Tag Archives: anxiety

Self requires logic, fun and sensitivity

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As much as one likes to trust that the good times are “always” around the corner, there is still a need for personal accountability, discernment and an attitude of not letting go of one’s meaningful fun and well-being moments. Yes, many people act erratically and can undermine a voice of a vulnerable person, but the vulnerable one shall rise out of that very difficult time and own what they can take control of. In experiences of despair, we can still talk to God or nature, or change the path of our emotions by not allowing them to settle in harsh ways. Self-love is, therefore, our number one tool and an innate mechanism. It is a critical mechanism of survival, homeostasis and harmony.

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You have the power (always available to you if you choose to use it) to improve your emotional states. This might require that you look at things in a more comprehensive way, such as trying to explore and understand the reasons why others act the way they do, or why they commit offences and crimes. That’s why billions of people like to watch crime documentaries, even if they have previously suffered. They find them cathartic and enlightening, and they feel that they are not alone. When we understand what shapes our political-social-religious contexts, this brings a great deal of liberation and the knowing that healing is permanently taking place too, not just when we sit in our therapy sessions. Ultimately, you have free will and can at any time do what you really want for your life and you can honour your magnificent sensitivity. If you feel criticise for being highly sensitive, be reminded that the people that criticise you will probably need to face the facts about their own lack of sensitivity too. Passive-aggressive communication and behavioural styles never lead to great solutions; logic is, in my view, the only way out for all humanity.

Choose to love yourself in every moment, and to embrace your acquired wisdom with dignity and humility, and remember that joy is part of the existential universal fabric.

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Moral Health or Mental Health?

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I am passionate about studying our dear philosopher Aristotle, who bravely flagged the idea of comprehensive respect being both the cure and the door for illness if not embraced because it creates a road of resentment and perpetually unresolved issues. Respect is possibly the best we can do for our health and mental health, although it is so undervalued!

In his first book Rhetoric, Aristotle could not make more sense about the misinformation present in the mentalities around 2500 years ago, and it is still so valid and contemporary! I believe that many people suffer in silence when they see violence around them because they know deep down that it is wrong and unfair. Aristotle in his reflection about logical communication and justice, in a highly succinct way, stated: “the arousing of prejudice, pity, anger, and similar emotions has nothing to do with the essential facts, but is merely a personal appeal to the man who is judging the case”.

The moral health’s dilemma is a precious thing to me and makes me even re-think the current connotation for “mental health” or “mental illness”. I am 100% rooted in this philosophy, I study it day and night, I can’t seem to get tired of it! It actually relaxes me when I read or think about it, It is my home! It feels to me that the public might be made to put their heads in the sand and imagine that actions, including words and emotions, are not powerful enough to generate any kind of emotional illness, when in fact these are highly intertwined in our bio-psycho-social development and very much a reflection of physics. A tree cannot sustain itself if the roots aren’t healthy, right?

Therefore, it is not only about saying the correct things but is about our communication becoming empowered by a genuine and unconditional love intention. Possibly that would even end the constructs of “mental illness”, and maybe ‘Moral Health’ or ‘Moral Illness’ would make a better term? I believe (from my years of research) that the need to be loving is more entrenched in our biochemistry and epigenetics than we can remember. I believe that in the future this could be the meaning used, or one of them!

I feel that I am not in this profession to only comply with the current scientific findings, but that I am a clinical psychologist to confront the biased social paradigms and the less impartial and inequitable loyalty systems. Hence, my interest in ancestral wisdom, which is something that some seem to ignore, even in existing mental health systems, with their demeanour, decoy and one-sided policies.

The Utopian Psychology Institute has the determination to facilitate and support the very necessary recognition from all citizens of the world concerning ethics & general health. These two are one element, in my view, because without love the mind and body can become quite debilitated. We offer rehabilitation protocols through our eclectic psychotherapy assessment and treatments. Love is our essence. Please follow our blog for more refreshing and down to earth content.

To Worry Vs To Care

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Is the world avoiding to care, so they don’t worry even more? What is your view?

A caring world would do us all an enormous service. There are definitely people that do care a lot about others, but also many that don’t want to feel connected to people due to worrying about failure, rejection and humiliation. Now, how does one get to grip with what really matters if we are not solid in the values of compassion, love and ethical co-construction?

If we could weigh both “worry” and “care” to compare on an old scale, which one would weigh more in our world? Maybe worry, although I would like to be certain! Hence, I am creating a questionnaire to spread around, so we can gain more insight about this subject.

