Mental Health Training

https://mentalhealthtraining.info/course/narcissism

Contents of the training programme

IntroductionSigns of a Narcissistic Personality DisorderBelieve They Are Better Than Anyone ElseNeed Constant Praise, Attention, and AdmirationSense of EntitlementThe Tendency to Demean and Belittle OthersAssociating Themselves to People with StatusTake Advantage of Other PeopleLack of EmpathyReactive to CriticismThe Different Types of NarcissistsThe Exhibitionist NarcissistThe Closet NarcissistThe Malignant (Toxic) NarcissistThe bullying narcissistThe seducer narcissistWhat Is, a Covert NarcissistOvert and CovertThe Signs of a Covert NarcissistQuiet SuperiorityNonchalant DisregardWhat is the difference between empathy and sympathy?Extreme SensitivityEmotionally UnavailablePassive-AggressivenessAre Narcissists and Sociopaths The Same?Do you believe most Ponzi schemers are sociopaths?Another Selfie? You Might Be a NarcissistCan You Stop Being a Narcissist?Develop the Right Mindset and Desire to ChangeDeveloping Self-AwarenessNarcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and relationshipsThe Velveteen RabbitSteps to Get Your Life Back After Narcissistic Abuse

Break Away from the Abuser and Implement a No-Contact RuleAllow Yourself to Feel Your EmotionsIf You’re in Too Deep, Seek Professional GuidanceMindfulness MeditationRebuild Your Self-EsteemNarcissists and JealousyA Narcissist in RelationshipsNarcissists are very convincing liars, schemers, and con artists.They Violate Boundaries A Narcissist’s Jealousy Issue in A RelationshipCan You Help a Narcissist Change?Changing A Narcissist is Only Possible with Their PermissionWhat Caused Their Narcissistic Behaviours?For the Narcissist Who Wants to Change, Seek Professional HelpAre Narcissists Pathological Liars?They Lie Because It Has Become Their Default BehaviourThey Lie Because They View People as ObjectsThey Lie to Gain SympathyFinding The Truth in a NarcissistProjection or MirroringGaslighting MethodAngry ConfessionsNarcissist TriangulationWhen Guards Are DownAsking Strange QuestionsFinding Truth in Their ActionsHow Do You Work with A Narcissist?Pick The Narcissist’s BrainBuild a WallBe Assertive Without Being AggressiveBuild A Strong Support NetworkDon’t Take It All Too Personally.Limit Your ExposureConclusion

Laughter Is the Best Medicine

You have probably heard the term laughter is the best medicine. It may even be a bit cliché at this point. However, it still holds quite true. If you are feeling down, forcing yourself to smile or laugh can turn your mood around.

If you are in need of a pick-me-up, make sure you hang out with people who are upbeat. If you are with others who are down as well, it’s going to be difficult for each of you to get out of your funk.

No one can truly be happy 100% of the time. If you are unhappy more than you are happy, it could be time to seek some help. But, part of your therapy could very well be to use laughter.

There are clinics that promote laughing as part of the group. It entails gathering in a circle and forcibly laughing while the group participates. Depending on who is running the event, each person may take a turn laughing and then the group joins after the last person completes the exercise. It seems strange to outsiders, but participants are proponents of the methods. They get a good feeling after the sessions, and many say they make great friends in the process.

Laughter can help lower stress as well. It releases endorphins in your brain, which are responsible for you feeling good. It is even believed to help in producing antibodies that can fight disease. This could be how the phrase, laughter makes the best medicine, came about.

You may feel strange yourself early on when incorporating laughter into your routine. But, even if it is forced, as you do more you'll get more used to it, and it will stop feeling strange over time. You will have the tools you need to change your mood. After a while, you will find yourself laughing for real rather than forcing it.

It will improve your general outlook on life. People you associate with will also take notice and want to hang out with you more. Give it a try for a consistent period. Notice the changes that you experience in your feelings. It is likely you will never go back to the way it was. While no one can guarantee using laughter will make you live longer, it won’t hurt you in any manner. The question is, why wouldn’t you use it if you’ve got nothing to lose?

The death of a family pet can trigger a sense of grief in children that is profound and prolonged, and can potentially lead to subsequent mental health issues,

according to a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The team found that the strong emotional attachment of youngsters to pets might result in measurable psychological distress that can serve as an indicator of depression in children and adolescents for as long as three years or more after the loss of a beloved pet.

"One of the first major losses a child will encounter is likely to be the death of a pet, and the impact can be traumatic, especially when that pet feels like a member of the family," the experience of pet death is often associated with elevated mental health symptoms in children, and that parents and physicians need to recognize and take those symptoms seriously, not simply brush them off."

