tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34004079628699510462024-03-12T22:50:14.302-07:00MY ConfidentialYour Privacy is Our PriorityJohana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-46713829883321098102020-11-25T02:32:00.003-08:002020-11-25T03:11:53.068-08:00"I'm NOT Ok": The Importance of Mental Health Checkups<p><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfJ60gP3prftPCCHd0iv0Re_Na2JM7iwq7XveaQGrbPlf_Hoti_vAFV9StjDo6UiPwwW3NGL78L659LvMADSiMf3vS7IgxtkaxpD1IhXEz6r8_leOs6BEUFzSw4eDLforz2sR5I0j4oY/s500/not-ok.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfJ60gP3prftPCCHd0iv0Re_Na2JM7iwq7XveaQGrbPlf_Hoti_vAFV9StjDo6UiPwwW3NGL78L659LvMADSiMf3vS7IgxtkaxpD1IhXEz6r8_leOs6BEUFzSw4eDLforz2sR5I0j4oY/w400-h300/not-ok.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Its common for people to go for physical checkups where they are put to a few types of stress tests to see how healthy they are physically. Its also common for them to go for medical checkups where blood is drawn to see how healthy their internal organs are functioning. However, very rarely do we hear of someone going for mental health checkups. Why is that?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We often associate mental health with counselling or mental illness. And despite us living in 2020s, there still exists a sense of suspiciousness surrounding this aspect of our lives. This may be due to the fact that the brain is still seen as something of a huge mystery. I mean, even the psychiatrists who treat mental illness does not manhandle the brain unlike other specialists. Dentists examine teeth through direct contact. Same goes for heart surgeons, ENT and orthopaedics, to name a few.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Its a given that many suffer from trust issues and this may be due to many factors. Its all the more daunting to choose a counsellor who you would deem worthy enough for your trust just so you are able to work on issues and challenges which are very close to your heart. But what if you are not ready to trust someone with the skeletons in your closet and yet you are worrying about your mental wellbeing? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Counselling is an hour long for each session and it involves you discussing difficult topics that are troubling you and your loved ones. However, mental health checkups is just 30 minutes in length and theres no need for you to trust the mental health service provider. Its no different from you going to a general practitioner doctor in your residential area when you are feeling sickly.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">According to the WHO, mental health is a state wherein a person understands their potential and has the ability to deal with regular stressors in life. Additionally, the person who has the ability to work in a productive manner and can make a meaningful contribution to his community.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, if you are wondering why is mental health important, you now know that you need to be mentally healthy to achieve your potential and be productive in the society you live and work in. Without sound mental health, you will find it extra challenging to cope with daily life stresses and this will ultimately affect your ability to remain productive.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you display any of these five signs, its time for you to seriously consider coming in for a mental health checkup:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Grumpiness:</b> <br />If you notice that from a pleasant and happy person, you have turned into snarky person who gets angry over the smallest of things, it is a sign of emotional or mental chaos.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sleeplessness:</b><br />Most people do not get adequate sleep because of demanding work and lifestyle. If you find you are unable to sleep at night, get a doctor to make sure its not a medical condition. If it isn't, then do submit yourself to a mental health checkup where you may figure out the reasons for your sleep disorder.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Avoiding People:</b><br />One of the first signs of depression is shunning people. You stop interacting with people and avoid physical and digital contact with them.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Binge Eating:</b><br />Long-term stress causes an increase in a hormone called cortisol and this affects your appetite, causing you to eat more. This means you will be craving for high fat and high sugar food which is associated with emotional eating.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Inability to Relax:</b><br /></span><span style="font-family: times;">Are you always wound up and have a constantly active mind? This is a sign of anxiety, which is often overlooked because it is constantly present. You can live with anxiety for years without realising you are having a mental issue.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mental health issues can wreak havoc with your life and turn it upside down. Don't let this happen. Instead, get an annual mental checkup done to catch any problem early, before it blows up and turns serious.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Contact MY Confidential at +60172979158 to book an appointment.</span></p><p><br /></p>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-52936143316017740742020-09-14T03:45:00.003-07:002020-09-14T03:51:58.966-07:00Happy Hormones: Food for Thought<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0b2jageWkMQRfUgiZO6qMguVQfklBcHuGcvFFTbGlK9BoUD32AiCFZ303CcCb6c8g8DSUzUY-y3QlCMSfaondMc0leS5pio_H6hysxtzHJmKZOXQZ7DpJQIb7ykByWNh8Wd6BAf4f8iI/s1000/Happy+Hormones.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0b2jageWkMQRfUgiZO6qMguVQfklBcHuGcvFFTbGlK9BoUD32AiCFZ303CcCb6c8g8DSUzUY-y3QlCMSfaondMc0leS5pio_H6hysxtzHJmKZOXQZ7DpJQIb7ykByWNh8Wd6BAf4f8iI/s400/Happy+Hormones.png" width="400" /></a></div>
Mental states are seldom just a matter of biochemistry, but it's fair to say that a shortage of serotonin can aggravate depression. A shortage of melatonin aggravates sleep problems. But did you know that the shortage of serotonin is what caused the shortage of melatonin, or that this connection explains why so many people who have depression can't sleep? The brain (and the intestines) make serotonin from the amino acid tryptophan, with the help of vitamin B6, creating a chemical known as 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) as an intermediate step. <div><br /></div><div><b>What is Melatonin? </b></div><div>First identified in 1958, this naturally occurring hormone is manufactured by the pineal gland, a pea-size organ deep within the brain. All humans and most animals secrete melatonin throughout their lives, with the highest levels occurring during childhood. As we age, however, the production of melatonin declines, leading some researchers to theorise that melatonin supplementation might benefit all older people. Interestingly, natural melatonin levels vary widely. about 1% of the population have very low levels, and another 1% have levels 500 times above normal. There's no correlation, however, between these amounts and specific health concerns or sleep patterns.
What it does.
One of the main functions of melatonin is to regulate cycles of sleep and wakefulness. it does so by helping to set the brain's internal clock, creating what are known as circadian rhythms - the body's daily biorhythms that govern everything from sleeping and waking times to digestive functions and the release of a variety of hormones linked to reproduction and other body processes. In order to produce melatonin, the body responds to light cues, making more when it's dark outside (production begins each evening around dusk and peaks between 2 am and 4 am)and less during the day. this daily cyclical melatonin secretion is what tells the body when to sleep and when to awaken.
What is the relationship between serotonin and melatonin? The brain (as well as the retinas, bone marrow, and certain white blood cells) make melatonin from serotonin. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant that can slow the progression of Parkinson's disease and ovarian cancer, but once it has quenched a free radical reaction to protect a cell, it is used up, and cannot be recharged. Once serotonin has been transformed into melatonin, there is no further serotonin and melatonin reaction, since there are no serotonin vs melatonin reactions and melatonin is not turned back into serotonin.
There are many supplements, such as 5-HTP, that can help your brain make serotonin. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What is 5-HTP? </b></div><div>The nutrient 5-HTP, short for 5-hydroxytryptophan, is a derivative of the amino acid, which is found in such high-protein foods as beef, chicken, fish, and dairy products. The body makes 5-HTP from the tryptophan present in our diets. It's also in the seeds of an African plant called <i>Griffonia simplicifolia</i> which is the source of the 5-HTP supplements sold in health-food stores. </div><div><br /></div><div>The focus of much recent interest, 5-HTP acts on the brain, helping to elevate mood, promote sleep and weight loss, and relieve migraines, among other uses. Unlike many other supplements, (and drugs) that contain substances with molecules too large to pass from the blood stream into the brain, 5-HTP is small enough to enter the brain. Once there, it is converted into a vital nervous system chemical, or neurotransmitter, called serotonin. Although it affects many parts of the body, serotonin's most important actions take place in the brain, where it influences everything from mood to appetite to sleep.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>But if you taking a supplement or a medication for depression, do you also need to take melatonin? </b></div><div>It all depends on whether or not you have trouble sleeping. If you are already on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), ask your doctor if you might not be treated with a drug called agomelatine, which is sold under the trade names Melitor, Thymanax, and Valdoxan. This drug is not a reuptake inhibitor, but it keeps the brain from recycling 5-HTP, keeping serotonin levels higher, while it also helps the brain make more melatonin. Especially if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder with moderate to severe depression, this medication may be better for you than any supplement. Only your doctor will know for sure. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Deep Sleep </b></div><div>If you don't need this medication, then you might consider adding melatonin to your supplement program. The thing to remember about melatonin is that it induces sleep-so you want to take it at bedtime, not when you need to be waking up to go to work!
