Who have read the book of Paolo Coelho? I am a huge fan. Funny as it may seem, my friend’s psychiatrist recommended this book to him after one of their sessions. He was there because basically, after losing the relationship that he loved the most, his whole world collapsed and there he was, sitting alone with so many thoughts in his mind but he has no power to accomplish anything. He was a total bum.

Why did the psychiatrist recommend this book? Because it is a very inspirational novel that is well written and everyone can make a deep connection with the characters of the story. It all began with a boy who had a dream or a personal legend. He was doubtful at first but he listened to the voice of his inner heart and before he knew it, he became an alchemist himself. The story was touching, compelling and moving. I guess this was the novel that made Paolo Coelho the ultimate magician who made his books disappear from stalls right after the release.

I suggest that you read this novel too. It is moving and may end up being one of the best therapy methods you have evern encountered.

Back in highschool, there was this girl with whom I have fallen in love with. Even though I was young that time, there was this cosmic attraction that pulled us together. She was 2 years older than me but the attraction was strong enough that in a couple of months, we ended up dating. The feeling was deep and has a natural affinity. It involved a strong connection in friendship, love, intimacy, sexuality and even spirituality. It was a perfect connection.

Is this what they called soulmate? I guess it was. Back in the old days, there was a theory presented by Aristophanes in Plato’s Symposium. It said that the humans originally have four arms, four legs and a single head with 2 faces. Because of the extreme power, Zeus split them all in half and condemned them to spend their lives searching for the other half that will complete them. Some followers of the New Age religion believed that the souls are made or fated for another and they play important roles in each other’s lives. Another theory states that over countless reincarnations, each soul seeks the other half. When they find each other after the karma that they incurred, they will fuse back together and return to God.

Soulmates have such wonderful backgrounds and theories. The stories were fascinating and very romantic. By the way, this girl that I was talking about back in highschool, well, she is now my wife. Soulmates? Possibly.

The phenomena of Deja Vu has tickled the sensation of researchers worldwide. In the scientific sense, deja vu is most likely NOT an act of precognition or prophecy but it is simply an anomaly of memory wherein an experience is being recalled or revisited. In most cases, researchers are not totally sure if this event already happened in the past. Those things remain uncertain. This is one of the theories that are being studied by researchers - memory.

Another theory that is being focused on is vision. As the theory states, one eye may possibly record what is seen fractionally by the other in a faster manner which therefore creates a strong recollection sensation on the same scene that is viewed a couple of milliseconds later by the opposite eye. If other sensory is involved, then it negates this vision theory.

The early researchers tried to place a link between deja vu and other neurotic disorders but they failed to establish this link. The closest that they came into was the association of deja vu with temporal lobe epilepsy. They pertain to this as a hypnagogic jerk that occurs prior to falling asleep.

Studies are still being pursued to explain this phenomenon and while it is still being discovered, we might as well stick to the fact that what we have seen may happen in a couple of hours.

Is there such as thing as sex addiction? Many professionals believe there is. I believe in it myself. If you could still remember Pamela Roger, the one who got 13 counts of statutory rape last 2005, she is a sex addict. She confessed what she done and is willing to go through rehabilitation.

Sex addiction is often the problem of men. Some would say that it is an excuse for cheating and some would say that it is a disease. Yes, professionals consider it a disease or an addiction. Although it is not through chemical means, it has something to do with the urge to do it just like gambling for example.

Professionals say that some are addicted to sex because of low self esteem and they needed an outlet to prove that they are something. Everything starts with just searching and watching porn for a few hours a day and then it will lead to using prostitutes whenever they can. This is very alarming since it can destroy lives, careers and more importantly - families.

This addiction is being dealt with by professionals and if you think that you are having this problem, seek help before it is too late.

We often hear the word trauma and traumatized a lot in televisions and radio news programs. But do we know what trauma really is? Trauma is a Greek word for wound. In psychological setting, it is the harm done to a person’s psychological well-being by an event/s that had caused major level of distress.

Some of the events that cause this problem are: being severely injured, being assaulted, raped or robbed, bereavement or death of a loved one, witnessing a major accident or death, divorce or a breakdown in a relationship, and being abused.

These events will lead to stress and may become a long term problem which is known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PSTD. It is often characterized by memory flashbacks, feelings of detachment and irritability.

