Richard Taylor |

Oct
18
2007

A new book 'Listen to the Talk of Us: People with Dementia Speak Out' has just been launched in Perth.  The local author Trisha Kotai-Ewers is currently President of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA).  She began working as a writer in residence with people with dementia in 1997.  Of the book, Trish writes: 'This book is the story of how some people with dementia revealed their narratives in conversation.  It is also an account of all that they taught me about the value of listening with the heart, of giving others the gift of really being heard. ...My hope is that this book will encourage everyone in any way connected with people with dementia to accept their words as having meaning, and to see the worth in seeking this meaning even when it is cloaked in confusion'.  In this book the human dimension is central.  Dr Neville Hills in his Forewood stated '...the place of basic human reasoning, communication, understanding and empathy should remain pivotal'.  The book is an invaluable resource for anyone involved with, or touched by, dementia.  In addition, I think that this book should be required reading for all psychology students in their first year as it will extend their perspectives about psychological health issues and how to tap into human experience.
The book is available from Alzheimer's Australia WA Ltd, PO Box 1509, Subiaco, Western Australia, 6904, telephone (08) 9388 2800 and costs Aust.$19-95 plus $5 for postage and handling.  Please mention this web site when ordering. 

Posted by Richard Taylor in Dementia - help for carers. Comments

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Oct
18
2007

In David Brazier's book 'Zen Therapy' he stated 'Dukkha (suffering, bad states of mind) is everywhere and the mass of people seek distraction or oblivion rather than any real solution.  On the other hand, the world is infinitely beautiful. Every conscious moment is a miracle'.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Reconnect. Comments

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Oct
18
2007

Mindfulness is a 'hot topic' at the present time and is a powerful therapeutic intervention for everything from work stress to depression.  On this web site go Mindfulness therapy online course and get regular updates to progress your understanding and practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness skills, both traditional techniques and many modern innovative ones enable you to fundamentally change your relationship with upsetting and painful thoughts and feelings.  You can learn these skills and then practice them everyday in order to achieve greater calmness in mind and body.  You will stop wasting your time and energy in a fruitless battle with your inner experiences and instead start taking action in accord with your own values (see Skill one: Values).  So far we have covered four skill areas for psychological health and the topic areas have been values, exercise, spot meditation, and mindfulness.  All these areas can be addressed easily and they can be incorporated into everyday living with minimal disruption to existing routines (however, you old life routines may also be changing as you develop these skills).  We have three skill areas to go - can you identify what these might be?

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

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Oct
16
2007

In his book ‘How to Live Without Fear and Worry’ K. Sri Dhammananda stated ‘For the sake of material gain and comfort, modern man does not listen to the voice of nature.  He wants too much out of life, and because of that he ‘cracks up’.  He is made to believe that ‘success’ means being able to do everything and be ‘the best’ in all these activities.  Of course, this is physically impossible.  His mental activities are so preoccupied with his future happiness that he neglects the needs of his physical body and ignores the importance of the present moment for what it is worth.  This inability to get our priorities right is one of the main causes of all our frustration, anxiety, fear and insecurity’. 

Posted by Richard Taylor in Clinical Psychology. Comments

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Oct
13
2007

A spot meditation is a conscious exercise that can anchor you in the present under any circumstances. You can take time out to do the mindfulness breathing exercises available elsewhere on this web site. You may simply relax rapidly by focusing on your breathing saying, for example, 'breathe in' and then saying 'relax' as you breath out. You can do this at your desk at work, in a queue, or when you have some time to spare. You can also do spot meditation when you are doing something, washing up the dishes, walking, or doing housework, and so on. The secret here is to be both relaxed and aware, and focused on what you are doing. Most people do things while they are consumed by thoughts of something else. There is much to be enjoyed in the present moment, experiences which so easily pass by unnoticed, colours, sensations, forms, etc. As a psychotherapist I often observe how little people are in tune with their environments or how rapidly their minds are distracted when they are asked to observe or appreciate something. Spot meditations undertaken during the day are a means of noticing that you are alive (using your breathing), calming yourself, and enabling you to return to the here and now. A little time devoted each day to conscious breathing while taking time out, or when you are doing something such as walking, will improve your health and calm your life. Breathe from the abdomen. Just notice the natural flow of your breathing. Spot meditation at work can enable you to pace yourself and assist you to resist the build up of, or compounding effects of, stressful situations. If you do not take time out to relax then you may become a victim of that old but useful phrase 'Work expands to fill the time available' ('Parkinson's Law' which many of you will be familar with). In taking time out at regular intervals there will be less build up of stress and you will be more productive in a more balanced and caring way (valuing yourself is part of this and is a key foundation of psychological health). If you act with a good mind happiness will follow. A peaceful mind will make you more receptive towards both yourself and others. A book I would recommend on spot meditation is 'The 5-Minute Meditator' by Eric Harrison (go to www.perthmeditationcentre.com.au).

