In the realm of Gonzo Theory, an extremely complex multidimensional framework of thought, the historic ideation of hedonistic calculous lurks in the shadows of criminological theory. Today, such a notion is exceptionally relevant, especially in the ego-filled halls of academic. For that matter, the self-centered bastions of government, commerce and industry and every nook and cranny of human habitation. As to that suggestion, discussion is multifaceted. While there are always exceptions to any generalization, the focus here in on human selfishness. From that self-pleasing volition of willfulness, criminality unfolds in conspiracy and practice.

With regard to Gonzo Theory, where one major aspect is classical criminology, the immediate assertion is that of free will. In the timid yet tumultuous torture of psychic revulsion, the emotional reaction is a cavernous gasp of “oh my god”, the curse of free will unleashes the horrors of Pandora’s Box. Screams from many dominions in academia, primarily the schools of “social studies”, echo the vehemence against self-determination. Instead, to favor deterministic domination by “demonic forces”, modern day supernaturalism wears the many disguises of “mental illness”. For that, the pseudosciences pretend to be “scientific”.

In the vast influential reaches of the “social studies” philosophies, including criminology, psychology, sociology and theology, nearly every aspect of American society has been “infected”. At this point in time, it is too late to turn from the arrogance of mental mayhem and transcend to higher planes of reason and rationality. Mainstream society reached the tipping point of persistent and intentional “dumbing down” barely twenty years into the 21st century. Real scientist, as in several prominent astrophysicists, suggested the human species has less than 100 years to work out all the problems humanity creates. Willful choices are freely made and very real.[1]

In consideration of such speculation, several scientists predicted human extinction by the end of the century. Some of them alleged the barbarity, aggression and selfishness of humans to live and work together foments the devolution of a dying species. With that, the realization that the “pursuit of pleasure”, hedonism, for maladaptive and disruptive intentions, colludes to hasten social regression. To that issue, a glance at national politics offers ample evidence of the perpetration of stupid and contentious “polybabble” for the sake of public pandering.

As to the previously mentioned cosmological efforts to study human behavior, spheres of the pseudosciences invite a range of speculation. A good story telling can really mess up a normally quiet day when the subterfuge disagrees with the status quo. The “four horsemen of the intellectual apocalypse”, criminology, psychology, sociology and theology, present conjecture offering both good and not so good possibilities for further analysis. In the not so good range, contrived stupidity often confounds the social spectrum with outright foolishness.

On the other hand, in the probability of the good range, reasonable commentary offers creative speculations as to cause and effect. Within the schemes of the not so good strata, the psychobabble is baffling. Nonetheless, all is vanity and all is allegory for the amative satiation of cracking the ultimate code that explains the human species. By fable, metaphor or even analogy of sorts, the anecdotal nature of contrived consensus is brutally reactionary.

Yet, finding the key to the dungeon of thinking, going through the keyhole into wonderland, the quest reaches an unachievable stalemate. The mission continues. Not for just primal understanding, nor even an elevated enlightenment, but the deep darkness of the black hole in revealing the universal eternity of human consciousness. However, given the devolving state of the human species, across every aspect of society, the regressive tendencies forsake the essential efficacy of intense intellectual ascension. Finding the answers may be futile.

One author for example, writing about cultural masculinity laments the “pussification of America”. As the argument goes, modern America faces a critical dilemma in which men act more like women, with a loss of profound psychosexual identity. Accordingly, if the thesis is reasonable, on or about 1960 and forward, a downward educational trend began which emphasized and promoted male weakness. In an era where the proverbial playing field defaults to the lowest common level, by which there are no winners or losers, self-centeredness flourishes.[2]

In the “pussification” of the American culture, self-gratification replaces self-reliance. Individuation in personal evolution became abhorrent for many, in the fearful collectivist thinking of status quo divisiveness. A condescending sense of entitlement switches places with rugged individualism and learning how to deal with the harsh realities of life. Further, the aforementioned article points to a study related to parental overindulgence and protectiveness to promote unrealistic expectations in their children. As a result, younger generations accept the simplicity of their over-valued sense of pretentious validation. Narcissistic regression festers widely.

As though a fairy tale of imaginative frivolity, festering deep in the folds of organic neural activity, the illusion of “mind” foments every torture one can find. Self-interest is extraordinarily an individual proclivity, forsaking the interests of others for the individuation of egoistic satiation. Yet, there is the cry of the holy adherent proclaiming their reinvention of social justice. In reality though, there is nothing new under all the planets and stars of the universe. To that, lurking just below the surface, the human element knows its own deception. Many will gnash their teeth, rent their attire, anoint with the ash of burnt offerings and wail to the contrary.

For the hard-core, “X-rated”, and cynical criminologist, the superficiality of unscientific conjecture of modern times is quite entertaining. In addition, along with this suspiciousness of typically the classical criminologist, the viewpoint scoffs at the hypocrisy of contemporary sociological speculation. Of this, there seems to be a paradox within the vast “flat earth” realm of the “social studies” arena. Picture for the moment a huge colosseum just for the playful fun. Consider something like a Roman gladiator showground. Upper class elitists love this kind of stuff. They always have and they always will enjoy being spectators for the kill.

Nonetheless, image the competition among the various schools of thought. Entering the arena of portentous expectations, each fights to insist their perspective is the correct one. So, academically speaking, or politically seeking, even socially tweaking, the diversity of philosophical pontification claims the immediacy of definitive explanation. In reality, up against real science, there are no absolute final and complete singularities. Obviously, in this contest not many are skilled in the arts of war, or the tactics of physical combat. No, instead, the various factions, kind of like cults, close ranks around their particular “language”.

That is their weaponry, jargon is the sword, and anecdote is the shield, while the regurgitation of unscientific babble is the spear. Imagine if one had to defend their pretend “science” against the real point of a razor-sharp blade. And so, absent serious challenge and serious questioning, the theoretical hyperbole, across mainstream infotainment, gets away with fraud, fiction and often clever con artistry. So well accepted in a devolving culture, where the average level of literacy is in the realm of middle school, “psychic magicians” can get away with anything.

As the “stadium” of intellectual regression continues, the faux combatants contrive their various psychosocial schemes to perpetuate what might be viewed as a paradox. While some fortune tellers read their crystals balls, there emerges a paradox. Many of the psychics will admonish the confused proselytes to “stop blaming others, or other things” for the necessity to grow up.

That is a curious point to ponder. If, as one article from a famous magazine on “social studies” suggests, a “consumer” should stop blaming externalities his or her poor choices. Responsibility for personal accountability remains a hallmark of at least one school of thought in the vast reaches of the “social studies” arena. In particular, this is in reference to the previous notions of the classical school of criminology. As to that consideration, and by extension or application in a broader spectrum, correlation from externalities of blame is irrelevant to the actual causation of self-determination. Subsequent harm, degradation, invective, torture and so forth, are intentional, premeditated with malice aforethought, for the purposes of personal gain.

In article from 2012, by a mainstream “social studies” researcher, the admonishment to society suggested fessing up to the pursuit of personal pleasure at the expense of others. As people so often do, blaming something or someone else for the purposeful dysfunctions that occur. Self-indulgence, assumption of “victimization” as a perpetrator, or scapegoating others, is part of playing the dangerous game of blaming. Irresponsibility is easily justified as a pattern of rational self-indulgent behavior that serves the interest of the perpetrator.[3]

In a devolving cultural context, a collapsing society, accountability becomes more difficult to achieve. Social media, mainstream infotainment, news media and political processes do not often encourage mature growth and development. Likewise, a profound sense of maturity in the effort needed to become a well-differentiated more enlightened individual is challenging. It is not only a significant affront to the psychic senses to become an ascended personality; such effort defies the imagination at every option. Seemingly, a person is at war within.

Perpetrators of illicit and counterproductive activities seek to avoid answerability. When cornered, they claim all manner of unsubstantiated excusatory conjecture. To minimize culpability, the “anarchistic” thought processes easily conclude that matters of liability are not applicable to him or her in question. The shifting focus becomes convincingly one of a gambit of self-seeking mitigation. Meanwhile, as observers often observe the bias of their observations, pundits usually accept the sleight of hand tactics for “plausible deniability”. Some externality is responsible and not the guilty party who perpetrated the incident in question. People, places and things, in general, are used as the “real causative” factors for the misconduct. In the process of over-generalization and lazy rationalization, a cover story cleverly masquerades for the reality of intentional perpetration. Fictional thinking for self-serving seduction replaced factual reality.