Roughly half of the households in developed countries own at least one pet. And the bonds that children form with pets can resemble secure human relationships in terms of providing affection, protection and reassurance. What's more, previous studies have shown that children often turn to pets for comfort and to voice their fears and emotional experiences. While the increased empathy, self-esteem and social competence that often flow from this interaction are beneficial, the downside is children's exposure to the death of a pet which, is, 63 per cent of children with pets during their first seven years of life.

Prior research has focused on the attachment of adults to pets and the consequences of an animal's death. The Massachusetts team is the first to examine mental health responses in children. Their analysis is based on 6,260 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), in Bristol, England. This population-based sample is replete with data collected from mothers and children that enabled researchers to track the experience of pet ownership and pet loss from a child's early age up to eight years.

"Thanks to this cohort, we were able to analyse the mental and emotional health of children after examining their experiences with pet death over an extended period," notes Erin Dunn, ScD, MPH, with the MGH Center for Genomic Medicine and Department of Psychiatry, and senior author of the study. "And we observed that the association between exposure to a pet's death and psychopathology symptoms in childhood occurred regardless of the child's socioeconomic status or hardships they had already endured in their young lives."

Researchers also learned that the relationship between pet death and increased psychopathology was more pronounced in male than female children -- a finding that surprised them in light of prior research -- and that the strength of the association was independent of when the pet's death occurred during childhood, and how many times or how recently it occurred. According to Dunn, this latter finding speaks to "the durability of the bond with pets that is formed at a very early age, and how it can affect children across their development."

The MGH study stressed the importance of parents, caregivers, and paediatricians recognizing and taking seriously children's short- and long-term psychological reactions to the death of a pet – reactions that can mimic a child's response to the loss of other significant family members. "Adults need to pay attention to whether those feelings are deeper and more profound and if they're lasting longer than might have been expected," says Crawford. "They could be signs of complicated grief, and having someone to talk to sympathetically or therapeutically may be extremely helpful for a child who is grieving."

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Should You Suppress Your Feelings?

People are wired with emotions. Therefore, when you suppress your emotions, you are going against your design. That can cause harm to you physically and emotionally.

There is a time and place for everything, including expressing emotions. It’s probably not the best idea to shout in the middle of a busy location. In this day and age, people could mistake your actions when doing this.

Keeping your emotions bottled up will eventually lead to stress and other adverse mental conditions. If this continues for too long, it can cause you to become depressed and can lead to problems with alcohol or drug abuse. For instance, many people turn to sleep aids or worse, like Oxycontin and other opioid-type drugs. These are highly addictive and only mask the symptoms. They are seldom used to cure conditions.

Many people are taught to suppress emotions by their parents and grandparents. These generations were taught to do the same and felt it was a true sign of character to be able to keep your emotions in check. During their time as kids, there was less information about the effects of emotions than there are currently.

Some people still adhere to the old ways of not expressing emotions. Expressing emotions is similar to complaining, and no one wants to hear it. However, modern studies are pointing to suppressing emotions as damaging.

There are classes that allow you to let off some steam. People have different ways to accomplish this. Some will play sports like basketball, while others will work out at the gym. Meditation is another, more tranquil way to reduce your stress.

Sometimes all you need is to talk to someone about what you are feeling. You are letting your guard down when you do this, so make sure you find someone you can trust. If you choose a co-worker, make sure you don’t disclose so much to leave you vulnerable should that person tell what you said to others in the workplace. If it gets back to your boss or another person who you may be talking about, it could have negative consequences.

Keeping your emotions inside is never healthy. However, you need to try and find the right time to express those emotions. But finding that time is crucial to your mental and physical wellbeing. It is not worth getting sick because you aren’t willing to express yourself. The benefits of letting it out will lead you to a better life.

Do Men and Women Handle Emotions Differently?

Intuitively, many believe that men and women handle their emotions in different ways. But, there are certainly men who are more emotional and women who are not. It could be a societal aspect where men are taught to “man up” and keep their emotions in check, while women are told they are the nurturers in a relationship and should express emotions more readily.

The book, “Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus,” lays out why we are different from each other. It could be that these differences complement each other and help to round out a family. Of course, men and women will continue to complain to their friends about the opposite sex. It makes you wonder if this is simple posturing. There are plenty of stories that play off these differences.

While women may believe men are callous and cold, the truth is men do experience emotions. They just do it differently than women. Many men do get choked up when they see an emotional film. They just try to keep it from coming to the forefront. Some men have no problems with expressing those emotions.

There are women who don’t want their men to be too emotional. They view them as being weak and, even when overdone, as being effeminate. It’s a delicate balance, as they don’t want their men completely emotionless.

Hollywood's movies often reinforce the stereotypes between men and women. People who grew up watching John Wayne movies saw the Duke as being a tough guy. Men would model themselves based on their characters. It’s not much different from the movies shown today.