Posted by Richard Taylor in Psychological skills. Comments

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Oct
11
2007

Mindfulness is about being a nonjudgmental observer and simply seeing clearly, or seeing things as they really are in the present moment of time.  It is a calming process without the emotions, frustrations and feeling states that can cloud your perspective of the world.  In being aware of what you are experiencing you are not anticipating something in the future, nor are you reflecting back on past experience or events (usually upsetting and negative ones). 
In the exercises above you have been applying awareness to your breath, however, this can be expanded to all physical and mental processes in becoming mindful of thoughts and actions as they are occuring in the present.  The process of mindfulness is the development of your ability to pay attention to, and acknowledge, your experience in the present moment, to what is going on in your mind, your body, and your life without making judgments.  A good analogy is to imagine sitting by the bank of a stream while you observe your thoughts and images floating by on the water.  Be aware of sensations that arise from within your body (not though thinking about them in your head).  Be mindful of these sensations without having any particular purpose in doing so.  Tune into the sounds around you as sounds without interpreting them or thinking about them.  After this you might then return to paying attention to your natural breathing process.  By seeing things as they really are you will reduce distractions and begin to feel calmer.
To sum up, mindfulness is a method of paying attention to the present moment that originated in Eastern meditation practice.  It has been described as 'bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis' or as 'paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally'.  Many people are constantly engaged in a struggle with their life experiences and are swept away by their thoughts, feelings, urges and desires to move on, to consume more or whatever.  In this context mindfulness can assist both to reduce, and control, anxiety and worry.  The most important sensations you will ever have are the ones you are experiencing right now in the present moment.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

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Oct
08
2007

Dr David McBride, a psychiatrist in the novel by Sally Vickers The Other Side of You, recorded a comment by his colleague...'the question is not how to cure or be cured but how to live'.  He then noted 'The people we were treating were not so much looking for a remedy for anxiety or depression, they were looking for a reason to be alive.  For the most part, the human race takes for granted that life if not a blessing is at least desirable enough to cling to.  But for those for whom the business of being alive is a much more vexed question, the illness is the question, or, to put it another way, the illness is how the question may be posed'.  The psychiatrist mentioned above was also a psychoanalyst and the comments are much in tune with Zen approaches to therapy stressing as it does to need to live sanely in order to erode bad mental states.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Reconnect. Comments

