Psychology Archives

Turning Trauma Into an Optimal Experience

Is it possible to turn a challenge or trauma into an optimal experience? What are the three components of transformational coping? Transformational coping—or the ability to turn a stressful situation into a non-stressful one (or even into an optimal experience) is a special skill to have. And even if you can’t do it yourself, just admiring people with these abilities can improve your life. Keep reading to learn about how to deal with challenges and trauma in your life.

Brené Brown’s Guidepost #8: Practice Calm & Stillness

How can practicing calm and stillness help you to fight anxiety? What are the major barriers to calm and stillness? In her book The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown advises readers to practice calm and stillness in order to fight anxiety. Her goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety—that’s nearly impossible—but to help you recognize it and work on ways to reduce its impact. Here is Brené Brown’s advice on how to practice calm and stillness and what barriers you’ll need to overcome.

3 Ways to Cope With Work-Related Anxiety

The 25 Cognitive Biases: Doubt Avoidance Tendency

Do you suffer from work-related anxiety? What exact aspects of your job provoke anxious feelings? Work-related anxiety is a common problem—to-do lists become overwhelming, dead-end jobs feel frustrating, and competition breeds insecurity. Finding a way to enjoy your work can reduce your boredom and worry and increase your energy. Here are three actionable ways to get a handle on your work worries.

The Flow Experience: Characteristics and Benefits

What is a flow experience? What are the three benefits of frequent flow experiences? When you feel like your endeavors are succeeding and your energy is flowing in the direction you choose, Csikszentmihalyi calls these “flow experiences.” Choosing to do activities that promote the flow experience often has three benefits. Continue below to learn about the flow experience.

Sexual Flow: Sexuality as Optimal Experience

Can you reach the flow state through sex? What are some things you can do to promote sexual flow? It is well-known that movements such as dance, martial arts, and yoga can promote flow, but many people don’t know that you can achieve sexual flow as well. This may be in the form of physical sex, romance, or other sensual activities such as dance and yoga. Keep reading to see what Csikszentmihalyi has to say about sexual flow.

David J. Schwartz: Unleash Your Creative Thinker

Is creativity more of an inherent character trait or a skill that can be developed through practice? Do you think anyone can become a creative thinker? Whether creativity is more of an inborn trait and a trainable skill has always been a debatable topic. That being said, anyone can become a creative thinker if they adopt the right mindset. Here are six ways to cultivate creative thinking, according to David J. Schwartz.

Stop Worrying About Money With These 10 Rules

Why Socioeconomic Status and Depression Are Linked

Do you often catch yourself worrying about money, constantly thinking of ways to either save or earn more? Most people will at one point or another will find themselves stressing about money matters. Yet paradoxically enough, financial problems are rarely solved with higher income. They are solved by making a clear and feasible plan of how you are going to spend it—and sticking to the plan. There are 10 rules to keeping your finances under control and easing your financial worries.

How to Achieve a Flow State of Optimal Experience

What does it mean to reach a “flow state”? What does flow feel like? In his book Flow, Csikszentmihalyi explains the flow state as the state we’re in when nothing else seems to matter and we lose track of time. There are many different ways to achieve a flow state, which we will discuss in this article. Continue below for more details on the flow state and how to achieve it.

Flow Activities: How They Make You Complex

What is a flow activity? How can engaging in flow activities make you more complex? What are the four categories of flow-producing activities? There are four categories of flow activities: aleatory, mimicry, vertigo, and competition-centered. Partaking in these activities will help your consciousness become more complex in many ways. Continue reading to learn about flow activities.

The Anatomy of Peace: Book Overview

What is the Arbinger Institute’s The Anatomy of Peace about? What is the main reason, according to the authors, that people get into conflict? In their 2006 book The Anatomy of Peace, the Arbinger Institute offers an outward-focused take on interpersonal conflict. According to this perspective, conflict is the result of clashing worldviews constructed by mental re-framing of the events to justify the participants’ actions. Below is a brief overview of The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict by the Arbinger Institute.