Also, start with a smaller dose. Melatonin is non-toxic even in large doses, but you should only take enough to get to sleep. This is usually 1 to 3 mg, taken 1 hour before the desired bedtime. It also helps to sleep in the dark, so your brain can make its own melatonin. The slightest exposure to blue light, even if your eyelids are closed, interrupts the brain's production of melatonin. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIw26fyf52MyDYQVsLp3V-PP80taPv_pRuXFgPHK74oC6xi_5Vu8hznChnfJYrRee_fGbpHw-QVewBnieIWXpgEcQXq7vBPJdpr99DeNlLdJKVd9M_l6aCFa13SCN7p5V5Va2i03jwrnk/s700/Tart+Cherries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIw26fyf52MyDYQVsLp3V-PP80taPv_pRuXFgPHK74oC6xi_5Vu8hznChnfJYrRee_fGbpHw-QVewBnieIWXpgEcQXq7vBPJdpr99DeNlLdJKVd9M_l6aCFa13SCN7p5V5Va2i03jwrnk/s320/Tart+Cherries.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Montmorency tart cherries</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Only one food delivers melatonin in a dosage that makes a difference to your health; Montmorency tart cherries. If you like cherries, eat them every day. You may find that they help both depression and insomnia. (More about anxiety and insomnia). </div>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-67242074060996170252020-01-31T01:52:00.002-08:002020-12-18T19:39:57.081-08:00Hard Truth On Being A Private Practitioner <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: times;"><span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="color: #333333; text-align: left;">"Theory is a major element in professional knowledge. Doubts about its value reported by practitioners raise questions at a critical juncture in the careers field about the relevance of prevailing theories and how they are approached. The topic of the relationship between theory and practice is a sensitive one in the debate on competencies and an illuminating one in that on post-modernism. As recent studies demonstrate, problems in integrating theory and practice arise in training and may persist, but experienced practitioners achieve ‘fusion’ between them and become ‘practical theorists’. Practice is improvisatory, and is refined by frameworks provided by theory, critical thinking and ‘reflective practice’. However, theories are often tardy or irrelevant, and practitioners also need to be able to carry out their own research, including action research. This has implications for initial and in-service training, supervision and policy, and for the relationships between researchers, theorists and practitioners." (</span><i><span class="authors" face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">Audrey Collin</span><span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span class="date" face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">(1996)</span><span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span class="art_title" face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 5px;">Re-thinking the relationship between theory and practice: Practitioners as map-readers, map-makers—or jazz players?,</span><span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span class="serial_title" face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">British Journal of Guidance & Counselling,</span><span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span class="volume_issue" face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">24:1,</span><span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span class="page_range" face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">67-81,</span><span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span class="doi_link" face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03069889608253709" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">10.1080/03069889608253709</a>)</span></i></span></div>
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<span class="doi_link" face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: times;">Let's get something straight. A registered and licensed counselor in Malaysia has several job options: organizations, education and private practice. Counselors who work in organizations as career counselors earn a monthly income, regardless of how many counseling sessions they clock in a month. Counselors in educational settings would also be receiving monthly salary where the hours spent on counseling is further added with roles of being a substitute teacher. Some might even pursue their doctorate degree that would make them attractive to higher education universities and colleges. They also earn a monthly income which allows them the privilege of providing pro bono counseling as to ensure they do not lose the skills they have acquired through their trainings during practicum and internship. The same cannot be said of those who chose to be their own bosses by taking the huge leap into setting up a private practice.</span></div>
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Many therapists have dreams of one day starting their own private practice. Following through on these aspirations, however, requires taking a number of things into consideration.</span></div>
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There are definite pros and cons. Having worked as a therapist for a number of community organizations prior to having my own private practice, I can attest to the validity of both. Some of the issues to consider include:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">BUSINESS CONCERNS</span></h2>
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Starting a private practice requires exploring the laws in your city that apply to owning your own business. You will typically need to obtain a business license from the city you live in and renew it on a yearly basis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">WORK SCHEDULE</span></h2>
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Owning your own business means having the freedom to limit the number of days and hours worked. However, you also need to be able to accommodate people when they are available to come in, which may require having to work evenings and/or weekends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">MARKETING</span></h2>
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Being in private practice requires taking the steps necessary to generate business, which many therapists feel uncomfortable doing. Establishing a web presence is important in order to attract individuals looking for the specific services you offer, the therapeutic approach you use, and any areas of expertise you may have. Effective ways of advertising include creating a practice website, writing a blog, and maintaining one or more professional profiles on online therapist directories such as <a href="https://www.goodtherapy.org/find-therapist.html" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #039be5; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">GoodTherapy.org</a>. All of these efforts take time and some financial investment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">EXPENSES</span></h2>
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Going into private practice requires taking into consideration the overhead and other expenses that apply when one owns a business. Some of the expenses to account for include the need to lease office space; the cost of utilities; furnishing the space; marketing efforts; obtaining office supplies and business cards; and the price of medical, dental, and liability insurance. You will also need to decide whether to do your billing yourself, which can be time-consuming, or hire someone to do it for you. If you are just starting out, you may want to consider subletting an office on a part-time basis (for example, on weekends and/or one or two evenings a week) to start building your practice before quitting your full-time job.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">FLUCTUATING INCOME</span></h2>
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Although a private practice can be profitable, it can also be unpredictable at times. Whereas you are typically guaranteed a certain monthly income when working for an agency or organization, a private practice does not provide the same level of security. The number of individuals seen, as well as the income generated, tends to vary from month to month. It can also take time to build up sufficient business for you to live off of, and you have to set aside money for taxes and/or make quarterly estimated tax payments, as this will not be done for you. You also need to keep in mind you will not get paid for any time off, so you will need to have a cushion set aside in order to account for any vacation or sick time.</span></div>
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Going into private practice can be profitable and rewarding, but it can take a lot of time and energy before you get to that point. The risks associated with any type of business are not for everyone, but the dream of starting your own private practice can become a reality if you are willing to take a leap of faith and put in the work needed in order to succeed.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: times;">Source: Good Therapy.</span></i></div>
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Which brings me to the current pebble in my shoe. People who only know how to teach. They have never been self-employed. They have never been without a boss to make decisions for them. They have never not have a fixed monthly income. They sit on their cushy asses, their noses buried in textbooks they read and vomit to their students. They know theories by hard and accumulate knowledge and yet have no spare time whatsoever to practice the so-called knowledge they had learned. And yet, they have all the time in the world to question the credibility of others who have guts to take risks. They believe that just because they are the academicians, they are the only ones who are ethical. They question other people's decision making styles. Their worldview is confined to the four walls of their classes that it is rendered unrealistic in so many hilarious levels!<br />
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The hard truth is private practice can never guarantee you a stable monthly income. There is no EPF or SOCSO unless you are willing to invest in yourself on your own. Without trust, no amount of therapy can ever be effective on the client. However, we can be grateful for technology that we have now that didn't exist when I was first setting out. And I am eternally grateful to western content on the media for making mental health more palatable to the general local public.<br />
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So, why choose private practice? Because somehow, when we connect with our clients and see them live up to their fullest potential, something inside us hear words of affirmation: "You did good!" What we do matter to our clients. And that is reason enough.<br />
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-31490969353423804732020-01-31T01:17:00.000-08:002020-01-31T01:17:01.716-08:00About MY ConfidentialMY Confidential (Association of Private Counselors) was established as an NGO on February 22nd, 2019. We provide private counselling services to the general public as well as service office counselling rooms for licensed practitioners at reasonable fees.<br />
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Our humanitarian mission is to provide psychological support to our first responders and rescuers in crises settings. We aim to have our members and volunteers to be trained as caregivers as well as being a support system to those whose jobs are to save lives.<br />
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Our members consist of registered and licensed counselors in private practice, counseling interns, counseling students, and those who are trained in Crisis Intervention, First Aid and CPR. Our members have attended extensive Air Emergency Exercises organized by Malaysia Airports.Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-86434248398031195572020-01-30T21:40:00.000-08:002020-01-30T21:40:21.581-08:00A Note From Founder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzywYj5uYHMcKAWcnANJBq9ig0mLjwdkPtC3LZp1nsUf9TMBfCEbKLWNk8fjjgMTIE5mz8yU7E838HRjeEwTA3z9M8xoMpZ5mBQLrD2fQPdog0WQHQrG83tbctm5KNBayaopOBC4AfB0c/s1600/82831159_10157190354284412_7706344056959270912_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzywYj5uYHMcKAWcnANJBq9ig0mLjwdkPtC3LZp1nsUf9TMBfCEbKLWNk8fjjgMTIE5mz8yU7E838HRjeEwTA3z9M8xoMpZ5mBQLrD2fQPdog0WQHQrG83tbctm5KNBayaopOBC4AfB0c/s320/82831159_10157190354284412_7706344056959270912_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><i>“We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?”</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b><i>—Steve Jobs</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This quote continuously inspires me. And the very reason I first started out being a pioneer in private practice in Malaysia. Back when the only places anyone can get any counselling services were either in churches or religious governmental department, I saw the gaping void in the need for regular individuals could go to for therapy with the confidence in privacy and confidentiality. The very core to the effectiveness of counselling is none other than TRUST. And with the stigma surrounding mental illness, many were too afraid to even admit they needed help, what more to be seen walking into a public counselling centre. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Having witnessed how publicly ugly my parents's divorce was back in 1978, I wished there was somewhere they could've gone for some form of help for their marital challenges that was also private and confidential. This spurred me to venture into private practice, although the income was very unstable, at best. Needless to say that I wouldn't have been able to do this without the rock solid support from my husband and the understanding from my daughters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The challenges that came with the private practice were countless. Aside from the general public phobia of being seen as 'crazy' by their loved ones, finding a private location for an office that was also affordable based on unstable income seemed humungous. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fast forward two decades and now I have successfully taught and trained an excellent team of counsellors who have joined me in MY Confidential. I have also established a centre that provides licensed counsellors a place for them to see their clients with flexible hours and very reasonable room rates. All this is a part of the cause that I have been championing: to encourage more and more counsellors to venture into private practice without having to cough out a huge amount of investment to set up an office.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Apart from the private practice, MY Confidential members get to volunteer on crisis missions. Our current focus is on the rescuers and first responders of SMART Malaysia. My personal mission is to have MY Confidential as an NGO that is self-funded by the use of the counselling centre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My promise to the general public is making your privacy our priority.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My promise to licensed counselors who choose to join us is the affordable room rate for a professional and private setting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, my promise to Malaysia: MY Confidential is making a dent in the universe; one person at a time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome to MY Confidential!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sincerely,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Johana Dato' Johari</span></div>
Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-59212801667797265072019-03-16T09:16:00.002-07:002019-03-16T09:20:21.022-07:00Membership Application Form for MY Confidential<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZUShd8KkfDlywyHScO39nnLVWmDG6VMnLpl0-BeOt_SmekzwhQCWO9I91S4sZNiKKWse56UXaiFKC7sTqtaqUl-v56twuBBwVU8GOhSoNXeVmIbejRHtgm-CrmOgfzrbgPpoq0iM6dA/s1600/membership-application-form-with-pen-membership-application-form-with-ballpoint-pen-stock-photo_csp50633529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZUShd8KkfDlywyHScO39nnLVWmDG6VMnLpl0-BeOt_SmekzwhQCWO9I91S4sZNiKKWse56UXaiFKC7sTqtaqUl-v56twuBBwVU8GOhSoNXeVmIbejRHtgm-CrmOgfzrbgPpoq0iM6dA/s400/membership-application-form-with-pen-membership-application-form-with-ballpoint-pen-stock-photo_csp50633529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Since the previous post, many individuals have shown enthusiastic interest in joining our noble cause. Anyone who wishes to do so, may download the pdf membership registration form. After filling up the form, you may proceed to submitting them via email at <a href="mailto:info.myconfidential@gmail.com">info.myconfidential@gmail.com</a> or personally drop in at our office at 8B Jalan Wan Kadir, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. The pdf downloadable is below:<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_asxn0g-YPux9FBmpoxhWyxh0fA9TWil/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">MY Confidential Membership Application Form</a><br />
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You may also contact us directly by the widget and the bottom of the right side of this page.<br />
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Do share this with those whom you believe would be interested in joining our team. We look forward to hearing from you.<br />
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Cheers and Peace!Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-57912362272281227132019-03-13T22:41:00.003-07:002020-01-31T01:10:22.900-08:00Association of Private Counselors (MY Confidential)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In March 2014, Malaysia's MH370 went missing. And that was when I received my true calling. Doctors tend to be at their best when their patients are at their worst. Same goes for counselors. The irony of the pinnacle of my career happening at Malaysia's worst. Malaysia was unprepared for this. Caregivers were not trained for a commercial carrier to vanish into thin air.<br />
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MH370. Everly Hotel Emergency Operations Center. 2014.</div>
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A few months later, MH17 was shot down. Still reeling with dwindling hope of ever finding our missing aeroplane, I volunteered my time and expertise again. Again, I was at my best. Although caregivers had some experience in dealing with MH370's next of kins, most of the passengers were foreigners and therefore the green zone was in all the countries affected by the event.<br />
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These two extraordinary mishaps had shaped and formed me as a counselor. I saw what was lacking and what needed to get done. And I was no longer the same. That is what is often said for those who had survived a storm.<br />
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Fast forward to 2019. In the past 5 years, I had expanded my expertise from mere counseling to teaching and to training. Teaching future counselors. Training them to be caregivers. Caregivers. Often, this term is associated with palliative care. But without caregivers, the next of kins of both airplanes would have not had anyone to tend to their sorrow and grief. The caregivers provided support to those who needed them most.<br />
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Apart from the caregivers, the first responders such as rescuers were also the unsung heroes. The public only complained and criticised about shortcomings of any missions but little do they realize how important the rescuers are to our wellbeing as a whole. Hence, I begun my most important mission of all: to give care and support to the rescuers.<br />
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More often than not, they return from traumatizing missions with no one to tend to their PTSD. Many scored very highly on the PTSD Checklist. Yet, they remain silent for fear of losing their jobs. While the mental health of our common people should be prioritized, we should also have someone championing the mental health of our first responders and rescuers.<br />
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MY Confidential (Association of Private Counselors) was established as an NGO on February 22nd, 2019. Our mission is to provide psychological support to our frontliners. We aim to have our members and volunteers to be trained as caregivers as well as being a support system to those whose jobs are to save lives.<br />
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Our members consist of registered and licensed counselors in private practice, counseling interns, counseling students, and those who are trained in Crisis Intervention, First Aid and CPR. Our members have attended extensive Air Emergency Exercises organized by Malaysia Airports.<br />
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AEREX. KLIA. 2018</div>
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AEREX. KLIA. 2018</div>
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Members learning First Aid and CPR</div>
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We welcome all registered and licensed private counselors to join our squad. We welcome volunteers who are creative in raising funds for our cause. We welcome financial support and funding from individuals and corporations who share our vision for making mental health affordable to everyone. </div>
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For further details, do contact our President Ms Johana Dato' Johari at 018-9136688 or email at <a href="mailto:johana.myconfidential@gmail.com">johana.myconfidential@gmail.com</a></div>
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Join us in our noble humanitarian mission and may we all be blessed with purposeful lives. Ameen.</div>
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-32614913728838647262019-02-25T21:23:00.001-08:002019-02-25T21:56:52.588-08:00Why us?<div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
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Why choose MY Confidential for counseling? Because we assure affordable fees by keeping our monthly overheads to a bare minimum while providing an environment that is not only emotionally safe for clients to open up but also that our location is in a safe neighbourhood. We abide by the fee structure gazetted by law and there are no hidden charges. See below.<br />
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-67065890993039650372019-01-09T01:38:00.001-08:002019-01-17T21:41:27.994-08:00Opening Soon: A New Clinic!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPrtKqTuLxXKR4LTY16iI-dv8vUQWW3Vh3BIizk-kjMmFTQFRQY4vKnnuY8zKgcOZl5HGRVYFpTaY1jAajlNxbmo1ja8tyNiYmkTtupewuMBxsCIl1FNvbK1r_4sTQqhymiJd4Nx6De8/s1600/fe0c79caa49e15bcf0852e4c33242f40.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPrtKqTuLxXKR4LTY16iI-dv8vUQWW3Vh3BIizk-kjMmFTQFRQY4vKnnuY8zKgcOZl5HGRVYFpTaY1jAajlNxbmo1ja8tyNiYmkTtupewuMBxsCIl1FNvbK1r_4sTQqhymiJd4Nx6De8/s320/fe0c79caa49e15bcf0852e4c33242f40.png" width="227" /></a></div>
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We are excited to announce the upcoming opening of our clinic in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. Therefore, we will only resume sessions with clients by early February. Keep your eyes on this site for more updates.<br />
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-62218849087958400642015-05-29T20:46:00.000-07:002015-05-29T21:32:23.238-07:00The Best Apology - How To Say Sorry Like You Mean It<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Cuprum; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26.672000885009766px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Forgiveness is an essential part of a growing relationship. Without a consistent practice of forgiveness, relationships are repressed. Forgiveness is not something that comes naturally to most of us, <a href="http://staymarriedblog.com/a-rhythm-of-forgiveness-grudges-apologies-and-making-a-relationship-last/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="A Rhythm of Forgiveness – Grudges, Apologies, and Making a Relationship Last - #staymarried">certainly not to me</a>, but it <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">can</i> be learned.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: #ac8c00; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Forgiveness Doesn’t Always Involve Reconciliation</span></h3>
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Forgiveness doesn’t always involve reconciliation. The sad reality is that sometimes forgiveness may need to happen for the offended party to move on and begin to heal, but restoring a relationship with the offender would actually be an unhealthy and unwise thing to do. For instance, I do not have a relationship with the man who sexually abused me as a child. For my own sake, <a href="http://staymarriedblog.com/baggage-handling/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Baggage Handling - #staymarried">I do work on forgiveness over that situation regularly</a>. I don’t need to have contact with him or work through <span id="more-4517" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>anything with him. He is an unsafe person and pursuing any kind of reconciliation would be toxic to my life. I share that extreme example because forgiveness is such a tough and confusing topic for those of us who have experienced this kind of deep betrayal.</div>
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For now, as we talk about forgiveness, let’s agree that we are talking about forgiveness in the context of relationships we value and want to continue, like our marriages. If we want our marriages to last, forgiveness must be learned and practiced over and over again.</div>
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The act of forgiveness is just one side of the equation. For Tony and I, there is a regular rhythm of forgiving and apologizing. Sometimes it’s a quick tapping on the snare drum… apologize, forgive, apologize, forgive, apologize, forgive. Sometimes there is a longer wait and a few extra beats in between… Stand off. Eye contact. Apologize. Stew. Avoid. Forgive. The goal is always to get to apologizing and forgiving at some point, even if there are motions that happen in between. It’s our rhythm, it’s not perfect, but we keep working on it.</div>
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<a href="http://staymarriedblog.com/a-rhythm-of-forgiveness-grudges-apologies-and-making-a-relationship-last/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">Last week</a> we focused on the forgiveness side of our rhythm. We shared with you that a relationship cannot last without a consistent practice of forgiveness. A good apology is a pretty essential factor in each of us coming to a point of sincere forgiveness. I used to believe that forgiveness was essential regardless of an apology. In some cases, I still believe it, but I have since learned that if a relationship is going to grow, both are truly necessary.</div>
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<img alt="The Best Apology - How to say sorry like you mean it #staymarried" class="alignright wp-image-4509" height="350" src="http://staymarriedblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/RhythmOfForgiveness2.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Best Apology - How to say sorry like you mean it #staymarried" width="350">I can forgive someone who has not apologized, but our relationship will be stunted. Trust has been broken and it’s not going to be repaired without the other person acknowledging I was hurt. So it is in the case of my relationship with the man who abused me. I have and continue to forgive him <a href="http://staymarriedblog.com/how-to-find-a-great-therapist/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="How to Find a Great Therapist - #staymarried">through counseling</a>and my own healing process, but he has not and will not apologize. Our relationship is absolutely not going to grow. We are completely separated and I am the better for it. Again, an extreme example so that we can get to the relationship we really want to talk about, our marriage relationships, and the way we <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">do</i>want it to grow.</div>
