REWIRING THE SOUL with Gabriella Kortsch, Ph.D.

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"A revelation of insight into the foundations of human suffering & transcendence. It not only lays out essential steps for inner freedom and joy but illuminates the way to true human potential." Paul Rademacher, author: A Spiritual Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe

"The masterwork of a profoundly gifted healer of the soul. Dazzling, challenging, wondrously useful." Peggy Rubin, author: To Be and How To Be, Transforming Your Life Through Sacred Theatre

"Rewiring the Soul is one the best introductions to the spiritual life I've ever read. Not esoteric but real-world and practical. The implications are profound." Peter Shepherd, author: Daring To Be Yourself

Monday, September 3, 2018

Live Your Best Life 2018 - 2019 Schedule

Group Meetings to Support Your Growth & Well-Being

*** Here is the 2018 - 2019 Season Schedule ***

We all deserve to live our best life. We all deserve joy, peace, happiness, and inner freedom. So why are each of us not living our best lives and experiencing all these things? Schools teach us how to read and write, they teach us about math, geography and history, but they do not teach us about life and how to live it. Sometimes our parents do, but most often, they do not. This discussion group is designed to change that.

Are you experiencing any of the following in your life?

Relationship breakdown or stress
Financial stress
Major illness (you or a close family member)
Poor communication with your parents or offspring
Worry and desperation due to:

Fear of aging
Unfulfilling life
Depression
Loneliness
Boredom
Desire for change
Lack of progress and success

On Tuesday, September 11th, 2018 our discussion group will once again begin meeting weekly. It is not focused on any one given problem, but precisely because it focuses on growth and well-being, this group literally addresses any problem. The path that leads to inner and outer peace and well-being is a path that serves you no matter what kind of situation you are facing.

You will not be expected to divulge personal details at any time unless you wish. The group meeting begins at 7:30 and lasts until approximately 9 or 9:15 pm. For the first portion of the meeting I will present the topic of the week, and then there will be a general discussion in order to facilitate the understanding of the methods by which the tools that have been discussed may be incorporated into your life … beginning immediately.

If you wish to participate, you may come to any of the meetings - and although it is recommended that you attend as many as possible, simply because each is designed to further you along that road to inner and outer peace, joy, and well-being - there is, however, no minimum attendance requirement. Everyone is welcome, whether you have previously attended or not.

The group started in January 2010 and other than summer and Christmas/New Year's breaks, has been meeting ever since. Of course there is always an influx of new people, so if you have never come before, don't feel as though you are the only one.

Meetings will be not be announced by email except to the specific persons who have requested to be notified on a weekly basis. Please email me if you wish to be included in this weekly mailing.

There is a per-meeting participation fee of 10 Euros. Please bring exact change. (Please contact me privately if cost is an issue).

Please do your utmost to arrive punctually between 7:15 and 7:30 prior to the beginning of the meeting. Coming later than this time will interrupt the flow of the group. We meet in Guadalmina Alta. If you need directions, please send an email.

NOTE:
If you wish to participate in any given meeting, please RSVP before Monday at 9 pm prior to the Tuesday meeting that you wish to attend gkortsch at gmail dot com If you subsequently need to change your plans, please also let me know in order to give your place to another person as seating is limited.

SCHEDULE of TOPICS

2018

September

4 NO MEETING

11 Leaving the Torture of Your Ruminating Thoughts

18 Boundaries: Their Roots & Ramifications in Adult Relationships

25 NO MEETING

October

2 Energy & Emotional Vampires: Their Impact on Your Life

9 NO MEETING

16 Loving Yourself: Making it a Priority in Your Life

23 The Small Daily Habits That Create Well-Being in Your Life

30 Narcissists & Psychopaths: Living Without Empathy

November

6 The True Nature of Intimacy

13 Solutions for Emotionally Unavailable & Needy People (and for their partners)

20 Death: A Spiritual Approach

27 Defining Mindfulness & Incorporating it into Your Life

December

4 Tips for Conquering Fear

11 Reliving Your Pain & Making it Worse

18 Loving Yourself: A Roadmap

25 NO MEETING

2019

January

1 NO MEETING

8 NO MEETING

15 NO MEETING

22 Change Your Life in 3 Weeks (or enough of it to make a big difference)

29 Does Happiness Continue to Elude You?

February

5 Crossing Thresholds to Greater Growth

12 Obsession, Possession & Control in Relationships

19 Tips top Keep You Going When You No Longer Know What to Do

26 Seeing Your Reflection in the Mirror of Your Relationships

March

6 Shifting Your Paradigm

13 The Importance of Remaining Conscious

20 Reaching for the Sky

27 Recognizing the Hero in Your Life: You

April

2 Falling in Love with the “Wrong” Person

9 Your Partner No Longer Makes You Happy: Some Steps to Take

16 Deciding to Live in a Friendly Universe

23 Joy: A Fundamental Key to Your Happiness

30 Deciding to Live in a Friendly Universe

May

7 The Risks & Dangers of Selling Your Soul & Separating from Your Self

14 I Like You … I Like You Not: The Torment of Mixed Messages

21 Don’t Let Them Take Your Dreams from You

28 Being Kinder, More Loving, More Compassionate

June

4 Choosing Love over Fear

11 Loving Without Emotional Dependence

18 Self-Regulation & Emotional Maturity

25 Growth as Your Goal

July

2 Suffering is Optional

9 Living a Spiritually Awakened Life at Every Moment

16 TBA

*** SUBJECT TO CHANGE***

Further Information

or to request to be included in the group email list that is sent out weekly:

Email: gkortsch (at) gmail dot com

Phone: +34 626 189 765

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VIDEO COURSES IN ENGLISH

See the preview (click the image) to my online video course:
Fatherless Women & Motherless Men

Now Available
"Fatherless Women & Motherless Men"

Click HERE for the introductory pricing of US 15

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See the preview (click the image) to my online video course:
Freedom From the Torture of Your Thoughts

Now Available
"Freedom From the Torture of Your Thoughts"

Click HERE for the introductory pricing of US 15

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See the preview (click below) to my online on-demand video course

NOW available

"Emotional Unavailability & Neediness: Two Sides of the Same Coin"

Click HERE to access the introductory rate of US 15

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CHARLAS EN ESPAÑOL EN YOUTUBE

Vampiros energéticos: Su efecto destructivo en tu vida

En YouTube aquí:

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"Límites malsanos y autoestima: Tu felicidad y el amora hacia ti mismo"

En YouTube aquí:

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"Basta con la tortura de tus pensamientos"

Se grabó y se puede ver en YouTube aquí:

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BOOKS - LIBROS - BÜCHER

Also visit my book website: www.gabriellakortsch.com where you may download excerpts or read quotations from any of my books (also in Spanish & German). My latest book Emotional Unavailability & Neediness: Two Sides of the Same Coin is available globally on Amazon in print & Kindle. You can also obtain it (or any of my other books) via Barnes & Noble.

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (English). Available globally in paperback or Kindle e-book versions

Bücher von Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (Deutsch) ... JETZT bei Amazon (Taschenbuch oder E-Book) erhältlich

DEINE SEELE UND DU

Angefangen mit Rewiring the Soul - auf Deutsch: Deine Seele und Du, jetzt weltweit erhältlich als Taschenbuch oder Kindle E-Book (Blog hier), werden auch meine anderen Bücher in Zukunft auf Deutsch bei Amazon erhältlich sein.

Libros por Gabriella Kortsch (español) ... ahora en todo el mundo en Amazon en versión bolsillo y Kindle

Note: Also see my other other blog The Tao of Spiritual Partnership, so named for another one of my books. Click here to visit the blog and/or to sign up for the feed.

My blog posts are also featured on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest & you can find me on Instagram

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Can a Physical Illness Masquerade as a Psychological Disorder?

