Counseling for Trauma Victims

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/01/09/counseling-for-trauma-victims/

Trauma is defined as “severe emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely upsetting experience” (The Cambridge Dictionary).  But trauma is also an extremely subjective experience because what may be traumatic for one person may barely affect another.

Generally speaking, when someone experience excessive stress that overwhelms ones emotional or physical ability to cope, this is being referred to as trauma.  Emotional trauma can be experienced by anyone even without the physical trauma but the two sometimes are often go hand-in-hand.  An example of this is when the wounds from physical trauma like the loss of a limb or a gunshot wound, while an obvious shock to the body, will eventually heal.  While all the emotional wounds and repercussions of the actual traumatic event are left to the person.

Symptoms of trauma 

Symptoms of trauma can vary from person to person.  A traumatized individual may suffer from one or several of the following symptoms. (list not complete)

• upsetting memories such as images, thoughts or flashbacks
• nightmares
• insomnia
• re-experience the trauma mentally and physically
• emotional detatchment (known as dissociation)
• individuals may turn to alcohol and/or drugs
• stress/anxiety disorders
• panic attacks
• anger
• despair
• depression
• loss of self-esteem.

Causes of trauma

• abuse
• violence
• threat of abuse or violence
• witnessing of abuse or violence
• catastrophic events (war, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes etc)
• witnessing/being involved in an attack
• accidents (e.g a car crash or explosion’
• divorce
• job loss
• death
• mugging
• armed robbery
• rape
• car accident
• illness
• failing an exam
• losing valuable things

Trauma like any other illness can be cured.  When someone suffered from a traumatic experience, he/she can undergo trauma counseling.  Trauma counseling is appropriate for people who experienced traumatic incident.  In fact any event, whether shallow or horrible events can traumatized a person, anything that a person regard as negative and that changes his view or himself or the world.

Trauma counseling will help you in identifying and coming to terms with the feelings and emotions you may feel during and after a traumatic experience.  And because people handle trauma in various ways these emotions will also vary from individual to individual, but the most commonly experienced emotions are anger and fear.

Here are some ways the trauma counselor may use to achieve your healing process

• Listening to what you are saying (and not saying)
• Supporting your coping mechanisms
• Exploring with you, and validating, your feelings and emotions
• Supporting you to make sense of the incident
• Preventing the use of suppression as a defense
• Integrating the event meaningfully into your life

To get your life back on track and to move you from being a victim to being a victor, you must admit to yourself first that you need help.  This doesn’t mean that you are going crazy or that you are weak.  Everyone deserves healing.

How to Know if Depress During and After Pregnancy

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2012/12/17/how-to-know-if-depress-during-and-after-pregnancy/


Depression is actually the most common complication during and after pregnancy although exact number of women that suffers from this is unknown.  Perinatal depression, it is the depression that occurs during pregnancy or within a year after delivery.



You may not recognize depression because some normal pregnancy changes cause similar symptoms and are happening at the same time that is exactly why it was not treated.  Tiredness, problems sleeping, stronger emotional reactions, and changes in body weight may occur during pregnancy and after pregnancy and these are also symptoms of depression.  For a lot of women, joyfully anticipated pregnancy and motherhood bring depression as an unexpected accompaniment.  Depression is not only risky for mothers but for their children as well.  During pregnancy, depression may result in poor prenatal care, premature delivery, low birth weight, and, just possibly, depression in the child.  Depression after childbirth aka postpartum depression can lead to child neglect, family breakdown, and suicide.  A depressed mother may fail to bond emotionally with her newborn, raising the child’s risk of later cognitive delays and emotional and behavior problems.



If the depression is detected soon enough, help is available for mother and child.

Signs of depression during pregnancy:

History of depression or substance abuse
Family history of mental illness
Little support from family and friends
Anxiety about the fetus
Problems with previous pregnancy or birth
Marital or financial problems
Young age (of mother)
Signs of postpartum depression or after giving birth:

Feeling restless or irritable
Feeling sad, hopeless, and overwhelmed
Crying a lot
Having no energy or motivation
Eating too little or too much
Sleeping too little or too much
Trouble focusing, remembering, or making decisions
Feeling worthless and guilty
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities
Withdrawal from friends and family
Having headaches, chest pains, heart palpitations (the heart beating fast and feeling like it is skipping beats), or hyperventilation (fast and shallow breathing)
After pregnancy, signs of depression may also include being afraid of hurting the baby or oneself and not having any interest in the baby.
Postpartum psychosis (seye-KOH-suhss) is rare and is need to be treated by the doctor.  It occurs in about 1 to 4 out of every 1,000 births.  It usually begins in the first 2 weeks after childbirth.  Women who have bipolar disorder or another mental health problem called schizoaffective (SKIT-soh-uh-FEK-tiv) disorder have a higher risk for postpartum psychosis. Symptoms include:

