Daily Archives: January 23, 2012

A Healthy Mind: It’s as Easy as ABC ~ Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)

Posted by insidefirst on

A healthy mind: It’s as easy as ABC

By Daniel Fryer ~Cognitive behaviour therapy, clinical hypnotherapy, various London practices

In a slight case of acronym overkill, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) is a form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) that takes a simple-yet-cunning approach to mental wellness, where activating events (A) trigger beliefs (B) that cause consequences (C). To find out how this model can help you lead a happier life, read on…

Pioneered and developed in the mid-1950s by a New York psychotherapist called Albert Ellis, REBT predates the more widely-practised form of CBT (developed by the psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck) by about 10 years.

It takes the point of view that it is not the things in life that distress you, but the beliefs you hold about those things that distresses you. So, if you are thinking, feeling, or acting in a way that you don’t like, but don’t seem to be able to change, REBT, helps you to identify and challenge those unhealthy distress-causing beliefs that you hold in the face of that event, whilst at the same time helping you to identify and re-enforce a serious of healthier and more helpful beliefs. Change your beliefs and you change the way you think feel and act.

Hmm, sounds interesting, tell me more

“Men are not disturbed by things, but by the view which they take of them.” (Epictetus, philosopher, AD 55 – AD 135)

Let’s say that you are about to go on a date. You’ve been on a few and they’ve not gone to well, you like this new guy, a lot, and you’ve got your hopes up. There are two ways you could look at that date.

Way number one is this: “I really would prefer my date to go well, but it doesn’t absolutely have to. I won’t like it my date doesn’t go well, but it won’t be the end of the world and I’m not a total loser, even if it doesn’t go well, I am a worthwhile but fallible human being who simply went on a date that didn’t work out.”

This is a very healthy belief in that it’s rational, it expresses what you would like to happen, but allows you to accept that you can’t guarantee it. With this belief, you’ll be worried, but in a calm-but-excited way that is appropriate to you going on a first date with a guy you like. And more calm and excited is how you are going to come across, which helps you to create a more positive dating experience.

Way number two is this: “My date absolutely must go well, it would be the end of the world if it doesn’t, and if it doesn’t, it’s all my fault, I’m such a total loser.” Continue reading →

5 Crazy Things That Boost Productivity

Posted by insidefirst on

Just some clever ideas to help you finish more projects and getting to those stacks of paper on your desk, that I like to call ‘dear friend procrastination.’

Dear Boss: I am working outside today to be more productive.

Can’t see around the slew of papers at your desk? Before you clear your work zone, consider this: It may be helping you think more clearly. According to recent German research, clutter helps people focus. The study—which tested how efficiently people completed tasks like categorizing items in both messy and clean environments—found that chaos helped people simplify the tasks at hand.

Four more strange things that boost productivity? Picture a new kind of office filled with televisions, music, and gum . . . Continue reading →

New BBC Documentary Will Cover Issues of Homosexuality and Football

Posted by insidefirst on

A new documentary which will air later this month on BBC Three will cover the issue of homosexuality and football and why, at the present time, there are no openly gay professional footballers in the UK.

It has often been said that having openly gay professional footballers would provide good role models for young teens who themselves are coming to terms with their sexuality. The fact that, at the present time, there are no such openly gay, or bisexual, players is often attributed to fears over their careers. It is a widely held belief that players have not come out because they fear doing so would end their professional careers.

Footballer Justin Fashanu came out as gay in the early 1990s and suffered abuse because of it; he later committed suicide. Britain’s Gay Footballers, the BBC Three documentary, will be presented by Amal Fashanu, the niece of Justin Fashanu, and will explore the issues holding back players from coming out.

The documentary will also cover claims that there are gay and bisexual players in the profession who are still in the closet. The press have, at times, reported such rumours regarding some players who have often been quick to deny the claims and in some cases take legal action over them. Publicity Max Clifford has spoken several times before of how gay players have turned to him to help them keep their sexuality a secret.

A recent survey found that the majority of fans would welcome openly gay players. The poll by Pink Paper also found that many believed clubs and agents were responsible for keeping any gay players in the closet. Sport in general has few openly gay professionals though in recent years there have been several highprofile sportsmen who have come out such as Rugby players Gareth Thomas, Jed Hooper and referee Nigel Owens as well as cricketer Steven Davies and Swedish footballer Anton Hysen.

(www.atvtoday.co.uk)

Britain’s Gay Footballers: BBC Three, Monday 30th January at 9pm.