A Psychologist's Observations

Re-Careering

 

Whether you're transitioning careers, exploring a first career, or searching for an avocation that will add meaning and challenge to your life, check out these resources:

Mildred L. Culp article featuring Allan Bacon

This article interviews Allan Bacon, of Avocationist.com.  In the article, Dr. Bacon describes how to explore new areas of interest which may evolve into a new career (or if not a new career, a new hobby).   To quote: 

Dr. Bacon offers a new twist on the idea that doing something completely different often sparks ideas. This must be done over time, he says, as part of a process of becoming yourself. "If you start doing something you like," he says, "you naturally do more of it. Experimenting with small things will move you toward your sense of purpose without your having to make the process difficult or big."

To guide people through typical midcareer conundrums, he recommends they decide whether boredom is the problem or whether the work is acceptable. Then he advises them to identify five activities they always wanted to try – "the more trivial the better."

To continue the process, "find the quickest, cheapest way to experience them," he says. "If you like one, do it more, so that time slips away. You're looking for flow and joy. Find ways to work in the activity. If you're called to it, you'll learn it faster and enjoy people you meet. They're the ones who'll help you make a bigger change."

Another resource for Re-Careering is Helen Harkness's Career Design Associates.  Here's her latest book: 

How to be Happy

Having a bad day?  This is a great little self-help book that synthesizes Western psychology, Eastern philosophy, even some quantum physics thrown in for good measure.   And the graphics will make you smile.  Enjoy!

Surviving Grief and Loss

Link to Author Interview on The Diane Rehm Show

This memoir by Christopher Lukas, an accomplished author, producer, and actor, details his own survival in the midst of a family history of depression, bipolar disorder, and suicide.  Mr. Lukas lost his mother to suicide at the age of six, which profoundly affected Mr. Lukas and his older brother, Pulitzer Prize Winner Tony Lukas.  Their genetic predisposition for depression, coupled with the loss of their mother at young ages, contributed to the debilitating depression both brothers suffered.  Fortunately, in college, Christopher Lukas enrolled in a psychology course and began to understand that grief and loss could be worked through by talking and writing.  He embraced this concept and, in his words, has been "talking and writing ever since."  Sadly, older brother Tony Lukas suicided in 1997.  While this book can be emotionally difficult reading, I think it is a testament to the power of talking and writing to work through grief and loss. 

If you have lost a loved one to suicide, you may also find this book by Christopher Lukas and Henry M. Seiden to be of comfort:

Another useful resource for grieving the loss of a loved one is:

Book Recommendation: The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook

This is a very helpful book for people coping with stress, anxiety, and panic attacks.  Edmund Bourne does a great job of explaining the types of situations that predispose a person to experiencing anxiety and panic, i.e., stress overload, not enough self care, feeling trapped in life, etc.  He explains the physiological feedback loop that self-reinforces anxiety and panic, and explains how to break this negative cycle.  The chapter on panic attacks is very informative and the techniques he suggests are quite effective.  Be sure to try some of the relaxation and visualization exercises he recommends.  Anxiety disorders are very responsive to psychotherapy, so if you don't get the relief you need from resources you find on your own, please get a mental health professional to help you.  If you've already started to learn some techniques on your own, you're already ahead of the curve. 

Book Recommendation: The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression

The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression is not a self-help book, but it provides an excellent description of what a chronically depressed person is going through.  I often recommend this book for those who have a loved one who is struggling with severe depression.  The author provides a detailed, first-hand description of what chronic, despairing depression is like for the sufferer. 

Here's a link to an interview with the author, Andrew Solomon, on the radio broadcast Diane Rehm Show:

The Diane Rehm Show: Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon