Interdisciplinary Psychology:

I really found this book to be enlightening. This is not a book I want to put back on the shelf. This is one of those books I want to share with people. For me I think this book could very well be life changing I am so glad it was on our reading list. It just made so much sense to me. For a long time I have been working on improving the way I respond to life’s challenges or as the book puts it improve my resilience. When I read on page four “Resilient people have found a system- and it is a system- for galvanizing themselves and tackling problems thoughtfully, thoroughly, and energetically. Resilient people, like all of us, feel anxious and have doubts, but they have learned how to stop their anxiety and doubts from overwhelming them. We watch them handle threat with integrity and grace and we wonder: Could I do that? The answer is yes.” Good news for me as I often feel overwhelmed by anxiety and doubt. It would seem this book is just what the doctor (Hurst) ordered. What I like about this book is that it is clearly laid out and gives you a means of measuring where you are at in the present as well as your progress. I am confident that I can use the techniques to increase my abilities of: emotional regulation, impulse control, empathy, optimism, causal analysis, self-efficacy, and reaching out. It may be some time before I master or become proficient at the seven skills of: learning my ABC,s, avoiding my thinking traps (there are many), detecting my iceberg beliefs, challenging my beliefs, putting things in perspective (something I try to do), and lastly the “fast skills” I believe I could use on a daily basis. This book has already become a favorite of mine I am just getting started. I believe that my clients can also benefit from the skills, techniques, and assessment tools in this book. The concept that we can not change our history but we can work to change our beliefs and therefore how we face adversities. “Our emotions and behaviors are triggered not by events themselves but how we interpret those events.” Pg 68 Rings true to me as well as this statement on Pg 67 “ Very simply, in most situations, our beliefs cause our feeling and behaviors.” I have just started the work of identifying my ABCs already am learning that many of my beliefs could use some challenging. The good news is that change is possible and I am committed to doing it.