Welcome to Dr. Zender’s Psychology Today blog, The New Normal.
Traumatic accidents can seriously impact every area of your life. However, with the proper information and support you—or someone you care about—can reclaim the life you were meant to live. In Dr. Zender’s blog, you will find tools, tips and ideas to facilitate your recovery process —tools that will help you to cope with your physical and psychological injuries and conditions. You will learn to do more than just survive, you will learn to thrive!
A note to auto insurance companies: You will find valuable information here that will help you better serve your insured customers. In fact, when patients get the proper supports, needed care and treatment up front, they need far fewer resources in the long run than if support is withheld. That translates into a big win-win for your company and a boost to your bottom line!
The Meaning of Trauma
Trauma turns the world upside down and inside out, disrupting our ability to process feelings and meaning. In psychology, the word “affect” is used to mean emotions or feelings. A big part of trauma-informed psychotherapy is about working to process trauma-linked emotions and regaining—or learning—affect regulation and affect tolerance. Donald Kalsched, author of The Inner World of Trauma, offers us his useful definition of trauma: “Trauma is [...]
Tips for Recovering from PTSD and TBI
Living as a human being in our world exposes us to many events that have the potential to cause trauma. The traumatic stimulus can be actual or threatened injury or death to self or others. One of the many stimuli for traumas that, unfortunately, befall many people are auto accidents, some of which are severe and cost life, limb, and livelihood. For the past [...]
Pandemics and Psychoneuroimmunology
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” was a profound truth voiced by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his inaugural address confronting the national crisis of the Great Depression. As psychologists and clinicians, we live day in and day out in the intrapsychic land of fear. Roosevelt's speechwriter identified a sage truth regarding fear. Fear is there to protect us from [...]
PTSD, TBI, or Both? A changing brain science paradigm
The history of the diagnostic term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) weaves back to the diagnoses of "shell shock" during World War I, and even earlier to the Napoleonic Wars and the American Civil War. Dr. Charles Samuel Myers, a consulting psychologist and physician to the British Army during World War I, first coined the term "shell shock" to describe the neurobehavioral difficulties—including [...]
The Cookie Jar: How to change the habit of being you.
Working with many people in psychotherapy who are attempting to recover from life-altering traumatic events, I am forever looking for new tools for my patients to use. Today I will give you two powerful tools that many find useful: "The Cookie Jar" by David Goggins and "A Conversation Between Your Future Self and Past Self" by Dr. Joe Dispenza. I first learned of David Goggins over [...]
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Metaphysics
Over the years, I have found great usefulness in the lessons of inspirational speaker and author Esther Hicks. Hicks claims to connect with her "higher consciousness," which she calls Abraham. Dr. Wayne Dyer referred to her as one of the greatest teachers on the planet today. Dr. Dyer has felt, to me, like a kindred spirit; he lived in a foster home in [...]
