Home

  • Top Songs I listened to in 2021: Fareed Ayaz Qawwal – Jaag Musafir

  • Seguy Art Deco Designs 83

    SeguyTR-083.jpg

  • Will you eat insects? | The Economist

  • Anger Handout

    I often work with groups I have never met before. When I walk into group I start to evaluate and access right away. For psych-educational groups I mostly focus on do I need to pull out a handout or not. That decision depends on the openness of the folks. Do they greet me verbally, with postures and/or gestures, eye contact, expressions of thoughts/feelings, where and how they are sitting.

    In most places I have worked I would facilitate an anger management group. I used a variety of handouts and activities to have a process oriented group interaction. One of the handouts I use is below. I use it in 1 of 2 ways. I have folks fill it out first and then we discuss or we discuss while filling it out. Both ways we explore as a group, learning from each other.

    ANGER WORDS

    anger disgust grumpiness rage  aggravation dislike hate resentment  agitation envy hostility revulsion  annoyance exasperation irritation scorn  bitterness ferocity jealousy spite  contempt frustration loathing torment  cruelty fury mean-spiritedness vengefulness  destructiveness grouchiness outrage wrath

    Other:_________________________

    Prompting Events for Feeling Anger

    Losing power.

    Losing status.

    Losing respect.

    Being insulted.

    Not having things turn out the way you expected.

    Experiencing physical pain.

    Experiencing emotional pain.

    Being threatened with physical or emotional pain by someone or something.

    Having an important or pleasurable activity interrupted, postponed, or stopped.

    Not obtaining something you want (which another person has).

    Other:_______________________________

    Interpretations That Prompt Feelings of Anger

    Expecting pain.

    Feeling that you have been treated unfairly.

    Believing that things should be different.

    Rigidly thinking “I’m right.”

    Judging that the situation is illegitimate, wrong, or unfair.

    Ruminating about the event that set off the anger in the first place, or in the past.

    Other:____________________________

    Experiencing the Emotion of Anger

    Feeling incoherent.

    Feeling out of control.

    Feeling extremely emotional.

    Feeling tightness or rigidity in your body.

    Feeling your face flush or get hot.

    Feeling nervous tension, anxiety or discomfort.

    Feeling like you are going to explode.

    Muscles tightening. .

    Teeth clamping together, mouth tightening.

    Crying; being unable to stop tears.

    Wanting to hit, bang the wall, throw something, blow up.

    Other:__________________________

    Expressing and Acting on Anger

    Frowning or not smiling; mean or unpleasant facial expression.

    Gritting or showing your teeth in an unfriendly manner.

    Grinning.

    A red or flushed face.

    Verbally attacking the cause of your anger; criticizing.

    Physically attacking the cause of your anger.

    Using obscenities or cursing.

    U sing a loud voice, yelling, screaming, or shouting.

    Complaining or bitching; talking about how lousy things are.

    Clenching your hands or fists.

    Making aggressive or threatening gestures.

    Pounding on something, throwing things, breaking things.

    Walking heavily or stomping; slamming doors, walking out.

    Brooding or withdrawing from contract with others.

    Other:_____________________

    After effects of Anger

    Narrowing of attention.

    Attending only to the situation making you angry.

    Ruminating about the situation making you angry and not being able to think of anything else.

    Remembering and ruminating about other situations that have made you angry in the past.

    Imagining future situations that will make you angry.

    Depersonalization, dissociative experience, numbness.

    Intense shame, fear, or other negative emotions.

    Other:______________________

  • Top Songs I listened to in 2021: Orchestral Qawwali | Abi Sampa | Rushil | Amrit – Rang

  • Spider

    SONY DSC
  • Japanese Textile Designs 89

    JapanTR-089.jpg

  • AP News: First public global database of fossil fuels launches

    “A first-of-its-kind database for tracking the world’s fossil fuel production, reserves and emissions launches on Monday to coincide with climate talks taking place at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

    The Global Registry of Fossil Fuels includes data from over 50,000 oil, gas and coal fields in 89 countries. That covers 75% of global reserves, production and emissions, and is available for public use, a first for a collection of this size.”

    Link to full article from the AP.

  • Research Identifies How Stress Triggers Relapse

    Recent research from Brown University could pave the way for new methods of treatment for those recovering from addiction. Researchers identified an exact brain region in rats where the neural steps leading to drug relapse take place, allowing them to block a crucial step in the process that leads to stress-induced relapse.

    Prior research has established that acute stress can lead to drug abuse in vulnerable individuals and increase the risk of relapse in recovering addicts. But the exact way that stress triggers the neural processes leading to relapse is still not clearly understood. The Brown study provides new insights on how stress triggers drug abuse and could lead to more effective treatments for addiction.

    According to the study, stress has significant effects on plasticity of the synapses on dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the brain region where the neural activities leading to a stress-induced drug relapse take place.

    Stress activates kappa opioid receptors (KORs) in the VTA, and the researchers found that by blocking the KORs, they could prevent the rats from relapsing to cocaine use while under stress.

    Published in the journal Neuron, the study shows blocking these receptors may be a critical step in preventing stress-related drug relapses in humans, as well. The chemical used to block the receptor, “nor-BMI,” may eventually be tested on humans, according to the study’s authors.

    “If we understand how kappa opioid receptor antagonists are interfering with the reinstatement of drug seeking, we can target that process,” senior study author Julie Kauer said in a statement. “We’re at the point of coming to understand the processes and possible therapeutic targets. Remarkably, this has worked.”

    Kauer noted that the study builds upon over a decade of research on how changes in brain synapses relate to behaviors like addiction. The advance is significant and could accelerate progress towards a medication for those struggling to recover from addiction.

    “If we can figure out how not only stress, but the whole system works, then we’ll potentially have a way to tune it down in a person who needs that,” Kauer said.

  • Top Songs I listened to in 2021: Haim at The Highball in Austin,Texas