Welcome to Litsy!

I have mixed feelings about this book. The author admits in the new preface that many terms used are no longer generally accepted and many patient descriptors are far from nuanced. While his attempts to humanize individuals who society and medicine tend to disregard are admirable, most profiles are simply a collection of observations and anecdotes, rarely providing any professional or psychological analysis or interpretation.

This is really far out of my usual wheelhouse, but my spiritual director recommended it, and a good friend has talked with me a lot about the polyvagal work she‘s doing with her therapist, so it intrigued me. It turned out to be a helpful read for me—there‘s a LOT that made sense and gave me better insight into my stress responses. The book is probably 40-50% info, and 50-60% exercises—what she calls “explorations.” The info parts required ⤵️

An outstanding book.
Yalom describes the psychotherapy sessions he conducts.
The book does an amazing job of showcasing Yalom's impressive and fascinating professional skills while also delivering an emotional and honest human experience.
It's a professional book that explores the many layers of psychotherapy, but it's also a moving and captivating piece of human prose.
I think it really reflects Yalom.

#MidwinterSolace #LitSolace

Every Wednesday, I will post an image, quote, or phrase, which will hopefully help you press pause, take a deep breath, and reset before going about your day.

Here's our #WednesdayWisdom 💙❄️💙

@TheBookHippie @Chrissyreadit

📷 https://www.instagram.com/toyoufromsteph?igsh=MWVtbnczdXhsY2RlZw==

#MidwinterSolace #LitSolace

Activity - Create a mood board

I used to despise winter and the long dark nights. 5 years ago, I became very ill with brittle asthma, triggered by cold temperatures. I now have to spend most of the winter indoors to avoid flareups. Coming to terms with chronic, debilitating illness has been a task.
However, once I changed my mindset to focus on what I could do rather than couldn't, things began to improve.
⬇️

Being an introvert myself, I found some encouraging conclusions in this book.

“Introversion- along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness- is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology. Introverts living in the Extrovert Ideal are like women in a man's world, discounted because of a trait that goes to the core of who they are."

An absolute must-read, giving this book as holiday gifts this year!

"There is something I don't know
that I'm supposed to know.
I don't know what it is I don't know,
and yet I'm supposed to know,
and I feel stupid
if I seem both to not know it
and not know what it is I don't know.
Therefore I pretend to know it.
This is nerve-racking
since I don't know what I must pretend to know.
Therefore I pretend to know everything."

? R. D. Laing

Psychotherapist R. D. Laing's poems are distillations of the emotional and psychological knots into which people tie themselves as their relationships entangle. I think I may like these 🧶❤️‍🩹🪢

Conspiracy theories, religion, politics….
can we persuade people to change their minds about firmly held beliefs? Part political science, part sociology and part psychology this absolutely fascinating look at how minds change is revelatory. Use this knowledge with love.