I'm not sure if this is exactly the kind of book you're looking for, but The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat has always been one of my favorites. I think it does a good job of walking through a lot of history and basic neuroscience in the context of some pretty bizarre neurological disorders. Here's a full text if you wanna give it a look.
https://www.amazon.com/Tribe-Homecoming-Belonging-Sebastian-Junger/dp/1455566381
If you read enough English to read this book, you should check it out.
Sounds like the cities in China are so hyper-modern-society'ized that it can be very harmful for your mental health.
Male here, but I have to recommend this book whenever I have the chance: Tribe by Sebastian Junger.
Junger is war correspondent, documentary filmmaker, writer, etc. He's seen way more than most of us ever will, and this book really drove home some points for me about what it means to be part of your community, part of society, and how we treat each other.
This review on Amazon sums it up very well:
"Tribe focuses on the growing disconnect we’re experiencing with one another as a society, and the far reaching consequences of that disconnect. It’s an eye-opening letter to the American public that politely reminds us that we’ve lost our way when it comes to being a closer knit community as a whole.
Not always, of course. In his book, he touches on how tragedies such as 9/11 brings us closer - albeit briefly. But once the dust settles, we fall back to our old ways.
This is not a book about war, the military, or PTSD. It’s about the loss of belonging, caring for our fellow man as we do about the ones closest to us. He uses a parable about a brief encounter he has with a homeless man as a young adult. The man sees that he’s on a backpacking trip on his own and asks if he has enough food for his trip. The young Junger, afraid of being mugged for his supplies, lies and tells the man that he has just a little food to last him. The homeless man tells Junger he’ll never make it on what he has and hands him his lunch bag that he more than likely received from a homeless shelter - probably the only meal the homeless man would have the entire day. Sebastian feels horrible about himself after that, but uses that lesson as a parable for Tribe.
Think of your fellow man before thinking of yourself. Because without that sense of humanism, togetherness, belonging, we’re all dead inside."
Can I also suggest you get something like this. You can use some of these systems to gently push him in the right direction.
I can tell you if I was in your husband's situation that I'd shut down too. It isn't due to lack of wanting to do those things, but the anxiety and the constant reminding would just make the wall feel unclimbable.
The best thing is to help them organize it and break it into smaller steps.
Immediately, I think you should consider two things: Nightmare on Elm Street, and the trope of the impaired female.
Even the great Wes Craven, in early drafts, fell prey to this bias of the (typically male) writer. His female victim was perceived by his daughter as poorly written. Therefore, Craven decided to break the trope and made his female characters more competent.
In the end, Elm Street has proven to be a classic film, rich with meaning. It's more than just "oh, scary guy killing people." It's about realizing that groups of people can agree to do terrible things, like gathering together to burn Freddie. It's a complicated revenge fantasy told from the victims' perspective.
So... that's where I'll start. Why does Maggie need to be "battling depression" in your logline? What if she's not impaired and actually up against a terrifying threat?
That said, a flawed character is viable. And yes, we all face depression. But if your story stands the test of time, it would benefit from wrestling with the real source of our societal depression. Here's a link to a book from 2016. It openly points to the source: a real lack of community.
Good luck with writing. Thanks for trusting us to reflect on your work.
- Daniel
Here is another book:
https://www.amazon.com/Coping-Trauma-Related-Dissociation-Interpersonal-Neurobiology/dp/039370646X
I'm hearing good things about "parts work" for anyone with dissociation. I think that is also related to internal family systems, but I'm not entirely clear on that.
I took mushrooms with my ex girlfriend and experienced a very intense disassociation episode that she had. It was heart breaking to see her there but not “there”. She was numb to everything including myself. She told me that she had suffered from disassociation before but until that moment I had no clue what it actually was. I took it upon myself to try to help as much as I could. First thing I can recommend is educating yourself as much as possible on the disorder. I bought this workout that has been an EXCELLENT resource.
Coping with Trauma-Related... https://www.amazon.com/dp/039370646X?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Secondly, I can’t recommend finding a therapist who specializes in ptsd/disassociation enough. Finding out the core cause of the disorder and all your triggers is huge but having a professional be able to guide you through the healing process will be invaluable. It’s a terrible disorder but it is one that can be managed and overcome through lots of hard work and a willingness to seek help. My best wishes for you in your journey of healing.
it's expensive but my specialist bought me this textbook and it's been helpful. if you want i can send you a picture of the chapter list and you can see if it interests you
I’d do a quick google search and try to find a therapist that specializes in PTSD and disassociation. Also, it just so happens in reading a book on it that I can’t recommend enough.
Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation: Skills Training for Patients and Therapists (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) https://www.amazon.com/dp/039370646X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ZRE3JF975QHD87KJ5TNV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I hope it helps!
If you’re serious about clinical psychology then give this book a go. It’ll give you a run down of these kinda of questions and so much more. Are you talking about the pros of skipping your masters? Well actually I would say that skipping your masters is the norm. I can actually only think of two programs that require a masters first. Pepperdine and Philadelphia School of Osteopathic Medicine. Maybe John Jay as well? Anyway, if you’re interested in clinpsych, it all matters about what you do on your way there. I’d say most people do their masters to get more clinical experience, research experience, or to make up for a low undergrad GPA. On the other hand some people though don’t want to jump right into a doctorate program and have a plan to do their masters first for career development reasons. Or if you’re just interested in psychotherapy, I suggest just doing your masters. I’m a current applicant applying to PsyD and PhD programs (I’m in socal by the way), and I’m trying to skip my masters and a gap year to save time and money. I have a good GPA, research, and clinical experience and I know my end goal. I see no reason to get a masters first which will just run me two years and more debt.
There is a book called Many Life Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss, where he speaks about his time as a clinical psychologist where he had a young troubled patient, he uses regression therapy to make her experience her past lives and that way overcome her issues.
It is pretty interesting even if you don't believe in reincarnation. There are also several youtube videos that teach you how to go step by step through the regression process. There are other books, you would have to find them on Amazon so you can buy them.
Not referral link btw.
If you have specific thought processes you would like to change, CBT can be very helpful with that. As with everything, it's useful to seek out a provider who is experienced with ADHD. I think this was the workbook I used with my therapist but it was a while ago now.
https://www.amazon.de/Mastering-Your-Adult-ADHD-Cognitive-Behavioral/dp/019023556X
In my workbook there's a section where your partner(s) fill out the same symptom form that the ADHD-haver does based on their observations of you. Chapter 3 briefly talked about how they could be supporters for you. I'm just halfway through ch 4 so I'm not sure if it's touched on again.
Here's the link to the assessment sheet (free): https://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/ftpdir/adhd/18Q_ASRS_English.pdf
and this is the workbook (not free, $30 US): https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Your-Adult-ADHD-Cognitive-Behavioral/dp/019023556X/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=mastering+adult+adhd&qid=1614740461&sr=8-2
I hope other TwoXADHD folks have other resources/thoughts, as I’d love to expand my (and my partner who might have ADHD as well) toolkits.
I found the diagnosis and subsequent help/treatment to be absolutely life changing. You seem quite switched on (I.e. smart) so be prepared for a bitter-sweet, almost melancholy, period of self-reflection on your life and what could/should have been, especially if you start medication.
There's a book i found to be particularly helpful in providing strategies to help manage certain symptoms: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Your-Adult-ADHD-Cognitive-Behavioral/dp/019023556X
Feel free to reach out if you would like any suggestions, I've found talking to other ADHD people the most helpful
I just searched CBT workbook for ADHD on Amazon and found this one, it looks similar to other therapy workbooks. Likely less effective than working with a therapist who knows what they're doing but possibly better than nothing
This is an interesting look at how others see us.
If I may add, the real reason is tribalism. And the Human desire to not be alone. So we latch onto whatever tribe we can to help our identity. If you want to read more, I highly suggest Tribe by Sebastian Jengur
Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss has had a big influence on my personal outlook and the way I treat others.
>As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr. Brian Weiss was astonished and skeptical when one of his patients began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks. His skepticism was eroded, however, when she began to channel messages from the “space between lives,” which contained remarkable revelations about Dr. Weiss’ family and his dead son. Using past-life therapy, he was able to cure the patient and embark on a new, more meaningful phase of his own career. With more than one million copies in print, Many Lives, Many Masters is one of the breakthrough texts in alternative psychotherapy and remains as provocative and timeless as it was when first published.
Awesome question OP you might find this book interesting :)
“Many Lives, Many Masters” by Brian Weiss
It’s written by a respected Harvard trained psychiatrist and is quite fascinating.
https://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Masters-Prominent-Psychiatrist/dp/0671657860
And this one is truly amazing:
“The Process” by Isa Moore https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-process-from-the-life-of-isa-moore/id536787587
I second what the other commenters have already said. I stopped by to say that, when I was preparing to apply for programs, I found this resource to be very helpful: Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: 2020/2021 Edition
This one. Also, not that all the entries will be in Swizz.
​
English translations for each essay/entry is all in the back of the book
Sure.. it's actually part of the group therapy lessons...
