The Cyan Project

Irvin Yalom defines existential psychotherapy as an approach to therapy that helps clients face concerns of existence: meaninglessness, isolation, death, and freedom. This approach to therapy is based on the fact that human beings are free to make choices and they are responsible for their actions and choices. It emphasizes on freedom, choices, and existence of an individual. Existentialists believe that humans try to find meaning in their lives and make rational decisions.  Existentialism disregards the deterministic view of humans as suggested by radical behaviorists and psychoanalysts. This therapy is based on the fact that people are not victims of circumstances but victims of their own choice. Viktor Frankl in his book says that man can be deprived of everything but no one can take away his freedom to make choices. Life puts man in a situation and it is the man’s choice that defines the consequences. This therapy encourages clients to reflect on their life, look at alternative...

Nowadays everyone has been under immense stress due to the changing routine and adjusting with the new normal and in this situation, it is important for us to find an effective stress management plan In this article I’ll be talking about the four important factors for managing stress:    AVOID It is not possible to avoid all stressful situation but avoiding certain stressor can significantly improve your mental health. Here’s how you can practice it Learn to say ‘NO’ Avoid people who stress you out whenever possible Plan ahead and rearrange your surrounding Create a to-do list and write those tasks which are realistic and achievable ALTER When you can’t avoid try to alter. It may require you to either change the way you communicate or operate the things in your daily life. Express yourself instead of bottling up your emotions Work on better time-management and create balanced schedule Communicate when you feel uncomfortable with an individual behaviour Set clear boundaries A...

Helicopter Parenting refers to parenting style where parents are overly focused on their children. They “hover” over their children’s lives like a helicopter. The term, “helicopter parent” was first used by Dr. Haim Ginott in his book Parents and Teenagers (1969). Such parents take too much responsibility for their child’s actions, experiences, successes, and failures.  Helicopter parents are always around their children, doing things for them that they can do alone; they take care of their children’s problems and chores. They micromanage every aspect of their child’s life and over-involved in their lives. As a result, the child becomes overly dependent on their parents. A common example of helicopter parenting is feeding your children at the age where they should be eating their food by themselves. Another example could be completing a child’s school homework instead of letting them do it. There could be several reasons for parents to become overly involved in their child’s life. ...

We all go through ups and downs in life and learn to navigate through tough situations. Resilience can be defined as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress. Resilience involves "bouncing back" from these difficult experiences, it can also involve profound personal growth (APA) Resilience help children navigate in stressful situations. W hen children have skill set to confront and work through difficult problems they learn to prepared for similar situation in future and build up on better problem solving and stress management strategies.  Kenneth Ginsburg  in his new book- Building Resilience in Children and Teens talks about 7Cs of resilience that can help children to effectively cope with a crisis: 1. Competence Competence is the ability to handle situation effectively Children need to be recognized when they are doing something right  Give them opportunity to develop new skills Encourage and reinf...

Emotional hijack, also known as the amygdala hijack, is a state where a person’s cognitions are overpowered by their emotions. This usually occurs during a stressful or a crisis when the amygdala in the brain “hijacks” or bypasses normal reasoning processes. This concept was first discussed by Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence.  During a crisis or a stressful event, the amygdala proclaims an emergency, recruiting the rest of the brain to its urgent agenda. These hijackings, typically triggered by emotions like fear, anxiety, aggression, and anger were very vital to our survival as a species. To improve the chances of survival, the fight-or-flight response evolved to allow for automatic response to physical danger without thinking. This hijacking usually occurs very quickly. They trigger a fight or flight reaction moments before the neocortex, the thinking part of the brain, has had a chance to fully understand what is happening, let alone decide if it is a good idea...

Understanding Peter Pan Syndrome How many of you have heard Peter Pan’s story as a child? I am sure some of you would have read it while growing up. Peter Pan was a happy-go-lucky, soft, and effeminate boy who wouldn’t grow up. He tormented Captain Hook (the pirate), broke his heart, and sent him on a self-destructive passage on the side of the ship and into the jaws of carnivorous crocodiles. You can read more about the story here ( https://www.britannica.com/topic/Peter-Pan-play-by-Barrie ) People have loved Peter Pan. He is young, playful, and we are drawn to him. But there is another side to this classic character that people have often overlooked. He avoided growing up. He rejected all the things that came along with adulthood! Peter Pan is a fictional character meant for kids. In real life, all of us need to grow up. Do you know someone who never fully engages with the world? Someone who never seems to settle in a job, never has enough money and is always one step behind everyone...