Confusing and counterproductive are the myriad philosophical speculations asserting the specificity of hasty generalizations. Unraveling the mysterious intricacy of human thinking, and subsequent motivations, is akin to making sense out of weather related “spaghetti” models. Yet, that is overly simplistic in the notion that meteorology is probably more predictable than human behavior. Although in response, many behavioral analysists might disagree. In the self-assured arenas of “academic jousting”, and other forms of theoretical “pugilism”, some schools of thought are very defensive. More than a few academicians, particularly those who write textbooks, frequently conclude a sufficiency of anecdotal citations in spite of scientific validation.

With regard to human behavior, and particularly criminality in the study of criminology, theory often collides with the real world of the “criminal justice” practitioner. Outside the safe confines of academia where many theorists conduct their studies, the harsh reality of human conflict presents a deadly contrast. Likewise, the mention of something called “criminal justice” is frequently contentious, confusing and confounding. For instance, politicians sometimes understate, misunderstand and mislead the public and the press on issues related to things like “criminal justice reform”. Similarly, the implications of mentioning something called the “criminal justice system” does not clarify the reality as to how the U.S. systems function.

Since the focus here concerns that which relates to the United States, there is a lot of misperception regarding crime, criminals and criminality in American Society. As to that, in the U.S. there are criminal justice multi-system operating at the federal, state and local levels of government. This presents an additional complexity to analyzing the full scope of criminality and criminology in general. For the police, prosecutors, defenders, probation and corrections officers, and associated first responders, they operate in this real world of human interactivity. For a politician or celebrity pundit pretending to report news stories, there is an assumptive tendency to suggest one size fits all. That is, one system one nation and one easy fix for everything.

However, the realty of the multidimensional intricacy defies quick cure-all simplicity. Counting the federal level, adding states and counties and special jurisdictions, the American “criminal justice system” is vast and diverse. One size does not fit all. With jails, holding facilities, prisons, courthouses, police agencies, etc., unique features culminate at the local levels. There are many organizational features, both public and private, interacting on a daily basis. Therefore, to suggest the notion of a politician’s posture to fix the “criminal justice system” is to proclaim a shallow self-serving and hedonistic need for personal validation. Which system gets fixed?

Aside from the digression, the concept of hedonistic calculus likewise reflects the essential necessity of individual “gain minus risk” assessment. For the “felicity calculus”, previously proposed by Jeremy Bentham in the early 1800’s, espoused an algorithmic notion for calculating pain versus pleasure. As some might assert, sometimes people reverse their view of that which is pleasurable contrasted with painfulness. Of course, the actual measurement of human thinking processes by an observer is highly speculative, theoretically abstract and provisionally subjective. Yet, the philosophical interests are intriguing to the field of criminology.[4]

Nonetheless, assessing costs and benefits of actions relate to the willfulness to engage in, as well as freely commit, an illicit or illegal breach of public civility. Historical investigators within the framework of classical criminology, asserted the standpoint for the potentiality of purposeful and premeditated behaviors. Maximizing pleasurable experiences and avoiding or minimizing the painful ones, reside within the thinker of the pre-calculated eventualities. As anything of value, that which is considered by the individual, to be relevant and subsequently of necessary gain. For this, the rationality of choice is a matter of serious individuation.

While a certain person values a particular perspective, another may have a more diverse viewpoint. Regardless, behaviors are very rational to the proclivities of the instigator involved. Others may find associated behaviors morally repugnant, disturbing, and unethical and so on. Yet, from a counterpoint, the behavior is extraordinarily rational. The notion of “antisocial” behaviors stemming from some mysterious externality of alleged “cause and effect” is not only laughable, but also absurd. Social issues arise as “hope springs eternal” that one school of thought, or another, pretends human behavior is easily quantifiable into simplistic explanations.

Far too long, the “social studies” arena of academia wields too much power of influence over political policymaking. In this pseudoscience realm, certain schools of thought in criminology, psychology, sociology and theology, perpetrate myriad mitigations to excuse illicit behaviors of every category. From the perspective of “demonic possession”, or causative factors doing evil and residing outside the person, perpetration is peculiarly otherworldly. As such, in post-modern America for instance, everyone is a victim and responsibility conveniently rationalized. Regardless though, erroneous conjecture, more prevalent socially than ever, falsifies the underlying motivational factors contingent upon willfully choosing to inflict harm on others. From the “social studies industrial complex”, after the fact, most explanations are not even close.

In the malaise of discontent for a “single bullet” theory to explain everything about human nature, the frustration surfaces in superficial conjectures. For some, preferring unlabored persistent ignorance instead of strenuous critical analysis, mythologies will find refuge in false cause pretentiousness to the reality of scientific authenticity. Ideologies of every kind, absent evidentiary substantiation through skeptical scrutiny, with hidden motives, derail serious investigative discourse. In the social mainstream, the confusion runs deeper than ever. Serious investigative analysis devolves to quick fixes and easy answer, which foster dangerous consequences.

Of such concerns, examples reveal themselves in the divisiveness of modern politics and the subsequent shallowness of public policy debates. Corresponding examples reflect the narrow and divided perspectives in electoral processes, religious interactions and social media, becoming increasingly prone toward debasing selfishness. Regardless, the fundamental notion of motivational persistence is that of freely choosing certain courses of action. From the classical criminological viewpoint, people engage willfully in the con of their self-gratification.

The proliferation of “selfie” oriented personal promotion demonstrates the regressive self-centeredness of each successive generation. From so-called sit-coms to reality shows, or late-night variety shows to cable network talk hosts, there is an abundance of condescending invective. To look better than another, poke fun at institutions, and point out another person’s shortcomings degrades the social mainstream. In the meantime, such derisive antics promulgate bullying negativity that makes one feel good at the expense of others. These are intentional unethical behaviors.

Hedonistic intentions often promote illicit activities, or become the basis for committing crimes that gratifies the perpetrator. Whether the con job is an outlandish television commercial, or the stupid commentary of a politician, it is a matter of probable gain in taking advantage of someone else. The bullied person will likely suffer. For the instigator, when challenged, the “criminal mind-set” quickly embraces easy rationalization in fabricating convenient excuses.

Entire industries willingly promote mitigating “diagnoses, in quickly blaming someone else. Nonetheless, the bottom-line is that people freely pick their courses of action for the self-flagellation of themselves. Speaking in a metaphorical sense, the “self-stroking”, “spanking”, or “psychic flogging”, services the satiation of personal validation. The debauchery of arrogant intemperance hastens the regression of the human species toward its contrived eventual extinction. People are adept at their own deceptions and greedily embrace manipulative gambits of alleged “magical sciences”, as hope springs eternal for mystical salvation from themselves.

[1] Online news publication publishing science and political commentary; exact citations avoided to protect sources;

[2] Online blog promoting articles and information regarding cultural issues related to masculinity;

[3] Online journal article from a traditional human behavior school of thought pursuing psychological assessment;

[4] World wide web information site dealing with criminological issues;

The world of online tutoring is gaining a new player, Mental Math. Launched on July 11, this innovative online tutoring program offered by [http://www.esumz.com] is targeted for children ages 7 to 12 who want to gain an edge on learning math. Mental Math is a program designed for children who are looking to accelerate his/her learning, or who are having difficulties in school.

Drawn upon math principles developed hundreds of years ago, Mental Math formulas are direct, powerful, and are very different from the traditional form of math calculations. The methods are truly extraordinary in efficiency and simplicity. Complexly arranged modern math problems can easily be done using these simple mental math formulae.

“The beauty of this program,” explains creator Venkat Radhakrishnan “is that we incorporate live audio and visual learning in the lessons. Children will learn math through reading engaging stories, working with a US tutor, and working with each other. By presenting simple formulae in a casual learning setting, children will learn how to complete complex problems with ease in a matter of seconds.”

