Guest guest Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 [image: Posterous Spaces] [image: Your daily Update] January 5th, 2012 How our emotions can affect our decision making ability<http://ptmanagerblog.com/how-our-emotions-can-affect-our-decision-maki> Posted about 20 hours ago by [image: _portrait_thumb] Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA <http://posterous.com/users/1l1oCkDWEWjv> to PTManager<http://ptmanagerblog.com> [image: Like this post]<http://posterous.com/likes/create?post_id=91940801> How our emotions can affect our decision making ability *A* little background however before we go any further. (not her real name) is in her mid-50s and has struggled her entire life with both chronic depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder manifesting itself as hoarding. She has struggled with these emotional problems for the better part of her life. As we talked, she recalled a time when she read about the various ways animals were trapped in the wild. One trap stood out in her mind above all others – the monkey trap. The design of this specific trap was fairly simple. It essentially was composed of a jar with a long, thin neck that opened up to a wider base below. Food (“bait”) was placed at the bottom of the jar. A hungry monkey would insert his hand all the way to the bottom of the jar to grab the food. In doing so however, the monkey would obviously have to make a fist to grab the food. Because his fist was much larger than the neck of the jar, the only way to get his hand out of the “trap” was to let go of the food. But in doing so, the hungry monkey would have to let go of his meal. In this way the monkey was “trapped.” stated that this was exactly how she felt as it related to her overall emotional state and her hoarding behavior in specific. She felt it was impossible to successfully stop hoarding her items. She likened her hoarding to the monkey “taking the bait” in the trap. When found an item she wanted, it simply wasn’t possible for her to “let go” of it. She knew that her hoarding was hurting her. She knew it would cost her more emotionally in the form of guilt and loss of self-esteem by “giving in” to the compulsion of hoarding. But she simply could not let go. As said rather frankly, “Dr. Z, I know exactly how that monkey must feel.” At that moment, I saw in her eyes a combination of both desperation and resignation. I found her description of The Monkey Trap to be an incredibly visual example that has some important messages for all of us as we move through our lives. *Lessons From and the monkey trap* Firstly, we must appreciate how our emotions (in ’s case, anxiety and depression) can greatly skew our decision-making ability. It does so by narrowing our perception of available options and solutions. This is one of the biggest demoralizing aspects of negative emotions like depression and anxiety. The amazing irony is that we still have the same options, but our emotions skew our view of options. We tend to see “no way out” of situations when our emotions get the best of us. In ’s case, she believed there was no way she could overcome either her depression or hoarding. Much like the monkey in her Monkey Trap analogy, she felt she could not get her “hand out of the trap” when it came to her emotional problems. truly felt there was no way out, that she was stuck. She truly believed her “hole” (range of options) was small, but I impressed upon her that in reality the opening was wide open. She had many choices. She had many options. Only her emotions – feelings – made it seem as if she was trapped. This is the potential power of negative emotions. Secondly, we have to realize that our emotions have the capacity limit our sense of control. As I work in therapy with my patients, I encourage them (as I did ) to not be afraid to try to “pull their hands out of the jar”. I try to help them see how their emotions – like fear, for example – can impact their ability to act. In reality, we really do have many options and available solutions when we are faced with an obstacle or a challenge in our lives. All of us do. Often times, our own self-doubt and insecurity will make us feel as if we are trapped, that we can’t “pull our hands out of the trap”. Once we dare to push through our fear and self-doubt, we realize there really isn’t any “trap” at all, other than what emotions (like self-doubt and fear) conjure up for us. The truth is, we have enormous strength to materially change our behaviors. In doing so, we can dramatically change our lives for the better and accomplish more than we believe possible for ourselves. In this way, we become empowered. This is part of the human condition. YOU can absolutely do this. There is plenty of “room for your hand”, my friends. The hole is wide open! We must respect “The Monkey Trap” feeling negative thoughts and emotions can create in our lives. Realizing this reality is the first step in empowering yourself towards incredible success. This is where I marvel at and truly believe in the incredible strength of the individual. In ’s case, despite all the depression, anxiety and frustration in her ability to change, she is still choosing to carve out a life for herself. She keeps coming to work on her problems with me – and she is feeling better with every passing day. On a conscious level, she may not totally believe that she can “pull her hand out of the jar” just yet. But she continues to challenge the negative thoughts daily. I believe this means she believes she is capable of changing her behaviors. The path to her success may not be perfectly clear, but her persistence is testament to the belief in herself, and her ability to change. I truly believe this is the case with most individuals, not just those who come in to see a therapist. You absolutely have the capacity and strength within you to make positive changes in your life that are lasting and meaningful. We all do! As we move forward in our daily lives it is important to look at the stress we face and assess how we are handling it. Take the time to challenge yourself. *Ask yourself the following questions:* 1. Do I let my negative emotions get in the way of my success? 2. Do my negative emotions tend to narrow my view of available options or choices? 