Mindware for Peer Recovery Support: A CARES Connect Webinar

Transcription

1 Mindware for Peer Recovery Support A CARES Connect Webinar July 20, 2017; 5:30pm 7:00pm George S. Braucht, LPC, CPCS & CARES Academy Co-founder Mr. Rogers Garden of Your Mind: 3:01 If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence. A Moment of Silence George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans). (1872). Middlemarch. David Crosby. (1988). Compass. 4 How to Participate in Today s Webinar White arrow in orange box = Expands or minimizes your Control Panel Click on View and select or deselect Auto-Hide Please mute your phone or computer microphone to eliminate background noise. Unmute it when you want to talk. Two ways to ask a question or make a comment: 1. Submit written questions 2. Raise your hand to ask a question; At the appropriate time you will be invited to make a comment or ask a question Mindware: A CARES Connect Webinar Mindfulness practices are supported by: four decades of clinical neuroscience and positive psychology research, 80+ years of Alcoholics Anonymous practices & at least two millennia of wisdom or faith traditions 1

2 Objectives 1. Recognize your ability to direct attention to identifying and replacing brain-mind generated messages that inhibit progressive recovery or flourishing while counteracting ambivalence about changes that you actually want. Objectives 2. Explain the neuropsychological basis of how awareness of ourselves and others is a function of the interaction among the brain-body-environment mind B (f) = P X E: Behavior is always a function of the interaction between people and their environments 3. Use mindfulness and positive psychology practices to promote long-term recovery and progressive health. Objectives Consciousness The Mind Conscious Unconscious Two brain-mind attentional states: 1. Default = mind-wandering, creating, playing 2. Executive = planning, problem-solving Interpersonal Neurobiology Dr. Dan Siegel Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine and the Center for Culture, Brain, and Development; Co-Director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center; Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute Defines mind as The brain, body and relationships that regulate the flow of energy and information 2

3 Mindware: Based on eight senses 1. Visual (seeing) 2. Auditory (hearing) 3. Olfactory (smelling) 4. Tactile (external feeling) 5. Gustatory (tasting) 6. Interoception: awareness of internal bodily states 7. Mindsight: ability to look within and perceive one s mind; reflect on experience 8. Mentalization or Theory of Mind: A relational sense or awareness of systems interconnectedness; our internal simulation or representation of others minds What is the mind? Experiential examples Yes and No Homo sapien = Latin: wise man Awakened mind Not just about finding personal inner peace and equanimity but has implications for cultural evolution and getting along Integration of brain, mind and relationships = attunement with others = empathy The essence of mindfulness meditation Dr. Sara Lazar Write down every potential benefit that she mentions How Meditation Can Reshape Our Brains Sara Lazar Relaxation & Approach Dr. Stephen Porges Left shift and polyvagal theory The Autonomic Nervous System Fight, Flight or Tend & Avoidance Dr. Stephen Porges The Polyvagal Theory: Looking at trauma from a new perspective 4:07 youtube.com/watch?v=mkkdaow2yd4&t=177s Trauma is less about the actual experience and more about? 3

4 Left shift and polyvagal theory (cont.) Ventral vagus unmyelinated, older connection; threat and helplessness causes most vertebrates to freeze or faint, conserve metabolic resources by decreasing heart and breathing rates. No creates the interoception of danger (conscious or unconscious?) system goes into high alert and turns off the social engagement process = avoidance. Left shift and polyvagal theory (cont.) Dorsal vagus myelinated PANS signals that mediate the freeze, fight or flight behaviors in the service of social, affiliative behaviors including social communication, self-soothing and calming the tend response. Yes creates an interoceptive sense of safety, engage the social system = approach. Left shift Is the basis of eudaimonia (vs hedonic happiness) a sense of connection with self and others, a sense of meaning or Equanimity = Latin having an equal mind/soul = a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind Mindware Principles 1. Perception is a subconscious triggering of sensations, thoughts, feelings and/or images into patterns = automatic meaning-making Dualism. Automatic, fundamental meaning-making process = perception You must see lines of unequal length 4

