Changing Self Destructive Habits

For the first time in one volume self-harm, substance abuse, eating-disordered behavior, gambling, and Internet and cyber sex abuse—five crippling, self-destructive behaviors—are given a common conceptual framework to help with therapeutic intervention. Matthew Selekman and Mark Beyebach, two internationally-recognized therapists, know first-hand that therapists see clients who have problems with several of these habits in varying contexts. They maintain an optimistic, positive, solution-focused approach while carefully addressing problems and risks. The difficulties of change, the risk of slips and relapses, and the ups-and-downs of therapeutic processes are widely acknowledged and addressed. Readers will find useful, hands-on therapeutic strategies and techniques that they can use in both individual and conjoint sessions during couple, family, and one-on-one therapy. Detailed case examples provide windows to therapeutic processes and the complexities in these cases. Clinical interventions are put in a wider research context, while research is reviewed and used to extract key implications of empirical findings. This allows for a flexible and open therapeutic approach that therapists can use to integrate techniques and procedures from a variety of approaches and intervention programs.

What is borderline personality disorder and what can people with borderline problems do to help themselves? The treatment of personality disorder is a major concern facing current mental health services. Specialist therapies are often not available and many people with these problems drop out of treatment. Managing Intense Emotions and Overcoming Self-Destructive Habits is a self-help manual for people who would meet the diagnosis of 'emotionally unstable' or 'borderline personality disorder' (BPD), outlining a brief intervention which is based on a model of treatment known to be effective for other conditions, such as anxiety, depression and bulimia. The manual describes the problem areas, the skills needed to overcome them and how these skills can be developed. It is designed to be used with the help of professional mental health staff, ideally in a group with individual sessions to support and coach the person in the application of the skills taught. A minimum of 24 and maximum of 36 sessions are recommended. Areas covered include: * the condition and controversy surrounding the diagnosis of BPD * drug and alcohol misuse * emotional dysregulation and the role of thinking habits and beliefs * depression and difficult mood states * childhood abuse and relationship difficulties * anger management. Borderline personality disorder is a complex and challenging condition. This manual aims to explain the problems experienced by people who may be given this diagnosis in a way that clients and staff can easily understand. It will be essential reading for people with BPD and professionals involved in their care - psychologists, psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists and occupational therapists.

Practical, proven self help steps show how to transform 40 common self-defeating behaviors, including procrastination, envy, obsession, anger, self-pity, compulsion, neediness, guilt, rebellion, inaction, and more.

A refreshing guide to becoming a healthier, happier self. We humans tend to get in our own way time and time again—whether it comes to not speaking up for ourselves, going back to bad romantic partners, dieting for the umpteenth try, or acting on any of a range of bad habits we just can’t seem to shake. In Rewire, renowned psychotherapist Richard O’Connor, PhD, reveals exactly why our bad habits die so hard. We have two brains—one a thoughtful, conscious, deliberative self, and the other an automatic self that makes most of our decisions without our attention. Using new research and knowledge about how the brain works, the book clears a path to lasting, effective change for behaviors that include: • Procrastination • Overeating • Chronic disorganization • Staying in bad situations • Excessive worrying • Risk taking • Passive aggression • Self-medication Bringing together many different fields in psychology and brain science, Dr. O’Connor gives you a road map to overcoming whatever self-destructive habits are plaguing you, with exercises throughout the book. We can rewire our brains to develop healthier circuitry, training the automatic self to make wiser decisions without having to think about it; ignore distractions; withstand temptations; see ourselves and the world more clearly; and interrupt our reflexive responses before they get us in trouble. Meanwhile, our conscious minds will be freed to view ourselves with compassion at the same time as we practice self-discipline. By learning valuable skills and habits—including mindfulness, self-control, confronting fear, and freeing yourself from mindless guilt—we can open ourselves to vastly more successful, productive, and happy lives.

Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors offers inspiring, hopeful, creative resources for the millions of male and female adolescents and adults who struggle with eating disorders, addictions, any form of self-mutilation. It is also a workbook for the clinicians who treat them. Using journaling exercises, drawing and collaging prompts, guided imagery, visualizations, and other behavioral techniques, readers will learn how to understand, compassionately work with, and heal from their behaviors rather than distracting from or fighting against them, which can dramatically reduce internal conflict and instill genuine hope. Techniques are provided in easy-to-follow exercises that focus on calming the body, containing overwhelming emotions, managing negative and distorted thoughts, re-grounding from flashbacks, addressing tension and anxiety, decreasing a sense of vulnerability, strengthening assertiveness and communication skills, and accessing inner wisdom. This workbook can be used in conjunction with Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Trauma Survivors, 2nd ed, also by Lisa Ferentz, to allow therapists and their clients to approach the behaviors from the same strengths-based perspective. Workbook exercises can be completed as homework assignments or as part of a therapy session. In either case, the client is given the opportunity to process their work and share their insights with a compassionate witness and trained professional, making the healing journey even safer and more rewarding.