3. How much control do I feel I actually have in my life? 4. Have I tried doing something I fear or doubt I can do, even though it is important to me? 5. What can I do today – right now – to challenge these fears? It is important to regularly challenge ourselves in this fashion. By doing so, we recognize we have many options to choose from in order to make our lives better. From this, we realize we truly have more control in our lives than we previously assumed. This realization will bring empowerment, action and growth. It is important to continuously remind ourselves that when we feel like that monkey with his hand in the trap, our mind will play tricks on us – through our emotions – to make us think we have limited options. In reality, we only feel trapped because of our self-doubt and fear. But realize, these are simply emotions. They are just feelings. And in that, they can – and will be – overcome. Take the time to challenge yourself because you are that powerful. You are that strong. Never doubt how truly powerful you are. * Zafirides is a psychiatrist and President, Central Ohio Behavioral Medicine, Inc. He blogs at *The Healthy Mind<http://www.thehealthymind.com/> *.* via kevinmd.com<http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2012/01/emotions-affect-decision-making-\ ability.html> Allstate Files $1.1 Million Insurance Fraud Case in NY - PR Newswire - sacbee.com<http://ptmanagerblog.com/allstate-files-11-million-insurance-fraud-ca\ s> Posted about 17 hours ago by [image: _portrait_thumb] Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA <http://posterous.com/users/1l1oCkDWEWjv> to PTManager<http://ptmanagerblog.com> [image: Like this post]<http://posterous.com/likes/create?post_id=91963401> Allstate Files $1.1 Million Insurance Fraud Case in NY Share<http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/04/4162100/allstate-files-11-million-insuran\ ce.html#> Embedded media -- click here to see it.<http://ptmanagerblog.com/allstate-files-11-million-insurance-fraud-cas> By Allstate Insurance Company<http://www.sacbee.com/search_results/?sf_pubsys_story_byline=Allstate%20\ Insurance%20Company & link_location=top> Allstate Insurance Company Last modified: 2012-01-04T16:02:04Z Published: Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012 - 8:02 am Copyright 2012 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<http://www.sacbee.com/terms-of-service> HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Jan. 4, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Allstate Insurance is seeking to recover more than $1.1 million from sixteen New York<http://topics.sacbee.com/New+York/>-area defendants in its ninth insurance fraud<http://topics.sacbee.com/insurance+fraud/>lawsuit of 2011. The complaint, filed in Federal District Court, on December 30, 2011, as a Declaratory Judgment/Recovery action, alleges that a chiropractor, along with one layperson and two lay entities illegally owned and controlled three professional medical corporations allegedly owned on paper by a medical doctor and used them to submit fraudulent billing to Allstate. In addition, four other individuals and four other companies were also named as being part of the overall scheme to submit fraudulent bills to Allstate. Since 2007, Allstate has filed thirty-six fraud lawsuits in New York, <http://topics.sacbee.com/New+York/> seeking nearly $199 million in damages. According to the Insurance Information Institute,<http://topics.sacbee.com/Insurance+Information+Institute/>the state of New York <http://topics.sacbee.com/New+York/> is in an insurance fraud crisis and no-fault fraud is costing New Yorkers<http://topics.sacbee.com/New+Yorkers/>millions of dollars year-after-year. " In essence, honest, hardworking New Yorkers are paying a '*fraud tax'*, " said Krista Conte, spokesperson for Allstate's New York <http://topics.sacbee.com/New+York/> office. " We need lawmakers to enact meaningful insurance reform that puts the citizens of New York <http://topics.sacbee.com/New+York/> first. " As detailed in the lawsuit, Allstate contends that professional service corporations were actually owned and controlled by laypersons, rather than by licensed medical professionals. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants submitted claims for services that were performed by independent contractors in violation of the No-Fault Law. There were also incidents of illegal referrals to a person who had a financial interest. The suit contends that B.J.Y. Freeport Medical, P.C., B.Y.,M.D., P.C. and Innovative Medical, P.C. were fraudulently incorporated through a scheme using the name of a licensed medical doctor, Yentel, M.D. However, those medical entities were actually run by Stanley , D.C. and his wife Jill . Not one of these individuals is a medical doctor. There were also two management companies that were utilized to effectuate this scheme. They were HISLI, Inc. and Steady Management Corp. Included in this lawsuit are claims for improper self-referral against Palma Endozo and her company Oasis Physical Therapy, P.C. There is also an unjust enrichment claim against Neidorf and her company, Ranj Corporation, Ashraf Hafez and his company Top Rehab Inc as well as Olga Bard and her company Soft Touch Acupuncture, P.C. Allstate is joined by other insurers and many New York<http://topics.sacbee.com/New+York/>State leaders in its pursuit for comprehensive reform of the no-fault system. " The no-fault system is being exploited and responsible citizens are the victims, " Conte said. " Without the support of lawmakers, incidents of fraud will continue to increase. We need to work together to fix the broken no-fault system. " The lawsuit was filed following an investigation by Allstate's Special Investigative Unit and seeks reimbursement for personal injury protection benefits Allstate paid on behalf of its customers during timeframes specified in the lawsuit. The lawsuit is the latest in a string of actions taken by the insurer to protect consumers from these and similar activities. via sacbee.com<http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/04/4162100/allstate-files-11-million-in\ surance.html> [image: App] On the go? *Download Posterous Spaces* for your phone <http://posterous.com/mobile> Sent by Posterous. Is this spam? Report it here<http://posterous.com/email_subscriptions/hash/gspsqucxgqviGogjvCufJwAxBxkgm\ H>. Manage or unsubscribe email subscriptions<http://posterous.com/email_subscriptions/hash/gspsqucxgqviGogjvCuf\ JwAxBxkgmH>. Other questions? We’d love to help. <http://help.posterous.com> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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