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In our marriages, apologies are just as necessary as forgiveness. An apology is usually the turning point in a fight. It’s the point at which you go from heated anger and growing resentment to consider how to grow past an offense. Sometimes apologies can be weak and actually make the situation worse. But, just like we can learn to be better forgivers, we can also learn to apologize in the way our spouse will best receive it.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: #ac8c00; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What Kind of Apology Do You Need?</span></h3>
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Tony and I often talk about understanding each other’s <a href="http://staymarriedblog.com/speaking-my-language/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Speaking my Language - #staymarried">Love Language</a>. Since discovering them, through Gary Chapman’s research and book, we have found them incredibly valuable in relating to and understanding each other. It turns out that Gary Chapman and co-author and researcher Jennifer Thomas have also discovered there are five distinct ways that people express and prefer to receive apologies. They go into great detail and wonderful examples in their book <a href="http://www.5lovelanguages.com/resource/when-sorry-isnt-enough/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When Sorry Isn’t Enough</i></a>, so it’s definitely worth the read. In the mean time, take a look at this list and consider which of these types of apologies you are most likely to make and which you prefer to hear from someone who hurts you…</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: #42516e; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Five Languages of Apology</span></h3>
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Expressing Regret<br>Accepting Responsibility<br>Making Restitution<br>Genuinely Repenting<br>Requesting Forgiveness</div>
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If you’d like to discover your personal <a href="http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/apology/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Apology Language Profile - 5 Love Languages">Apology Language Profile</a>, you can take their free assessment here. It takes about 15 minutes, so give yourself some time, preferably when you are relaxed and try not to rush through it. <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hint: You can click the Start button even if you don’t enter your name and email if you’d like to get started right away.</i></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/apology/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Apology Language Profile - 5 Love Languages">Click here to find out your Apology Language Profile.</a></strong></div>
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We believe that all five are so important, so we have our own way of thinking about apologizing that, as it turns out, incorporates them all. It’s a short list of dos and don’ts that we’ve named “The Best Apology.” Now, if you’re like me, you won’t find yourself wrong very often… or you won’t realize that you were wrong very often… so you might want to <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/119838040060289230/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Pin this image</a> so you can refer back to it on the rare occasion that you do need to apologize.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhof7pdDVg_r6aUUVOJQvJ0KjahDCdQEwE-z4WD-a5JvutODoog8bMOmeuWS6cAfKc33L05ZgVJbsXe_44AEMApBgBlWOo8bsxC2tl3xp820wAzDkh8uwuEExwz0vxCYsOLZ0I-MRIVyOk/s1600/TheBestApology1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhof7pdDVg_r6aUUVOJQvJ0KjahDCdQEwE-z4WD-a5JvutODoog8bMOmeuWS6cAfKc33L05ZgVJbsXe_44AEMApBgBlWOo8bsxC2tl3xp820wAzDkh8uwuEExwz0vxCYsOLZ0I-MRIVyOk/s1600/TheBestApology1.jpg"></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cuprum; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26.672000885009766px;">Talk these through with your spouse. Take a look at each point and decide together how you would feel if your partner apologized to you using these dos and don’ts. Take some time to take the </span><a href="http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/apology/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; border: 0px; color: #ddbb22; display: inline; font-family: Cuprum; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26.672000885009766px; margin: 20px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Apology Language Profile - 5 Love Languages">Apology Language Profile</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cuprum; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26.672000885009766px;"> and share your results with one another. It could be that the apologies you’ve been making haven’t been received because they are in the wrong apology language. Arguing and fighting are natural and necessary parts of marriage and we aren’t going to always be able to avoid them. So, it’s essential that we get really good at apologizing, forgiving, and committing to #staymarried.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cuprum; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26.672000885009766px;">Original Source: </span>http://staymarriedblog.com/the-best-apology-how-to-say-sorry-like-you-mean-it/</div>
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-61825754073342673642015-04-05T22:57:00.000-07:002015-04-05T22:57:35.340-07:006 Steps to Help Heal Your Inner Child<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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According to John Bradshaw, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553353896/?tag=psychcentral" style="border: 0px; color: #286ea0; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;" target="_blank"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">Home Coming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child,</em></a>the process of healing your wounded inner child is one of grief, and it involves these six steps (paraphrased from Bradshaw):</div>
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1. Trust</h4>
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For your wounded inner child to come out of hiding, he must be able to trust that you will be there for him. Your inner child also needs a supportive, non-shaming ally to validate his abandonment, neglect, abuse, and enmeshment. Those are the first essential elements in original pain work.</div>
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2. Validation</h4>
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If you’re still inclined to minimize and/or rationalize the ways in which you were shamed, ignored, or used to nurture your parents, you need now to accept the fact that these things truly wounded your soul. Your parents weren’t bad, they were just wounded kids themselves.</div>
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3. Shock & Anger</h4>
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If this is all shocking to you, that’s great, because shock is the beginning of grief.</div>
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It’s okay to be angry, even if what was done to you was unintentional. In fact, you <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">have </strong>to be angry if you want to heal your wounded inner child. I don’t mean you need to scream and holler (although you might). It’s just okay to be mad about a dirty deal.</div>
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I know [my parents] did the best that two wounded adult children could do. But I’m also aware that I was deeply wounded spiritually and that it’s had life-damaging consequences for me. What that means is that I hold us all responsible to stop what we’re doing to ourselves and to others. I will not tolerate the outright dysfunction and abuse that dominated my family system.</div>
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4. Sadness</h4>
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After anger comes hurt and sadness. If we were victimized, we must grieve that betrayal. We must also grieve what might’ve been–our dreams and aspirations. We must grieve our unfulfilled developmental needs.</div>
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5. Remorse</h4>
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When we grieve for someone who’s died, remorse is sometimes more relevant; for instance, perhaps we wish we’d spent more time with the deceased person. But in grieving childhood abandonment, you must help your wounded inner child see that there was <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">nothing</em> he could’ve done differently. His pain is about what happened to him; it’s about him</div>
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6. Loneliness</h4>
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The deepest core feelings of grief are toxic shame and loneliness. We were shamed by [our parents] abandoning us. We feel we are bad, as if we’re contaminated, and that shame leads to loneliness. Since our inner child feels flawed and defective, he has to cover up his true self with his adapted, false self. He then comes to identify himself by his false self. His true self remains alone and isolated.</div>
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Staying with this last layer of painful feelings is the hardest part of the grief process. “The only way out is through,” we say in therapy. It’s hard to stay at that level of shame and loneliness; but as we embrace these feelings, we come out the other side. We encounter the self that’s been in hiding. You see, because we hid it from others, we hid it from ourselves. In embracing our shame and loneliness, we begin to touch our truest self.</div>
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<a href="http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/author/thereseb/" rel="author" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 85) !important; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.15999984741211px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">Therese J. Borchard</a><br style="color: #222222; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.15999984741211px; zoom: 1;" /><em style="border: 0px; color: #222222; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.15999984741211px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;">Associate Editor</em></div>
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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/09/23/6-steps-to-help-heal-your-inner-child/</div>
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-22195840719464285612015-03-03T04:39:00.000-08:002015-03-03T05:30:26.567-08:00Choosing to Love Myself<div class="body_1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-align: justify;">
"The 1998 book,<em style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"> Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom</em>, is the primary text for all that is taught by The William Glasser Institute. Choice theory states that:</div>
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In practice, the most important need is love and belonging, as closeness and connectedness with the people we care about is a requisite for satisfying all of the needs."</div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.wglasser.com/the-glasser-approach/choice-theory">William Glasser Institute</a></div>
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Today, I've decided to focus on our need for love. We all need to love and feel closely connected with those who are important to us and be loved by them in return. But lets ponder upon something: how many of us actually include ourselves as someone of equal importance in our own lives? How many of us include ourselves in our Quality Worlds? How many of us feel connected to our own inner selves?</div>
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The past few months have been emotionally challenging to me, to say the least. I found myself feeling unappreciated and invisible to those whom I considered worthy to exist in my Quality World. I felt disappointed when they didn't reciprocate the things I had gone out of my way to do in order for them feel happy and loved. And it was truly difficult for me to shift my perspective and look at what happened from other angles. I couldn't figure out why I kept allowing them to disappoint me when they have an excellent track record at letting me down repeatedly. I understand the concept that just because I have them in my Quality World, that does not guarantee that I will be in their's. If such is the case, I should be able to easily communicate my personal boundaries to them and tell them that what they were doing to me is not okay. I was able to do that with most of those in my Quality World. But why couldn't I do the same to the few that were hurting me and causing me a lot of emotional stress?</div>
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It was during my latest session with my therapist that I experienced a very powerful inner revelation: I loved those who were hurting me more than I love myself! Wow! That was a real huge wrecking ball to break my concrete hard mental blocks!</div>
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Think about it for a moment. Why don't we include ourselves in our own Quality Worlds? Why? Is it possible we suffer from self loathing? Is it possible that our inner bullies have judged us unworthy of being loved by others? When someone tells us they love us, how many of us battle the inner cynic that whispers "Yeah, sure!" It is easy for us to believe we are loved by our parents and siblings. But when it comes to others who are not related to us, we counter their expressions of love with disbelief. I seriously think this stems from lack of self love. And this is not healthy. At all. And lets take a look at the Seven Deadly Habits. How easy it is for us to criticize, blame, complain, nag, threaten, punish and bribe (often with junk food or impulsive spending) ourselves.</div>
