We are now watching this information about a whole society filled with Wounded Children (the name we use here in this blog to name adults carrying around their own, repressed ACEs) doing the best they can to survive the wounds of their childhood, that are produced in and by people in their most significant relationships.

The same place where our birth places us is the home that will give us any one of the adverse experiences listed below,  and in this way will put limits to our future possibility for happiness…

It is highly possible that our parents, by allowing any ACE to happen, are only reproducing the painful conditions of their own childhood; but the reality of us transmitting such pain to the new generations is very difficult to accept.

The ACE Study is an ongoing collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente. It is perhaps  the largest scientific research study of its kind, showing a direct, causal relationship between nine categories of adverse childhood experience:

• physical abuse;
• emotional abuse;
• sexual abuse;
• an alcohol and/or drug abuser in the household;
• an incarcerated household member;
• living with someone who is chronically depressed, mentally ill, institutionalized, or suicidal;
• witnessing domestic violence against the mother;
• parental discord indicated by divorce, separation, abandonment;
• emotional or physical neglect

The presence of each one of the Adverse Childhood Experiences determines at least 18 physical, mental and behavioral health outcomes. If you are brave enough, can you identify how many of those experiences were there, in your home when you were growing up?

The more ACEs people have had in their formative years, the higher the rate of mental, physical, behavioral disease and disability in the population, including higher rates of chronic disease, low educational achievement and increased violence.

In the words of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study authors:

“The ACE Study reveals a powerful relationship between our emotional experiences as children and our physical and mental health as adults, as well as the major causes of adult mortality in the United States.

It documents the conversion of traumatic emotional experiences in childhood into organic disease later in life. How does this happen, this reverse alchemy, turning the gold of a newborn infant into the lead of a depressed, diseased adult?

The Study makes it clear that time does not heal some of the adverse experiences we found so common in the childhoods of a large population of middle-aged, middle class Americans. One does not ‘just get over’ some things, not even fifty years later.”

Whatever we can plan or imagine that would improve relationships in the home, is adding to the possibility that any newborn could have the whole deck of healthy possibilities allowed for his/her future.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110514/OPINION03/705149995

Neil Warner

I’m the “relationship guru,” and my main focus is to increase the quality of love-based relationship experiences. In this ground-breaking guide I offer useful strategies on healing a difficult angry relationship with love and compassion. You don’t have to stay in an unhealthy relationship one more minute. Let us share our tools with you today.We can begin by you having a complimentary consultation (by clicking here), with a plan for action to change your life with new skills included. Just click this link and get started now!

Technorati Tags: aggression, anger, conflict, domestic violence, Emotional Abuse, frustration, healthy relationships, humiliation, isolation, loneliness, love, negative emotions, Relationships, respect, Self-Esteem

In other words, that our partner doesn’t show enough appreciation. Yet those who complaint about this are perpetrators as well! There is a certain degree of the “mirror-effect” in relationships… if you complain about your partner, chances are that you will be criticized in return and things will start to get sour. But if you praise and recognize your partner’s virtues, you will be flattered in return and things will remain in good terms.

It is true that it is easier to focus on the negative and not mention the positive. After all, we have been trained to pick out mistakes since childhood (remember those exercises where you had to choose which item did “not belong” to the group?), and most professions require us to constantly use our critical skills to find faults and blunders that could, say, bring a project or a budget to pieces.

But this education and professional upbringing is detrimental to our relationships because when it comes to people and relationships it should be the other way around: we choose each other because we all want and need someone else who can be for us “warts and all;” who can accept and appreciate all of our aspects; an attitude that is  generally called love. But when the person that is supposed to accept us as we are tries to begin the project of improving his or her partner by pointing out whatever faults he or she has, then that person feels unaccepted evaluated in a negative manner; in other words, unloved.

Remember that whatever you focus on, tends to take center stage: if you focus on a negative trait of your partner, like her tendency to be late for appointments and dates, then this trait will become prevalent and negate the perception of other positive traits that attracted you to her before. So let’s begin:

• Every time you need to talk about some changes needed, begin recollecting the good things done;
• Try to find a positive thing to comment on daily;
• Don’t you dare to mention negative aspects without talking about how good the positive ones are, first.
• If the results are awful, praise the good intention;
• Be very creative and find unexpected aspects to praise: a busy person that accomplishes everything could be praised for her constant smile, or her good disposition even along the busiest day;
• Don’t be mean, don’t link praise with immediate critique: “you did well, but forgot this part.” In this case, the “but” will cancel the praise. The two propositions don’t need to be linked.

To keep your marriage healthy and happy through the years, remember that you need to produce 5 positive appreciations for each critical comment offered to your partner. A higher rate of appreciation has been proven to guarantee long-lasting marriages!

