Reduce Anxiety and Depression with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Being unwilling to experience negative thoughts, feelings, or sensations is often the first link in a mental chain that can lead to automatic, habitual, and critical patterns of mind becoming re-established. By accepting unpleasant experiences, we can shift our attention to […]
Improve Athletic Performance with Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment Therapy By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “The crowd gets quiet, and the moment starts to become the moment for me . . . that’s part of that Zen Buddhism stuff. Once you get into the moment, you know when you are there. Things start to move slowly, […]
Reduce Anxiety and Depression with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “If you have unproductive worries, you can train yourself to experience those thoughts completely differently. “You might think ‘I’m late, I might lose my job if I don’t get there on time, and it will be a disaster!’ Mindfulness teaches you […]
Improve Generalized Anxiety Disorder by Decentering and Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness allows us to interrupt automatic, reflexive fight, flight, or freeze reactions—reactions that can lead to anxiety, fear, foreboding, and worry.” – Bob Stahl Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults, […]
Improve Type 2 Diabetes Management with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – “Be more present to the “here-and-now.” This focus helps to decrease being caught up in what happened in the past. It also frees individuals from worrying too much about the future. […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “People with anxiety have a problem dealing with distracting thoughts that have too much power. They can’t distinguish between a problem-solving thought and a nagging worry that has no benefit. If you have unproductive worries, you can train yourself to experience those thoughts completely differently. You might think […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “The power of a mindfulness practice, however, may come in the realization that one can live a meaningful life even with social anxiety. [A participant], says that he still feels nervous in social situations but now feels compassion — not judgment — for himself, and sees […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “A common factor in the healing effect of yoga for all of these issues is its ability to develop increased awareness of the body and its inner sensations- called “interoception”–which is central to emotion awareness and emotion regulation and to self-regulation in general.” – Frank Schwoeri Therapists […]
“Needless anxiety and stress cannot burden us if the thoughts don’t enter our mind. And fortunately, we are only capable of focusing on one thing at a time. When you’re aware of only what you’re working on and the sensations of your body, conscious worry is not possible.” – Jordan Bates Anxiety disorders are […]
Improve Athletes’ Psychological Well-Being and Flow with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go. Don’t forget that you play with your soul as well as your body.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Athletic performance requires the harmony of mind and body. […]