Over the course of nine lessons, children will receive course material prepared by teachers and experts through Email. Each lesson starts and ends with a 10-question quiz to gather each child’s level of knowledge, before and after the lesson. The students meet in a virtual classroom and, together, read a story. Throughout the course of the story, a Mental Math formula will be introduced, explained, and used. During the lesson, the online tutor will use audio and live white board technology (a web based interactive application) to explain the application of the formula. At any point throughout the lesson, a child can ask for one-on-one help from the tutor.

For only $99, children will learn how to mentally subtract large numbers, multiply numbers like 85 by 85 in less than 3 seconds, and divide two digit numbers by 9, learn how easy multiplying by 11 can be, and more!

A premier mental health facility is one that whether on an inpatient or out-patient basis, can effectively diagnose and treat a wide variety of mental disorders. Such a facility should be able to provide evidence based psychiatric and behavioral treatment interventions that can affect optimum recovery for the patient. The mental disorders that are typically treated at top notch facilities include, but are not limited to, addictions, substance abuse, depression, and bipolar disorders.

Any mental health issues that seriously impair the health and well being of an individual and his or her ability to function successfully in their day to day life can be improved with the right diagnosis and treatment. Whether the patient is dealing with a single issue or a dual diagnosis, a thorough assessment relating to the disorder in question as well as an extensive history and physical come first. Then an appropriate and individualized treatment plan should be designed for that patient.

In determining the essential qualities that a premier mental health facility must have, take into account their success rate in patient treatment and recovery. Also look at the qualifications of the doctors and staff as well as the attitude and ambiance of the treatment facility itself. A top facility will try to involve family in the treatment, either apart from or with the patient. They will also make sure that the patient receives individual therapy, group therapy, medication if appropriate, recreational therapy, physical activities, and assessment of the effects of each of these therapies on the patient in question.

To achieve excellence, mental health facilities must have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the many mental disorders that patients might present with, as well as the factors that contribute to the patient’s inability to find or maintain a positive outlook and successful living situation on their own. The staff must be able to make the proper assessments and create treatments and therapies that treat the patient on all levels. This means address not only medical issues, but social and emotional issues as well.

The staff and employees at a top facility will understand that the patient must be involved with and invested in their own treatment to obtain a successful outcome. An important quality for a mental health facility is that it recognizes the importance of counseling and working with family members or other persons integral in the patient’s life who can aid in maintaining their recovery once their treatment has ended.

The goal of a mental health consultant who works in early childhood settings is the promotion of mental wellness and encouragement of positive social relations in children.

A 2005 study by Yale University’s Ed Ziglar Center in Child development found that 6.7 children per 1000 are expelled from preschool every year, three times the rate of expulsions in kindergarten through high school. However, preschool teachers who have access to mental health consultants are about half as likely to expel a child compares with teachers who lack such support based on a report that looked at 3,898 preschool classes in 40 states.

Another recent study in 89 classes conducted by the Tulane University’s Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health link the mental health help offered there to improved behavior and learning and more cheerful classroom climates.

The mental health consultant, in early childhood or preschool settings, helps small children to learn the lifelong social and emotional skills they need. Children have to learn how to get along with people, to respond to them appropriately, and to acquire an awareness of how their actions affect other people and how other people’s actions affect them. To be more specific, they need to learn cooperation, self-control, confidence, independence, curiosity, empathy, and communication. Also preschoolers need to learn how to inhibit impulsive behavior, become thoughtful, interpersonally sensitive, goal-oriented, respectful of other’s space and belongings, and to develop friendships.

In addition, the mental health consultant identifies children with special needs which have often resulted from violence, abuse, prenatal substance abuse, losses due to incarcerations or death, or living in foster homes or with multiple care givers. Such experiences often has significantly affected the lives of children who display severe behavioral and emotional problems such as learning disabilities, speech or language disorders, emotional or behavioral disorders.

The mental health consultant also assist with parent support issues, including stress related issues, finding resources, acquiring job training, etc. Parent workshops and personal consultations with parents are essential in helping parents to implement some of the learning activities the youngsters are experiencing in the classroom as well as to address concerns parents may have relative to personal parenting issues and needs.

In the course of a work day, in addition to scheduled meetings with parents, the mental health consultant carries out classroom observations for assessment and evaluation, insure supportive responses in meeting the children’s needs and conduct scheduled staff development workshops focused on strategies for dealing with behavioral and attention problems.

Okay, so things are tough. You’re depressed. The bills have formed an impenetrable wall that you feel like you’ll never knock down. You’re depressed. But the world isn’t over and there’s time, and there are ways, to over come your situation and your depression. In part 1 and 2 of this 3 part series, we examined depression and its causes and started formulating ways to develop a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) so you can overcome depression at any point in your life under any circumstance. In this final article, we’ll finish exploring ways to take your mind off your problems so your PMA can help you defeat any problem.

Make Some Time to Do a Crossword

Most people love to do crosswords. A crossword puzzle is a square grid that contains a series of blank squares which are to be filled with words that are surmised from clues that are given. These blank squares have words that are filled vertically and horizontally. They cross each other and overlap until the grid is completed and the riddle is solved. To be able to do this successfully one needs to have a mastery over their vocabulary and an extensive knowledge of various subjects. Crosswords challenge your brain, especially when difficult. I compare a crossword puzzle to creating a plan or strategy which is essential to overcoming depression, because you must also develop a specific plan to fix your course of action in regards to the focus point of your worries that influence your state of depression. So treat developing your plan like you would treat completing a crossword puzzle. Just like one keeps filling the squares with letters, thoughts and ideas that come to your mind must be jotted down and kept. Even if they don’t fit into what you are planning to do, don’t reject any of them. There will be a day when you think to some level that you have enough thoughts and ideas written down, then you can be critical as to what you want to use, eliminating or storing the rest for future reference.

After developing a plan, if it does not successfully work, then continue to replace it with a new plan, learning from your mistakes until you find one that does work. When you choose this route, it creates confidence in your ability to handle any situation.

Ditch the Paralysis of Will

As Thich Nhat Hanh once said, “People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” Despite all good intentions to go forward with their plan, many people don’t follow through on what they have decided upon. They become overwhelmed with doubt and fear, to the point of losing the nerve to tackle any new venture in today’s economy. They cannot see the potential opportunities around them because they are paralyzed by the fear of failure, thus limitless potential becomes restricted by self-limitations. Their whole perspective is limited because they can’t think big enough to get past today, or big enough to see where they can go or what they could be a part of. In plain words, they lack the importance of creative visualization, because of this, they will argue themselves out of a good thing.

Fear will intensify insecurity, paralyzing any decision-making process, making people wait for ever better possibilities which often never come. In the meantime they let incredible opportunities slip by.

Indecision creates an unstable situation in your mind and body. As long as you are an indecisive person you are vulnerable, you won’t be able to move in any direction with full assurance unless you are guaranteed that the step you might take is safe and secure. And we all know there are no guarantees in life. If and when you do decide, don’t allow yourself to be harassed by fear. Take long slow breaths and imagine strength and courage coming to you. Work with whatever you have and move forward, taking advantage of the opportunities that surround you. Let the results speaks for themselves. “Where there is a will, there is a way.”

Shake Your Booty

Of course I don’t mean to go out and dance. What I am trying to say is drop the remote, get off the sofa and start being creative again. Though you may have taken a sizable loss in your business plunging your family into a severe financial hole, you must not forget that you still have the creativity and ingenuity that you originally started out with. If you decide to start over in another field, you can use the same creativity and ingenuity that worked before. Eventually this will result in a much more successful and prosperous accomplishment. Hidden deep within ourselves is an extraordinary and inexhaustible source of innovative ideas, a fountain of creativity waiting for us to drink from it. It is incredible as to how many creative ideas are born of extreme necessity. The same inventive spirit found in the American people during prosperous times can also be demonstrated during the worst. If you can’t find work then create work. Work with what you have and get in touch with that inner creative power. By focusing on the positive, you will be amazed at how the right people, effective opportunities and favorable situations will present themselves in order to bring your desire to a successful fruition.