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Imagine practicing the Seven Caring Habits onto ourselves for just a day. We can either choose to apply all Seven Caring Habits onto ourselves in a day (all 7 in 1 day, once a week), or choose one of the Seven Caring Habits onto ourselves for one whole week (1 Caring Habit a day, everyday, for 1 week). In fact, there's a variety of ways you can apply this idea onto yourself. The sky the limit as far as this is concerned!</div>
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Imagine how you would feel if you were to practice supporting your inner self all throughout a day; or even a week! Of course, you would still be getting support from people around you. But if you do not feel you are worthy of accepting any external support, no matter how supportive people are around you, you would still end up feeling alone and unsupported. The same goes with the rest of the caring habits such as encouraging, listening, accepting, trusting, respecting yourself and negotiating differences that exist between what lies within you and what you show the world.</div>
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Do you view yourself idealistically according to how you see yourself in your Quality World or are you able to accept yourself realistically as who you really are? Are you congruent with yourself? Does your inside match your outside? Are you able to be authentic and sincere with yourself? Chances are, if you feel exhausted and glad to be home within your comfort zone after a social outing because it does take a lot out of you to behave a certain way and suppress your true self, it is highly possible that you are afraid to be yourself. That is a sign of lack of self acceptance and lack of self worth.</div>
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What I am suggesting is that we practice the Seven Caring Habits onto ourselves FIRST before we even start doing the same onto others. A cliche quote comes to mind. "Charity begins at home." Here's mine: "If you don't love yourself, you don't know what love is."</div>
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-79375540123204688362015-02-26T07:29:00.000-08:002015-02-26T07:31:02.194-08:00Mental Health and Happiness: Latest Video Discussion With Dr Ken Larsen.Sharing my own personal struggles in maintaining mental health as well as my first hand experiences in an effective application of Choice Theory in my daily life. Click the link below to watch the video.<br />
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<a href="http://mentalhealthandhappiness.com/profiles_johana-johari/">http://mentalhealthandhappiness.com/profiles_johana-johari/</a>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-88879739586988518052015-02-24T23:33:00.000-08:002015-03-03T04:44:38.980-08:00Realistic Ideals and Idealistic RealitiesThrough his theory on Reality Therapy, Dr. William Glasser explains that most negative and/or abnormal behaviours are merely symptoms of unhappiness. This unhappiness stems from many of the basic needs not being met in one's life. In our ideal world, we have significant people in our lives, places and material things and last but not least, our values and belief system. When our ideal world does not match our reality, we will employ all kinds of negative behaviours as a way to control our reality just so that it will match our ideal world. This is called External Control Psychology. Parents scold their children for misbehaving. Teachers will threaten and punish when student don't do their homework. Both parents and teachers can vouch that external control psychology only works for a while. Pretty soon, its effectiveness will wane.<br />
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To cite an example of a character taken from a movie, Jack Nicholson's character in "As Good As It Gets" displays symptoms that can be diagnosed as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He chooses to behave this way, sticking religiously to rituals of latching his door three times, switching his lights on and off three times, and other eccentric looking practices, just so that he wouldn't have the time to dwell on the fact that he has noone to love and noone to love him. He is lonely. What is tragic about this character is that it is based on a real life person! The hassles of performing his rituals daily is nothing compared to the pain of his loneliness.<br />
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In my ideal world, my parents are still married to each other, loving each other and our family in perfect harmony. But in reality, my parents divorced when I was just 13 years old. Although they are no longer married to one another, my parents do get along very well. Looks like they are better off as friends rather than as spouses. In my ideal world, my brothers and their families get along famously with myself and my family. But in reality, a few years ago, my brothers and I have had a few clashes. I chose to try depressing, angering and crying. Mind you, none of these behaviours worked! But when I gave up trying to match my reality to my ideals, I felt it easier to accept things as the way they were. And to my surprise, things did work out eventually for all of us. Because I chose to stop trying to control the choices and behaviours of those I love and focused more on controlling my own behaviour and wishing things to be the way i wanted them to be.<br />
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This is an example of how we choose our behaviours and the choices we make all in the name of being idealistic. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with being idealistic and having ideals. But it is healthier for us to not behave in ways to control others to behave the way we want them to behave. We get angry with friends, family and children because we hope that our angering will be produce better behaviour from them. That means to be a controlling freak! I admit, for many years, I was just that - a controlling freak. But, thanks to knowledge of psychology and Choice Theory, I have learned that everyone likes to be in control of something or someone, but noone likes to be controlled!<br />
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I have learned to accept that although I may have some significant people in my ideal world, it is ok for me not to be in their ideal world. I have come across many people who are often depressed, angry, frustrated and hostile just because their ideals and reality don't quite match. And when they fail to control those they wish to control, the above feelings get magnified a million times. Some of their unhappiness may manifest itself in the form of physical pain that has no physiology to it, i.e; they've gone to their doctors for cures but no medication would work. Aches and pains that has no physiological reasons to them can be termed as fibromyalgia or psychosomatic pains. When they choose to think more positively, they will feel and behave better, and those mysterious aches and pains will magically disappear!<br />
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There are those who are close to my heart and mean the world to me who are showing symptoms of unhappiness. They relentlessly try to control those around them and when all else fails, they begin behaving in ways that drive even the most loyal and loving away from them. Sadly, they don't realise what they are doing to themselves. My fervent wish is to be given the opportunity by Allah to help them see themselves and their lives from a different angle.<br />
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So, next time when you are feeling angry, upset, frustrated or flabbergasted, ask yourself, "What is it that I really want? Am I hungry or in pain? Whose behaviour is it that I am trying so hard to control? Whose behaviour can I really control? Is this behaviour going to help me get what I want? Is there another behaviour that I can choose that would yield the results that I want?"<br />
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Next time a massive urge to control someone other than yourself rises to your throat that makes you wanna just shout in anger, my prescription to you is this: just grab the TV's remote control and switch channels. That way, you won't be chasing all those you love out of your life. And then, only then, will you have all those you love around you and you will feel loved. Below, I have listed out the Seven Deadly Habits that can ruin any relationship and Seven Caring Habits that can enhance and repair any relationship. Give it a go! What have you got to lose?<br />
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Seven Deadly Habits:<br />
Criticising<br />
Blaming<br />
Complaining<br />
Nagging<br />
Threatening<br />
Punishing<br />
Bribing or rewarding to control<br />
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Seven Caring Habits:<br />
Supporting<br />
Encouraging<br />
Listening<br />
Accepting<br />
Trusting<br />
Respecting<br />
Negotiating differences<br />
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"If I choose all that I do, maybe I can choose to do something better."<br />
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-7560100400914165402014-12-31T07:42:00.001-08:002014-12-31T07:42:38.978-08:00Change of Principle Contact NumberPlease be informed that the principle contact number has been changed to +6018-9136688 effective from 1st January, 2015. Location of the office remains the same.<br />
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Thank you.Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-50099168023797111862014-11-09T19:34:00.001-08:002014-11-09T19:34:19.880-08:00Mental Health and Happiness Online SummitHere is a recorded video interview between Dr Anasuya and me. Do take the time to watch. Maybe you will find something that you can learn to be happier.<br />
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<br />Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-76303924517025741522014-05-03T07:58:00.001-07:002014-05-03T07:58:44.191-07:00Mental Health Awareness Month 2014: Mind Your Health<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the past, mental illness has often been associated with the stigma of insanity or madness. The general public believed that people who suffer from anxiety, depression, OCD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder should just 'snap out of it' because 'it's all in your head', and that positive thinking is enough to overcome such imagined maladies. After the recent advancement in brain imaging technology , scientists have been enabling psychiatrist to have better understanding of the brains and dysfunctions that may occur to the brain. Take a look at the brain images below and notice the difference between healthy brains and those riddled with illness.</div>
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In a 2013 BBC documentary entitled "The Truth About Depression," all known facts and beliefs about depression and other mental disorders in the past has now been proven to be inaccurate. The best outcome of this technology advancement is that now psychiatrists are able to treat the parts of the brain affected by the illness instead of prescribing medications that would affect the whole brain. Patients benefit from more precise and accurate dosing of medications. Watch the video below:</div>
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The problem with having a mental illness such as depression is when the word 'depression' has been popularly used by this generation to express sadness, disappointment, heartbreak, anger and most other negative emotions. In actuality, depression is not about all of the above. It's about the absence of vitality.</div>
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Mental illness also has had an adverse affect in the workplace.</div>
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The fact of reality is that 1 in 4 people suffer from some form of undiagnosed mental illness. With modernisation, comes extreme stress and acute anxiety and without the help of professional therapist and mental health professionals, most people are not able to cope with these conditions effectively on their own and can easily spiral out into a more complicated mental disorder. The first step is to educate the society at large about what mental illness is and how important mental health is for everyone. Then, it would be easier for those who need help to admit to themselves and their loved ones of their need for assistance and come forward to receive the treatment they need.</div>
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Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-58775271958558242002013-08-10T13:16:00.002-07:002013-08-10T13:16:48.395-07:00In the Name of Personal Freedom and the Right to be Yourself.Helping out a friend. Click the link below to vote for her:<br />
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<a href="https://live.ae.com/?cid=AE_Social_130717_0entries/Ca4NNjwrrxP1dtBS7BKs#/entries/Ca4NNjwrrxP1dtBS7BKs" target="_blank">Project Live Your Life: Kate S.</a>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-44655999893824695542012-05-05T13:25:00.000-07:002012-05-05T13:25:05.813-07:00Health Benefits of Singing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Scientists say singing boosts immune system</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. - Singing strengthens the immune system, according to
research by scientists at the University of Frankfurt in Germany, published in
the latest edition of the US Journal of Behavioral Medicine. The scientists
tested the blood of people who sang in a professional choir in the city, before
and after a 60 minute rehearsal of Mozart's Requiem.They found that
concentrations of immunoglobin A - proteins in the immune system which function
as antibodies - and hydrocortisone, an anti-stress hormone, increased
significantly during the rehearsal. A week later, when they asked members of
the choir to listen to a recording of the Requiem without singing, they found
the composition of their blood did not change significantly. The researchers,
who included <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hans Guenther Bastian from
the Institute of Musical Education at Frankfurt University</b>, concluded
singing not only strengthened the immune system but also notably improved the
performer's mood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Singing is good for you</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.