There are different things that tick people off. Reasons such as a bad weather, traffic, garbage are just a few of the things that people get mad about. But what is really the reason why we become angry?

Anger is a response to the feeling of being unhappy which arise every time we meet unpleasant situations. Furthermore, whenever we are in a situation that we are desperately trying to avoid, our uncontrolled mind reacts immediately with the feeling of being unhappy and angry.

Another main reason is the fact that we are in a situation that we generally dislike. Every single day, there are a lot of situations that we dislike. It may be a minor disagreement, stepping on dog manure and other things that we hate. Anger is a normal reaction that we human beings are capable of. It is up to us to gain control over this emotions and generate it into positive things.

Depression is a very hard emotional state to work with. Going through this emotional stress gives one person an extreme feeling of loneliness and can significantly affect a person’s work, family and school life and generally everything that he has to do in his life.

The course of depression varies widely. It can be once ion a lifetime event or it can occur multiple times, it can be gradual and it can come in all of a sudden and may last for months or be a life long disorder.

Talking is a great way to get over depression. While there are a lot of medications that stimulate the brain cells, talking to someone is still the best bet. It may be a psychiatrist or to a friend.

Being depressed means being down. Some people resort to engaging in activities to get over depression while some allow depression to get the best of them. In engaging in activities, you get to meet different people. Sooner, you will learn to make more friends and later on, you will be trusting them. This is a great ego booster for those who are depressed.

Last night, I got a late call from my friend who recently visited a therapist. Well, basically he just called to tell me how beautiful his new therapist was but I got interested with the fact that he said that he went through Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.

As I did a little search in Google while he was talking, I saw that according to REBT, our emotions result from our personal beliefs, interpretations and reactions to life events. It is actually a type of cognitive therapy and is based more on thinking and doing than with the expression of feelings.

After hours of therapy, he told me that REBT taught him to have an unconditional self - acceptance. He lost his ego after his divorce with this wife so he really could not accept himself until such time he went to therapy. He learned that the world and people are fallible and that everyone must learn to accept themselves, life’s problems and hassles and that unfairness.

A new documentary film will be airing next month on local televisions. It is entitled “Struggling in Silence”. This film explores the dark side of one of the most rewarding professions - Doctor.

Based on what most people can see, doctors are rich and almost everyone looks up to them. What most people do not see however, is the fact that doctors have the highest rate of suicide of any profession. Every year, 300-400 physicians decide to end their own lives.

Dr. Charles Reynolds said that the real culprit is the undiagnosed and untreated depression. Most physicians do not admit that they are depressed. It will all just blurt out and without them knowing it, they are already taking their lives away. Most of the depressed doctors do not seek treatment because they worry that people may lose their respect, referrals and some even worry that they may lose their income and licenses.

Doctors have legal access to lethal drugs and they absolutely know how to use them. Some even engage in substance - abuse which is a major risk factor for suicide.

The movie itself aims to raise awareness that there is a problem going on and hopefully, it would prevent further damage to the population of doctors. This way, they will be taught how to recognize depression in themselves and hopefully, when they already know how to recognize it, they will be able to recognize depression in their patients as well.

The goal of all good therapy is, in my opinion, to assist the individual
on his goal of individuation - or self-actualization.

But in order to truly accomplish this, it is my humble opinion that
the therapy must employ the methods of psychoanalysis.
Though psychoanalysis has gotten a kind of bad name over the past few decades, it is still the
only form of therapy that gets the client in touch with her unconscious self.
And it is this unconscious self which houses the complexes which
all too often defeat or frustrate our spiritual growth.

Regrettably, psychoanalysis is no longer the standard in therapeutic circles.
Therapists nowadays have been channeled into practicing cognitive therapy
as the norm. I think this is unfortunate, and largely due to an overpowering negative
influence of the insurance industry.

What’s Wrong with Cognitive Therapy?

The limitation of cognitive therapy is, quite simply this:
It doesn’t address the root-level, unconscious processes
which create the negative thought patterns the cognitivists
try so skillfully to correct.

Only depth psychology (of which psychoanalysis is a species)
can really get to these core, root-level issues. It’s not that
cognitive psychology has no use. It’s just that relying solely on
cognitive psychology to solve psychoemotional problems
is very like pulling an apple off an apple tree and expecting
the apple not to grow back next spring.

Eric Bryant, Philosophical Counseling Consultant
Gnosis Arts Multimedia Communications LLC