Okay, Now Take a Good Look in the Mirror

Tell me, do you like what you see? Are you standing tall with your shoulders pulled back and your chest expanded? Are your gestures and facial expressions attractive or repulsive? Could it be possible that you haven’t lost that same blank stare, grimace, frown, and sagging chin that has hounded you for years? You’re probably still hunched over, toting around baggage from all sorts of upsets, imparting negative vibes to everyone you meet? Do you still lack the desire to exalt yourself above and beyond your depression in order to make changes, to improve your situation or to move forward? Perhaps repeating the previous steps might help you stay one step ahead of your mental depression. My dear friends, because I care so much for all of you, I am concerned for your well-being. I want you to find a level of inner peace like I did. You cannot linger and wallow in negative attitudes and emotions. If you are to face the future with any strength, the first thing you need to do is prevent and eliminate those negative emotions driven by fear, panic, anxiety and depression. You must replace this fear with positive emotions. If you still need help finding your way out, there are other articles which I have written with respect to positive thinking and self-improvement. They have been published. You can find them on my blog. They may be beneficial in encouraging you to find your life’s purpose and to live life to the fullest in the best way possible. It will prompt you to survive, experiencing a much happier and prosperous way of life. When you have a positive attitude, you will cease feeling depressed and will wake up each day feeling good about yourself, expecting incredible things to happen. Good luck and the best of success with your new outlook on life. Then again, if you have a new, positive outlook on life, you won’t need luck!

I’ve been writing about the hurdles that the mental health care system has been facing since the recession struck the country. What I haven’t written about is where this whole thing is going and which trends are surfacing.

The trend these days is to shift from “monster units” that house 20 or more people to Community Based and Teaching Family Programs.

On one hand, having smaller case loads makes programming easier and the number of behavioral incidents get substantially reduced by having less crowded buildings. If it’s hard to live with just one person under the same roof, imagine living with 20 (with psychological issues). Moreover, staffing big units is not always an easy task and supply of qualified staff has surprisingly shrunk during the past months. We were expecting a surge in demand due to the recession but for some reason (unknown to me) this hasn’t happened.

Another advantage of having smaller units is that the stress levels that staff are subject to are greatly reduced (which helps decrease turn-over rates) as a consequence of having fewer incidents and a slower paced environment.

Even though the legal client to staff ratio is 8:1 big units need to have at least a 5:1 ratio to ensure proper coverage during crisis situations and daily programming. This greatly impacts budgets and is one of the main problems that service providers are having across the country. Unfortunately there’s no way of reducing FTEs without affecting service quality, the latter being often the loser in this battle since budgets are the priority. I think this is mainly why funding agencies are pushing towards more home-like settings.

Additionally, mental health care facilities have been reticent to expand their community based programs for a simple reason: less beds means less money. But empty beds are starting to pile up so it makes no sense keeping a big building fully operational if you are going to operate at half capacity. It’s a waste of resources. Furthermore, if you think about it, TFP and Community based programs give more flexibility and are better suited for growth. If you plan to expand your business it’s easier to buy a small house or sign in a family for a TFP than building a big facility from scratch. You are also not constricted to available (physical) space on your campus or center, thus there’s basically unlimited possibilities for expansion.

Having smaller units also means lower maintenance costs, and the opportunity to develop more and more diverse programs to fit the different populations.

Something that cannot be stressed enough is the importance of having a homogeneous population in each building. Usually, the bigger the unit the more diverse the conditions it serves. This can make daily activities a nightmare since clients’ preferences and needs greatly vary. By having small and homogeneous groups this can be avoided.

While some organizations have reacted faster to the new environment and are currently expanding at a frantic pace, others have been more skeptical and tried to stay on course, crashing into the reality wall. They have realized that the near future doesn’t look so bright and therefore, they have started to lay out plans to expand into the community. The fate of some will depend on how fast they can deploy. Other organizations, which enjoy a big enough financial cushion, will have time to make this transition in a tidy manner.

“The help seeking process serves as an important filter such that only a portion of those who need professional mental health treatment actually seek such assistance”

Ponterotto et al. (1995), p.416

Reasons to suspect that barriers exist

It is known that ethnic minority groups are reticent about seeking mental health assistance, and those who do suffer from premature termination. In a study of 135 African-American outpatients only 25% of those seeing a white therapist returned after the first session, as compared to 43% who were seeing a same race therapist suggesting client-therapist ethnic match to be an important factor. Interestingly, the figures suggest that 57% of the population who were seeing a same race therapist didn’t return and this would indicate that the ethnic match is far from the complete solution. Another study in a similar vein was conducted across 17 community mental health centres across the Seattle area of the USA – over 50% of Asian patients prematurely terminated therapy after just one session, as compared to a 29% rate for Caucasian patients. These observations were explained in terms of a difference in attitudes and beliefs regarding mental illness and psychotherapy, and also that the failure of therapists to consider these attitudes resulted in a failure to develop trust, rapport and a working therapeutic relationship. In a study where 83 black and 66 white university students were recruited by telephone, the white group were 6 times more likely than the black group to have sought help from a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Semi structured interviews were conducted with 48 psychiatric patients recruited from mental health care facilities. The Asian group (consisting of Filipino, Korean, Japanese and Chinese people) had the longest delay between diagnosis of mental health problems and participation in a treatment programme, indicating a degree of reluctance to engage in the help seeking process. In the interim, it was found that this group had more extended, persistent and intensive family involvement than either the Black or Caucasian groups. The authors commented that psychiatric problems in Asian families may be taken as a threat to the homeostasis of the family as a whole. The family participate actively in denying such problems.

Using a random sample of migrants from India to the UK, other researchers have found that they showed less evidence of emotional disturbance when compared to a matched English sample, using a scale which had been validated for both groups in question. This begs the question – do Asians utilise services less because they have less cause to do so, as opposed to there being barriers to obtain such help? Given equal numbers of stressful life events, as social support systems increase, one would expect the likelihood of experiencing psychological distress (and subsequently seeking counselling) to decrease. It is known that Asian communities in Britain tend to have strong links with the extended family, with family homes sometimes consisting of three generations. It may be that this support acts as a buffer during emotionally difficult periods. Other findings refute this suggestion – depression is thought to be diagnosed less commonly among West Indian and Asian patients in Psychiatric hospitals than among the British born, although this does not reflect the actual occurrence of depression in the community.

What are the known barriers?

There may be barriers at an institutional level – the geographic inaccessibility of mental health services to the ethnic community; lack of child care; focus on an intra-psychic model and strict adherence to time schedules. In one study, environmental constraints were ranked second as reasons for leaving therapy prematurely. Equally, there may be financial barriers (such as medical insurance within some countries, or time off work in order to attend); cultural barriers (such as language and attitudes to mental health problems). It is thought language barriers and cultural differences are less of an issue for second or third generation Chinese, who have integrated into the host country. Indeed, the English language has a rich source of adjectives to describe internal experience – such as despondent, despairing, disillusioned, gloomy, unhappy, miserable and so on – there may not be so many direct equivalents in the Asian languages. More probably, Asian clients may struggle to find English equivalents for words that they know perfectly well in their own mother tongue.

Over 2000 adults were interviewed about their perceptions of barriers to help seeking for two specific problems – alcoholism, and severe emotional problems. The Caucasian group perceived less barriers than any of the other Asian groups, and this remained so after controlling for various sociodemographic variables. A sense of shame was rated quite highly across each non-Caucasian ethnic group, and this is discussed in more detail later in the section. The second most popular response across groups was that services were inappropriate, or that they just weren’t aware of them. Interestingly the least most important factor was accessibility of services and ethnic match of the therapist. In one of few studies carried out with Indian participants, a content analysis of the responses given by Tamil women suffering with depression in India has been made. Consistent with earlier findings, treatment seeking behaviour was influenced by the stigma associated with their condition, and another deterring factor was lack of knowledge that treatment was available. The issue of shame seems further emphasised in that the women expressed feelings of wanting to ‘wither away’ rather than seek treatment.

