Links

Articles I've written on GetPsyched:



Popular posts

Blue Monday and Winter blues: why are we so SAD during the winter?

Image
January - it's that time of the year again: the days are dark and cold, bank accounts cry for help, Christmas is over, Coronavirus is still around and (if you live in the UK, sorry) we just left the EU and we are in the middle of a third national lockdown! How not to feel down, with all these things going on at the same time? It sounds like a challenge, and it certainly is.  What is SAD and why is it revelant? SAD means Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression. It's very important to keep this in mind: SAD is not just feeling a bit down, it's a disorder with very specific symptoms that can have a huge impact on daily life: a persistent low mood a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities irritability feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness feeling lethargic (lacking in energy) and sleepy during the day sleeping for longer than normal and finding it hard to get up in the morning craving carbohydrates and gaining ...
Read more

The importance of touch for children

Image
From the earliest stages of our lives to the latest ones, human touch is vitally important. picture by Elisa Susmel The sense of touch develops before we are even born and at as early at 26 weeks the foetus responds to vibrations within the womb. This is actually the first sense to develop inside the womb. This sense doesn’t involve just the skin, it also allows us to feel pain and pressure inside the body. Touch helps newborns to regulate their temperature and contributes to their socio-emotional development. On the other side touch is one of the last experiences we can have with a loved one when they are dying,and it's extremely important as it provides comfort to both parties. We could mention many examples to underline the importance of touch in our daily life: a hug when we are upset, holding our partner's hand, a pat on a student's shoulder to show that we appreciate their hard work. When it comes to schools and their policies these experiences may be different. As pa...
Read more

Sanremo e la comunicazione violenta

Image
Foto da Vanity Fair Marshall Rosenberg ha iniziato a parlare di comunicazione violenta e non violenta all'inizio degli anni '60. Rosenberg non conosceva il Festival di Sanremo, e non avrebbe mai immaginato che un giorno una psicologa italiana emigrata nel Regno Unito avrebbe usato le sue idee per parlare del festival della canzone italiana. Secondo Rosenberg i conflitti sono generati da una comunicazione non efficace. Quella che lui definisce “non efficace” è definita “comunicazione violenta” o “non collaborativa” in quanto  può essere coercitiva o manipolatoria, alle volte senza che noi ne siamo consapevoli. Questo tipo di comunicazione causa sentimenti di colpa, vergogna, paura. Un esempio che faccio spesso ai genitori che supporto è: quando insegniamo al/la bambino/a che bisogna avere paura di qualcosa, per esempio dicendo che deve fare i compiti altrimenti la maestra lo/la sgrida o mette in punizione. Al contrario, una comunicazione più efficace sarebbe quella “non violenta...
Read more