Monday, September 28, 2009

Understanding Anger: Expression vs. Acting Out

Anger is the emotion that we are least willing to let go of. Once we are caught in its grasp, we hold onto it by repeating the angering incident over and over in our heads. This type of reflection can cause our anger to exaggerate to the point where it feels out of control. However, our experience with anger doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, anger can have a positive effect on our interpersonal relationships. Anger causes our energy level to rises enabling us to take needed action.

In my private practice in Los Angeles, I have discovered that many people do not realize that there’s a difference between feeling anger and acting out anger. Most people never realize that anger can be a healthy feeling which can motivate us to constructive solutions. When we act out anger, it involves an explosive effect that is typically destructive. When we engage in acting out anger, we avoid the healthy expression of our needs behind the anger.

Anger is a signal that something is wrong with our environment. Often, it’s a sign that our boundaries have been crossed and we need to fix it. We also feel anger when we are confronted with the unpleasant fact that we can’t control other people. We also feel anger when we are denied what we believe we are entitled to. Our anger is an attempt to control others and compensate for our feelings of helplessness.

Once we recognize our anger and deal appropriately with the triggering event, there is no need for continuing to hold onto the anger. Anger has done its job of warning us and raising our energy level so that we may take action. Once that is accomplished, anger has completed its usefulness.

Many times we hold onto anger well past the point of its constructive usefulness. We become invested in the belief that acting out our anger makes us more powerful or effective. In actuality, it does neither. Holding onto anger, past its usefulness, makes us appear weak and unstable. We then use it as an unhealthy way of holding onto the past. This is the point where we confuse the healthy expression of anger with the destructive acting out.

The healthy expression of anger is when we are able to verbalize our angry feelings in a calm and controlled assertive manner. It is important for us to own our feelings and clearly verbalize them.

For more information on Dr. Walton’s self-help anger album, log onto www.TheDrWaltonSeries.com. You can also follow his tips of the day on Twitter@LAtherapist. For more information on Dr. Walton, and to obtain free audio affirmations log onto his website at LAtherapist.com. Press Release

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Overcome Fear of the Dentist... Yes You Can!

Are you giving yourself negative thoughts, ideas, and words that are deterring you from going to the dentist?

Many people have a fear of the dentist and avoid dental appointments at all costs. Frequently, the cost is at the expense of their teeth and health.

Fear of the dentist is frequently about the fear of losing control. It can also be instigated by a particularly bad experience that may have happened at the dentist’s in the past. Anything associated with the dentist at the moment you were experiencing discomfort can become instantly associated with an anxious response.

Maybe it is the sound of the instruments; maybe it is the sight of the office, or even the sound of the doctor’s voice. If you’ve felt discomfort at the dentist’s office in the past there is a good chance you have created an association between the symbols of the dentist and anxiety. In any case, it feels like a loss of control and anytime we feel out of control we feel anxiety.

Understand that going to the dentist is actually about you gaining control. By taking care of your teeth, you are gaining control of your body, health and appearance. Seeing your dentist is definitely about you taking control of your life and situation.

I have created a free audio affirmation to help you overcome the thoughts and actions that have interfered with your ability to take care of your dental needs. This recording offers a quick way to align your consciousness with new attitudes and thoughts that will foster your confidence, lift your sense of calm, and take back the power that lies inherently within you.

This affirmation is here to serve you. It is designed to tap into the incredible strength of your mind to connect you to the power of your thoughts and build your sense of personal control.

Listening to this affirmation is an opportunity to train your unconscious mind with positive messages. It allows you to empower yourself with thoughts that support your sense of personal control and health.

Simply relax your body and mind with a few deep breaths and then follow the words on the audio, repeating them to yourself. It’s as easy as that.
Clicking on the audio link to access the page and you are on your way! Feeling Relaxed at the Dentist Audio Link.

