New Web Address for This Blog

I have become dissatisfied with Blogger as they have technical problems with following other blogs, and I have come across a number I'd like to follow as I consider following other blogs as a major part of the blogging process.
The new address for my blog will be:
http://natashashapiroarttherapy.wordpress.com/
I appreciate all new readers of my blog and hope you will continue reading it at the new address and let me know about your blogs so I can follow them too!

Black Friday and the onset of the Holiday Blues

Today is Black Friday in more ways than one. If you tend to get depressed during this season and it hasn't hit you yet, this is usually a day when it hits after you wake up from the Thanksgiving food coma to all the holiday decorations and frenzied gift shopping going on. There's no avoiding the holiday marketing blitz. Anyway this post is for all the people out there who suffer from seasonal depression or holiday depression. If you're wondering why you're feeling so blue, here it is, the holidays and family issues; past traumas for many traumatized people often involve something about their family of origin and the holidays. The weather in NYC has definitely been weird and unseasonal which helps some people and all the weather changes can make others more depressed. One minute it's light out, then it's barely 5 pm and dark night.

Anyway, for those of you who are therapists, you're probably noticing that your patients at your job or in your practice are often more depressed than usual. Some people really forget what's going on and are bewildered at the sudden onset of a deep heavy blackness, a sense of sadness or inability to be interested in much, or just feeling sleepy all the time. It definitely helps to remind people that this time of year is a real challenge for many people. For many, just knowing why they are feeling this way helps a lot, at least in terms of giving themselves a break and not heeding any blaming voices they are hearing in their head, such as "Get over this now. You have no reason to be so down in the dumps..." It's a time to be nicer and more forgiving to yourself if you are feeling depressed in any way. It's OK to spend more time on the couch watching whatever DVDs, movies, TV shows etc. to get out of your mindset. Wasting time is OK. Sleeping more is OK too.

Some people who really know they suffer from seasonal mood swings actually choose to take medications during this time and find it helps a lot. Many anti-depressants can really work well if you take them for a few months just to give yourself a boost at the onset of holidays and winter. For others, medication is not an option for whatever reason. If so, try other kinds of anti-depressants like light to moderate exercise, which is shown to help the depressed brain. Or restorative yoga and meditation. Some people just can't get themselves motivated to do these things either. All the heavy foods at holiday parties does not help either for those sensitive to foods effect on mood.

I mentioned in another post that this is a time of year for family, good and bad. For those who have a lot of trauma from family issues in the past or present, and who notice they feel worse after being with or talking to family members, taking a break from them is a good idea. You can limit or cut off contact without having an exact plan of how long to do it. In extreme cases, some people need to give themselves permission or get permission from their therapist or friends, to do this. Some people can be triggered by even a short text or email or something on Facebook. If you know this is a trigger for you, you can find out how to block email addresses and phone numbers. If you can't block a phone number and don't want to change your phone number, it can be helpful to put down as the contact, "Do not answer" or other such labels that show you right away who is calling but serve as a gentle reminder that you can choose to ignore the call. Somehow seeing a word or sentence instead of a name can really help you to stop yourself from getting into a conversation you know will most likely end in tears or shouting or feeling completely cut off, depressed, angry or any other types of feelings that you don't need to put yourself through right now when you have enough stress just getting through the day...

There's a lot more to be said about this topic; anyway I hope this post helps people with holiday depression or seasonal depression to take better care of themselves, be less hard on themselves and work on more soothing self talk, which is a whole topic in itself. Try to notice when the negative voices rush into your head and put a big red stop sign to them...

What about you? How are you? How are your patients doing???

Thanksgiving, Giving Thanks

So I've venture into the dark shadow side of the holidays, and thought I'd interrupt that topic with a more positive uplifting topic:
Make a list of what you are thankful for! Write it down, or make a drawing/collage/painting to go with it. Share or make the list with your significant other, child or children or a good friend, or even with your therapist...
When I worked at a Day Treatment Center for people with chronic mental illness, my favorite day was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when we gathered as a big group for food and then the best part, when clients voluntarily stood up and announced to everyone gathered, clients and therapists, what they were thankful for. It was amazing to see people who normally had trouble saying anything in individual meetings or small groups stand and say what they were thankful for. Most memorable of the little speeches was the following:

(and I might add, I am remembering these statements from when I was an intern there in 1997 and when I worked there many years ago...)
"I am thankful to finally have a home after being homeless..."
"I am thankful for this program that helps me a lot..."
"I am thankful for my family..."
So I will add my own list:
I am thankful for everyone in my family.
I am thankful for having really really wonderful thoughtful and compassionate friends, old and new.
I am thankful for having a roof over my head, heat and electricity!
I am thankful for all the small things that make life worth living.
I am thankful for the opportunity to use my creativity in so many ways.
I am thankful I found art making as a way to express myself.
I am thankful to have started this blog, and I hope to find people who are interested in reading it and contributing to it.
Those are just a few...