The shame of needing to seek help

Shame has been equated with mental health problems within Asians, for sufferer and family alike – perhaps because it reflects a failing in upbringing, or some inherited component which would affect the families standing in the community. Mental illness seems to be taken by Asians as a weakness of character and the need to seek professional help is seen as a disgrace. In eastern thought there is a strong belief that all events are influenced to some degree by unseen forces, and any personal difficulty is a reflection of the misfortune of the sufferer. Isolation can set in, where people in the community tend to avoid associating with such a person, or the family. It is suggested that ancient codes of India mean psychiatrically ill individuals did not qualify for certain social privileges, and this stigma around mental illness is clearly present in contemporary India. An escape from such stigma may be to conceal the difficulties – perhaps on a conscious level in the avoidance of professional sources of help, and also in the sub-conscious denial of all problems that are not physical. For the Chinese, mental illness seems to be seen as a disgrace and sufferers become family secrets, to the extent that the illness is denied proper care.

It is known that stressful situations that are evaluated as a threat to self esteem provoke a ‘self controlling’ coping response (i.e. an inhibition or restraint of ongoing thoughts, feelings and actions). The shame associated with mental health problems is likely to be associated with such a threat to self esteem – and perhaps the reluctance to seek professional help is an extension of this self-controlling response. The avoidance of shame, with the avoidance of help seeking as one mechanism, is one of many withdrawing behaviours. The concept is simply that of withdrawing from situations in which shame could arise. It may be that a failure to live up to spiritual or cultural ideals fits a similar pattern to the other failures discussed in the literature.

The shame of failing to live upto ideals

Within a religious or spiritual framework for Asians, it is often the case that followers aspire towards a surrender to divine will – to accept their lot in life, be thankful for what they have and not to feel downhearted about difficulties or gaps in life. For Indians, religion is often a central part of family life. For Indians residing outside of their country of origin, worship has taken on an additional role – that of maintaining identity and sustaining a social network within their community. It may be suggested that a persons standing within this socio-religious sphere is questioned where mental health problems arise. After all, depression in lay terms is about unhappiness, and this opposes the religious ideal. What trust have you left in God, if you have lost hope ? How can you be a believer, if you do not believe God knows and does best ? Such internal dialogues are likely to influence not only internal judgements about the self (internal shame), but also judgements about the view that others in the community hold (external shame). Internal shame is derived from how the self judges the self, seeing oneself as bad, flawed, worthless and unattractive. Furthermore, shame must include some notion of a place or position that one does not wish to be in, or an image that one does not wish to create – perhaps because this image or position is associated with negative aversive attributes from which one struggles to escape. These ideas provide a helpful context for assertions made about Asian families being more preoccupied with what the neighbours must be thinking when a member of the household has been hospitalised for an overdose.

Shame induced within the professional consultation

A factor not given much attention is the shame that may be induced by professionals. Depressed patients who attend the GP surgery may be struggling with their symptoms, only to feel more distressed at not being able to express their concerns adequately. If there is a case that Asian groups display a different manifestation and expression of psychological symptoms, they may not understand the questions being asked of them in a consultation – this dynamic in itself can be shaming. A vague series of symptoms which do not make sense to a GP may cause the patient to grow more nervous and misunderstood, whilst making the GP increasingly irritated. In despair, the patient may seek help from different doctors, anxiously trying to convince them of something. Unlike mainstream Britain, there are societies in the world where science, medicine, philosophy and religion are not separated into different compartments. For such cultural groups, there may not be the same distinction between the GP’s factual explanation and moral judgement – so that a statement about an illness being bad may imply to the patient that there is something terribly wrong with them as a person!

Service credibility

For a person to approach a practitioner for assistance, and then follow the advice given, it is clearly important for there to be a sense of trust and a feeling that the practitioner understands the difficulties. Practitioners are often trained in a diagnostic method (i.e. asking various questions to narrow down possibilities), and this may undermine the confidence that Asian patients place in their consultations. Patients often arrive at the surgery with their problems, and expect the doctor to know what is wrong with them. If GP’s proceed to ask lots of ‘what’ questions, before looking at ‘why’ and ‘how to help’, this is likely to influence their credibility. Within the conceptual model of Asian immigrants, many questions before solutions may serve to reveal their GP’s ignorance and reinforce the belief that such doctors simply don’t understand.

Furthermore, there may be beliefs within Asian communities that strong feelings should be restrained, that focusing on distress is unhelpful, and that it is better to rise above it and carry on. Such factors impact upon the credibility of a service, since it fails to fit beliefs about what is helpful. Clearly, attitudes to seeking help are a great influence on whether help seeking actually occurs, or not. Credibility may be described as a constellation of characteristics which make a service worthy of belief, entitled to confidence, reliability and trust. The ethnicity of the therapist and perceived ‘cultural competence’ may be an important factor in credibility beliefs. There is a potential for incongruities at various levels, to include problem conceptualisation, means for resolution, and goals for treatment – widely opposing ideas between therapist and client is likely to impact upon how credible the client perceives a service to be.

Tensions between cultural values and the western medical system

There may be a tension between the cultural values of certain ethnic groups and those of the western medical system. Therapy may involve an emphasis on verbal communication of distress and a focus on the individuals personal needs. However, for Asians it is widely believed that individual needs should rightly be subordinate to the needs of the family and collective as a whole. Other research findings contend that for Punjabis, a diagnosis of depression is counterproductive, since it suggests a self-centredness to this community which is associated with negative social and cultural values, and such a diagnosis is likely to meet with denial and a breakdown in communication. The control of personal feelings is important since the ‘self’ needs to be relinquished in order to gain proximity to God, and one part of this bargain is to control emotions that are self-willed impulses. In one study, Asian women in distress were found to talk about their difficulties by way of their circumstances, their families, their hopes, prayers and sorrows – they didn’t talk about themselves!

It seems also that such close-knit family ties carry with them a ‘sphere of privacy’, where the sharing of certain events and experiences outside this network would be considered as an act of bringing disgrace for the whole family. The notion of sitting with a stranger and discussing personal issues may not rest easily with individuals of Asian background. In a study looking at preferences for help sources, Asian Americans did not indicate a preference to see counsellors.

Alternative sources of help

It seems that Asians prefer alternative health care (e.g. acupuncture, herbalists) as a first line of help for psychiatric symptoms and in India, many people use folk healers before turning to hospitals. Clearly, there are fewer folk healers in the Western world. The Asian healer (e.g a Vaid or Hakim) has been observed to conduct extended consultations with the patients that come to him for assistance. This consultation is akin to a counselling session, where the practitioner gets to know the patient and his concerns. Priests and religious specialists also play an important role in the health care of Asians in Britain. Beliefs in the contribution of cosmic factors to recovery manifest in traditional cultures around Asia and these beliefs are shared by folk practitioners and patients. Some Punjabis are known to prefer Ayurvedic or Unani practitioners over and above more western medical practitioners, primarily because Western medicines are thought to be ‘hot’ and aggravate certain conditions.

In a British review of the literature on primary care presentation and disorders such as anxiety and depression among patients from ethnic minorities, it has been found that the ethnic groups most likely to attend a GP were men and women of Pakistani origin. Male Asians including those born in Britain and those originating from the Indian subcontinent and East Africa were more likely than the general population to consult the GP. This would indicate that people are seeking help, but for various reasons the process of referral to mental health services is not occurring. It has been proposed that Asians who break down are more likely to be tolerated at home without more specialist consultation. Indeed it has been suggested that Asians who suffer with emotional difficulties are less likely to class these difficulties as pathological, and it is perhaps for this reason that such difficulties are not discussed with the GP.

Clearly, a number of other explanations are equally plausible – for example, perhaps the symptoms are seen as pathological, but the GP is not considered an appropriate source of help. Stigmatisation and shame have been addressed as important barriers to help seeking previously. Another issue is that problems affecting physical health may be seen as ‘individual afflictions’ which are amenable to a medical intervention, whereas more emotional or psychological problems are seen in the context of ‘personhood and social roles’. Difficulties in the latter are seen to be within normal parameters – the ability to meet difficulties in life is held in high esteem.