With this article my intention is to offer you some insights into your own psychological and physical health. Don’t simply accept what a professional (like myself and countless others across the globe) tells you. Become aware that misdiagnosis is a common issue, particularly in the field of the psyche. You may be labeled as having B – a psychological disorder – while in fact, you have C – a physical problem. As you can imagine the treatment for B is very different from the treatment for C.

· Michael and Melanie make separate appointments to see a psychologist, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist for depression. At the end of that first session, and after due probing into his/her state of mind, probably the first two recommend a series of 5 - 20 sessions, and the third recommends an anti-depressant. However, instead of complying, they decide to have their hormone levels tested, and discover several are low. After beginning a course of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, the depression lifts as early morning mist can dissipate with the heat of the sun. It’s possible that either of these two individuals was going through andropause or menopause, or it’s equally possible, that they are at an earlier stage of their life, but nevertheless suffering from hormonal imbalance due to prolonged chronic stress characteristic of our modern life style. Either way, assuming the situation is as described, hormones are the answer – not therapy. [i]

· Stephen’s teacher tells his mother he probably has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). After a brief evaluation, the pediatrician concurs, and Ritalin (an amphetamine-like drug) is prescribed. For two years it makes Michael agitated, causes him to lose weight, and keeps him awake all night. However, with a subsequent evaluation by another physician, it was discovered that Stephen has iron-deficiency anemia and elevated lead levels. Both of these caused his irritability for which he had been prescribed the drug Ritalin, and this drug had, in fact, exacerbated his condition. Clearly, assuming the situation is as described, treating the iron deficiency and the elevated lead levels is the answer – not drugs or therapy.[ii]

· Jonathan makes an appointment for an evaluation due to repeated memory issues - at 57 - an age that might be a little young to consider early-onset Alzheimer’s and is told that it has to be dealt with; it’s part of life, and while there are some brain-training exercises he can do, there are few solutions. Doing some research on the topic, he decides to have his Vitamin B12 levels tested and finds his are not only low, but extremely low, and this may sometimes occasion memory loss (and a host of other issues). After a course of B12 injections and/or sublingual supplementation (as he may no longer assimilate B12 well via his digestive system), his memory improves drastically. Assuming the situation is as described, a vitamin is the answer – not therapy. [iii]

· Suzanne sought therapy for anxiety and panic attacks, coupled with insomnia, and was counseled to schedule a series of psychological sessions. Again, doing some research on the topic, she decided to increase her magnesium intake, and finds a lessening of all symptoms after a period of time. Assuming the situation is as described, a mineral is the answer – not therapy. [iv]

An internationally accepted “bible” of symptoms, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)[v], came into being in 1952 (with numerous revisions since), and is used by a large part of the community of those professionals who deal with the human mind. In the above examples, certain symptoms were labeled a specific way, and then judged to be dealt with as described, without taking into consideration that there could be other reasons for these symptoms. Dr. Sydney Walker, a psychiatrist and author of A Dose of Sanity, writes: “… a label is not a diagnosis. Saying someone is “depressed” or “anxious” is a far cry from finding out what causes the depression or anxiety; it’s comparable to a pediatrician saying a child has “spots”, without bothering to find out whether the spots are caused by measles, poison ivy, or staphylococcus. Patients who have been “diagnosed” as having manic depression, anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and so on, haven’t been diagnosed; they’ve merely been described.” [vi]

Ann Japenga writes: "I use the DSM-III-R probably every day," says Marc Graff, assistant chief of psychiatry for Kaiser Permanente in the east San Fernando Valley. "I keep a copy at work, one at home and I carry one on call. It helps me conceptualize what's going on with a patient." But others, both inside and outside the profession, consider the system of categorizing disorders arbitrary at best and dangerous at worse. "It's not really an objective document at all," argues University of Montreal sociology professor David Cohen, who specializes in mental-health trends. "There's really nothing scientific about it. It's really just a list of our sins and deviations; it's a repository of our fears and our dislikes and hatreds." [vii]

