News from Jude Bijou and Attitude Reconstruction™

 

Experience More Joy, Love, and Peace in 2013!

Attitiude Reconstruction  


June 2013
IN THIS ISSUE
News etc.
Fear to peace
PTSD
Can't sleep?
Jude Bijou
Jude
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Attitude Reconstruction

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About Jude Bijou MFT

 

The daughter of pioneering behavioral child psychologist Sidney W. Bijou, Jude Bijou earned a BA from Reed College and an MA in psychology from Carleton University. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice in Santa Barbara CA, a teacher of communication through Santa Barbara City College Adult Education, and a longtime student of Indian Vedic philosophy. Her theory of Attitude Reconstruction™ evolved from years of working with clients to help them lead more happy, fulfilled lives. Her first book, Attitude Reconstruction: A Blueprint for Building a Better Life, has won numerous awards and is receiving rave reviews. Her new ebook is 33 Bad Attitudes and What You Can Do With Them


A testimonial from a happy reader...

I am so impressed with Attitude Reconstruction. It is obvious this author put her heart and soul into this amazing work. What I love the most about this book is how practical and applicable it is. I saw myself in some of her descriptions of attitudes and behaviors and how they come to be, and I found that to be a real eye opener.

  

Another great attribute of this book is how very thorough it is and I loved the authors friendly, upbeat style of writing. This book not only covers the range of emotions and behaviors and how to best deal with them, but also addictive habits, getting "unstuck," and some really helpful information on goals and accomplishing them with ease, it truly covers it all.

 

Attitude Reconstruction is an impressive reference tool that includes an amazing Blueprint that quickly helps to identify negative attitudes and their opposites. My favorite part though is the "Quick Charts to Remodel 33 Attitudes" which gives you the tools to quickly move out of your negative attitudes, and get back to the Ultimate Attitudes of Joy, Love and Peace.

 

 

Greetings Friends!

 

Happy summer almost. Here in Santa Barbara the jacarandas are popping! This is supposed to be a time to kick back and relax but many people are feeling uptight. Before I offer some tips to help restore calm, here's a little local news. 

 

 I'm getting an opportunity to develop an up close and personal relationship with a crow family. A couple of months back, the large California oak tree that is in my line of vision but in my neighbors back yard, was finally trimmed. My fabulous view is restored.

 

The tree man left one main branch exposed. It seemed too prominent to me (that one little flaw in each masterpiece) but I soon discovered it was a perfect lookout for the birds. And it was the crows that claimed it. So much to my delight, the crows decided to build their nest in the nearby branches and raise a family - it being summer time and all.

 

I like crows. They keep the skies safe for the smaller birds by chasing off the big red-tailed hawks and smaller cooper's hawks in a well-coordinated pack with their buddies in the hood. Now the crow family is in front of my windows and 24/7 I get to watch their family life. They don't seem inhibited or act like I'm invading their privacy. There's a lot of preening of each other:     Is there a lesson can we glean from them?    

 

   

 

ATTITUDE RECONSTRUCTION IS MAKING NATIONAL NEWS

 

** Attitude Reconstruction recently got coverage with an article in USA Today on May 26 by Anita Bruzzese on the topic of "Learn how to avoid Procrastination." It has been picked up by countless Gannett publications and other outlets as well.  

Read the article 

 

** Jen Weigel, a neat gal who writes for the Chicago Tribune, interviewed me and wrote an insightful article about Father's Day titled "How to cope with a holiday you no longer celebrate as a family." Her piece was picked up by tons of other newspapers, including the Huffington Post. It also made it to Chicago television, where Jen chatted about the topic and mentioned me, Attitude Reconstruction, and the advice to use father's day as a opportunity to share the love. It feels great to be spreading the word.           

 

 

** MindBodyGreen, a guide to wellness website, ran my article, "5 Essential Tips To Live A Frustration-Free Life," on May 18. As a result over 450 people took the free AR Survey at my website! A follow up article, "6 Ways to Transform Fear to Peace" was an equally big hit.  

 

SONYA IS COOL

** I saw Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor on 60 Minutes recently. When asked about her first day at the Supreme Court, I was thrilled to hear her talk about her emotions, "I was so nervous that my knees were knocking." It's too bad she didn't know that if she shook and shivered for a couple minutes she could have reduced her fear and enjoyed this momentous occasion even more! 

 

                                     photo: Lucy Brown
FROM FEAR TO PEACE

fear

People whose most dominant emotion is fear are easy to recognize. In general, we are the "speedy ones," focused on time and money. We feel that there's never enough. We tend to be worriers - scattered, confused, overwhelmed, dramatic, panicky, or controlling. If you ask us, we will tell you that peace is something that's elusive.

 

Do some of these qualities ring a bell for you? If so, and if you're tired of them, here are four easy ways to chill out. 



What's your take on PTSD? It seems like a growing problem we're all hearing about these days. 

 

PTSD can be triggered by the experience of a wide range of traumatic events, such as natural disasters, victims of family violence, sexual and child abuse, military experience, sexual assault, threat of death, drug use, foster care, life-altering illness or injury.  

 

Symptoms can include flashbacks, anxiety, nightmares, insomnia, emotional numbing, depression, and hyper-viligiance and hyper-arousal that continue after one to three months of the event.  Research suggests that most PTSD is treatable.


It should be of no surprise that Attitude Reconstruction contends that the most effective way to deal with PTSD is by dealing physically, naturally, and constructively with the intense emotions associated with the event. This means you need to talk about the trauma and express the sadness, anger, and fear over and over, until you can describe what transpired without any emotional charge. Though this can sound both simple and harsh, I believe it is the fastest way to process what happened and truly alleviate your symptoms. 

I must say that even if we don't have full blown PTSD symptoms, we all have experienced significant emotionally laden events. To get over them and thoroughly heal, we too need to deal with the associated emotions.

To read my article, "7 Doable Steps to Overcome Trauma," click here.

For more information, check out  www.ChangeYouChoose.com, an website by Michele Rosenthal, a PTSD survivor and expert.

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CAN'T SLEEP? 

 
If you have trouble sleeping, like so many do, nine times out of ten it's because you are experiencing emotions, and most likely FEAR. Try this amazing trick: Get out of bed and shiver, quiver, shudder, and tremble. (I know that sounds radical, but trust me.)  Shiver up the spine, out the arms and hands, down your legs to your feet, and knock those knees. Shake your head, and loosen your jaw.

Literally, 90 seconds of vigorous shivering (making bbbbrrr and eeekkk sounds) will move the agitation out of your body. If you think anything while trembling, repeat

Everything is all right.  
It's just fear.  
I'll handle this in the morning.  
Now is the time to sleep.

When you're finished, your mind and body will settle down and you'll drift into a cozy sleep. This cure is effective, free, and there is no hazy hangover the next morning.
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and found it helpful. Your feedback is most welcome.

I'm wishing you much joy, love, and peace.
 
Cheers,   Jude