Seeing things that aren’t there
Feeling confused
Having rapid mood swings
Trying to hurt yourself or your baby


The problem with some women is that they do not tell anyone about their condition because they embarrassed, ashamed, or guilty about feeling depressed when they are supposed to be happy.  They may think that they will be judge as unfit parents, bad and not together mom but this can happen to any mothers.  Remember that your child is also at risk.  Seek for help.

7 Ways to Be a Stress-Free Workaholic

Saying it's a crazy, complex world out there is putting it mildly. The rate of technological change is staggering.
The constant bombardment of information and communication has us all on overload. And we're constantly
slugging it out in a brutally competitive global market.

If it seems as if you're locked in a downward spiral of trying to do more with less, it isn't you. It's for real. That
surprising array of macro factors creates stress on all of our businesses and on all of us. We try to manage it
as best we can, but at some point, things break. Systems break. People break. That's the nature of stress.

If you're an entrepreneur, you're well aware of the constant pressure to keep your burn rate down and stretch
capital investments as far as they'll go. And should the stars align and you gain customer traction, then you've
got the not-insignificant challenges of high growth and scalability to deal with.

Either way, there are times when you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. And that means stress, big
time. Having lived through several high-growth companies, a few successful and failed start-ups, and 20 years of
executive management, I have plenty of great strategies for managing stress.

Work your tail off when you have to, not when you don't. Business happens in spurts. Always. Whether you're
 developing a product or growing a business, those long hours don't go on forever. It's OK to kill yourself for a few
weeks or months, as long as you chill out for a while when it's over. If you do it constantly, you're asking for trouble.

Learn to give up--sort of. When you're overstressed, overworked, and the ideas just won't come, try giving up.
Seriously, just call it quits, go home, go for a run, whatever. Once you relax, that's when inspiration flows--usually
when you're lying in bed half asleep or in the shower.

Strategize and plan. Here's a method for managing stress you're not likely to see anywhere else. When things seem
overwhelming, they're often the result of day-to-day inertia. To thwart the evils of the status quo, take a step back
and gain some perspective. Get some time away from distractions--just you or with your team--and brainstorm,
strategize, and plan. Have a nice dinner out. You'll be amazed at the results.

Mix business with pleasure. Whenever you're going through high-stress times, take your team out for dinner. Have a
few drinks. Take breaks and goof around. Yes, it probably takes longer to get things done that way, but I would argue
 that higher morale increases effectiveness.

Don't leave things for the last minute. Yes, I know you can't always control this, but if you can--and you can more often
than you think--give yourself a buffer. You'd be amazed how much more relaxed you'll be if you plan to finish your pitch
a day early or get to the airport a couple of hours before the flight.

Don't take it out on others. Leaders and managers, listen up. Maybe you can function at a high level, but if you're
simultaneously demotivating your team, then what's the point? And if you take it out on family and friends, you're just
going to end up lonely and depressed. If you can't handle the stress, find an outlet that doesn't include taking it out on
other living things.

Lots of outlets work--pick one or two. Caffeine can boost your mood and performance during the day. Wine can bring you
down and help you sleep at night. But you can't keep that sort of cycle up for too long. Learn to exercise, meditate, get
outdoors, build things, play Scrabble, talk to someone--whatever works, do it.

Look, if you want to be a workaholic, that's fine, be my guest. But at least learn how to be a high-functioning one,
meaning don't just run yourself and your team into the ground. If you're practical, you'll be effective.

Above all, learn to recognize the signs of burnout in yourself and your people. Downward spirals are hard to break out of.
And, if you're a leader, you'll take everyone, and maybe the entire company, down with you.

springhill group korea-Three things I wish I’d known when I started my business

1) It’s never just the good idea

This is the very first moment when you think it is ‘a good idea to run your own show’; you have read of these entrepreneurial heroes who create amazing ‘overnight’ success stories – and you think, “I could do that”.

