Relationships 2.0 With Dr. Michelle Skeen

Being a teenager is difficult enough without having to worry about bullying. If you have experienced bullying or cyberbullying, you aren’t alone. Bullying and cyberbullying are at an all-time high, and the effects of both can be tremendous for a young person who is already dealing with major school, life, and home stressors. The Bullying Workbook for Teens incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help ease anxiety, fear, stress, and other emotions associated with being bullied. The workbook is made up of 42 step-by-step self-help activities designed to help you learn anti-bullying tips and strategies, manage emotions such as anxiety, fear, anger, and depression, and learn constructive communication skills to help you express your feelings.

Women are more likely than men to develop anxiety disorders, a fact which researchers have attributed to a range of biological, psychological, and cultural factors. This predisposition inclines women to worry more than men about things like social problems, work, finances-even about worry itself, a phenomenon psychologists call meta-worry. The goal of this book is to help readers control excessive worry by learning to perceive threats more accurately and to stop focusing on things that are unlikely to happen.

How should you live your life? Our actions and choices dramatically affect our thoughts and feelings about ourselves and the world around us. Few things promote good mental health better than a clear conscience and the peace of mind that come from knowing you’ve done the right thing. But, in our ever more complicated world, what are the right choices? How can we make decisions that are at the same time good for us, good for our community—and just plain good?

Resilience is the ability to face and handle life’s challenges, whether everyday disappointments or extraordinary disasters. While resilience is innate in the brain, over time we learn unhelpful patterns, which then become fixed in our neural circuitry. But science is now revealing that what previously seemed hardwired can be rewired, and Bouncing Back shows us how. With powerful, time-tested exercises, Linda Graham guides us in rebuilding our core well-being and disaster-proofing our brains. About the author: Linda Graham, MFT, is an experienced psychotherapist in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. She integrates modern neuroscience, mindfulness practices, and relational psychology into her nationwide trainings. Her monthly Healing and Awakening into Aliveness and Wholeness e-newsletters are archived on www.lindagraham-mft.net

Shyness often helps protect us from the judgments and resentments of others, but once you get in the habit of avoiding social situations, you can become stuck in a cycle of avoidance that can be difficult to escape. Ready to let go of shyness and make stronger connections with others? The Mindful Path Through Shyness shows you how. This guide uses techniques from mindfulness-based stress reduction and cognitive behavioral therapy to help you cultivate awareness of your own thoughts so that you can act with more wisdom and compassion toward yourself. Over time, you will be able to free yourself of the old mental habits of self-consciousness and self-blame, and replace them with new habits that foster confidence and joy.

She will talk about the “devil in white”: sugar. We’ll look at how it’s hurting us, why it’s ubiquitous, and where it’s hiding in our diets in all its many forms. And most importantly, we’ll look at how to profoundly change our relationship with it so that we do not remain in its grip.

Fred Lundgren, CEO of KCAA 1050 AM

Healthy relationships require trust, intimacy, effective communication, and understanding. However, if you suffer from chronic anxiety you may have trouble dealing with everyday conflicts and tensions that can arise in relationships. No matter how committed you are, anxiety can leave you feeling distanced from your partner. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to overcome the anxiety-fueled reactions that keep you from achieving true closeness in your relationship.

Everyone has their own concept of what “monogamy” means—and most people assume their partners and spouses are on the same page. Couples may assume that they are monogamous, but never discuss exactly what the monogamy agreement means to them. What happens when this implicit agreement is broken? After infidelity, relationships can become strained as both partners lose trust and faith in each other. The New Monogamy offers a way out of these difficulties for couples struggling to stay together after infidelity. Couples make these implicit assumptions and agreements explicit so that each partner knows exactly what is expected of them in the future and what they can expect from their partner.

It’s only natural to want to avoid making mistakes, but imperfection is a part of being human. And while perfectionists are often praised for their abilities, being constantly anxious about details can hold you back and keep you from reaching your full potential. In this fully revised and updated second edition of When Perfect Isn’t Good Enough, you’ll discover the root cause of your perfectionism, explore the impact of perfectionism on your life, and find new, proven-effective coping skills to help you overcome your anxiety about making mistakes. This guide also includes tips for dealing with other perfectionists and discussions about how perfectionism is linked to worry, depression, anger, social anxiety, and body image. As you complete the exercises in this book, you’ll find it easier and easier to keep worries at bay and enjoy life — imperfections and all. This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit — an award bestowed on outstanding self-hel

This week is Betsy Prioleau author of Swoon: Great Seducers and Why Women Love Them. Swoon is a glittering pageant of charismatic ladies’ men from Casanova to Lord Byron to Camus to Ashton Kutcher. It challenges every preconceived idea about great lovers and answers one of history’s most vexing questions: what do women want?

My guest this week is Sheri Van Dijk, author of DBT Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide to Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Originally developed for the treatment of borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, has rapidly become one of the most popular and most effective treatments for all mental health conditions rooted in out-of-control emotions. However, there are limited resources for psychologists seeking to use DBT skills with individual clients. In the tradition of ACT Made Simple, DBT Made Simple provides clinicians with everything they need to know to start using DBT in the therapy room.