As you will realise from the reading of this article, there are a plethora of barriers that sit between an Asian man or woman, and the help he or she needs with mental health problems. Some of these are barriers within health institutions themselves, although not knowingly created. Some are barriers of a cultural, social and spiritual belief system that are at odds with the western psychiatric approach. Depression, anxiety and stress take their toll – life satisfaction diminishes. Where will these people turn for help ? Perhaps to God, or hope of a better after life. Perhaps to drink, as a means of drowning out sorrows. Perhaps just through numbness, and lack of life energy, as the years limp on. As a British Asian, trained in psychology, I would like to make the plight of ethnic minorities in the UK known. Surely, we can all work together to offer help, compassion and care to one another.

Develop A New Consciousness And Awareness

What is the predominant self-talk that takes place in your mind? Is it affirmative or a disempowering voice that tries to convince you the world is a dark and scary place? It’s easy to get pulled into this narrative because the voices are real and so we conclude they must be true. Or are they? I often use an exercise in seminars where I ask participants to tell me what they will think next. I explain, if they identify with their thoughts, surely they must know what their next thought will be. Unless there are psychics in the audience, rarely do people know what their next thought will be until it occurs. The point is: thoughts come and go from our minds and unless we give them meaning, they have little power in and of themselves.

So let’s return to your self-talk. You might be accustomed to listening to the voice in your head, that perhaps you’re no longer aware of the negative thoughts? Yet, that is what we must pay attention to if we want to change our circumstances. It’s said: thoughts become things, meaning everything in the physical universe begins with a thought. The house or the apartment you live in exists because an architect had an idea for the design of the building. Your smartphone, laptop or computer, began its life with a thought. The point I wish to emphasise is: our reality is the result of our thinking, whether it be positive or negative. When negative circumstances show up, they merely shine the light on the truthfulness of our thoughts.

For example, consider a current problem in your life you want to improve. Do you believe there’s a solution you haven’t discovered yet? I’m hoping you will realise that the nature of your problem results from your thinking alone. This doesn’t mean your thinking is flawed, it means you have directed your thoughts, whether conscious or unconscious to something unwanted and it has manifested as a result. Do you agree, if we want a different outcome, we must change our thoughts or at least our perception of the problem? It was Albert Einstein who once said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Put simply: We must develop a new consciousness and awareness in which to perceive our problems from a higher level. The same consciousness cannot solve the problems created with our current level of thinking.

Awareness Shines The Light On Our Thoughts

How does this relate to your self-talk or mental picture influencing your actions? If we replay the same script and visualise it through the lens of negativity, it must eventually manifest in our life. We agreed earlier that thoughts become things. What we think about and give our attention to, must it show up in our reality? I’m not talking about the law of attraction but universal laws that govern the framework of reality. The Hermetic aphorism states: “As within so without.” Meaning, what happens at the level of thoughts is reflected in our reality. When we combine self-talk with a mental picture, we add colour to what appears in our life. We define it and give it energy, irrespective of whether it is a negative thought or a positive one. This is an idea the motivational psychologist and author Dr. Shad Helmstetter emphasises in What To Say When You Talk To Your Self when he says: “Self-Talk is a way to override our past negative programming by erasing or replacing it with conscious, positive new directions. Self-Talk is a practical way to live our lives by active intent rather than by passive acceptance.”

People often ask: Does it mean I need to be attentive to every thought? No, since that requires a lot of mental energy best devoted to other things. The key is to observe our thoughts with an expanded awareness instead of remaining unconscious to them. Awareness is the key that unlocks us from the prison of negativity and self-destruction. It is the key to inner peace and freedom because it is the filter for our thoughts. Awareness shines the light on the congruency of our thoughts. If we wish to change our external conditions, being aware of what we think is the first step. I often use the example of a ship changing course midway through its journey in the ocean. First, the captain must change course and map new coordinates and relay this information to his crew. The same is true of ourselves: our awareness shines the light on our inner self-talk and mental picture. If we wish to change our future, it must begin by observing our mind and becoming conscious of our unconscious thoughts. It is only then, the level of dedication to our actions become congruent with a shift in awareness.

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a discipline mainly associated with the field of personal development. NLP uses various techniques and strategies to help people improve particular areas of their lives. NLP can most simply be defined as a system or process for self-improvement.

Neuro – This relates to the use of our senses to interpret the world around us. We filter information through our senses which affects our thoughts, emotions, and physiology.

Linguistic – This relates to how we use language to interpret our experiences and describe those experiences to ourselves and to others.

Programming – This relates to our repetitive patterns of learned behavior and the way we organize our ideas and actions. We can change our programming. We can change the way we think and act.

When motivational guru Tony Robbins wrote Unlimited Power he helped bring the concept of NLP to the mainstream. In his book, Robbins mentions some of the key principles associated with NLP. Some of the principles and methods proposed by the discipline of NLP and Tony Robbins may be able to help you improve your wrestling performance.

Goal Setting

Like many self-improvement systems NLP has advice on goal setting. You probably already know that a goal needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. In other words, your goals need to be SMART. In the domain of NLP, a goal is sometimes referred to as a well-formed outcome and NLP adds a few more elements to the process of goal setting.

Maybe you are currently an average wrestler. But, what do you want to achieve? How will you know when you’ve achieved it? Do you want to be a state champion? Maybe you simply want to have a winning record. What will you see, hear, and feel when you reach the desired outcome? Can you visualize yourself wrestling flawlessly and aggressively? Can you see yourself standing on the top of the awards podium?

What resources will you need to achieve this goal? Perhaps you need to seek out extra instruction to improve your skills. Perhaps you need to put more emphasis on conditioning. You know that others have achieved this goal. How did they do it?

Do you know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you’re going to get it?

Ultimate Success Formula

1. Know the Desired Outcome – We have already examined the first step to applying the Ultimate Success Formula. What is it specifically that you want? Engage all of your senses when describing or imagining your desired outcome. How will you know when you’ve achieved your outcome? How will you feel when you have achieved your goal?
2. Know Why You Want It – You need a strong purpose in order to take the action needed to reach your objective. Why do you want tobe a state champion? Why do you want to have a winning record? Is it for the recognition? Is it for the sense of accomplishment and pride you’ll have knowing that you worked hard to become the best? Do you want to help your team reach the highest levels? Do you want to make your coach and parents proud?
3. Take Massive Action – Having a well-formed outcome does little good if you don’t take action. Are you ready to take deliberate action and take the steps necessary to carry out your plans? You may have many choices. You may not feel prepared. But, you need to take massive action. Taking half-hearted action is unlikely to lead to success. But, if you take massive action and believe in your ability to produce results then success is more likely. You can simply let your coach or perhaps fate decide what your outcome on the mat will be or you can take action and help determine for yourself what results you achieve.
4. Know the Result You are Getting – You need to have the awareness to know what is working and what is not. Maybe you’re takedown skills are weak and you need some extra help to correct the problem. Maybe you need to realize that your conditioning is lacking.
5. Change Your Approach if Necessary – Perhaps you need to seek out the teammate who has the best takedown technique and ask for his advice. Maybe you need to invest in some technique videos. Maybe you need to get up early in the morning in order to add some conditioning or skill sessions before your school day begins. Evaluate the results you’re getting and figure out what to do next. Keep refining your strategy until you get what you want.

In Mike Chapman’s Wrestling Tough, University of Minnesota head wrestling coach J Robinson states, “Learning is the same for geometry or piano lessons or wrestling. Practice it over and over and over and over, make adjustments, fine-tune it. It is a process of eliminating mistakes. Over the duration of the season, you will eliminate the mistakes if you are working on technique. You drill these skills over and over and over and over, just like playing the piano.” Notice how he mentioned having to make adjustments.

Beliefs and Values

Beliefs are convictions or principles we accept as true. Beliefs can be empowering or limiting. Perhaps you believe that only wrestlers with a lot of innate talent can be successful on the mat. Some people believe that they are incompetent and can’t learn new moves. Do you believe that you can be a champion or beat a certain opponent? Do you believe you can achieve a certain level of technical skill if you’re willing to study and drill? NLP advocates certain beliefs thought to be empowering. One of those beliefs is: There is no such thing as failure. There are only results. This is an empowering belief. Even if you lose a match you can use your results as feedback and use this feedback to improve your skills or make refinements. Some people believe in taking responsibility no matter what happens. They don’t blame others or complain. They take responsibility for their actions. What do you believe about your abilities and the pursuit of achievement?

