Embitterment

Embitterment is a distinct state of mood known to everyone. It can be seen in the context of exceptional though “normal” negative life events. It is an emotional reaction e.g. to humiliation, to being severely disappointed by others, or to violations of basic values. Embitterment is accompanied by other emotions like feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, poor moods and a lack of drive, and aggression towards oneself and others. It can end in suicide or even murder-suicide and in a distinct pathological state known as “Posttraumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED)”. But despite the high prevalence rates, the detrimental effects on individuals and its forensic and societal importance, embitterment has yet to receive due scientific attention. In this book pioneers in embitterment research summarize the current knowledge on embitterment, its triggers, phenomenology and consequences. The work is intended to stimulate international debate and to contribute to a better understanding of embitterment and a deeper appreciation of the impact of exceptional but normal negative life events on psychological well-being.

Expert help on overcoming feelings of embitterment Understand how these difficult feelings some about Learn problem-solving skills to reorientate to the future Also ideal reading for anyone living or working with an embittered person More about the book Embitterment is an emotional reaction anyone can have to injustices, humiliation, and breaches of trust. We have probably all encountered embitterment in ourselves or others at some time in our lives. Like other feelings, feelings of embitterment normally subside, but in some cases they can persist and cause a great deal of suffering. When these feelings take control of your life and you can't let go of the past negative events in your life, then support is needed. This book helps you understand what embitterment is and how it can come about. It will also help you detach from these negative feelings and find ways to better deal with the hurtful situations, including learning to look to the future. You will learn about problem-solving strategies that focus on the psychology of wisdom and the development of wisdom, which include identifying facts and problem solutions, changing perspectives, self-relativizing, and emotional empathy. It has been scientifically proven that wisdom is a good remedy for embitterment. This book is ideal support for anyone suffering from embitterment or for family, friends, or colleagues who want to learn how to support someone to not stay stuck in these difficult feelings.

Practical expert guidance on embitterment disorders Learn about the evidence-base of PTED and wisdom therapy Teach clients skills to overcome embitterment Tips on social, legal, and medical apsects Includes printable handouts A companion book for clients is available More about the book Feelings of embitterment and posttraumatic embitterment disorder are common in our society and result from reactions to injustices, humiliation, and breaches of trust. They can lead to significant suffering in those affected and to those around them although the clients may be otherwise psychopathologically inconspicuous. The aggressiveness of this client group, as well as their rejection of help, among other factors, is challenging for practitioners and makes treatment complex. Help is hand with this practical evidence-based guide that provides models for the development and continuation of such embitterment states as well as outlines how to diagnose embitterment disorder. The reader is guided through the state-of-the-art treatment approaches for embitterment disorder: cognitive behavior therapy with wisdom strategies. Teach your clients how to process their internalized feelings of hurt and humiliation so that they can create the conditions to reconcile themselves with the events that triggered these difficult and long-lasting states. The book is full of practice-oriented tips to help clients actively gain closure with the past and enable a new orientation towards the future. One method to reach this goal is the reevaluation of the critical events and their consequences. Wisdom therapy provides various tools for this, and these techniques are brought to life with numerous case vignettes. The author also provides tips on the social, medical, and legal aspects associated with this disorder, for example, questions of work incapacity and criminal responsibility. Helpful information for clients is provided in the accompanying book, How to Overcome Embitterment With Wisdom.

Pathological reactions to adverse life events are frequent. However, it has become increasingly clear that current clinical descriptions and diagnostic classifications, which subsume all such reactions under terms such as "PTSD" or "reactive and adjustment disorder," are inadequate.One widely seen type of pathological reaction can be classified as "Posttraumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED)." Like PTSD, this disorder is characterized not by a particular type of stressful events, but by a distinct psychological process (experiences of injustice and violation of basic beliefs) and by a highly specific psychopathological profile (embitterment and intrusions). The symptoms of PTED can be very severe, chronic, life-threatening (because of suicidal and/or homicidal fantasies), and hard to treat, and often result in disability in almost all areas of life.This book provides the first comprehensive description of PTED. The authors first summarize the theoretical background for PTED and reactive and adjustment disorders. They then describe the psychological processes involved in coping with insults, humiliation, and injustice. Data on the epidemiology of PTED in the general population and patient groups are reported. Diagnostic criteria, diagnostic interviews, and self-rating scales are presented. Finally, promising and innovative avenues for treating these patients are described, based on new concepts from wisdom psychology. A highly practical Appendix includes diagnostic checklists and tools for treatment planning with PTED patients, suitable for use by both researchers and clinicians.This ground-breaking book is of interest to researchers and clinicians working in the field of posttraumatic and adjustment disorders, as well as to forensic psychologists and psychiatrists who may have to give expert opinions in cases involving trauma.