· Joan’s (76) sudden depression turns out to be a side effect of her high blood-pressure medication. Therapy would not have solved her problem. [viii]

· A young mother’s exhaustion and disinterest in her baby seems like postpartum depression, but in fact indicates a postpartum thyroid imbalance that can be corrected with medication. Therapy would not have solved her problem. [ix]

· Harry (47), manager, has angry outbursts at work, frequently feeling “ready to explode”. A temporal brain scan reveals temporal-lobe seizures, a type of epilepsy that can be treated with surgery or medication. Therapy would not have solved his problem. [x]

Harvard psychiatrist Barbara Schildkrout, author of Unmasking Psychological Symptoms (a book aimed at helping therapists broaden their diagnostic skills), indicates that more than 100 medical disorders can masquerade as psychological conditions:

What appears to be May actually be …

Depression: underactive thyroid, low vitamin D or B12, diabetes, hormonal changes, Lyme disease, lupus, head trauma, sleep disorders, some cancers and cancer drugs

Anxiety: overactive thyroid, respiratory problems, very low blood pressure, concussion, anaphylactic shock

Irritability: brain injury, temporal lobe epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, parasitic infection, hormonal changes

Hallucinations: epilepsy, brain tumor, fever, narcolepsy, substance abuse

Cognitive changes: brain injury or infections, Alzheimer’s Parkinson’s, liver failure, mercury or lead poisoning

Psychosis: venereal disease, brain tumors and cysts, epilepsy, steroids, substance abuse[xi]

Jerrold Pollak, a neuropsychologist, indicates that – at least while further tests are being carried out - some patients may benefit from both psychological counseling and medical help. [xii]

Depression is often the first thing people notice when something is going on in the body, or at least, it’s the one that causes people to get help. In one way this is positive as it might help a therapist diagnose a health problem that could have gone undetected without the advent of the depressive symptoms, but unfortunately, far too often it is treated without going deeper into the patient’s symptoms and history in order to determine what might underlie it.[xiii]

I wish I had the space in this short article to tell you about the appalling number of cases of misdiagnoses that the authors of the books and articles I cite have recorded. A psychiatric diagnosis made too quickly, and on the basis of labels based on a “bible” that by the admission of many within the APA who publish the DSM, may be the wrong one. And furthermore, by treating it with therapy or drugs, may cause even greater damage. I am a psychotherapist and very much believe in my work. However, I also very much believe that blithely diagnosing without taking into account the many physical factors that might come into play, could be lethal for patients. Please inform yourself.

Note: While my interest in this article has been to pinpoint examples of a series of disorders that appear to be psychological, but are indeed, physical, please understand, that in other cases, those same disorders are, in fact, psychological, and will require another kind of treatment.

[i] Google “symptoms of hormonal imbalance”. Also Google “bio-identical hormone replacement”.

[ii] Walker, Sydney, A Dose of Sanity. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996, p. 60.

[iii] Google “symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency”. Also read Could It Be B12: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses by S.M. Pacholok & J.J. Stuart.

[iv] Google “symptoms of magnesium deficiency”. Also read The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean, or The Magnesium Factor by M.S. Selig & Andrea Rosanoff.

[v] Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V, American Psychiatric Association, 2013.

[vi] Walker, Sydney, A Dose of Sanity. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996, p. 5.

[vii] Japenga, Ann, Rewriting the Dictionary of Madness: Is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders a Work of Pure Science or Just a List of Dangerous Labels. LA Times, June 5, 1994.

[viii] Beck, Melinda, Confusing Medical Ailments with Mental Illness. WSJ, August 9, 2011.

[ix] idem

[x] idem

[xi] Schildkrout, Barbara, Unmasking Psychological Symptoms. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, 2011.

[xii] Beck, Melinda, idem.

[xiii] Wasmer Andrews, Linda, Could Your Illness Trigger Depressive Symptoms? Feeling Blue? The Cause Could Be Diabetes or Other Diseases. Lifescript, February 27, 2012.