goals for the fifth evening

1
goals for the fifth evening

• to understand emotions better -
  particularly from an adaptive evolutionary
  viewpoint
• to develop increased choice and skill in
  responding to emotions
• to be clear about this weeks practice which
  includes both breath 2nd differential exercise

2
the practice for this week
5th weeks exercise
Both arms are heavy and warm Both legs are heavy
and warm The pulse is steady and calm Breath
breathes me Neck and shoulders are heavy I am at
peace
every day practise this standard breath
exercise at least once daily. Also at least once
daily practise the second differential exercise.
About 50 of all exercises should be without a
tape. Explore if therapeutic writing might be
useful for you.
3
four aspects of helpful inner focus
reducing negative states
nourishing positive states
exploring processing
encouraging mindfulness
4
theoretical maps are crucial 1
it is the theory which decides what we can
observe
albert einstein
in debate with heisenberg
clients may well rate new understanding as one of
the most important aspects of therapy
Butler G et al Anxiety management developing
effective strategies Behav Res Ther
198725517-22
5
why do we have emotions?
emotions often help us respond effectively
in the wilderness in which the human
race developed its current genetic
characteristics, individuals who had the capacity
to respond to dangerous or otherwise significant
circumstances with an adequate set of emotions,
and acted accordingly, had a better chance to
survive, to have children, and to raise them
than individuals who were deficient in that
respect
Gut E Productive unproductive
depression London Routledge, 1989
6
what do emotions do?

• prepare the body-mind for appropriate action
• heart rate, blood flow, hormones, also
  changes in memory, thinking, etc
• provide information on how situation is assessed
• noting interpreting the felt-sense
• send out signals to others
• posture, voice tone, facial expression,
  speed of movement send signals to others about
  self and assessment of environment

7
understanding is itself therapeutic
for example in the Oxford anxiety management
training

• patients were asked to rate fifteen different
  components of the training on a scale running
  from 0 (not at all helpful) to 3 (extremely
  helpful)
• general components like receiving information
  about anxiety were rated as even more helpful
  than specific techniques (average 2.4 vs 2.1)
• components that scored as most helpful included
  information about the effects of anxiety(2.5),
  relaxation(2.5) rationale for treatment(2.4)

Butler G et al Anxiety management developing
effective strategies Behav Res Ther
198725517-22