For more information on Dr. Walton’s self-help albums, log onto www.TheDrWaltonSeries.com. You can also follow his tips of the day on Twitter@LAtherapist. For more information on Dr. Walton, log onto his website at LAtherapist.com.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

How Much Sleep Is Normal and How Much Sleep Should I Get?

Difficulty falling and staying asleep can indicate the presence of a medical issue that needs to be addressed by a physician. If you are experiencing some sort of sleep disturbance, consult with your doctor first to eliminate any medical causes.

Difficulty falling asleep is most often related to anxiety. The more anxiety you’re feeling the more difficult it may be for you to fall asleep. Anxiety can also interfere with our ability to remain asleep. You may have noticed that during times when you are feeling anxious, you may frequently wake up at night, sometimes as frequently as every hour.

It is considered normal for adults to wake up once or even twice during the night. Sometimes this kind of waking is misinterpreted as a problem with sleeping. However, it is normal and rather common.

Our sleeping patterns actually change over the course of our lives. As new born babies, for instance, we do not distinguish day from night in regards to sleep. We would wake up to interact whether it was the middle of the night or the middle of the day. As newborns, we had not yet developed the sleep pattern that allowed us to sleep throughout the night.

By the age of four months, we began to sleep more during the night than during the day. Over time, we eventually adjusted to sleeping through the night and being awake during the day.

At this very early age, we slept about 12 hours a day. This is normal. As we became older we required less sleep. From adolescence into adulthood we generally require eight hours of sleep to feel rested in the morning. By the time we reach our late 50’s and 60’s we require much less sleep. Usually only five or six hours is enough.

Requiring less sleep as we get older is not a sleep disorder. It is a natural part of life and you would do better to accept it rather than fight it. Trying to make yourself get more sleep will only make you more anxious and interrupt the quality of the sleep that you actually do get. It will probably have the opposite effect and cause you to get less sleep.

For more information on getting enough sleep and to listen to free samples of Dr. Walton’s self-help hypnosis album for falling asleep at night, log onto www.TheDrWaltonSeries.com. You can also follow his tips of the day on Twitter@LAtherapist For more information on Dr. Walton, log onto LAtherapist.com.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Sleep: a short history

The average individual needs between 8 and 9 hours of sleep any given night to feel a sense of complete rest when they awaken in the morning. Too little sleep can make us feel groggy and less alert during the day.

Just as too little sleep can be damaging to our bodies and health, so is too much. Generally, more than 10 hours of sleep a night is not healthy either. Getting more than 10 hours of sleep a night, on average, can raise an individual’s chances of experiencing depression during the waking hours significantly.

The history of sleep in our culture is quite interesting. Before 1900, the average amount of sleep people acquired was 9 hours. After the light bulb became common in households, the average amount of sleep individual received dropped to 8 hours.

The cause? People were staying up later because of the artificial lighting and were no longer tied to the natural rhythms of sun light. Light, and the lack of it, are directly tied to the production of melatonin in the brain. When we enter into a dark environment, it triggers the brain to produce more melatonin which causes us to feel a sense of drowsiness.

Artificial lighting inhibits the brain from producing the sleep causing melatonin and we remain awake longer. As a result, people didn’t seem to suffer and most adapted quite easily and went about their daily lives without missing that extra hour.

Our sleep pattern changed again in the 1950’s. The average amount of sleep dropped again. It fell to 7½ hours on average. The reason? Television had become common in most households. More and more people were staying up later to watch their favorite programs before retiring for the night.

As a result, people seemed to adjust fairly well to this drop in sleep also. Although some people felt a little tired during the day, they were easily able to make up the lack of rest during the weekend.

The 1980’s brought yet another change in the amount of sleep the average individual received. This time, the average amount of sleep dropped to 7 hours a night.

The culprit? 24 hour news television programming. Up until that time, television stations ended their transmitters around midnight and with nothing left to watch, people went to bed. Now, they could watch news and other programming 24 hours a day. There was no external cause to direct them to bed. Entertainment was now 24/7 and people responded.