Another factor that may explain the differences between how men and women express emotions is biology. Women have different hormones than men. These hormones can affect how people feel those emotions.

It’s important to note that many studies on the differences between men and women are centred around the study of the brain. While science has come a long way in the past 50 years or so with these studies, the brain is still a highly complex organ. In the grand scheme of things, we know very little about it.

Therefore, how much do we know about emotions in either sex?

What will we know 50 years from now about the brain? No one can say for sure, but it is likely to be very different from what is known now.

5 Sure-fire Ways to Release Regret

Regret happens. What doesn’t have to happen is you holding on to it forever? Releasing regret is a process, one that is different for every person and every situation. However, you can give various forms of releasing regret a try and learn about yourself in the process.

1.    Practice Daily Gratitude

Practising daily gratitude is a great way to consistently remind yourself of all that you have. Family, friends, a home, food to eat, maybe even a cute puppy to come home to. Whatever your gratitude is toward, reminding yourself of it is a great way to reflect on the good in your life and make the regrets seem less important in the grand scheme of life.

2.    Trust the Journey

Reminding yourself that even the adverse events in life are part of a bigger journey allows you to look at the larger picture. Yes, you regret this one mistake. But, did that one mistake lead you down a different path that had good outcomes? Everything happens for a reason, trust that in time you will find out why that mistake or loss occurred.

3.    Learn to Release Emotions

Emotions in the grand scheme of life (once again; are you seeing the bigger picture yet?) are fleeting. Learning to release your feelings when they are not serving you will aid you now and in the future. Stop beating yourself up for something that happened in the past and learn to move on with a clear mind and focus.

4.    Accept the Lesson Learned

Situations or actions we regret typically offer us a lesson—if we are open to learning it. Accept that you learned a lesson and move on with it. Living through a challenging event means nothing if you don’t continue living and implement what you learned into your future life.

5.    “What If the Past Doesn’t Change the Future

Living in the land of “what ifs” is tempting. However, “what if’s” literally means nothing in the practice of daily life. You can spend hours or even days guessing at a different outcome, but it doesn’t matter. Those what-ifs will never directly impact your future other than to steal from it. Stop reliving it and move on.

If you are living your life being swallowed alive by your regret, start exploring ways to release it and move on. You deserve a life that is fulfilled and happy, not a life that leaves you stuck in the past and wallowing in disappointment.

5 Ways to Experience Personal Growth even in an Upheaval

When you’re in upheaval, you tend to hit survival mode pretty quickly. Your life becomes focused on just getting through the day.

Beyond that? You don’t have the time or energy to care.

Now more than ever, you need to take advantage of what time you have for personal growth. When we are challenged is where we rise to the occasion the best. During the upheaval, our minds become busy, and we start thinking more. It’s a great time to take advantage of a mind made flexible by circumstances and learn something new.

In short, this is an excellent time for personal growth.

Furthermore, the act of bettering yourself gives you a focus, something you can control right now, at this moment, helping your mental state. It’s all about attitude and the idea you can keep growing, even now. How?

You Learn to Embrace Adversity

There’s no doubt upheaval can make a mess of your life. But as you dig in and start looking for solutions, you’re going to discover something about yourself. Adversity brings out your best, forcing you out from complacency to find new solutions. With an open-minded attitude, you can even come to embrace adversity.

You Become More Adept at Challenges

A crisis demands creative solutions. After all, if the status quo had been working, you wouldn’t be where you are now. In the long run, what this means if you’re going to get better at brainstorming and seeing solutions where you hadn’t previously.

You Become Better at Seeing the Opportunity

Once you look past the disaster itself, you’re going to start seeing a chance to shine. There’s a great deal of opportunity in upheaval if you can maintain an openness to trying new things and adaptability when it comes to rolling with the punches. Developing this skill now means you’re never going to miss an opportunity again.

You Cultivate Positivity

How can you possibly make it through a crisis if all you’re doing is focusing on the negative? If you can now discover the ability to find the positive and to keep an upbeat attitude even when things are going wrong, you’ll be able to stay positive no matter what life throws at you.

You Develop More Empathy

You can’t go through these kinds of tough times without learning something about how hard life can be. By leveraging this into empathy, you’ll gain more compassion for those around you.

Wow, this is a lot! Imagine the newer, stronger version of yourself developing even now. How exciting to think you’ll be coming out of this crisis more robust and better than ever before!

How Can I Be Happy with Where I Am In Life?

People are often told that they need to do more, be more, and can't be truly happy until they do. This can often be an exhausting list of unattainable goals to chase. Instead of focusing on what you don't have, you should use the tips below to help you be happy with wherever you currently are in life. 

Don't Compare Yourself to Others

Where do you hear about all these more things that you need to do and achieve? Probably from friends and family, right?

You are unique, and this is why you should stop comparing yourself to others immediately.