- Many studies done over a number of years have focused on the health benefits
of singing, and the evidence is overwhelming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Singing releases endorphins into your
system and makes you feel energized and uplifted. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People who sing are healthier than people who don’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Singing gives the lungs a workout, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Singing tones abdominal and intercostal
muscles and the diaphragm, and stimulates circulation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Singing makes us breathe more deeply
than many forms of strenuous exercise, so we take in more oxygen, improve
aerobic capacity and experience a release of muscle tension as well.” — <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Professor Graham Welch, Director of
Educational Research, University of Surrey, Roehampton, UK</b>.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Singing can help prolong life.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Graham Welch,
director for advanced music education at London’s Roehampton Institute</b>,
states “Singing exercises the vocal cords and keeps them youthful, even in old
age. The less age-battered your voice sounds, the more you will feel, and seem,
younger.” He says that when you break into song, your chest expands and your back
and shoulders straighten, thus improving your posture. Singing lifts moods and
clears the “blues” by taking your mind off the stresses of the day, as well as
releasing pain-relieving endorphins. As you sing along, the professor adds,
your circulation is improved, which in turn oxygenates the cells and boosts the
body’s immune system to ward off minor infections. And “it provides some
aerobic exercise for the elderly or disabled,” Welch says. A recent German
study has shown that active amateur group singing can lead to significant
increases in the production of a protein considered as the first line of
defense against respiratory infections, and also leads to positive emotional
changes. “Given that every human being is, in principle, capable of developing
sufficient vocal skills to participate in a chorale for a lifetime, active
group singing may be a risk-free, economic, easily accessible, and yet powerful
road to enhanced physiological and psychological well-being.”</span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sing yourself happy and fit! </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you have ever wondered why choral singers look to be on a
high, here are some of the reasons. The health benefits of singing are well
documented: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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brain chemicals as sex and chocolate! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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forget that painful tooth/knee/whatever <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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prolonging life expectancy <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your confidence increases <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Source: Barbershop Harmony Society</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For those of you who would like to record your singing for your own personal sense of achievement, do visit <a href="http://myvoice6688.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">MY Voice.</a></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-24476337895822141462012-03-23T01:35:00.001-07:002012-03-23T01:35:49.976-07:00Stop the homosexual witch-hunt | Free Malaysia Today<a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/03/23/stop-the-homosexual-witch-hunt/">Stop the homosexual witch-hunt | Free Malaysia Today</a>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-65474224081189733412012-01-27T09:32:00.000-08:002012-01-27T13:23:54.079-08:00The Internal Dialogue: Mastering the Unseen Forces That Shape Our Destiny<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Though a positive, successful, and engaging person, Pam avoided prolonged looks into her mirror. When she was brushing her hair or applying make-up, she stayed focused on the activity – but would intentionally not make eye contact with herself. Except sometimes. On those occasions a tirade of negative judgments erupted in her thoughts.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">If she didn’t avoid the negative assessment machine in her mind by distraction or busyness, the stream of thoughts that flooded into Pam’s awareness would chide her, “Your nose is too crooked. Your skin is a mess. You’re getting wrinkles under your eyes. You’re too fat. Nobody would give you a second look. You need surgery to look better.” In these moments, Pam would cringe and feel the familiar black pit in her stomach suck the positive energy right out of her. And she would begin to doubt herself and her ability to create a rewarding life.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The strange part of this internal conversation going on in her mind was that Pam knew there was no truth to the accusations. Pam has a dancer’s body and is a highly accomplished dancer. In addition, she teaches dance to serious students. She also is a sought-after model due to her beauty and flawless complexion. Over the course of time, she has attempted to debate the negative voice and has tried thought stopping, positive affirmations, and positive thinking. And for awhile these techniques worked – then, like a thief in the middle of the night, the character assassinations would creep back into her thoughts and cast seeds of doubt in her mind.<span id="more-1147" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Pam’s current stategy, common for many people, for dealing with this discomfort was to avoid the discomfort of this internal dialogue by busying herself with work, activities, or friends – anything to distract herself from listening to the critical Judge living within her.</span></div>
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<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The Internal Dialogue: You and Your Thoughts are Different From One Another</span></strong></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">What Pam is experiencing in the example above is her internal dialogue masquerading as thoughts in her mind. This particular conversation is between a harsh critical voice and her self doubt. And like Pam, all of us have some variation of this internal struggle, whether we like to acknowledge it or not. The key is whether we identify with it as who we are.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">If you have ever been conflicted about something and were of two minds about it, you have experienced the internal dialogue first hand. Most of us simply pay it no mind and believe that “it is only our thoughts running through our mind”. However, not being aware of it or not understanding it does not stop the force it exerts over your life. It drives our lives. It is like driving on a freeway while looking through binoculars. You are at the mercy of chance to see and understand the world you are attempting to negotiate.</span></div>
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<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The Internal Dialogue Goes Underground</span></strong></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Most of us are aware of this internal dialogue, but we push it away (much like Pam in the example above). We never mention it to others because of what they might think. This is our loss. Gaining a window into this internal dialogue is essential if we want to discover a deeper purpose, meaning, and joy for our lives. As we learn to observe the voices that lie beneath our thoughts, the transformation of body, mind, and Spirit becomes possible. Learning about these voices within the self is crucial for creating lasting transformation.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">There is a lot at stake in this inner struggle going on within the internal dialogue. Staying mindless keeps Pam (and us) aimlessly drifting in the currents of life. Things happen repetitively that we do not understand. What is revealed in Pam’s internal dialogue is that the self is composed of a number of voices – some good, some bad. Let us explore this further.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Like Pam, many of us don’t even realize that an internal dialogue is happening in our mind. This is what I call “mindlessness”. To be blind to the internal dialogue of the mind is to be swept along on the unseen currents of life. Those who are swept along are blind to it – and to its power. Others hear an almost inaudible whisper that is moving too fast to comprehend. Still others hear the internal dialogue and it makes them uncomfortable and they do not understand it. So they avoid listening to it, and this limits their lives.</span></div>
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<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The Internal Dialogue Creates the Box of Our Comfort Zone</span></strong></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Instead they will distract themselves so that they are not aware of it. They busy themselves with work, conquest, exercise, drugs, sex, the latest toy, or whatever is necessary to distance themselves from the discomfort of getting out of their comfort zone. Others come to live in fear of the negative assessment machine in their mind and shrink their lives into a comfort zone so that they will not be noticed. The comfort zone locks them into familiar, habitual ways and they get stuck in old repeating patterns. This is called a self-fulfilling prophesy.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Very few people learn how to observe the internal dialogue, question it, and explore the design of its nature. It is through the exploration of these voices within the mind that we set ourselves free of their control over our lives and tap into the potential that lies buried within us. There are some negative aspects of the self that have to be observed and confronted, and there are some powerful parts of the self that we need to awaken. It is in awakening these empowering parts of the self that we change the historical script of our life and find new life.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">We have to become aware of the war being waged in our minds. Once we grasp that thinking is simply a biological activity, a powerful question can surface – who, or what, is in control of the perception and thinking apparatus of our mind? The answer will surprise you. Thought is important, but it is the voice (or aspect of the self) that controls the thought that keeps us from becoming who we were born to be and transforming the potential of our lives.</span></div>
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<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Internal Dialogue:<br />Conversations in the Mind that Shape Our Perception of the World</span></strong></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">To wake up to the internal dialogue opens the door for you to become an active participant in the creation of your life. We are all born into and adapt to a world of established patterns of perception. This is how we come to know our world. These perceptual patterns govern how we understand the world and what we see as possible in our lives. These historical patterns of perception are called conversations or narratives and become our comfort zone.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">These conversations become us long before we develop the capacity to become aware of them. Once established, they become the world we live in. We don’t have patterns and internal conversations that govern our perception, they have us! If you want to transform your world, you have to have to learn how to identify the conversation that controls the thinking in your mind. And you have to learn to break free from the hold the narrative has over your life.</span></div>
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<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Breaking Free of the Narrative of the Comfort Zone Creates New Possibility</span></strong></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Let me give you an example of how this works. I work with an attorney who is employed by a large, high powered, litigating law firm and he is very unsatisfied with his life. In fact, he has become “depressed”, and feels hopeless. Yet if he could look at depression as a conversation, rather than a condition, a new world would show up ripe for transformation.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">He feels like a victim (is consumed by a conversation of victimhood where he has always had to sacrifice his needs to win approval). With his wife and kids accustomed to an affluent lifestyle, he speaks to me as if he is trapped by his job. This produces his despair. He sees no escape from his dilemma and beats himself up for even wanting to change his life. He lives all week for the weekends when he can live his dream of having a small scale farm. Yet on Saturday afternoons, he begins to despair that he will have to go to work on Monday.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">As he developed the ability to observe the internal dialogue and woke up to the conversation of victimhood going on in his mind, he also began to realize that these did not have to be the thoughts that controlled his life. He was able to label the participants of this internal dialogue as the Prosecuting Attorney (who wanted conviction) and a Victim (that beat himself up for not being good enough).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Simply becoming mindful of these two different conversations in his mind – and no longer identifying with them as who he was – gave him a new freedom. In that freedom he discovered that he could awaken other voices that could contribute to his internal dialogue. He found a Courageous Self and a Confident Self that, with practice, he could invoke to be part of the internal dialogue in his mind. He also discovered a Divine Voice living within him that (to his amazement) he had never connected to even though he was a practicing Christian.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">As he developed these aspects of himself (voices within the self), his internal dialogue shifted. He no longer was trapped in a “victim conversation”. Discovering he could call up courageous and confident elements of himself into the thoughts of the internal dialogue created new possibilities for his life. Now, instead of drifting mindlessly in the currents of life, he began to learn how to navigate its currents. In doing so, he became a participant in the creation of his life. And yes, he is moving from being stuck in unseen patterns (comfort zone) to consciously designing the patterns that create his life.</span></div>