It was in the mid 80’s when researches began to notice a new issue arising in American culture: fatigue caused by a lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation was now just beginning to work its way into society as a cultural phenomenon. People actually began to brag about their lack of sleep as a badge of honor for social status.

Still, getting 7 hours of sleep is still enough for most people to function well enough at home and work. If it wasn’t enough, they could just catch up on the weekends.

Then in 2009, our sleep habits changed one more time. Yet again it dropped, and this time, to the lowest average ever in human history. In 2001, the average amount of sleep the average American experienced was about 6.5 hours and many others were living with significantly less on a sustained basis.

Why? Researchers are not completely sure why except that it coincides perfectly with the rise of the Internet. As more and more people logged onto the Internet, the average amount of sleep continued to fall. This time to dangerous levels.

Getting less than 7 hours of sleep will begin to cause ramifications in your daily life. Most people will begin to have a tired feeling throughout the day if they get less than 7 hours. It can mildly impair cognitive functioning. When we feel mildly sleep deprived, we might have more difficulty making good decisions. We may find ourselves a little more irritable.

In fact, getting less than 6 hours of sleep can be linked to an increase in car accidents, short term memory loss, lack of focus and difficulty maintaining attention. It has even been linked to weight gain by suppressing the body’s ability to control appetite.

Getting less than 6 hours of sleep on a continuous basis can have serious ramifications for the average adult. It can begin to negatively affect the immune system and we find ourselves more susceptible to depression and physical injuries.

For most people, it is vitally important that they receive between 7 and 9 hours of sleep on average every night. This amount of sleep allows us to function at our peak during the day without feeling tired or distracted. It allows us greater access to our faculties and gives our bodies a chance to rest and heal. It is critical for both our physical and mental health. Getting enough sleep is essential for living a vital, active and healthy life.

For more information on getting enough sleep and to listen to free samples of Dr. Walton’s self-help hypnosis album for falling asleep at night, log onto www.TheDrWaltonSeries.com. You can also follow his tips of the day on Twitter@LAtherapist For more information on Dr. Walton, log onto LAtherapist.com.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

"Ultimate Weight Loss" Named Best Album of the Year

This past weekend I attended the 2009 Just Plain Folks International Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. Over 1,400 people were in attendance. It was quite a spectacular and exciting event. JPF is the world’s largest independent music awards organization. They are the only awards organization to include self-help/meditation as a category.

Just Plain Folks is a community of over 51,500 Songwriters, Recording Artists, Music Publishers, Record Labels, Performing Arts Societies, Educational Institutions, Recording Studios and Engineers, Producers, Legal Professionals, Publicists and Journalists, Publications, Music Manufacturers and Retailers and about every other type of member of the Music Industry. These are the people who judged and voted on what they considered the best albums of the year.

My album, Dr. Walton’s Ultimate Weight Loss received the honor of “Best Self-help/Meditation Album of the Year.” It was quite exciting to be called up on stage. I have photos of the event on my fan page on Facebook. More photos will be posted as they become available.

I wanted to share with you the short acceptance speech I gave:

"I would like to thank Brian and JPF for making this amazing award possible. Thank you so much.

I’d also like to thank my friends and my family for traveling all the way to Nashville to be here with me tonight.

My album is on weight loss, however, it is not about judging the body you already have. It’s about loving that body in all its forms, heavy, skinny, and every other way just as it is right now.

It’s the only body you have and the only one you’ll ever have for the rest of your life. It will always be with you. Love it and respect it for what it is.

So, succeeding at weight loss is not as much about losing the weight you carry with you in your body as it is about feeling the lightness you can carry with you in your heart that makes all the difference in your life.

Thank you very much."

If you would like more information on Dr. James Walton, you can log onto his website at LAtherapist.com. If you would like more information on the international award-winning album “Ultimate Weight Loss,” you can log onto Ultimate Weight Loss. Press Release