The book explains why Posttraumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED) is becoming a frequently seen condition during times of psychosocial changes such as job loss, changes in society -- economic, legal, and cultural, as well as divorce, serious illness, and conflicts in the workplace.

Promoting Positive Processes after Trauma merges research and clinical applications pertaining to the common experiences of trauma among clients with many different presentations and diagnoses. The book examines positive processes as they operate within trauma and considers the intentional development by the clinician of these positive processes with individual clients. The book is structured after the cornerstone tenets of positive psychology resilience, hope, forgiveness, post-traumatic growth and benefit-finding, meaning making and spirituality. Covers positive psychology processes, such as growing out of developmental trajectories; cognitive, emotional and intra-personal processes; interpersonal processes; and community- and contextually-defined processes. Integrates positive psychology with trauma treatment Utilizes case vignettes to introduce concepts Includes questions for further discussion in each chapter Selects processes that can be influenced through a range of treatments and treatment components Provides seminal references for each topic and processes to facilitate further reading by the clinician

This is undoubtedly a remarkable book on a period of American history about which much has been written - the period of the Indian wars in the Northwest, from the close of the Civil War until the Custer disaster on the Little Big Horn. It presents in graphic detail and on a vast canvas the great events and the small which reached a decisive crescendo in Custer’s fate. Here is no savage battle incident presented in isolation from other events, but a sweeping panorama of a whole ere-inept, hesitant, and tragic. To insure comprehensiveness, the author describes the pertinent facts of the Grant administration, the embitterment of the Great Plains tribes, and the deteriorating Civil War army. The book is the record not only of the dashing Seventh Cavalry and its leader but also of the Grant-Custer feud, Sitting Bull, the Belknap scandal, Rain-in-the-Face, the battle strategy of the Indians, and Custer’s military rivals. Particular note is taken of the effect on history of Custer’s recklessness and glory-seeking and of the superstitions and fatalistic determination of the Sioux and the Cheyennes. The Battle of the Little Big Horn, reconstructed in this account largely on Indian eyewitness testimony, climaxed the long-developing tragedy and provided a "smashing crescendo to the vacillating policy of the United States government...towards the Indians of the Great Plains." A four color reproduction of an oil painting by John Hauser, entitled "The Challenge," has been selected for the cover of Custer’s Luck. The original canvas is in the collection of the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the publishers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of that organization in making this reproduction possible.

This book provides a reference and contextual basis for depression, burnout and suicide among oncology and other medical professionals. Oncology as a medical subspecialty is at a unique apex of this crisis. While the same pressures in medicine certainly apply to oncologists, oncology is particularly stressful as a changing field with diverse patient and societal expectations for outcomes. In addition to experiencing the stress of caring for patients that could succumb to their cancer diagnoses, these professionals are regularly confronted with an onslaught of new medical information and a landscape that is changing at a breakneck pace. These are just a few factors involved in the increasing rates of burnout among oncologists as well as other medcial professionals. By addressing a gap in identifying mental health problems among health care professionals, this book sheds light on mental health problems and suicide among physicians. Importantly, this book is a call to action of the professional and administrative organizations to work on improving mental health of physicians. Anxiety and depression affect not only the individual doctor but also patient care. Given the increasing attention to these issues along with limited yet applicable data regarding how to address these issues, the text aims to bring the latest data face to face with consensus opinion and can be used to ultimately enhance oncologic and psychiatric practices. Written by experts in the field, Depression, Burnout and Suicide in Physicians: Insights from Oncology and Other Medical Professions aims to significantly increase awareness and contribute to understanding the necessity of preventive measures on individual, family, and care givers levels.