Search Results for: Polyvagal Theory

Commitment Issues: Why Some People Have Them and Others Don’t

…meditators, and he predicts that the fields of mindfulness and attachment theory will begin to intersect more in the future. This page links to articles and videos that can provide guidance for beginning a mindfulness practice. For many people, a spiritual or religious practice brings serenity and peace to their daily lives. A 12-step recovery program can also provide a base of stability and caring that can impact an individual’s sense of securit…

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Adolescent Mental Health: Creating a Pathway for Healthy Development

…sons we can draw from the fields of interpersonal neurobiology, attachment theory, mindfulness research, and separation theory to shine light on the factors influencing teen mental health. The presentation will further lay out a pathway by which parents, caretakers, and professionals can support a child’s mental well-being, build trust, and strengthen their sense of self. By making sense of their own story and experience, a young person can learn…

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Challenging the Fantasy Bond

…have become familiar with key findings from the neurosciences, attachment theory and Terror Management Theory (TMT) that validate many aspects of my theory. In addition, I have had the opportunity to gather further data and insights from individuals in both clinical and non-clinical populations that have contributed significantly to my understanding of human behavior. These developments have further convinced me of the value of revising The Fanta…

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The Role of Death Anxiety on Attitudes and Behavior Aroused by the Pandemic

…es, behavior, and physical and psychological well-being. Terror management theory is focused on the role that awareness of death plays in diverse aspects of life. In this webinar, Dr. Solomon will discuss the theory’s implications for understanding the widely varying ways in which people have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of whether one consciously believes that the virus is a major threat to life or only a minor inconvenience, fe…

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The Origin of Polarization, Prejudice, and Warfare

…is both exhilarating and addictive Empirical studies in Terror Management Theory (TMT) have found that people displayed an increased reliance on defense mechanisms to maintain self-esteem when experimenters manipulated their unconscious death anxiety. Their comprehensive research tends to validate my hypotheses regarding the origins of ethnic strife and warfare. For example, in one experiment, subjects whose death awareness was subliminally arous…

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secure attachment covid

Can Secure Attachment Make Us Less Afraid During the Coronavirus Crisis?

…: Glendon Association. Firestone, R.W. (2018) The Enemy Within: Separation Theory and Voice Therapy. Phoenix AR: Zeig, Tucker, & Thiesen, Inc. Firestone, R. & Catlett, J. (2009). Beyond Death Anxiety: Achieving Life-Affirming Death Awareness. New York: Springer Florian, V., & Mikulincer, M. (2004). A multifaceted perspective on the existential meanings, manifestations, and consequences of the fear of personal death. In J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, &…

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The Bloodiest Shows: Why We Watch Violent Television and How it Affects Us

…to unpleasant stimuli like horror movies. According to excitation transfer theory, people do not like watching scenes of gore, horror, and violence but rather they enjoy the sense of relief experienced once those scenes are over. The more uncomfortable audiences feel while the violence is happening on screen the more relief they will feel once it is over. It is this sense of relief that is rewarding and keeps viewers tuning back in for more. If we…

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A Psychological Perspective on Human Destructiveness

…1936/1972) and Ernest Becker (1973/1997), researchers in Terror Management Theory describe the impact of existential dread on individual defense formation and on the culture at large, and support their thesis with experimental evidence (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2015). They elucidate how the manner in which individuals defend themselves collectively becomes imbedded in the conventional social patterns of a given society. To summarize the…

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Living Mom’s Life?

…is the essence of the concept of differentiation.” (Definitions from Bowen Theory). In the pinnacle moment of Descendants, the four “bad” kids are poised to betray their new friends out of obedience to their parents. Ben intervenes, “Your parents made their choices. Now you make yours.” No matter what our backgrounds, we all have the opportunity to choose, today, who we really want to be. It might not be easy. We may encounter anxiety and resistan…

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The Self Under Siege: A Therapeutic Model for Differentiation

…findings in the neurosciences, attachment research, and terror management theory (TMT). An important addition to the area of personality development theory, The Self under Siege offers a new perspective on differentiation and the battle to separate ourselves from the chains of the past. It provides psychotherapists and other mental health professionals with the tools needed to help clients differentiate from the dysfunctional attitudes and toxic…

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