5 We can choose what we focus on Context helps define reality 26 Do you see the the mistake? It s Not About the Nail 1:41 youtube.com/watch?v=-4edhdahrog Schwartz, J. M., & Begley, S. (2002). The mind and brain: Neuroplasticity and the power of mental force. New York: Harper Collins. The amount and type of attention we pay to those contents are subject to active input via willful effort. The brain may determine the content of our experience, but our mind chooses which aspect of that experience receives attention. (p. 379) Mindware Principles 1. Perception is a subconscious triggering of sensations, thoughts, feelings and/or images into patterns = automatic meaning-making 5

6 Mindsight Principles (cont.) 2. Focusing attention on sensations, thoughts, feelings and/or images activates specific circuits or connections among neurons in the brain and nerves in the body = neural plasticity Our frontal cortex evolved to make us especially sensitive to others Mindware Principles (cont.) 3. Intentionally focusing attention and becoming aware of awareness creates a state of brain activation. Repeatedly creating intentional states over time changes the brain so that you develop a trait = a habit. I only had one drink!!!! Dualism and Integration With a wise heart and mindful brain we can find an awakening within ourselves to transform the path of internal experience along with relational and cultural evolution Peer recovery support services: Responding to change talk Maybe it s too early to know for sure but I think I m in love with someone that I met at an AA meeting last night! I ll stop drinking but pot helps me relax. Besides, it s going to be legal soon. Mindware Principles (cont.) 4. The solo practice of mindful reflection activates the social circuitry of the brain that also overlaps with the regulatory circuitry = stress reduction, improved immune function, enhanced capacity for compassion and empathy, the ability to balance emotions, insight, and identity shift. 6

7 Awakened mind Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): Jon Kabat-Zinn, University of Massachusetts Professor of Medicine Emeritus Eight weeks of MBSR improved immune system functioning and produced a left shift Positive Psychology Dr. Martin Seligman Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania Five measurable elements of wellbeing: Flourishing depends on PERMA Positive emotion* Engagement* Relationships (Positive) Meaning* Achievement Positive Psychology Creating your happiness (eudaimonia) with positive psychology exercises The Gratitude Visit 1. Close your eyes and visualize the face of someone still alive who years ago did or said something that changed your life for the better. Someone you never properly thanked; someone you could meet face-to-face next week. 2. Write a letter of gratitude to this person. Be concrete, 300 words that describe what s/he did for you and how it affected your life. Let her/him know what you are doing now and mention how you often remember what s/he did. 3. Call this individual and ask to visit to catch up be vague about the purpose. 4. When you meet, take your time reading your letter. Read every word. Then, discuss the content and your feelings for each other. Positive psychology exercises (cont.) Three Good Things Journal a. Find a notebook or a piece of paper to start a journal. b. Take 5 minutes every day/evening to list three good things that happened during the last 24 hours. c. Start by writing the date. List three good things. Next to each item, briefly say why it happened and what you did to help it occur. If you aren t sure why it happened, write Unsure. If you did nothing, write Nothing. d. Don t worry if you come up with less or more than three Positive Psychology Strengths and happiness scales a. When you have minutes go to: b. Scroll down and click on the VIA (Values in Action) Character Strengths Test link in the middle column of the page. Practice: The Awakened Heart 7

8 Mindware: A CARES Webinar Mindfulness practices are supported by: four decades of clinical neuroscience and positive psychology research, 80+ years of Alcoholics Anonymous practices & at least two millennia of wisdom or faith traditions Peer Recovery Support Services Doing What Works! THANKS Mindware FOR YOUR ATTENTION for Peer & Recovery Support PARTICIPATION! A CARES Connect Webinar July 20, 2017; 5:30pm 7:00pm George S. Braucht, LPC, CPCS & CARES Academy Co-founder 8