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<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Transforming the Conversations of the Self</span></strong></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">This opportunity, this choice, to become a participant in the design of your life is available to all. What is required is the motivation, skill development, and discipline needed to learn how to observe the patterns and internal conversations that drive your life, disrupt them, and begin consciously developing new patterns and conversations.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">As a human being, it is the greatest gift we have been given. The criterion is to recognize that the gift was not designed to serve the Ego. Rather it is built to serve a purpose greater than the self. Our job is to accept the gift, nurture the gift, and to bring forth the light that lives within us into the world.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">It is at this moment that we begin the journey to becoming fully human. In the words of Nelson Mandela from his 1984 inaugural speech:</span></div>
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<em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…. Your playing small does not serve the world…. We are born to make manifest the glory of God within us….. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. We are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”</span></em></div>
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<em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Rande Howell is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain. He writes about Igniting the Spark of Your Potential and Creating a Lasting Transformation at www.randehowell.com</span></em></div>
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<em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br /></span></em></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Source: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/the-internal-dialogue-mastering-the-unseen-forces-that-shape-our-destiny/</span></div>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-87064781727243355062011-04-26T10:32:00.000-07:002011-04-26T10:32:14.625-07:00Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ej1Sdbjixl4d8BKUjRVrqQv98Z1Nqc7iK5iBpHvWAPNsLM7SMDx8S6wve756ZyK9_sKgCKbGuW5z7CT2UodpUXgOgURWJptxyMIrwtfCO0xGZVLHWMU03bwOTVGLwj6ixxtWCmWHJxk/s1600/ocd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ej1Sdbjixl4d8BKUjRVrqQv98Z1Nqc7iK5iBpHvWAPNsLM7SMDx8S6wve756ZyK9_sKgCKbGuW5z7CT2UodpUXgOgURWJptxyMIrwtfCO0xGZVLHWMU03bwOTVGLwj6ixxtWCmWHJxk/s400/ocd2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
<b>Definition:</b><br />
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something (compulsions).Often the person carries out the behaviors to get rid of the obsessive thoughts, but this only provides temporary relief. Not performing the obsessive rituals can cause great anxiety. A person's level of OCD can be anywhere from mild to severe, but if severe and left untreated, it can destroy a person's capacity to function at work, at school or even to lead a comfortable existence in the home.<br />
<br />
OCD affects about 2.2 million American adults, and the problem can be accompanied by eating disorders, other anxiety disorders, or depression. It strikes men and women in roughly equal numbers and usually appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. One-third of adults with OCD develop symptoms as children, and research indicates that OCD might run in families.<br />
<br />
Although OCD symptoms typically begin during the teen years or early adulthood, research shows that some children may even develop the illness during preschool. Studies indicate that at least one-third of cases of adult OCD began in childhood. Suffering from OCD during early stages of a child's development can cause severe problems for the child. It is important that the child receive evaluation and treatment as soon as possible to prevent the child from missing important opportunities because of this disorder.<br />
<br />
<b>Symptoms:</b><br />
<br />
People with OCD:<br />
<br />
• Have repeated thoughts or images about many different things, such as fear of germs, dirt, or intruders; violence; hurting loved ones; sexual acts; conflicts with religious beliefs; or being overly neat.<br />
• Do the same rituals over and over such as washing hands, locking and unlocking doors, counting, keeping unneeded items, or repeating the same steps again and again.<br />
• Have unwanted thoughts and behaviors they can't control.<br />
• Don't get pleasure from the behaviors or rituals, but get brief relief from the anxiety the thoughts cause.<br />
• Spend at least an hour a day on the thoughts and rituals, which cause distress and get in the way of daily life.<br />
<br />
<i>Obsessions:</i><br />
<br />
Unwanted repetitive ideas or impulses frequently well up in the mind of the person with OCD. Persistent paranoid fears, an unreasonable concern with becoming contaminated or an excessive need to do things perfectly, are common. Again and again, the individual experiences a disturbing thought, such as, "This bowl is not clean enough. I must keep washing it." "I may have left the door unlocked." Or "I know I forgot to put a stamp on that letter." These thoughts are intrusive, unpleasant and produce a high degree of anxiety. Other examples of obsessions are fear of germs, of being hurt or of hurting others, and troubling religious or sexual thoughts.<br />
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<i>Compulsions:</i><br />
<br />
In response to their obsessions, most people with OCD resort to repetitive behaviors called compulsions. The most common of these are checking and washing. Other compulsive behaviors include repeating, hoarding, rearranging, counting (often while performing another compulsive action such as lock-checking). Mentally repeating phrases, checking or list making are also common. These behaviors generally are intended to ward off harm to the person with OCD or others. Some people with OCD have regimented rituals: Performing things the same way each time may give the person with OCD some relief from anxiety, but it is only temporary.<br />
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People with OCD show a range of insight into the uselessness of their obsessions. They can sometimes recognize that their obsessions and compulsions are unrealistic. At other times they may be unsure about their fears or even believe strongly in their validity.<br />
<br />
Most people with OCD struggle to banish their unwanted thoughts and compulsive behaviors. Many are able to keep their obsessive-compulsive symptoms under control during the hours when they are engaged at school or work. But over time, resistance may weaken, and when this happens, OCD may become so severe that time-consuming rituals take over the sufferers' lives and make it impossible for them to have lives outside the home.<br />
<br />
The course of the disease is quite varied. Symptoms may come and go, ease over time, or get worse. If OCD becomes severe, it can keep a person from working or carrying out normal responsibilities at home. People with OCD may try to help themselves by avoiding situations that trigger their obsessions, or they may use alcohol or drugs to calm themselves.<br />
<br />
<b>Causes:</b><br />
<br />
The old belief that OCD was the result of life experiences has become less valid with the growing focus on biological factors. The fact that OCD patients respond well to specific medications that affect the neurotransmitter serotonin suggests the disorder has a neurobiological basis. For that reason, OCD is no longer attributed only to attitudes a patient learned in childhood -- inordinate emphasis on cleanliness, or a belief that certain thoughts are dangerous or unacceptable. The search for causes now focuses on the interaction of neurobiological factors and environmental influences, as well as cognitive processes.<br />
<br />
OCD is sometimes accompanied by depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, a personality disorder, attention deficit disorder or another of the anxiety disorders. Coexisting disorders can make OCD more difficult both to diagnose and to treat. Symptoms of OCD are seen in association with some other neurological disorders. There is an increased rate of OCD in people with Tourette's syndrome, an illness characterized by involuntary movements and vocalizations. Investigators are currently studying the hypothesis that a genetic relationship exists between OCD and the tic disorders.<br />
<br />
Other illnesses that may be linked to OCD are trichotillomania (the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, eyebrows or other body hair), body dysmorphic disorder (excessive preoccupation with imaginary or exaggerated defects in appearance) and hypochondriasis (the fear of having -- despite medical evaluation and reassurance -- a serious disease). Researchers are investigating the place of OCD within a spectrum of disorders that may share certain biological or psychological bases. It is currently unknown how closely related OCD is to other disorders such as trichotillomainia, body dysmorphic disorder and hypochondriasis.<br />
<br />
There are also theories about OCD linking it to the interaction between behavior and the environment, which are not incompatible with biological explanations.<br />
<br />
A person with OCD has obsessive and compulsive behaviors that are extreme enough to interfere with everyday life. People with OCD should not be confused with a much larger group of people sometimes called "compulsive" for being perfectionists and highly organized. This type of "compulsiveness" often serves a valuable purpose, contributing to a person's self-esteem and success on the job. In that respect, it differs from the life-wrecking obsessions and rituals of the person with OCD.<br />
<br />
<b>Treatments:</b><br />
<br />
Clinical and animal research sponsored by NIMH and other scientific organizations has provided information leading to both pharmacological and behavioral treatments that can benefit the person with OCD. One patient may benefit significantly from behavior therapy, yet another will benefit from pharmacotherapy. And others may benefit best from both. Others may begin with medication to gain control over their symptoms and then continue with behavior therapy. Which therapy to use should be decided by the individual patient in consultation with his or her therapist.<br />
<br />
<i>Medication</i><br />
<br />
Clinical trials in recent years have shown that drugs that affect the neurotransmitter serotonin can significantly decrease the symptoms of OCD. The first of these serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SRIs) specifically approved for the use in the treatment of OCD was the tricyclic anti-depressant clomipramine (Anafranil). It was followed by other SRIs that are called "selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors" (SSRIs). Those that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of OCD are citalopram (Celexa), flouxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft).<br />
<br />
Large studies have shown that more than three-quarters of patients are helped by these medications at least a little. And in more than half of patients, medications relieve symptoms of OCD by diminishing the frequency and intensity of the obsessions and compulsions. Improvement usually takes at least three weeks or longer. If a patient does not respond well to one of these medications, or has unacceptable side effects, another SRI may give a better response. For patients who are only partially responsive to these medications, research is being conducted on the use of an SRI as the primary medication and one of a variety of medications as an additional drug (an augmenter). Medications are of help in controlling the symptoms of OCD, but often, if the medication is discontinued, relapse will follow.<br />
<br />
<i>Behavior Therapy</i><br />
<br />
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be the most effective type of psychotherapy for this disorder. The patient is exposed many times to a situation that triggers the obsessive thoughts, and learns gradually to tolerate the anxiety and resist the urge to perform the compulsion. Medication and CBT together are considered to be better than either treatment alone at reducing symptoms.<br />
<br />
A specific behavior therapy approach called "exposure and response prevention" is effective for many people with OCD. In this approach, the patient deliberately and voluntarily confronts the feared object or idea, either directly or by imagination. At the same time the patient is strongly encouraged to refrain from ritualizing, with support and structure provided by the therapist, and possibly by others whom the patient recruits for assistance. For example, a compulsive hand washer may be encouraged to touch an object believed to be contaminated, and then urged to avoid washing for several hours until the anxiety provoked has greatly decreased. Treatment then proceeds on a step-by-step basis, guided by the patient's ability to tolerate the anxiety and control the rituals. As treatment progresses, most patients gradually experience less anxiety from the obsessive thoughts and are able to resist the compulsive urges.<br />