Perhaps people feel that they have a lot already on their plates, including responsibilities, bills to pay, others to listen too and to answer that they feel that there is not much space for compassion, friendship, and even charity. However, research such as the 5 Ways to Well-being for example has demonstrated that to give our care to someone is an intrinsic part of our existence and is required for someone to feel comprehensively happy too. This piece of investigation, beautifully carried out by the New Economics Foundation, states that in order for human beings to achieve balanced well-being they need to: feel good about connecting to others, being active, taking notice mindfully, keep learning and giving or doing charity work. This definitely resonates and I have seen it revealing to be quite important and effective in my clinical work.

To worry implies walking on the narrowing avenue of cognitive and emotional amplification of the perceived “obstacle”. The aforementioned tends to contribute to the multiplication of stress chemicals, such as cortisol, and the rise of adrenaline in the bloodstream. Suddenly one will feel that there is a “danger” which in turn might lead to rushed, incomplete or even possibly unrealistic catastrophic conclusions/actions due to the overwhelming biochemical discharge.

If you are prone to worry, please consider receiving treatment, as it will not benefit you in the long term. It has been proven by science that creates a deficiency in our immune system and body functions and sustains chronic unhelpful thinking styles.

To care about your life and others on the other end will support good bio-psycho-social progress.

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Identity Loss

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What is an identity? An attempt to randomly establish better conditions with no logic? Does it need logic? I’ve realised that when there is more logic and down to earth intention, the better consistency it has. What do I mean by consistency? I think it means to be loyal to transparent and universal values.

Since a very young age, I have been eager to meet kind and strong people. I felt many times disappointed as the kind part would quickly vanish. Did this happen to you before?

The impact of a strong personality is generally speaking huge. I experienced it as being bold, secretive and artificially seductive . I almost got to think that there was more potential and happiness to such identities. Today I realise that there is more pain accumulated most of the time. After I re-analysed my values and stipulated what I believe to be necessary, soon I have become even angry with those that try to take advantage of others through glamour, despite the fact that I understand that there is unprocessed personal experiences. In addition, with this came a scientific understanding of our minds and intentions mechanisms which I found to be enhancing; of course, no point in crying over the past, mainly because there is only the present moment, and the more I can thoroughly enjoy it the better for me.

The loss of the “solid” identity is also correlated to NOT diligently embracing the truth, wisdom and fair treatment of others. How we treat others does impact our ability to sustain a positive well-being balance.

Quantic Maturation

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A human being can be represented in 5 parts: biophysics, cognitive functions, social consciousness, care, and innate self-discovery need. These elements constitute a quantic maturation matrix that supersedes the understanding and applicability of our mainstream medicine and scientific bio-psycho-social developmental milestones embraced by mental health services.

There are many aspects of the human nature that are not taken for granted or even examined with interest. Take the case of intuition, for example, which in my view is correlated to sensitivity. What is intuition if not the ability to lower all mind noise, or one could say background noise frequencies in order to listen to what really is universally morally correct? Intuition is also the result of previous investment in tuning to other people’s real emotions.

I believe that this quantic maturation evolution has started many millions of years ago, and we can tell that by the rigid thinking and behavioural patterns of certain individuals, and the freedom of others. Some people remain in the same cycles of hiding their feelings and being passive-aggressive or aggressive for far too long, without being proactive about changing that or needing to reflect on it. To me, this indicates that they have not matured their cognitive skills and other aspects enough. There are many examples of clingy to fear or in wanting to control others that perpetuate through time, while other more mature individuals, in other words, more caring and conscious individuals struggle, and know in their hearts that there is an abuse of human rights and power.

A person that dismisses their own pain and follow a trail of wanting to be seen as popular and perfect has an immature quantic profile, in my view, and what science has already expressed as neurological delay in cognitive functions. This is because the mind wants to go too fast and dismisses analysis and processing of information, such as the individual’s own real emotions and unique nuclear areas of improvement. It is important to generate more awareness regarding our neuropsychology development around the world and to slow down the pace of fast and thoughtless production. People that are less quantic mature deserve and require to be assessed psychologically and identified, as many others appear to struggle under these immature profiles with hiding behaviours, biased reactions and seductive toxic control. I guess this is already happening in a way when people speak up when faced with unfair and humiliating experiences.