If a friend or family member compares you to others in front of you, ask them to please stop doing this. There is only one of you on this earth, and there is no way that anyone else will have the same journey. If they truly care about you, they will recognize this too.

Try to Feel Grateful, For One Thing, Each Day

Another way you can be happy with where you are in life is by finding at least one thing to be thankful for every day. Again, it's best if you write this thing down in a journal so that you can look back later and see all the things you are thankful for. Remember, you don't just have to be thankful for physical possessions; you can also be thankful for those in your life and characteristics of yourself that you enjoy. 

Learn to Let Go

So, why aren't you happy with your life? Are you not where you thought you would be?

Do you regret something? No matter what it is that may be holding you back from happiness, it's time to let it go. No one cares that you didn't quite make as much money as you thought you would, and it doesn't matter if you didn't end up with the job you dreamed of having.

Your happiness is whatever makes you happy in the here and now. So start embracing your life as is and let go of any what-might-have-been thinking. 

If you want to be happy with where you are in life, the choice is all yours. All you must do is stop comparing yourself to others, resolve to feel grateful for one thing a day, and learn to let go of any misconceptions you may be having. After you've accomplished all this, you may find that you are quite happy with your life just as it is. 

The Power of Self-Belief

If you believe in yourself, there is little to stop you in whatever you want to accomplish. It gives you the power to push forward and to defy the odds. You will be able to handle any roadblocks that come your way. You will also brush off the naysayers. It gives you peace of mind when you stick to your self-belief.

To keep that self-belief strong, you need to define your goals. You wouldn’t expect a general to fight a war without a map. You, too, need a map to guide you on how to proceed. Too many people skip this step and wonder why they aren’t getting anywhere.

Goals are your guidance, but carrying through with them is only done when you believe that it’s possible. The belief is the energy you need to take action. It helps you to focus on getting your tasks complete.

You will also build confidence when you have self-belief. It’s a powerful tool, as others will be attracted to that confidence. They will follow your lead, and you will help show them what is possible. When you run into any stumbling blocks (and you will), that confidence will help you see them through. You will know how to take alternative action when necessary. The people following you will respect that as well.

Several forces will try to beat you down. You may even find yourself letting it happen. You need to get centred on why you started your journey in the first place. Use affirmations to reinforce your message. Be consistent with your affirmations.

Unfortunately, many of the negative forces are going to be from your family and friends. They will see it as helping you avoid mistakes. Many people will succumb to this negative pressure and give up. One way to prevent this is to join groups of like-minded individuals. It can be related to your business, or it can be groups that focus on self-help. These organizations exist to try and push the negative forces out. It’s great to go to meetings and get encouragement from the group.

Attending these groups can sometimes lead to friendships with people where you can extend the encouragement of each other. You may even form business partnerships from these friendships. It’s good to know that you have the support of these people when these relationships form.

They understand when everyone else around you doesn’t. Your self-belief will strengthen considerably from this arrangement.

Sexual deviation is any sexual activity outside the scope of what is currently conventional. It is known medically as paraphilia. Views of what is conventional can change pretty quickly.

For this reason, any list of deviant practices will, to some extent, be a reflection of the prevailing view of what is expected.

Paraphilias are emotional disorders with sexual behaviours or impulses, distinguished by intense sexual fantasies with an urge that keeps coming back. 

The desires and behaviours may involve unusual objects, activities, or situations that are not usually considered sexually arousing by others.  

The word paraphilia derives from Greek; para means around or beside, and philia implies love. 

It is probably most helpful to look at deviant behaviour as practices that lack the mutuality, affection and tenderness which lie at the heart of conventional sexual rela­tionships. 

On this basis, the vast majority of people would regard the follow­ing as deviant, and a total of eight Paraphilias are listed in the DSM V :

1. Paedophilia: Sex with children.

2. Sadism: Inflicting cruelty for sexual arousal.

3. Masochism: Experienc­ing cruelty for purposes of arousal. Masochism is 20 times more common in women than men; paraphilias are almost exclusively diagnosed in men.

4. Exhibitionism: Undesired exposure of the genitals (usually male).

5. Fetishism: Recurrent sexual arousal interest in an inanimate object.

6. Transvestism: Obtaining pleasure by wearing clothes of the opposite sex.

7. Voyeurism: Watching the sexual activity of others.

8. Telephone scatology: Making obscene telephone calls.

9. Frotteurism: Rubbing your manhood, against women, in crowded places.

10. Coprophilia: Sexual plea­sure in being defecated on.

11. Urophilia: Sexual plea­sure in being urinated on.

12. Bestiality: Sex with animals. The research found that the most common paraphilia interest amongst men is often voyeurism and fetishism.

However, many people who suffer from one paraphilia have more than one deviant.

Read the full article, Sexual Deviation