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Psychotherapy can also be used to provide effective ways of reducing stress, anxiety and resolving inner conflicts.<br />
<br />
<i>Ways to Make Treatment More Effective</i><br />
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Many people with anxiety disorders benefit from joining a self-help or support group and sharing their problems and achievements with others. Internet chat rooms can also be useful in this regard, but any advice received over the Internet should be used with caution, as Internet acquaintances have usually never seen each other and false identities are common. Talking with a trusted friend or member of the clergy can also provide support, but it is not a substitute for care from a mental health professional.<br />
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Stress management techniques and meditation can help people with anxiety disorders calm themselves and may enhance the effects of therapy. There is preliminary evidence that aerobic exercise may have a calming effect. Since caffeine, certain illicit drugs, and even some over-the-counter cold medications can aggravate the symptoms of anxiety disorders, they should be avoided. Check with your physician or pharmacist before taking any additional medications.<br />
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The family is very important in the recovery of a person with an anxiety disorder. Ideally, the family should be supportive but not help perpetuate their loved one's symptoms. Family members should not trivialize the disorder or demand improvement without treatment. When a family member suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder it's helpful to be patient about their progress and acknowledge any successes, no matter how small.<br />
<br />
<i>Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Last reviewed 06/01/2010 <br />
Sources:<br />
Archives of General Psychiatry<br />
British Journal of Psychiatry Supplement<br />
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition<br />
National Institutes of Mental Health<br />
National Library of Medicine<br />
Psychiatric disorders in America: the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study<br />
Psychopharmacology Bulletin</i><br />
<br />
<b>Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder</b>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-59029462977210103502011-04-26T10:19:00.000-07:002011-04-26T10:19:05.952-07:00Wrestling with Bipolar Disorder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-0kNfO4w_ycaQz6dD2ZJmd5eieFdperu0NqfvV3nQTvthY8FwrqbdV5p9pc5_J2jgo-VV6XihiUlfdyyM2CVK7rcFfcpZda0kVTrWA22oFewGqnMz_4GEbaXSh_sXkrpXvq-vkYswB8/s1600/Bipolar-Disorder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="350" width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-0kNfO4w_ycaQz6dD2ZJmd5eieFdperu0NqfvV3nQTvthY8FwrqbdV5p9pc5_J2jgo-VV6XihiUlfdyyM2CVK7rcFfcpZda0kVTrWA22oFewGqnMz_4GEbaXSh_sXkrpXvq-vkYswB8/s400/Bipolar-Disorder.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
It's one of the most missed diagnoses in psychiatry. Bipolar disorder, involving moods that swing between the highs of mania and the lows of depression, is typically confused with everything from unipolar depression to schizophrenia to substance abuse, to borderline personality disorder, with just about all stops in between. Patients themselves often resist diagnosis, because they may not see as pathologic the surge in energy that accompanies the mania or hypomania that distinguishes the condition.<br />
<br />
But on a few points consensus is emerging. Bipolar disorder is a chronically recurring illness. And the age of onset is dropping—in less than one generation it has gone from age 32 to 19. Whether there is a genuine increase in prevalence of the disorder is a matter of some debate, but there does seem to be a genuine increase among the young.<br />
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What's more, the depression of manic-depression is emerging as a particularly thorny problem for both patients and their doctors.<br />
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"Depression is the bane of treatment of bipolar disorder," says Robert M.A. Hirschfeld, M.D., head of psychiatry at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.<br />
<br />
It's what is most likely to motivate patients to accept care. People spend more time in the depression phase of the disorder. And unlike unipolar depression, the depression of bipolar illness tends to be treatment-resistant.<br />
<br />
"Antidepressants don't work very well in bipolar depression," says Dr. Hirschfeld. "They are underwhelming in their ability to treat the depression." In fact, a shift away from antidepressants is formally recognized in new treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder just released by the American Psychiatric Association.<br />
<br />
As physicians gain experience in treating the disorder, they are discovering that antidepressants have two negative effects on the course of the disorder. Used by themselves, antidepressants can induce manic episodes. And over time they can accelerate mood cycling, increasing the frequency of episodes of depression or of mania followed by depression.<br />
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Instead, research points to the value of drugs that work as mood stabilizers for the depression of bipolar disorder, either alone or in combination with antidepressants. If antidepressants have any use at all in bipolar disorder, it may be as acute treatment for bouts of severe depression before mood stabilizers are added or substituted.<br />
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Even in cases of severe depression, the new guidelines favor increasing the dosage of mood stabilizers over other strategies.<br />
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Not so long ago, mood stabilizers could be summed up in a single word—lithium, in use since the 1960s to tame mania. But research has additionally demonstrated the effectiveness of divalproex sodium (Depakote) and lamotrigine (Lamictal), drugs that were initially developed for use as anticonvulsants in seizure disorders. Divalproex sodium has been approved for use as a mood stabilizer in bipolar disorder for several years, while lamotrigine is undergoing clinical trials for such an application.<br />
<br />
"Optimizing the dose of lithium or divalproex has good antidepressant effects," reports Dr. Hirschfeld. "We also now know that divalproex and lamotrigine are very good for preventing recurrence in bipolar patients." A study showed that lamotrigine not only delays the time to any mood events but is notably effective against the depressive lows of bipolar illness.<br />
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No one knows for sure exactly how anticonvulsants work in bipolar disorder. For that matter, the condition has been described since the time of Hippocrates, but it is still not clear what goes awry in manic-depression.<br />
<br />
Despite the unknowns, medications for treating the disorder are proliferating. In contrast to downplaying antidepressants in the depressive phase of the disorder, clinical research is ramping up the value of antipsychotic drugs for combating the manic phase, albeit a new generation of such drugs, collectively called atypical antipsychotics. Chief among them are olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal). They are now considered a first-line approach to acute mania, and adjuncts for long-term therapy along with mood stabilizers.<br />
<br />
In the long term, however, observes Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard and head of bipolar research at Cambridge Hospital, medication goes only so far. "Drugs are not effective enough. It may have to do with the overuse of antidepressants; they interfere with the benefits of mood stabilizers.<br />
<br />
"Medications don't take you to the finish line." There seem to be residual symptoms of depression that don't clear. Even when patients stabilize into a normal, or euthymic, mood state, he says, some troubling signs can appear.<br />
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"Sometimes we see in euthymic patients cognitive dysfunction that we didn't expect in the past—word-finding difficulties, trouble maintaining concentration," Dr. Ghaemi explains. "Cumulative cognitive impairment seems to emerge with time. It may be related to findings of decreased size of the hippocampus, a brain structure that serves memory. We are on the verge of recognizing long-term cognitive impairment as a result of bipolar disorder."<br />
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He believes there is a role for aggressive psychotherapy for keeping patients well, for keeping everyday ups and downs from becoming full-blown episodes. At the very least, he finds, psychotherapy can help patients resolve the work and relationship problems that often outlast symptoms.<br />
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In addition, psychotherapy can help patients learn new coping styles and interpersonal habits. "Many of the ways patients deal with their illness are not relevant when they are well," explains Dr. Ghaemi.<br />
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For example, he says, many people develop the habit of staying up late as a way of coping with the manic symptoms. "What they couldn't change before because of the illness needs to be changed after treatment if, for example, it bothers a spouse. People have to learn to change. But the longer one is ill, the harder it is to become completely well, because the harder it is to change the habits of one's life."<br />
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And for young people diagnosed with bipolar illness, he considers psychotherapy essential. "The younger patients are, the less convinced they are that they have bipolar disorder," he says. "They have impaired insight. They're especially concerned about the need to take medications. They should be in psychotherapy to get educated about the illness and medication."<br />
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He also stresses the value of support groups, especially for young people. "It's another, important layer of validation."<br />
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<b>By Hara Estroff Marano, published on May 01, 2002 - last reviewed on July 24, 2007</b><br />
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<i>Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200306/wrestling-bipolar-disorder</i>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-35503368998063049672011-04-14T10:03:00.000-07:002011-04-14T10:03:34.270-07:00Client's Letter to Counselor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglS2Ndr-gN7gTH5WEvdVPK9Ah5bH8SCSf06TA7EpGguAuvViVQrZ-n9dPpDTvwFR_HGiyb6ToAlF0Fx2AAHO_cAPl4mwf5Ziq4uerh5mrVLug1uuB8RvJtXKMuJ6O2a6EIQSP2bw5XGKU/s1600/thank-you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="265" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglS2Ndr-gN7gTH5WEvdVPK9Ah5bH8SCSf06TA7EpGguAuvViVQrZ-n9dPpDTvwFR_HGiyb6ToAlF0Fx2AAHO_cAPl4mwf5Ziq4uerh5mrVLug1uuB8RvJtXKMuJ6O2a6EIQSP2bw5XGKU/s400/thank-you.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
Although I have received a fair amount of letters and feedbacks from past clients over the many years of practice, I have never considered organizing a more orderly method of collecting these much needed information.<br />
<br />
As a start, I'd like to share a short note I received from a client; with her personal consent, of course. I've also deleted her name to protect her identity for privacy reasons. Below is the note she sent me:<br />
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<blockquote>salam. kak johana,<br />
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thanks for the friend approval.<br />
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also, i have to say that i'm very glad you took up psychology and having your own practice because you're really good at it.<br />
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its a big relief to have someone to not only understand but to be able to offer solutions.<br />
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i'm happy that the chronic fatigue syndrome was pointed out and really happy that the multivitamins/exercises/deep breathing are working out. i also love working at the assignments given.<br />
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looking forward to combat the post trauma stress disorder and driving phobia. truthfully still nervous thinking about driving but i hope to get over it.<br />
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insya'allah.<br />
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here's wishing you all the best and May Allah bless you!<br />
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jazakallah.<br />
-xxx-</blockquote><br />
Any of my past and current clients are most welcomed to write comments here using pseudonyms. Given time, I will create a link specifically designed for feedback purposes only. Meanwhile, to all my clients, past and present; thank you for providing me the opportunity to be useful in your lives. Stay blessed, sweet ones.Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400407962869951046.post-20243820652685521732011-04-01T12:24:00.000-07:002011-04-01T12:24:17.175-07:00Unbearable pain behind suicides | Free Malaysia Today<a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/03/10/unbearable-pain-behind-suicides/">Unbearable pain behind suicides | Free Malaysia Today</a>Johana Joharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13859532173560268928noreply@blogger.com2