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Oct
05
2007

In the treatment of psychological health problems and disorders I regularly refer clients to the exercise physiologists at the University of Western Australia's Health and Rehabilitation Program at the School of Human Movement and Exercise Science (www.hmes.uwa.edu.au). I have observed over several decades of clinical practice the positive benefit of exercise for someone experiencing psychological health problems. For example, someone who is experiencing stress and anxiety often gives low priority to, and neglects, positive diversions and leisure interests and this includes exercise. Psychological and physical health are not two separate issues. Starting an exercise program can result in someone getting some control back in their life. So I was intrigued to see in the Weekend Australian last year(24-25 June, 2006) an article in the health section headed up ‘Physical effort alleviates depression, there is no doubt about it’. I will summarise below some of the points made by its author Chris Tzar who is an exercise physiologist at the Lifestyle Clinic at the University of New South Wales. The author noted that in the health system depression received little attention. However, psychological (mental) disorders in total account for 60 per cent of all disability costs for people aged 15 to 34 years. There is a ‘cause and effect’ relationship between depression and physical activity. Those who are sedentary are more likely to experience depression, while those who suffer from depression are more likely to be sedentary. The author noted the quite astounding statistic that 59 per cent of people stop taking anti-depressants within three weeks of the drugs being prescribed. One reason for this may be that many people do not like playing the role of patient and receiving care when nothing else has changed in their lives. As such exercise may be the only option for some, and of course, it can be done with minimal if no expense. Those with depression also persevere after starting an exercise programme. The drop-out rates are no greater than for those who do not suffer from depression. So, what are the reasons behind exercise being good for depression? The author noted that exercise releases ‘feel-good’ hormones while exercise can also build self-confidence and enables people to build new relationships. Exercise is also a positive diversion and represents a change of lifestyle. My experience is that exercise is often a type of circuit breaker that can then lead to other, often long overdue, changes to lifestyle and relationships. Various types of aerobic exercise can reduce the symptoms of depression. At six in the morning the pool at the School of Human Movement and Exercise Science (referred to above) is alive with swimmers. It is an open-air heated pool. In the Winter the steam rises from the pool and just one degree of pool temperature can make a real difference to the shock on jumping in. Each swimming lane tells a different story as to why people are swimming at such an hour. In the first lane many swimmers of all ages are slowly walking through the water, some with walking frames, or doing some gentle breaststroke to aid in their physical rehabilitation. The furthest lane always appeared to be the ‘olympic’ lane with swimmers churning up and down with effortless ease. The in-between lanes accommodate the differing levels of swimmers’ abilities - again of all ages. Some time ago I had a friend’s 84 year old father visiting my home in Toodyay, Western Australia from the United States. He was tired from the flight but soon after arrival he asked ‘Where is the local swimming pool?’ His wife had died about two years previously and to cope with his grief his physician, who must have been very wise, recommended that he take up swimming. He commenced swimming every day going very slowly up and down the pool for between one to two hours. This proved to be literally a life saving activity for him plus he enjoyed all the accompanying psychological and physical benefits from this type of exercise. Swimming can involve a lot of social contact with regular swimmers. For the elderly and others swimming is a chance to relax and get exercise with low effort as the above case illustrates. Swimming is a good conditioning exercise and can be aerobic if it is continuous. Persons with joint diseases or weight-bearing injuries may find swimming the most viable exercise. Swimming can involve focussed awareness of pleasurable sensations – being aware of your surroundings, your heartbeat, your breathing, skin temperature, excitement, mood, rhythms, and smile. As such it will reinforce other psychological health skills that we are going to discuss. Accessibility to a swimming pool, tennis court, etc influences decisions to participate in these sports. As with other forms of exercise swimming is likely to make you feel refreshed in body and mind afterwards. It is a valuable exercise for all age groups, particularly those with a sedentary life who need to avoid chronic tension and even disability over time. Strength training and weights might be the exercise of choice for the elderly. This can also have other benefits such as strengthening bones, preventing falls and managing health conditions such as arthritis. The author Chris Tzar (above) provided a useful checklist for those embarking on an exercise program: · Get support from someone or a group. · Keep a diary of your achievements. · See an exercise physiologist and obtain a tailored exercise program based on an assessment of your individual circumstances. We have all heard the phrase ‘just do it’ and this is the best way to kick start an exercise program. Over time the various rewards from exercising regularly will keep you on track. Exercise is a way of caring for yourself and putting you back in control and this is a good starting point in managing stress, anxiety and depression.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Psychological skills. Comments

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Oct
02
2007

In this session I am giving a slight variation of the exercise learned in the previous session.  Find the method and approach that best suits yourself.
Eric Harrison in his books (which I highly recommend) 'The Art of Awareness' and 'The 5-Minute Meditator' (www.perthmeditationcentre.com.au) recommends starting any meditation with sighing a few times to loosen up the breath.  I have long used a simple breathing control treatment for panic attacks.  It is helpful to control your in breaths.  When you breath in think 'one' to yourself, as you breath out, think the word 'relax'.  Think 'two' on your next breath in and so on...after 'ten' go back to 'one'.  This is the meditational component.  Breathe smoothly and easily, count 'one...relax' and so on.  When you first do this you may find that you are a little breathless or even dizzy and even begin to speed up your breathing.  If so stop for a period and calm down.  Take slow, smooth breaths, right down to your stomach.  If thoughts creep in, as they will all too rapidly, acknowledge the thought content as you would passing leaves on a stream and let them go while gently re-focusing on your breathing exercise.  In practicing this you are pulling back into the present from thoughts (most often negative) of the future/past.  You are becoming more aware of your own behaviour - you are becoming what can be called an Observer Self where you can more easily observe yourself engaging in the behaviours of thinking and sensing.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

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Oct
01
2007

In the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Sogyal Rinpoche stated, 'Perhaps the deepest reason why we are afraid of death is because we do not know who we are.  We believe in a personal, unique, and separate identity; but if we dare to examine it, we find that this identity depends entirely on an endless collection of things to prop it up: our name, our "biography", our partners, family, home, job, friends, credit cards...It is on their fragile and transient support that we rely for our security.  So when they are all taken away, will we have any idea of who we really are?'

Posted by Richard Taylor in Dementia - help for carers. Comments

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