This accessible book presents time- and cost-effective strategies for helping clients break free of dysregulated behaviors--such as substance abuse, binge eating, compulsive spending, and aggression--and build more fulfilling, meaningful lives. Mindfulness and modification therapy (MMT) integrates mindfulness practices with elements of motivational interviewing, dialectical behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and other evidence-based approaches. It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or a precursor to more intensive therapy. In a convenient large-size format, the book includes session-by-session implementation guidelines, case examples, practical tips, guided mindfulness practices, and 81 reproducible client handouts and therapist sheets. Purchasers get access to a companion website where they can download audio recordings of the guided practices, narrated by the author, plus all of the reproducible materials. Winner (Second Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Category

I can attest to the fact that we're not all "born with a silver spoon in our mouths." Just take a moment right now to imagine what life would be like for you if most of the things we often take for granted were not there for you. No good food, clean clothes, lack of physical and emotional security, no validation from your parents and loved ones, no proper home to live in, lack of love from your parents, inadequate heat in the cold winter, unequal treatment, no functional bathroom, and several other things that we all regard as the basics of living a comfortable life.Just imagine now that your life with the direct opposites of all the things I earlier mentioned and more. What if you had the lack of parental love and approval, exhaustion, neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, anxiety, anger, shame, violence, hunger, and several others.I need you to imagine that you were just a kid - a very young child in your "parents" home - but living in the environment, we earlier explained with virtually no hope of redemption from the extent of suffering you were going through. Like an endless reign of misery in your life!I have a question for you right now, how terrible and nasty does your upbringing as a child have to be before you'll undoubtedly fail in life as an adult or even die young? Did you know about the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES)? It's a research study that was carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Health Maintenance Organization Kaiser Permanente. Well, the answer to my first question was studied by ACES. The study sought to define how terrible your childhood had to be before you're almost sure to be a failure in life. According to ACES, when it comes to factors that could cause a child to do poorly in life, they identified ten risk factors. These factors are physical abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, household substance abuse, sexual abuse, household mental illness, exposure to domestic violence, divorce or parental separation, emotional maltreatment and incarcerated household member. The study then proceeded to monitor thousands of kids just to evaluate how these risk factors affected their lives. After obtaining facts from their observation, they concluded that if you had about four or more of these risk factors, then the possibility of having a happy life will be below average.The study also implies that there is a high possibility that you will end up living a lousy life. We can conclude that these are mere numbers, but the truth is that based on the numbers, if you happen to have just a score of four risk factors or more, then you're battling against incredible odds in your life. After taking the ACES test, I scored seven, and this means that I had seven risk factors against me. The odds are stacked against me to the extent that no right-thinking person would have expected me to do well in life. Well, it would have been easy for you to bet against me then, but you would have also lost your fortune at the end of the day because my life turned out better than all predictions. Under normal circumstances, I should have suffered chronic anger problems, depression, and anxiety. I should have become an alcoholic and never be able to raise my family. Probably, I should have long died either by depression, drug abuse, suicide, or alcoholism.I was raised poor in a trailer, which left me with little space to seek refuge anytime I needed to escape my father's fury. My mom was a registered nurse, and my father was a Marine. The abuse I suffered started at a very early age, and it was one nightmare I would never wish my enemies to experience. My dad didn't just abuse me; I never impressed him regardless of how much effort I made or how well I performed in anything.

Why do so many good companies engage in self-destructive behavior? This book identifies seven dangerous habits even well-run companies fall victim to–and helps you diagnose and break these habits before they destroy you. Through case studies from some of yesterday’s most widely praised corporate icons, you’ll learn how companies slip into “addiction” and slide off the rails...why some never turn around...and how others achieve powerful turnarounds, moving on to unprecedented levels of success. You’ll learn how an obsession with volume leads inexorably to rising costs and falling margins...how companies fall victim to denial, myth, ritual, and orthodoxy... how they start wasting vital energy on culture confl ict and turf wars...how they blind themselves to emerging competition...how they become arrogant, complacent, and far too dependent on their traditional competences. Most important, you’ll find specific, detailed techniques for “curing”–or, better yet, preventing–every one of these self-destructive habits. The “cocoon” of denial Find it, admit it, assess it, and escape it The stigma of arrogance Escape this fault that “breeds in a dark, closed room” The virus of complacency Six warning signs and five solutions The curse of incumbency Stop your core competencies from blinding you to new opportunities The threat of myopia Widen your view of your competitors–and the dangers they pose The obsession of volume Get beyond “rising volumes and shrinking margins” The territorial impulse Break down the silos, factions, fiefdoms, and ivory towers