Apply these techniques for a while and you will see a change in the quality of your relationships, having more trust, and pleasure in the mutual company.

Nora Femenia is a well known coach, conflict solver and trainer, and CEO of Creative Conflict Resolutions, Inc. Visit her blog and signup free to be connected to her innovative conflict solutions, positive suggestions and life-changing Conflict Coach opportunities, along with blog updates, news, and more!

Technorati Tags: appreciation, critique, feelings, fight, Healthy Marriage, healthy relationships, isolation, love, recognition, respect, Self-Esteem

Any relationship is an implicit contract in which both individuals promise to help each other get satisfaction to some of the needs we all have. We need to help people find new ways to meet their personal needs in ways that will serve them and others in the long term.

From that neutral point of view, is that we offer this definition:

Given that people don’t know how to identify their own human needs and how to negotiate with others needs’ satisfaction, thus they need to fight with each other. Conflict is a learning experience, because:

• Is a way of interaction with each other by which we attempt to clarify our own needs;
• We explore the relationship limits, especially those related to how much it provides both parties with needs satisfaction.

Conflict creation involves either creating or responding to challenges, and so it is the main tool to get variety in our lives. What kind of variety? Here is the important distinction: it has to be from the kind of variety that makes us grow… in the right direction.

A conflict that challenges our need for love and connection has the risk of making us feel rejected and lonely. Perhaps the challenge is to learn how to process social isolation while reinforcing self-esteem? No one but the person undergoing this challenge can know.

What we do know is that we all need to navigate times when things don’t go as we planned them to be, when expectations are foiled and frustration of basic needs is the main threat. It is here that we need positive conflict strategies!

Positive conflict defines a process involving self-discovery, needs discovery, and reciprocal trade-offs, so both parties are satisfied with what they obtain beyond learning how to manage a good, respectful process.

Negative conflict is confrontation between people who don’t know how to express what they need. nor how to negotiate satisfiers for their needs. The end result is not learning but only venting caused by needs and frustration.

Moreover, it is called negative conflict because it has to recur as many times as necessary for both sides to learn what the other side’s needs are, and to begin offering something to the other to fulfill these needs!

Nora Femenia is a well known coach, conflict solver and trainer, and CEO of Creative Conflict Resolutions, Inc. Visit her blog and signup free to be connected to her innovative conflict solutions, positive suggestions and life-changing Conflict Coach sessions, along with blog updates, news, and more!

Technorati Tags: appreciation, conflict resolution, confrontation, control, feelings, fight, frustration, growth, human needs, isolation, loneliness, love, recognition, Relationships, respect, Self-Esteem

Our frame of thinking and general attitude on life determines how satisfied we will feel and how successful we will become. A person who has a positive expectation about life in general, will behave accepting what life offers as an endless learning opportunity. This person will function in a more relaxed, calm and efficient way than someone who is apprehensive and fearful, always looking for the negative event he needs to prevent from and protect from, and accepts naturally a degree of failure as a normal happenstance.

Of course, our frame of expectations towards life is dependent on our previous experiences. If we were protected, helped and nurtured, we will see the universe as a peaceful entity, ready to give us what we need or deserve… If we have been frustrated and grew up in a scarcity environment, then we will look at life with dread expecting any next setback to produce serious damage to our life.

Not only does our attitude affect us, it also affects those around us, in short our mood modifies our environment. All this explanation is to say that developing and keeping a positive outlook is essential if we wish to lead a positive and fulfilling life.

Once we realize how important it is to take care of a negative outlook in life, we need to find a way to change it. There are many ways in which we can develop a more positive mindset, if we want to. We can begin to change how we think and feel about many situations that we encounter in day-to-day living. Changing attitude and not slipping back into negative thinking will take time and serious efforts,  but eventually the new mindset will become second nature.

This is the process to change your mindset:

1. Be aware of your negative thoughts; and practice on a daily basis on becoming more and more aware. When you set a goal for yourself, focus on completing one task at a time and think only of a positive outcome for it and experience the positive feelings related to task completion. Probably there will be some doubts about your capacity to finish, but don’t get scared so easily and keep going.
2. Watch out when you begin conversations using negative comments, and don’t allow others around you to talk in those terms. Find the good aspect hidden in everything and any situation.
3. Praise others’ positive actions; be fast in recognizing the merits of tasks well done.
4. Whatever you are doing in your day-to-day life, keep watching out for negative thoughts that put your resolve in jeopardy. Find the silver lining in any challenge!
5. Be patient with setbacks; you have been thinking in a negative way for too long…if you catch yourself saying some negativity, ask yourself: What good result can come from this situation?

You will find over time that many areas of your life can be improved just by changing your mindset from a negative one to a positive. You will find that your self-esteem improves, you become more confident in being able to achieve your goals, you feel happier than before, and your relationships improve! These are just a few of the areas where you can transform your life by learning to behave from a more positive mindset and thus build up a more happy life!

