Winter Newsletter 2014

Happy Holidays from Kettle Moraine Counseling.  We hope you take the time to be with friends and family this season.  Things are busy at the clinic.  Sara Tabaska is offer social skills groups in January, and Layne Burkette will be restarting her yoga therapy for children in January also.  Layne does yoga with the staff once a week and I love it!  I have started to do a regular yoga practice at home now too, and I feel stronger, have less anxiety, am more flexible and have less aches and pains.   I highly recommend Layne and yoga in general for physical and mental health! I asked Santa for some new yoga accessories for Christmas, so lets hope he was listening ; )   In this newsletter, we have some tips on how to be more positive.  Our brains have a "negativity bias" and it takes regular practice in order to overcome our tendency to look for the negative.  I have also included information on Sara Tabaska's upcoming groups.    Be well!!

Devona Marshall



Rick Hanson explains the negativity bias  www.rickhanson.net

You were quoted in a short post about negativity bias in which you stated, “The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positives ones.” Can you explain this in more detail?

As the brain evolved, it was critically important to learn from negative experiences – if one survived them! “Once burned, twice shy.” So the brain has specialized circuits that register negative experiences immediately in emotional memory. On the other hand, positive experiences – unless they are very novel or intense – have standard issue memory systems, and these require that something be held in awareness for many seconds in a row to transfer from short-term memory buffers to long-term storage. Since we rarely do this, most positive experiences flow through the brain like water through a sieve, while negative ones are caught every time. Thus my metaphor of Velcro and Teflon – an example of what scientists call the “negativity bias” of the brain.

The effects include: a growing sensitivity to stress, upset, and other negative experiences; a tendency toward pessimism, regret, and resentment; and a long shadows cast by old pain.

What are some good facts in your life that you don’t usually notice? What are some positive facts that you do notice but don’t usually have a positive experience about? Even when you do notice a good facts and have a good experience as a result, how often do you stay with that good experience for a dozen or more seconds?

Ways to overcome our negativity Bias:

1.  Keep a daily gratitude journal.  Write it, share it with others, focus on it throughout the day.

2.  Daily, let someone know how they impacted you in small and large ways.  Send an email, a card, make a phone call or do it face to face.  It can be the small stuff as well as the large things that have impacted you.  

3.  Savor good moments.  When you are having a good experience, really feel it and focus on it for 30 seconds or longer- it will help it to register in your brain as a positive experience.

4.  Do things for others.  Lots of research show that we take the focus off ourselves, our mood improves!

Social Skills Group

Sessions held at Kettle Moraine Counseling

W62 N281 Washington Ave, Cedarburg WI

For children ages 7-9 years        and a group for ages 10-12

About the group:

 Social skills are the skills we use to get along with others and are

necessary in order to associate with others on a daily basis: at

school, during play and at work.

 The group is designed to help children learn and practice the basic

social skills needed in order to develop and maintain healthy

relationships. The group will utilize games and fun exercises to help

the children explore and learn the most important social skills.

 Some targeted social skills: initiating play and conversation, taking

turns, holding a conversation, listening skills and asking questions.

REGISTER BY JANUARY 23RD by calling 414-678-1182 or emailing

sara@kettlemorainecounseling.com

Insurance accepted or $40 per session