The 'Busy' Trap Anxiety: We worry. A gallery of contributors count the ways. If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” It’s not as if any of us wants to live like this; it’s something we collectively force one another to do. Notice it isn’t generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the I.C.U. or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are; what those people are is not busy but tired. Brecht Vandenbroucke Even children are busy now, scheduled down to the half-hour with classes and extracurricular activities. The present hysteria is not a necessary or inevitable condition of life; it’s something we’ve chosen, if only by our acquiescence to it. Our frantic days are really just a hedge against emptiness. I am not busy. Here I am largely unmolested by obligations.
The Power of Introverts: A Manifesto for Quiet Brilliance Do you enjoy having time to yourself, but always feel a little guilty about it? Then Susan Cain’s “Quiet : The Power of Introverts” is for you. It’s part book, part manifesto. Cook: This may be a stupid question, but how do you define an introvert? Cain: Not a stupid question at all! It’s also important to understand that introversion is different from shyness. Cook: You argue that our culture has an extroversion bias. Cain: In our society, the ideal self is bold, gregarious, and comfortable in the spotlight. In my book, I travel the country – from a Tony Robbins seminar to Harvard Business School to Rick Warren’s powerful Saddleback Church – shining a light on the bias against introversion. Cook: How does this cultural inclination affect introverts? Cain: Many introverts feel there’s something wrong with them, and try to pass as extroverts. According to the latest research, one third to one half of us are introverts – that’s one out of every two or three people you know. Cain: Yes.
The Quiet Traveler I was first made aware of both the numbers of introverts in America, and the pent-up feeling many of us have of being misunderstood, when I wrote an essay for the travel website World Hum about being an introverted traveler. If you're a world traveler, I'm sure you've heard other travelers insist that travel is "all about meeting people." In my first essay, " Confessions of an Introverted Traveler ", I admitted to traveling for reasons other than meeting people. Now I have created an audio slideshow, The Quiet Traveler about the sort of things I remember when I travel. My book, The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World , is available for pre-order on Amazon .
What Every Diaper Bag Needs pg 1 Person-centred therapy with a client experiencing social anxiety difficulties: A hermeneutic single case efficacy design - Counselling and Psychotherapy Research - Volume 11 Published online: 22 Feb 2011 Author affiliations a Counselling Unit , University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, UK Author biographies Susan Stephen (formerly Cornforth) is a person-centred counsellor and supervisor working in private practice in Ayrshire. Robert Elliott is professor of counselling in the Counselling Unit at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Rachel Macleod is a counselling psychologist working in secondary care in the NHS.
Affirmations for Introverts I'm all about self-affirmations this week. I covered affirmations for pessimists on another blog, now I'm thinking about affirmations for introverts . Self-affirmations, when spoken aloud, can sound kind of silly. OK, sometimes they sound a little silly even when you say them silently to yourself. But if we can permit ourselves a Stuart Smalley moment now and then, affirmations can come in handy to remind us of things we might already know but forget in moments of insecurity. I particularly like and often use the old standby "Different strokes for different folks." A few others, for various circumstances: Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I have nothing to say. What works for you? Thanks for visiting! My book, The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World , is out and about, available for Kindle, Nook, and in the good ol' dead tree version.
What Every Diaper Bag Needs pg 2 Gay Teen Worried He Might Be Christian LOUISVILLE, KY—At first glance, high school senior Lucas Faber, 18, seems like any ordinary gay teen. He's a member of his school's swing choir, enjoys shopping at the mall, and has sex with other males his age. But lately, a growing worry has begun to plague this young gay man. "I don't know what's happening to me," Faber admitted to reporters Monday. Added Faber, "I feel so confused." The openly gay teen, who came out to his parents at age 14 and has had a steady boyfriend for the past seven months, said he first began to suspect he might be different last year, when he started feeling an odd stirring within himself every time he passed a church. "It's like I don't even know who I am anymore," the frightened teenager said. Faber's sock drawer is home to a number of illicit magazines he has secretly accepted from street preachers. According to Faber, his first experience with evangelical Christianity was not all that different from other gays his age.
Introverts unite! (Quietly.) I am an introvert . And, like my fellow introverts, I am sorely misunderstood. Common wisdom says that America is a nation of extroverts and here, introversion is stigmatized. Phooey. I'm not shy , socially awkward or in any way (that I know of) socially inept. But the difference between extroverts and introverts is not that the former are good at socializing and the latter aren't. That describes me perfectly. I have been shamed many times for my loathing for the telephone (not uncommon for introverts), for my reliance on online interaction (ditto), and for my desire to leave parties shortly after arriving. We introverts often try to push against our nature , having bought into the myth that extroversion is better and that it's the American way. Because, fellow introverts, it's time we stop pretending and apologizing, Sure, we can present an extroverted face to the world when necessary, but it takes a toll on us in private. Quietly. Thanks for visiting!
contemplation.com As soon as I arrived, I knew why I had come. In Vientiane, the capital, kids were fishing along the main street -- an unpaved red-dirt path -- and a call across town involved ringing an operator, waiting for her to call back and then tugging gently at the wire while speaking in a whisper. At 1 P.M. on the Friday I arrived, the center of downtown -- Laos's Times Square -- consisted of me, a drowsy rickshaw driver and a fountain with no water. When I stepped into my hotel, however -- a simple midprice place along the Mekong -- I was greeted by the Ghost of Laos Future. A room beside the lobby blinked with flashing screens accommodating E-mail needs, and Top Cat was agitating for some pizza on the Cartoon Network near my bed. "I'm sorry, sir," said the cashier when I took my leave of Laos, congratulating him on how (relatively) quiet and unspoiled his country was. Indeed they will, and another way to flee the all-surrounding buzz will be lost to us.
Anxiety: Forms of Anxiety Anxiety is a complex emotion, and its signs and symptoms may be manifested in different ways. Following are brief descriptions of the forms of anxiety that may occur in children and teenagers. Detailed descriptions, signs and symptoms, causes, treatment and related information can be found by linking to each disorder. {*style:<ul>*}{*style:<li>*}{*style:<b>*}Separation Anxiety Disorder{*style:</b>*} — Children with separation anxiety disorder (SAD) have intense anxiety about being away from home or caregivers that affects their ability to function socially and in school.