.

Nora Femenia is a well known coach, conflict solver and trainer, and CEO of Creative Conflict Resolutions, Inc. Visit her blog and signup free to be connected to her innovative conflict solutions, positive suggestions and life-changing coaching sessions, along with blog updates, news, and more!

Are you ready to take action and feel happy, strong, and in control of your life?

Click Here For Your  Free 30 Minutes Coaching Session,

And Discover What You Can Do To Improve Your Life

We want to give you this first push towards happiness… so get your appointment today!

Technorati Tags: attitude change, conflict resolution, Emotional Abuse, emotions, feelings, happiness, happy life, isolation, loneliness, negative emotions, positive emotions, respect, Self-Esteem, understanding

The biggest temptation in a situation like this, as it drags on and on and you feel worse and worse, is to say “Yes, you’re right” and end the conversation. They walk away with a satisfied look and you finally have some space. But there’s something else they walk away with – your dignity.

“Yes-ing” others to get out of a conflict only reinforces the other person’s denial of your self-worth and your validity as a person. In their eyes, you become the weak punching bag, ready to absorb every blow.

How do you turn this kind of fight into a situation where you come out successful?

The best solution is to teach yourself to remember that you never have to agree. You can listen politely, giving them the respect that you would want, but at the end, you are under no obligation to agree, acquiesce, or approve. You have every right to say, “I hear you, and I understand that you’re upset, but I don’t agree.” Then leave the conversation at that. Don’t suffer your partner to lecture you or get angry at your establishment of equality.

Learn to recognize the “spin ploy” that many partners use. When you hit on a truth, like: “You’re overreacting,” they will turn on you and list your faults to distract you from the issue and their faults. Stay focused and do not play into this mind game.

One of the best consequences of identifying these mind games is that you stop spiraling into confusion when these tactics appear. Even if your partner maintains these tools and keeps trying to use them, they will no longer have their intended effect. Your partner no longer has the power to make you feel insignificant and stupid, because you are wise to those childish tricks.

Neil Warner

I’m the “relationship guru,” and my main focus is to increase the quality of love-based relationship experiences. In this ground-breaking guide I offer useful strategies on healing a difficult angry relationship with love and compassion. You don’t have to stay in an unhealthy relationship one more minute. Let us share our tools with you today, get your own copy of Healing Emotional Abuse now!

Technorati Tags: anger, control, critique, Emotional Abuse, feelings, frustration, healthy relationships, hidden anger, humiliation, isolation, negative emotions, resentment, Self-Esteem

A new study by Florida State University researchers has found that people who were verbally abused as children grow up to be self-critical adults prone to depression and anxiety. Of the whole sample population, an staggering 30% reported that they were often verbally abused by their parents. What kind of abuse? Insults, negative comments, swearing, and threats of physical abuse, all determining an unhealthy doses of self-criticism in the children.

What happened with the people who were abused as children? We know already that it has negative effects on the personality of grown up people. Professor Natalie Sachs-Ericsson, the study’s lead author, says that the results are on the area of depression and anxiety: “People who were verbally abused had 1.6 times as many symptoms of depression and anxiety as those who had not been verbally abused and were twice as likely to have suffered a mood or anxiety disorder over their lifetime.”

Now we know for sure: parental verbal abuse is toxic, and it not only affects the emotional stability of children, but follows them as a shadow in their adult years. We are forever paying the consequences of abusive parenting. Negative self-criticism generated by parents’ comments continues into adulthood and has been shown to make an individual more prone to depression and anxiety.

Why is this? Aren’t parents the ones supposed to take care, love and protect their children? We have been silent for a long time about noxious parenting happening almost in every household.

Either it is that parents have been themselves traumatized by abuse when children or that they got to believe that stern discipline and fault finding is the best way of raising their children, this has to stop. We need more public advocacy about negative parenting, more role models for positive, self-esteem building child-raising styles and in general a deep transformation in the way we treat children.

It’s no surprise now that adult children of abuse sometimes decide that they need to separate from their parents, when the parents continue the abusive and denigrating commenting about their adult children’s lives they did in the past.

We need more public comments on how abuse from the past re-appears in the present and keeps doing psychological damage. We need to say clearly that we are only going to interact with healthy people who would not use destructive comments to hurt other people’s self-esteem. Perhaps now we can go around even feeing appreciated and loved, for a change?

Neil Warner

I’m the “relationship guru,” and my main focus is to increase the quality of love-based relationship experiences. In this ground-breaking guide I offer useful strategies on healing a difficult angry relationship with love and compassion. You don’t have to stay in an unhealthy relationship one more minute. Let us share our tools with you today.