Values are ideas, qualities, or principles that we hold to be important. Do you value hard work? Do you value commitment? Do you value honesty? Do you value loyalty? What do you value?

Regarding his work on perfecting the light bulb, the inventor Thomas Edison is allegedly quoted as having said, “I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” Evidently, Edison didn’t believe in failure.

Mark Schwab was a four-time Iowa high school state wrestling champion. Schwab also won three Junior National Freestyle titles and a National Greco-Roman title. In addition, he was a two-time NCAA All-American while in college. He went on to coach after college. He has held assistant and head coaching positions at a few different universities and colleges. Mark Schwab knows about wrestling and the importance of beliefs.

When asked in an interview if there is anything that is a catalyst to good performance and getting rid of doubt Schwab answered, “Well, I think the way you talk to yourself. You know, self talk is huge. That’s a sports psychology term but it’s really just a – I think it’s a pretty understandable term – the way people communicate to themselves. I think it’s so important the way you communicate with yourself.”

Reframing

The meaning we place on an experience depends on our point of view. In NLP, this point of view or context is called a frame. The way you frame an event will impact how you feel about it and how you respond to it. For example, if you lose a match to someone you think you should have easily beaten you may think, “I really blew it. I’m a terrible wrestler. I should never lose a match or make mistakes. I might as well just give up.” You may sulk and feel sad for a couple of days. You may not actually quit but you may lack focus in practice because you continue to dwell on the loss.

Reframing involves altering your perception of an experience. You can change the frame or meaning of an experience and then you may feel and behave differently. For example, in the situation above you may reframe the situation and think, “It’s not uncommon to have an off night occasionally. Maybe there is something I can learn from this loss. Maybe I was distracted for some reason. Maybe I didn’t warm up enough. I’ll make sure I am more focused and prepared for the next match.” If you put the loss into that frame then instead of feeling sad you may feel motivated. Instead of lacking focus in practice you may become more focused than ever. You may decide to really work hard on your skills and conditioning to make sure that you don’t lose again. And, before the next match you may pay more attention to warming up properly and making sure that you are mentally focused.

How do you frame the wrestling season? Do you hold the point of view that losing a single match spoils the entire season? Or, can you look at the bigger picture and use a loss as a motivator for improvement?

The legendary Dan Gable knew about reframing.

Gable only lost one match over the course of his high school and collegiate career. He lost his last college match – the finals of the NCAA tournament which he was, of course, expected to win. The loss of that match pained him greater than any physical pain. But, he didn’t just give up and quit wrestling. In the book A Season on the Mat: Dan Gable and the Pursuit of Perfection by Nolan Zavoral Gable is quoted as saying, “Bottom line is that match helped me. I needed to get beat. Because it not just helped me win the Olympics, but it helped me dominate the Olympics. But more than that, it helped me be a better coach. I would have a hundred times rather not have that happened, but I used it. I used it.”

In 1987 Coach Dan Gable and his Hawkeyes were attempting to win 10 consecutive NCAA wrestling team titles. The wrestlers wore a Roman numeral X on their singlets all season. And then at the NCAA tournament the Hawkeyes failed to win the title. Gable could have whined. He could have gotten angry. He could have given up and decided that the dominance of Hawkeye wrestling was over. What did Gable have to say about the loss? “I don’t have many losses in life, and I think I needed one,” he said. “This will motivate me.” He went on to say, “A little pain will make me work harder.”

Gable would later say that he had let his talented team make him complacent. The work ethic had changed. He was afraid to make adjustments. Then Iowa lost and had to settle for runner-up status. So, after that season he made changes that he knew had to be made. By 1991 the Iowa Hawkeye wrestlers were on top again.

Sometimes mistakes and even losses help us to learn and improve if we put them in the right perspective.

Tony Robbins states, “You can always learn from every human experience and can thereby always succeed in anything you do.”

Submodalities

We experience our world through our senses. The three major modalities that we experience our world through are the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (feeling). For instance, if we imagine taking a walk outside on a snowy winter evening we may see glistening snowflakes. We may hear howling wind. And, we may feel the sensation of being cold.

However, we can describe our experiences in greater detail using what NLP calls submodalities. For example, in the scenario above do you focus on only the snowflakes or do you notice the trees swaying in the wind as well? Does the wind howl constantly or does it pause at times? Do you also hear the sound of your feet as you walk along? Do you become so cold that you would describe it as a numbing coldness? Is the coldness all over or just in your hands and feet? Do your muscles tense up from the cold?

Submodalites are the fine distinctions that give meaning to our experiences. For example, if I imagine an upcoming match submodalities can make my imagery more powerful. I can choose to visualize the match as a big bright movie as opposed to a black and white picture. I can hear the roar of the crowd cheering me on. I can put this mental movie right in front of me instead of far away. I can feel my muscles strain as I visualize taking down my opponent. I can see my body in the movie or I can be part of the movie and feel myself experiencing the event.

When you see yourself in an image or mental movie it’s called being disassociated. It’s like watching yourself in a movie. However, if you’re seeing the images through your own eyes it’s referred to as being associated. When you are associated into a picture it usually leads to heightened emotions because it is as if you are actually there. You are experiencing it from within your own body. Being in a fully associated state can be powerfully motivating.

On the other hand, disassociating from the memory of a painful loss can be useful. If you lost a match and can’t get it out of your head then try disassociating. Observe yourself in a black and white picture of the match with the sound turned off. The pain of that loss may seem less if you can disassociate from it and instead become associated to the next match and the good feelings you will have when you get back onto the winning track.

So, you need to remember that submodalities are a powerful way through which you can control how you experience your world.

Perhaps you’re concerned about a certain opponent and he appears as a big and bright image in your mind. Try making the picture in your mind black and white and shrink that opponent down until he seems insignificant.

Perhaps you imagine being a state champion. Your imagery might be more powerful if your mental pictures are big and bright.

Submodalities like color, brightness, detail, size, pitch, tonality, volume, temperature, texture, movement, direction, and speed (distinctions you make to internal images) can change the way you experience your world and change your emotional state.

The Power of State

Two definitions of state are frame of mind and condition. A state can be resourceful or non-resourceful. For instance, someone who just finished a productive wrestling practice may be in confident state. Or, someone who has been working and training too much may be in a state of exhaustion. Therefore, in NLP state has to do with an individual’s physiological, mental, and emotional state at any moment in time. And, the state you’re in can determine whether you experience a success or a loss on the wrestling mat.

Have you ever watched an action movie and walked out of the theater feeling energized and ready to take on the world? Have you ever listened to a song and found yourself overcome with a feeling of boldness? Have you ever found yourself feeling incredibly focused and confident before a match? Do you know how you produced that state? Perhaps you were focused and confident because you’d been practicing and drilling diligently and were, therefore, very confident in your skill level. Maybe you’ve even had matches where you were “in the zone” and your technique was flawless.

Our states are created by our physiology, thoughts, beliefs, and the images we picture in our minds. Our states can also be altered by the things we hear, see, smell, taste, and feel.

Tony Robbins states, “Successful people are able to summon their best when they need it, when the pressure is the greatest. People who have achieved excellence are masters of tapping into the most resourceful parts of their brain, by deciding what they are going to focus on – what they are going to represent to themselves, and thus controlling the state they access on a regular basis.”

The key to wrestling achievement, therefore, is to be able to access and direct your states. Wouldn’t you like to be able to determine whether you’re relaxed, focused, or motivated? You need to be able to access a state that leads to successful results. How can you do that?

First, as I mentioned earlier there is a connection between physiology and state. Do you have superior technique and conditioning? Do you walk confidently? Do you run out to the middle of the mat enthusiastically or walk out there hesitantly like you’re scared? The way you carry yourself can affect your state. Pay attention to your posture and breathing. Notice whether your muscles feel tense or relaxed. If your heart is pounding hard before each match because you’re nervous then perhaps you need to learn some relaxation techniques. If you usually walk to the center of the mat timidly then maybe you should try running to the center of the mat boldly. Learn how to influence your physiology so you’re always in a resourceful state before a match.