Family Relationships and the Holidays

Note for this post: I cannot seem to figure out how to make paragraph breaks yet, but as this is such a timely topoc, I will publish it as is and fix it later... With Thanksgiving coming tomorrow and the 2011 holiday season beginning, many people are confronted with dealing with their family issues, past traumas, and other related struggles. This post will address some of the difficult challenges that arise for some adults especially during this season... This post could have also been entitled: Is it OK to take a break from your "family or origin" or even choose to cut off all forms of contact with specific family members or limit forms of contact with them? I myself am a native New Yorker with many family members who live in the NYC area, however, there are many adults living in the New York area who are faced with a more complicated family situation, the question being, "Do I accept my family's invitation to go home for the holidays?" Many people only see there families around holiday time. For some, this is their favorite time of year. A lot of people love cooking their favorite dishes, going to their parents' or other relatives' homes to visit, seeing family members they don't see often, etc. For some, holidays bring up positive memories. however, unfortunately for many other people that we therapists work with or know personally, this time of year is extremely stressful, and can trigger unpleasant, even traumatic memories. For many people, this time of year brings on the onset of seasonal depression or what I would term "holiday depression". For some people who are in the hospital due to mental or other medical illnesses, the depression is around missing the holidays with their families. Then there are the folks whose families live far away. For some of the latter group, the question arises: do I go home for the holidays or skip it this year and find an alternate way to celebrate in New York, perhaps with other friends who have made the same choice, or even ignore the holidays altogether? Sometimes, people need to be able to pose this question to themselves and contemplate their options without feeling guilty or like a bad son or daughter. It can be liberating to simply pose the question and realize that you have choices and that going home to see your parents/relatives is indeed a choice and not a mandate... For some, for many reasons, their relationships with one and/or both parents or parental figures, is a complex, difficult, emotionally challenging and conflictual one. In this post I will be addressing and discussing the challenges this group of young adults and adults face. Whethere you are 20 or 40 or in your fifties, you may be facing this challenge. There may arise a question such as, "Do I want/need to deal with x person(s),with whom I still harbor a lot of anger and pain, right now?" Other relevant more extreme types of questions may include, "Do I have to even remain in contact with this person? Can I limit contact with him/her? Can I cut off contact altogether with this person for an unspecified amount of time?" First of all, feelings of guilt and shame need to be put aside for the questions to arise and be addressed. You may need a kind of permission froma therapist or friend to even allow yourself to ask these emotionally laden questions, and then ultimately, you will need to give yourself permission to pose these questions to yourself. Journalling about the feelings that come up can be helpful. For those who may simply want to take a time out from their family member(s), it is important to know that this is a choice for you and an option to consider. Check in with yourself as to what comes up for you when you imagine going home for the holidays. If you are noticing feelings of dread, anger, sadness, guilt, wanting to avoid thinking about it, it may be a good idea to try out visualize yourself choosing alternate ways to spend the holidays, such as going to visit someone with whom you have a good relationship, visiting a partners' or friends' family, or even just staying here... It is almost another complex topic to discuss the questions around limiting or cutting off contact from family members, especially parental figures, however, I have noticed that the holiday time affords the opportunity to face and deeply with this very complex emotional issue. Since this post has become longer than expected, I have decided to address this question in the next post. Please feel free to comment on these topics, either personally or if you are a therapist, from you personal or professional experiences...

Announcement: New Art Therapy Group Forming

I am starting a new art therapy group for people dealing with eating disorders and related issues, such as body image issues, food and exercise addictions, emotional eating, as well as the accompanying mood swings, depression, and anxiety that often follow from these types of struggles.

You do not have to be diagnosed with a serious eating disorder to join the group. Anyone who wants to explore these issues is welcome in the group. If you are in an outpatient program or just finished any kind of program for eating disorders and liked art therapy and found it helpful, this would also be a suitable group for you.

The group, called "Make Art Now!" (for Eating Disorders and Related Issues, will meet weekly on Fridays at 1 pm. It will be an hour or a 1.5 hour group depending on the needs and schedules of group members. It will meet in my art studio/office in downtown New York City near Canal Street.

We will be using a variety of art materials to process issues and themes that arise in the group. We will make individual and group art projects.

For more info, contact me through this blog. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section...