Another aspect is that the mental health descriptors already invented need to be more recognized as a platform for informed and organized decisions in our lives, and the public should become more aware of the many psychological profiles already identified by many researchers as this can inform everyone’s decision-making regarding creating a more realistic and sustainable family, social and professional lives. Knowledge is power.

Processing Speed

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Processing speed is a faculty in the brain that requires to be exercised to operate comprehensively. Processing speed is the velocity at which a person takes in information, makes sense of it, and begins to answer. This information can be visual, like letters and numbers. It can also be auditory, like spoken language. Different people have different paces in processing information. Our communication depends on our ability to process information effectively, and to notice the subtleties of the relational exchange, which include the following:

A= Personal ability to notice effectively what people are expressing and a frank attitude to acknowledge what you understand or when you need to ask for clarification.

B= Personal ability to state the truth, without fear of persecution or oppression.

C= Personal ability to recognise how we feel in the moment, and commitment to universal rights.

Most arguments and conflicts happen due to a need to slow down the thinking to serve a better reflection and impartiality. The truth is always important for both parts, as it is essentially based in unconditional love. This powerful statement is beyond what we imagine currently, because it has the potential to support each individual in their emotional and mental calibration and self-awareness. This could be very protective for humanity.

Imagine a debate where people are only attacking each other with the things that they have failed upon, without punctuating how to make it better, as it is the debate of the American Presidential elections and a common practice of many politicians. This is an overreactive mentality, which aim does not seem to support the collective good for all, especially when the vice-presidents keep telling each other that they are lying, without explaining if they are or not and rushing to the next question instead. This can be felt as extremely confusing and deceptive, and it is! Assuming that “everyone knows it all” is the norm, which is unhealthy and detrimental to our mental health.

We must enquire deeper in the debate between 2 individuals, including on how they are achieving their reasoning and how they feel about it. Besides, we must demand facts as they are many vulnerable people with poor processing speed that are not prepared to think with complete self-care and attention to the important and truthful details. When there is anxiety in the mind while saying something, there will be space for error. Unfortunately, denial is also a problem because it is a common action and acceptable socially, which is again conceivably harmful.

Dear reader, let me ask you kindly. How dedicated are you in terms of taking responsibility for your own mental health? How much do you value it from zero to ten (none to a lot)? If you don’t value unconditional self-love and prioritise your well-being that much, it may indicate that your processing speed is rather slow in the matters of your own holistic self-care. I want to reassure you that it is possible to overcome this issue through specific researched interventions.

Please refer to my other articles and posts of my professional and personal Instagram for more openness on this subject, and feel free to approach me if you wish to book a session or have questions.

Unconditional Self-Love

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The words “self-love” and “unconditional self-love” are experienced by many as archaic or even not representing a priority. This is noticeable because what you hear the most on social media and the television are not those words. I use this terminology in my clinical practice because it is not only intertwined with the purpose of emotional healing and rehabilitation but also with ancient facts that few Masters of unconditional love and peace have tried to disseminate for millennia.

When you love yourself unconditionally, you know that in every step of your way, you will need to re-examine your heart and mind intentions, thoughts and actions. Unconditional self-love to me is a broader understanding that we are beyond meanings; it grounds me immediately to my entitlements of experiencing joy and keep evolving without the fear of being judged. There is much social anxiety on this planet, too much. This has been sustained, and the only thing that can reduce it is the use of logic and authenticity

  • “Breathing in Air Pockets’ By Andreia Santo

Your Mental Health is Your Responsibility

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I have sad news for you. Your life circumstances are a product of your great or little attention to your well-being. You have abandoned knowing yourself to facilitate “happier” moments to other people. Have you? If not, congratulations.

Please stop blaming your spouse, children, parents and the economy, and allow yourself to feel more dignified. It is your care to the detail and pursuit of your happiness that are here in check.

Perhaps your difficulty is related to inertia or lethargy. If you feel stuck in your conditions than I recommend that you learn how to overcome the negative feelings from an easy and kind place. How can you defeat emotional lethargy? I have one simple and life-saving suggestion: don’t judge yourself and move on. Indeed move on with your new understanding and greater feeling, and reach your next important milestone which might be feeling healthier, inspired, energetic, satisfied, in love, in harmony, etc. Simply move on to a new positive feeling platform, even before you address trauma if you have endured it, feel good if not excellent first. Discover what is that you love and surround yourself with that.

It is your responsibility.

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