Second, you’re state at any given time has to do with your internal representations – the thoughts and images in your mind. Is your mind filled with negative self talk? Do you imagine losing and how bad that would feel instead of imagining winning?

Perhaps you can remember a time when you wrestled a really great match. What did you feel in your body before the match started? Did you feel well rested and strong? Perhaps your heart was beating a bit faster but not pounding. Perhaps your breathing remained deep and calm. Maybe you ran to the center of the mat confidently.

What was going on in your mind before this great match? Did you picture yourself executing your moves flawlessly? Perhaps your inner voice was saying positive things such as “I know I’m prepared. I know I can beat this guy.” Or, maybe you used instructional self-talk to focus your mind on proper technique by saying things like “head up” “hand-fight for inside position” “deep penetration” “level change” and “constant motion.”

The bottom line is that you want to control your state. You’re always going to be in a mental state before you wrestle. So, make sure it’s a powerful and resourceful one.

Modeling

In the domain of NLP, modeling refers to the process of attempting to reproduce the results that someone else has achieved. For instance, you may want to wrestle as well as Olympian John Smith. Therefore, you would model John Smith. Modeling involves imitating the behaviors of a person in order to recreate the results they have achieved. However, modeling involves more than simply copying or mimicking another person.

For instance, it’s not that difficult to learn the technical skills of John Smith. Most wrestlers know that he used a lot of low single leg attacks. You can watch him wrestle in videos online. In addition, you can purchase technique videos where he’ll demonstrate how to do various stand ups and other moves. Copying someone’s techniques is fairly simple. However, in order to truly model someone we need more information. You may also want to model their beliefs and strategies. A person’s beliefs are one of the most important qualities to model.

In order to model a successful wrestler you want a detailed blueprint representing all of the elements that make the wrestler successful. His technical ability is only a part of that blueprint. You may be able to achieve success if this detailed blueprint can guide you to the essential elements that allow that wrestler to produce his great abilities. Tony Robbins likes to say that success leaves clues. Therefore, you need to figure out specifically how John Smith or other successful wrestlers create their incredible results.

Do they wrestle year round including folkstyle and freestyle wrestling? Do they drill a lot or prefer live wrestling? What kind of conditioning regimen do they follow? What beliefs and values do they have? Do they use visualization? What are they thinking and doing just before a match? Do they have a ritual or routine they follow before every match?

For example, you may decide to model NCAA wrestling champion Terry Steiner’s attitude. He states, “I learned that trying to break my practice partner in every practice was the key to my success. At the University of Iowa this is what we did! This is what we did almost everyday!”

Mark Schwab seems to echo the same sentiment. He states, “Never allow easy points in practice or competition. Slug it out and make your opponent earn, work, and exhaust himself to score points on you. Demanding your opponent work for points makes him expend energy and question his ability to score. This is what you want.”

In high school I don’t think I had that view point. I wrestled hard in practice but I never tried to break my wrestling partner and make him quit. I never thought of trying to break an opponent mentally and physically in competition although I always wrestled to win. Perhaps I should have focused on going after my opponent so relentlessly that he simply gave up. Dan Gable believed he could break opponents. In fact, he made an opponent quit once. Gable states, “It was a tough match. He was a good wrestler. We still had maybe a minute and a half to go in the match and I had just pulled ahead of him by a point. When we went off the mat, I ran back to the center, turned around and he walked out of the arena.”

I’m not saying you need to model a similar attitude. But, you might consider whether such a belief or attitude would serve you well or not.

Anchoring

Have you ever heard a song on the radio and suddenly found yourself transported back to a certain place and time and thus experiencing strong emotions? Maybe a particular song reminds you of a happy childhood or an ex-girlfriend you used to love.

In psychology this is called classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is learning by association. Classical conditioning involves involuntary behavior (an involuntary response to a stimulus).

In NLP, anchoring is similar to classical conditioning but it is a process you can control and use to your benefit. For example, what if tapping your left shoulder between wrestling periods became an anchor for feeling refreshed and strong? What if slapping your leg just before walking onto the mat became an anchor for a state of excitement and confidence?

How does anchoring work? You are trying to establish an association between an external stimulus and an internal state. For example, if you were to vividly recall a time when you felt refreshed and strong while simultaneously tapping your left shoulder at the peak of your emotions you may be able to establish an anchor if you repeat the process enough times. Then when the anchor is established you can simply tap your left shoulder without imagining anything and yet still feel refreshed and strong because of the association your mind has learned. A gesture, a touch, specific posture, a motion, sound, specific words, and voice tone can be used as an external stimulus. For instance, squeezing your right hand into a fist while recalling a time when you felt totally confident may create an association between the squeezed fist and the feeling of confidence. The more unique the stimulus is the better it will work.

Anchoring is interesting although I’ve never personally tried it. The process of establishing an anchor sounds a bit tedious and difficult to me although the concept of being able to quickly elicit a resourceful state sounds great. Being able to quickly trigger the state you desire (e.g. confidence) at any time you choose could be a very valuable and powerful skill to possess. If the concept of anchoring interests you then you may want to find some books or articles that discuss anchoring in greater detail.

A hypnotist named Bill Gladwell and a mental coach named Stephen Ladd have a course available entitled Renegade Mindset Techniques for Fighters which includes some information on NLP techniques such as anchoring. When discussing anchors they state, “This is a way to link up your optimal mental states with unique physical actions.” They also state, “Sounds weird, we know. But with a little practice, you will be able to anchor an action (like tapping your left shoulder, for example), to the state of ultimate confidence. Then you will be able to activate it at any time and feel confident.”

Performance coach and NLP expert Jimmy Petruzzi has also written about anchoring. He states, “The best performers in the world have the ability to get into the right state of mind in specific situations.” He adds, “An NLP strategy which can be used to get performers into the right state of mind is anchoring. Just imagine having access to your most resourceful state – confidence, motivation, relaxation, power – at the touch of a button.”

Conclusions

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a methodology that can help you produce optimal states of functioning so you are more likely to achieve your goals. If you examine your beliefs and your mental images you may find that you have greater control over your state of mind than you realize. Remember success leaves clues. You can model the behavior of successful people including highly skilled wrestlers. If someone is producing positive results there is a reason. Remember beliefs are powerful. There is no such thing as failure. There are only results. You can learn something from every experience. Keep taking action and making refinements until you achieve your desired outcome. If NLP interests you then numerous books and articles on the various techniques are available online, in bookstores, and at libraries.

In very simple words, death is the end of life. So in this simple definition another term is needed to be explained and that is – life. For human being, life is the existence of an individual. If we take the term existence as an easily understood one, as because not each word can be explained in a limited opportunity, we can now define death and that is “death is the end of existence”.

In medical science, death is the permanent and irreversible cessation of all vital functions namely the brain function, the respiratory function, and the circulatory or heart function. So the medical definition further elaborates the two aspects of the usual definition, ‘end’ and ‘existence’. Thus, for death, ‘end’ represents something permanent & irreversible, and ‘existence’ is mainly represented by functioning.

Integrating the above two aspects, death can be very rationally and scientifically defined as the absolute disappearance of functioning. In the science of psychology or psychiatry theology is also included, with ethical and philosophical points, to have the issues comprehensive. So theological or religious aspect of death is supposed to be important too for psychiatric research purpose. As a Muslim physician I will try to mention about the Islamic view about death.

Islam defines death as a mandatory transitional event in between the ‘life before death’ and ‘life after death’. So if we integrate the scientific aspect with the description, the definition of death for a Muslim would be the absolute disappearance of the functions for the time period in between the two lives – one before death and another after death. As a result it abandons the permanent and irreversible criteria of the ‘end’ in the concept of death with the help of the concept of the life after death.

In our daily life death is related with the biggest stresses due to the knowledge – death ends. It is also supported by the science so far. But when the question of religion comes, specifically Islam, this knowledge changes for a religious person. So it can be easily assumed that death becomes a less stressful event for a Muslim, when he truly believes in Islam. Time has come, I believe, for science to take the definitions derived from the religions in account for the sake of increasing comfort in our everyday life.