All you need now is that idea – which will make the business simply slip into place and you are on your road to Nirvana. Ah, what a lovely dream. Sorry to bring you down to earth: businesses are 1 per cent idea and 99 per cent execution. You do still that bright, shining idea though – without it you only have hard work.

2) Don’t ask, “Will it work?” Ask, “Do I want it to?”

I’m approached regularly by people wanting to share a new business idea with me. They ask earnestly, “Will it work?” My response to all these queries is always the same: “Why do you want to do it?”

Working out "why" you want to start a business (let alone keep running it for a good proportion of your adult life) is essential to sustaining you, and ultimately, the success of the enterprise.

3) It’s not about the money

If you are driven solely by financial success in business, think again. Great businesses solve a problem; they make life ‘easier’ – they do things that have not been done before. They make a difference to other human beings. You could argue that great businesses make the world a better place.

I have only just come across the work of John Mackey - Concious Capitalism: Creating a New Paradign for business and Raj Sisodia Firms of Endearment. I have been putting into practice what they talk about for years - and it works.

All of the great start-ups that you can think of solve a problem. Facebook was about keeping college students connected. Google was about making the worlds information accessible. And think of the number of problems Apple has solved.

So the first step on creating a viable business is to work out what problem you are solving, simply asking ‘what is your purpose’.

It is far easier to create an enterprise when you are really clear about it's noble purpose. I just happened along our purpose after listening to the impact RedBalloon.com.au was having on customers - when they told us about what it meant to them to go on a RedBalloon experience as a result: We believe every one deserves to have fun, feel good and be happy! We are passionate about giving people more good times.

Springhill Group Counselling: Counseling and Psychotherapy for Married Couples

http://springhillgroupcounselling.com/2012/11/13/counseling-and-psychotherapy-for-married-couples/

Let us understand first the difference of counseling and psychotherapy.  These two are terms that are often used interchangeably.  Even if that is the case, they are very similar yet there are subtle differences as well. Counselor meaning advisor-- a relationship of the psychotherapist to the patient.  It involves two people working together to solve a specific problem.   Psychotherapy on the other hand speaks to a general term that involves longer term of treatment which focuses more on gaining insight in to chronic physical and emotional problems.  It focuses onto the patient’s thought processes and way of being in the world rather than specific problem.

Many couples struggle with their relationship that leads to divorce and broken families.  Just like any case, marital problems may also be solved by counseling.  Marriage counseling a.k.a couples therapy; is a type of psychotherapy.  Couples of all types may undergo therapy; it resolves conflicts and improves relationships.  Marriage counselor will always be rational towards things, she will not recommend you to separate your ways or force you to fix your relationship but rather help you to realize the problem and will advice you options to solve them which can make thoughtful decisions about rebuilding your relationship or go your separate ways.
Not everyone can be a therapist just because they are good in giving advises.  Marriage counselors are provided by licensed therapists who are graduates or postgraduate degrees.

Married couples undergo therapy to strengthen their relationships.  Marriage counseling is not just for married couples; in fact it is advisable to have a pre-marriage counseling before getting married.  This aims to achieve a deeper understanding of each other and iron out differences before their married life starts.

It is always better to have a joint therapy; in this case you will both learn ways to solidify your relationship together.  It is a start of communicating openly, solving problems together and discussing differences rationally. You will analyze the bad and the good parts of the relationship as you both pinpoint the problems and better understand the basis of your conflicts.  Whatever it is that you are struggling with you can openly discuss it to your therapist. E.g:

• Communication problem
• Sexual difficulties
• Conflicts about child rearing or blended families
• Substance abuse
• Financial problems
• Anger
• Infidelity
• Divorce

Although marriage counseling might also help in domestic abuse it is more advisable to seek help from crisis centers, police or local shelter.

How to find a good therapist is a good question.  Here are tips on whom to go and seek advice from:
• It is necessary to know the therapist’s education and experience, her educational and training background.  More especially if she is licensed.  You must provide a postgraduate therapist that will conduct your counseling.
• Where is her office and what is is her office hours.  Will she be available in case of emergency?
• Treatment plan. Scheduling.  You must work this out, joint counseling is always better.  More especially therapist must always be approachable.
• Fees and insurance.  Talk about the terms, it is always better to have it sorted out from the start for no further conflicts.

