in massive shame states over the entire course of their life span. And they are extremely susceptible to it. They have no way to auto regulate out of it…

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What You Need to Know About Mental Abuse

…nce, Gregory Bateson and R.D. Laing describe and expand on the double-bind theory, which is when the victim is unable to leave a situation and is receiving contradictory messages that are often difficult to untangle. For example, a mother may tell her teenage or even adult child to leave the house or move out, but when the child prepares to leave, the mother then says that she is going to be so depressed if her child is not around. Even as an adul…

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Your Worst Enemy is Within by Robert Firestone, Ph.D.

…anxiety associated with change is essential for expanding one’s life. The theory and methodology have value in revealing the core of resistance to any form of psychotherapeutic movement or constructive behavioral change. The therapeutic venture, by counteracting the dictates of the negative voice and disrupting fantasies of connection, offers people a unique opportunity to fulfill their human potential, thereby giving their lives personal meaning…

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The Fantasy Bond: A substitute for a truly loving relationship

…ieving intimacy. The nature of a fantasy bond is the central concept of my theory as explained in my book The Fantasy Bond. It explains people’s compulsion to relive the past with new relationships i.e., to form illusory connections that invariably lead to a reenactment of defensive styles of interacting developed in childhood. This process of reverting to outmoded defense patterns interferes with the establishment of secure and satisfying adult r…

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Creating Meaning: On the Role of Death in Life

…this Webinar: This Webinar will introduce an overview of Terror Management Theory (TMT). TMT posits that the juxtaposition of an inclination toward self-preservation with the highly developed intellectual abilities that make humans aware of their vulnerabilities and inevitable death creates the potential for paralyzing terror. One of the most important functions of cultural worldviews is to manage the terror associated with death awareness. This i…

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Understanding and Effectively Treating Violence

    In this Webinar: This Webinar will summarize a theory of the causes and prevention of violent behavior, meaning the infliction of injury, especially lethal or life-threatening injury, on a person by a person. The topics discussed will include the evaluation and treatment of individuals who are actually or potentially violent. It will be organized around the concept that violence is caused or prevented by the interaction between biological, ps…

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Are You Giving Up on Love?

…ne, that aims to explain people’s resistance to love. When I introduce the theory surrounding fear of intimacy to people, they often say, “That sounds exactly like my husband!” or “My girlfriend totally has that issue.” It’s a concept people have trouble recognizing in themselves at first, because most people think they want love and don’t consciously feel afraid. Instead, they go along happily in their relationships for a time, then slowly, witho…

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What Happens When You Give Up Your Phone for 3 Days?

…uted it to lack of connection or control, but in hindsight (and to go into theory for a moment) the act of looking at my phone to see if I had a missed call or text is similar to RRG. This is the same as the spike of dopamine one gets when gambling (essentially a random result induces this hit of dopamine). So, without the ability to refresh my emails and checking my phone, I felt at a loss. I couldn’t receive that warming hit of dopamine I was so…

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