Here's an example from the Fulton State DBT Handbook that is given to groups. (link to the manual at the top of the posting)
Most DBT groups I have done (I think I've done about... 4 now?) have a lesson about validation because many people with BPD experience living in invalidating environments or with invalidating people. (which just makes everything much much worse)
So this is an exerpt taken right from Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder by Marsha Linehan regarding Validation...
The first general task in validating is to help clients observe and accurately describe their own emotions, thoughts and overt behavior patterns. Much of DBT pyschosocial skill straining - in particular, mindfulness training - is aimed at just this. Second, Skills trainers communicate empathy with the clients' emotional tone, indicate understanding of(though not necessarily agreement with) their beliefs and expectancies , and/or make clear observations of their behavioral action patterns. In other words, the trainers observe and describe the clients' behavior accurately. Third, and most importantly, the trainers communicate that the clients' emotional responses, beliefs and expectancies, and overt behaviors are understandable and make sense in the context of their lives and the current moment. In each instance, the trainers look for the nugget of gold in the cup of sand - the validity within what may otherwise be a very dysfunctional response.
Even the DBT therapist I had that was wishy washy was very validating...
I hope this answers your question :)
I have a growing suspicion that this "inexplicable 180" is related to social media addiction.
There's the behavioural aspects of fear of missing out / always looking for the better/best option; and the soundbite maelstrom of "relationship advice" and Relationship Advice(TM).
But, there's also evidence that we've conditioned ourselves for quick hits of pleasure, instant gratification - post a selfie get some Likes feel good immediately but for a short time - that is now not translating well to real world interactions.
Check out Dopamine Nation by Dr Anna Lembke.
No, but there are books on dopamine. Where authors just as qualified as Andrew, or more, have spent thousands of hours researching the topic, and deliberating over the contents, before publishing.
Some of the books, Andrew mentions frequently. Like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Dopamine-Nation-Finding-Balance-Indulgence/dp/152474672X
Get a work book and use the skills it has in it. The one recommended by the division 12 (the board of the APA that determines efficacy for treatments for mental illnesses) is Mastering your Adult ADHD by Steven Safren. Also, Monster is terrible for the body, I would recommend drinking black tea because it has quite a lot of caffeine without all the other gross crap monster has.
Is there a particular school you're looking at?
Also theInsider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology has a pretty thorough listing with whatever GRE info is available for each school.
This is such a badass example of breaking through the dip!
The first two weeks of abstinence from any dopaminergic addiction whether behavioral or chemical really can be the toughest and actually bring you lower. But, it's breaking through that wall that opens a new door to well-being.
Dopamine Nation is the best book to learn about this addictive cycle and pleasure/pain balance.
Take a look at https://www.amazon.com/Dopamine-Nation-Finding-Balance-Indulgence/dp/152474672X
She essentially says that (1) your brain will naturally find a balance between pleasure and pain, (2) if you continually shock your brain with hits of dopamine (from the sources you identify above, your default state when unstimulated will veer towards a slight discomfort or pain (she says its little gremlins gathering on the pain side to balance out the dopamine hits...when you take the dopamine out of the equation, the gremlins will still sit there), and (3) she finds usually its 30 days of abstinence before the default pain starts to dissipate as the brain learns there aren't the dopamine hits to balance out.
But as other have pointed out, just acceptance of the empty feeling (instead of running from it to the internet) is a big part of wisdom and well being. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional, etc.
Assalamu Aleikum. I am not a medical professional at all. Just a guy that nearly died one too many times. Lost most of my 20s to low mood and will never be whole or pain-free again. I have just learned to survive and read a lot of books. Alhamdulilah I have faith and family around me to help me.
This would be my first recommendation. Gather love around you. It is incredibly healing. You will behave badly, people will struggle with you, and you won't feel like you deserve it. But it is important to feel it.
Secondly, this is not my idea. As I said I have been reading a lot, this is Bessel Van Der Kolk - The body keeps the score.
Thirdly I knew this stuff but still didn't feel good. Until I encountered Islam. Let your mind grow by studying but never abandon the Quran. You will start to see lessons in it you haven't seen before.
Finally, losing the will to live is a serious condition. I have PTSD; 55% of sufferers don't survive longer than four years. If you have nobody to reach out to, reach out to me.
Clients like this are extremely challenging for therapists. I also feel bad for the client. The person must have experienced a huge amount of trauma to get to this point. Pace yourself and if necessary, consult or refer out to a DID specialist. If the person is dissociating like this, you might be seeing just the tip of the iceberg of their trauma.
This is a really good book for trauma based dissociation: https://www.amazon.com/Coping-Trauma-Related-Dissociation-Interpersonal-Neurobiology/dp/039370646X