Talking about your problems might not be easy, sharing your like to a stranger will be hard but consider the things that a counselor can do for your marriage to work.  It will always be worth it.

springhill group-The 5 fastest SuperComputers-korea

http://www.facebook.com/notes/spring-hills/springhill-group-the-5-fastest-supercomputers-korea/295304790587634

No. 1: Titan (United States)

The new supercomputer, located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the Tennessee Valley, is capable of 17.6 petaflops (quadrillions of calculations per second). It was a close race for the top position: Titan outperforms its nearest competitor by just over a petaflop.

Titan's ascendency to the top of the supercomputing world puts the Department of Energy back in a position it's accustomed to. Jaguar, Titan's predecessor, was the world's fastest in 2010. Today, Jaguar would have placed tenth -- Titan is 10 times faster. That's how quickly things change in the supercomputing world.

With Titan making the jump to the top, the United States is now firmly back on top of the computing world after ceding ground to Japan, China and Germany over the past three years.

That's not just a badge of honor: It's also critical to national security and the country's economic viability. Titan will help U.S. scientists pioneer research into climate change, biofuels, nuclear energy, new materials and other crucial fields, which will help them create the next wave of car batteries, switchgrass ethanol and improved weather forecasting tools -- all developed in America.

No. 2 Sequoia (United States)

Sequoia is a National Nuclear Security Administration supercomputer, used for nuclear weapons research. The NNSA uses the IBM computer to model weapons performance and extend the life of aging weapons systems.

Work on designing the supercomputer began more than three years ago, and the system went online in April.

No. 3: K-Computer (Japan)

The Japanese supercomputer is capable of 10.51 petaflops. Hence the supercomputer's name: The letter "K" is short for the Japanese word "kei," which means 10 quadrillion.

Unlike the two computers ahead of it on the Top 500 list, the K Computer only has CPUs -- no GPU accelerators. That makes it a truly massive supercomputer: it comprises 864 computer racks, four times the number of racks in the Titan system.

K Computer is used at the Riken Institute for Physical and Chemical Research in Kobe, Japan. The Riken Institute shares its computing power for researchers' projects around the world.

No. 4: Mira (United States)

Mira, another brand-new Department of Energy supercomputer, is capable of 10.1 petaflops.

The IBM Blue Gene supercomputer is housed at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and is used for astronomy, energy, climate and materials research -- just like the more powerful Titan supercomputer.

Current research being conducted on Mira includes studies of exploding stars, subatomic particles, seismic hazards, materials used in nuclear reactors, and advanced energy technologies.

No. 5: Juqueen (Germany)

After a recent upgrade, Juqueen became Europe's top supercomputer. The 5 petaflop system, housed at the Forschungszentrum Juelich in Germany, is used for open scientific research.

There are 23 systems with petaflop speeds on the latest list -- five years ago, there were none. Roadrunner, the world's first petaflop supercomputer, debuted in June 2008.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany each have about 20 supercomputers on the list.

CSE Seminar Idea on Three Topics That Continue To Be Misunderstood By The Wireless World | 1000 Projects

http://1000projects.org/cse-seminar-idea-on-three-topics-that-continue-to-be-misunderstood-by-the-wireless-world.html


The wireless communication technology is the leading one among all other technologies. The three wireless technologies are GSM, CDMA, and 3G. Between these three technologies CDMA vs. GSM and “What is 3G?” comes into conflict. The link among CDMA vs. GSM and 3G is discussed in this paper. Before the 3G technology there are two technologies namely AMPS and 2G in the market.

The AMPS is nothing but 1G and the Digital Cellular is named as 2G. In the present days some technologies have considered into 2G or 2.5G technology. One among them is GSM/GPRS. The 2G phones had developed in the early 90’s. The big conflict is that in the consumer’s point of view GSM, CDMA, 3G are three different technologies. The main intention of our paper is to solve this conflict.

For consumer a digital mobile phone means in the sense it is the phone which is Compaq in size and better battery backup along with multimedia features etc., but the main thing is that CDMA technology is differ from GSM technology. The applications used to develop CDMA technology are differ from the technology used to develop GSM technology. The consumer must not think like “What is 3G?” He can ask “What can 3G can do for everyone?” the GSM technology is the 2nd generation technology with some multimedia features.



The CDMA is also wireless technology that differs from GSM. The competition is running in between CDMA and GSM not in between CDMA, GSM, and 3G. 3G technology also comes under the GSM technology which has some additional features. The original name of 3G technology is 3GSM. It means the 3G technology is the third generation GSM technology which have video calling feature. Therefore, this paper will show the clear answer for the conflict about “CDMA vs. GSM” and “What is 3G?” This paper will show the clear wireless world.