This week are Rebecca Williams and Julie Kraft, authors of The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction: A Guide to Coping with the Grief, Stress and Anger that Trigger Addictive Behaviors. Most addictive behavior is rooted in some type of loss, be it the death of a loved one, coming to terms with limitations set by chronic health problems, or the end of a relationship. By turning to drugs and alcohol, people who have suffered a loss can numb their grief. In the process, they postpone their healing and can drive themselves further into addiction.

My guest this week is Margaret Floyd, author of The Naked Foods Cookbook: The Whole Foods, Healthy Fats, Gluten-Free Guide to Losing Weight and Feeling Great. There’s nothing better than taking a bite of a delicious meal you have prepared, knowing that each ingredient is helping create a more gorgeous you! Eating “naked” foods—nutrient-dense, additive-free whole foods— helps you lose weight and vastly improves the way you look and feel. And with this book, it’s easier than ever to make naturally tasty naked meals you can feel good about eating and serving to others. Written by Margaret Floyd, author of Eat Naked, and chef to the stars James Barry, The Naked Foods Cookbook includes over 150 gluten-free recipes for simple dishes that bring out the natural flavors and nutrients of fresh, whole foods. The benefits of eating naked are lifelong, and you can start seeing results within the week. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to enjoy the naked foods your body craves. Your body will love you for it, and y

Occasionally there is an author who I would love to have on Relationships 2.0 but their schedule prevents them from being on my show live. Randi is one of those people. I didn't want to miss an opportunity to hear her words of wisdom and bring them to you. She is an important voice on the topic of relationships. Here is the special recording of our conversation. Dr. Randi Gunther is a clinical psychologist and marriage counselor practicing in Southern California. In her forty year career, she has accumulated over 100,000 face-to-face hours with individuals and couples. She has inspired hundreds of people in her workshops and lectures to go beyond their limitations and create successful relationships. A practical idealist, she encourages her patients to break the bonds of repeated negative patterns and to pursue new options.

My guest this week is Ellen Kanner, author of Feeding the Hungry Ghost: Life, Faith, and What to Eat for Dinner—A Satisfying Diet for Unsatisfying Times. What do we turn to for both everyday sustenance and seasonal celebration? Food. Often, though, we’re like the hungry ghosts of Taoist lore, eating mindlessly, wandering aimlessly, and wanting more—more than food itself can provide. Ellen Kanner believes that if we put in a little thought and preparation, every meal can feed not only our bodies but our souls and our communities as well. Warm, wicked, and one-of-a-kind, Ellen offers an irreverent approach to bringing reverence into daily living—and eating. She presents global vegan recipes that call you to the table, stories that make you stand up and cheer, and gentle nudges that aim to serve up what we’re hungry for: a more vital self, more loving and meaningful connections, a nourished and nourishing world, and great food, too. Feeding the Hungry Ghost will challenge you to decide: keep reading or start

My guest this week is Julie Fast, author of Getting It Done When You’re Depressed. Everyone knows that depression can lead to guilt, sadness, frustration, and in the case of 15-20% of people with depression, suicide. Because we live in a culture that rewards (and often worships) productivity, when a depressed person can’t meet the expectations of society, the depression becomes worse and a vicious cycle begins. The goal of Getting Things Done When You’re Depressed is to break this cycle. Readers will learn: •How to prepare yourself mentally for working while depressed •How to structure your environment so you can work more easily •How to work with others •How to prevent depression

My guest this week is Marc Lesser, author of Know Yourself, Forget Yourself: Five Truths to Transform Your Work, Relationships, and Everyday Life. We all yearn for clear-cut answers to life’s problems, yet we rarely get them. Formulas fail and contradictions mount. In Know Yourself, Forget Yourself, executive coach and mindfulness teacher Marc Lesser shows that understanding and embracing the points where life feels most confusing, most contradictory can lead us to more satisfaction and joy.

My guest this week is Sherrie Mansfield Vavrichek, author of The Guide to Compassionate Assertiveness: How to Express Your Feelings and Deal With Conflict While Keeping a Kind Heart. Speaking up for yourself has benefits, but it has costs, too. Many people who struggle with assertiveness are paralyzed by worries that they’ll seem mean, petty, or that they will hurt the other person’s feelings. Even though they want to speak up, they may keep their true needs and opinions to themselves because of these fears—eventually building stress, resentment, and alienation. The Guide to Compassionate Assertiveness does not require that readers ignore the needs of others and focus solely on their own desires. Rather, this unique blend of cognitive behavioral therapy-based assertiveness training and Buddhist psychology helps readers practice assertiveness skills while caring deeply about the welfare of others.

My guests this week are Scott Barry Kaufman and Glenn Geher, authors of Mating Intelligence Unleashed: The Role of the Mind in Sex, Dating and Love. Psychologists often paint a picture of human mating as visceral, instinctual. But that’s not the whole story. In courtship and display, sexual competition and rivalry, we are also guided by what Glenn Geher and Scott Barry Kaufman call Mating Intelligence—a range of mental abilities that have evolved to help us find the right partner. Mating Intelligence is at work in our efforts to form, maintain, and end relationships. It guides us in flirtation, foreplay, copulation, finding and choosing a mate, and many other behaviors.