Technorati Tags: aggression, appreciation, domestic violence, Emotional Abuse, feelings, humiliation, isolation, passive aggressive, reconciliation, resilience, verbal abuse

Sometimes our strength comes from having a positive sense of self. We know who we are, we accept ourselves as work in progress, without shame or recrimination, and we have a healthy awareness of our skills.

This needs to be combined with a sense of a network of souls around us who recognize us as a valued member; who are willing to lend support and acknowledgment at any time. We are no strangers here to our inner circle.

And then, we need to know where do we want to go, what is our life purpose…Having a sense of mission validates our existence and gives meaning to a lot of daily decisions we need to do. In our personal narrative, we have to see this small, private story of us linked to a wide tapestry of other stories which are making together the meaning of our times. No life is lost, ever….and every action of ours confirms that we are part of a collective endeavor to survive and prosper.

Perhaps in this moment, what we need the most is a sense of the collective “we.” The pieces of an individualistic view of myself are fighting to keep control of my mindset, and of yours…but at this precise time, nobody will be able to survive in isolation. Fear? yes, of course, there is fear…but the old fear of the other as the enemy, the opponent, the competitor is being replaced by a shared fear of all the diverse circumstances surrounding us. From global warming to financial collapse to shocking degrees of joblessness to pandemic threats, all are coming at us at the same time.

Is it time to leave our individual, protective shell? You bet! Is it time to learn cooperative skills and stop doing passive aggression and other forms of abuse and control? Indeed!

Of course we all need time to do the transition and deal with our particular, internal demons…the only thing clear now is this: the longer you continue attached to old ways of thinking (type: “my survival over others”) the less resilient you are.

Are you still in love with your old mindset? Begin doing some steps to push the change inside: talk with your neighbors, begin a small project shared with others…whatever will get you out of your shell is a good step. Keep telling yourself: “As more aware I can be, it will help me organize and survive better…no need to hide or deny any longer”

And, of course, being part of some online community is also helping you to develop new connections. Make your thoughts heard just by answering this post, or making a comment with your reaction…Thanks!

Nora Femenia is a well known coach, conflict solver and trainer, and CEO of Creative Conflict Resolutions, Inc. Visit her blog and signup free to be connected to her innovative conflict solutions, positive suggestions and life-changing coaching sessions, along with blog updates, news, and more! Go now to http://www.creativeconflicts.com.

Technorati Tags: attitude change, connections, healthy relationships, isolation, loneliness, recognition, resilience, Self-Esteem

It is really an extraordinary consequence of us humans being raised by other powerful and all-knowing humans, (our parents), where from we got this sense that our self value is always at stake because it depends on other’s valuation of us.

The reality is, when there is team conflict, anyone can be in the receiving end of negative behaviors such as hostility, verbal abuse, and passive aggressive responses. Group behaviors such as ganging up or mobbing are more frequent that we imagine, and they get to be so damaging as to push a person to suicide after a long process of being isolated, ignored and attacked by co-workers.

Even worst individual situations, as being badmouthed or publicly humiliated by a boss or co-worker can be extremely difficult events to process, because they are a direct attack geared to destroy our self esteem.

One frequent question is: how do you keep your self esteem at a healthy level when around you all your network is projecting a very negative image?

Probably you are espousing a different perspective, which nobody wants to hear, and they react by attacking you. Or you disagree with some unethical policy, and everybody else is diminishing your contributions to zero….

Whatever the cause of the estrangement between you and your friends, or your relatives, your self-esteem is bound to suffer. If you accept what others say about you, your worth is zilch, but you somehow belong. If you don’t accept, and get more and more isolated, then where from is a strengthening of your self-esteem coming from?

First, you need to deal with a deep question: how do you get to know WHO you are? Are you the one you believe you are? Or are you the person others imagine that you are?

Being in this critical situation, we usually get to the healthy conclusion that the real source of self-esteem is inside us in appreciating the person we have become…There is no other source of self-esteem, but our own respectful recognition of who we are. Not diminishing it, not inflating it, but accepting the “I know who I am better than anybody else” statement at heart.

Getting to appreciate all we have done to develop ourselves is the most secure source of self-esteem. There is no other one as reliable, so we’d better work hard on developing our own qualities and taking the merit for it. Sooner or later, others will reflect them, and this reflection is sweet, but is not fundamental for our self-esteem. Is only a pleasant distraction, as a piece of candy is…you can accept it as a gift.

Nora Femenia is a well known coach, conflict solver and trainer, and CEO of Creative Conflict Resolutions, Inc. Visit her blog and signup free to be connected to her innovative conflict solutions, positive suggestions and life-changing coaching sessions, along with blog updates, news, and more!

Technorati Tags: ganging up, isolation, mobbing, recognition, rejection, Self-Esteem