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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by BeARdEdLaDY on May 18, 2002, at 6:44:02
My shrink just visited Japan and has sent a newsletter about this. Anyone ever heard of it or had an experience with Morita Therapy before? It's supposed to be helpful with anxiety disorders.
beardy : )>
Posted by Dinah1 on May 18, 2002, at 9:06:40
In reply to Morita Therapy, posted by BeARdEdLaDY on May 18, 2002, at 6:44:02
Wow! I am going to learn about so many interesting and promising therapies on this board and then be totally frustrated when the aren't located anywhere near me.
There isn't even a dialectical behavior therapy provider in this area! I have a manual and try to implement DBT self help techniques. Sigh.
Posted by Alii on May 18, 2002, at 12:41:50
In reply to Morita Therapy, posted by BeARdEdLaDY on May 18, 2002, at 6:44:02
Beardy-----
From: ( http://www.clcma.com/morita1.htm )
Morita Therapy directs one's attention receptively to what reality brings in each moment. Simple acceptance of what is allows for active responding to what needs doing. Most therapies strive to reduce symptoms.
Morita Therapy, however, aims at building character to enable one to take action responsively in life regardless of symptoms, natural fears, and wishes. Character is determined by behavior, by what one does. Dogmatic patterns of collapse are replaced with the flexibility to call upon courage and empowerment. Decisions become grounded in purpose rather than influenced by the fluid flow of feelings.
In Morita Therapy, character is developed by cultivating mindfulness, knowing what is controllable and what is not controllable, and seeing what is so without attachment to expectations. Knowing what one is doing, knowing what the situation is requiring, and knowing the relationship between the two are quintessential to self-validation, effective living, and personal fulfillment.
Character is developed as one moves from being feeling-centered to being purpose-centered.
A feeling-centered person attends to feelings to such an extent that the concern for self-protection reigns over decisions and perceptions. Given the human condition, change, pain, and pleasure are natural experiences. Indeed, emotions are a rich type of experience and a valuable source of information. Feelings are acknowledged even when what is to be done requires not acting on them. Constructive action is no longer put on hold in order to process or cope with symptoms or feelings. The individual can focus on the full scope of the present moment as the guide for determining what needs to be done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Saito therapy home page: ( http://www.healmind.com/saitotherapy/ )What is Saito Therapy?
This therapy has been developed by me( Mr. Saito) from experience of having suffered from the dreadful social phobia and anxiety disorder and recovery from them. Saito Therapy is the essence of traditional Japanese Zen meditation and Morita Therapy which was established by Dr. Morita in 1920's.
Dr. Morita himself was suffering from anxiety disorder when he was a university student. He made his own effort to overcome this disorder by reading books,taking medication, practicing Zen meditation and all other exercise. But finally he gave up trying and study hard for his exams.
He was cured from this illness and he became a professor of psychiatry in Jikei medical university. He started His Morita Therapy hence and this therapy has been accepted as a unique and orthodox method in Japan nearly 80 years. But despite of this reputation and prevalence, it is hard to find those who are cured by this therapy. I myself got hospitalized in this therapy twice for 4 months and as a result I was very disappointed with this therapy and my life after this experience has been very miserable.
But in 1993 I came up with a very unique book "Arugamama no sekai ( Be as you are)" which was written by Dr Usa( Morita therapy specialist) and I was so impressed by this book and it made me realized that the way I was treating the illness was wrong. Since then my anxiety disorder has been increasingly become better and better and finally I have overcome my problems.
We are now in internet era and I decided to rescue those who suffer from the illness and I launched Japanese version of Saito therapy in 1997 on internet. Since then I have been giving advice to those who are anxiously seeking help and the result has been remarkable not only for anxiety disorder but also panic disorder, eating disorder, social phobia and OCD. Now I am ready to give good advice to the anxiety people in the world who need it.
My theory is quite unique and it's rate of effectiveness is very high. If you follow the next instructions, you will see great changes over night. Your mood swings will be stabilized and your depression will disappear but it will take patience and time to get rid of your all anxiety flashbacks. I am optimistically awaiting your good news with positive recovery.
Area of effectiveness:
Anxiety disorder,social phobia, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorder and syndromes induced by anxiety.What do you have to do to cure disorder? Very simple.
1.Give up all your effort for a treatment for your anxiety disorder
2.Change your life style completely
3.Stop listening to your obsessive and intrusive thoughts. Start doing something to keep you busy.
4.Go to bed early at night when you feel very depressed
5.Go straight to school or to your office without any preparations and precautions.
6.Do not go to doctor, do not take medication, do not read books that are related to your disorder. do not collect information about your problems.
Alii here----Okay, you want my opinion? For some this may work but for the majority of people with anxiety disorders/OCD I think this is TOO SIMPLISTIC an approach.Morita has very calming aspects to it however I feel that it is dangerous to suggest to people with serious chemical imbalances try to 'think' their way out of their situation.
Plus the implication that mere character building is an answer is insulting to a large portion of the population. ---Alii the grouch
Posted by sid on May 18, 2002, at 12:47:22
In reply to Re: Morita Therapy/Saito Therapy (long) » BeARdEdLaDY, posted by Alii on May 18, 2002, at 12:41:50
Posted by BeARdEdLaDY on May 18, 2002, at 15:19:16
In reply to Re: Morita Therapy/Saito Therapy (long) » BeARdEdLaDY, posted by Alii on May 18, 2002, at 12:41:50
This is one of my mother's beliefs. She says that pretending to be cheerful can actually make you cheerful, which is one of the things I read in the newsletter about Morita therapy. Giving up drugs is not an option for me, but life could be much better with a combination of this and the sleep meds. I think most people would rather let the drugs do the work.
Thanks a ton for the info. I'll check those sites out.
beardy : )>
Posted by IsoM on May 18, 2002, at 20:55:02
In reply to Re: Morita Therapy/Saito Therapy (long) » BeARdEdLaDY, posted by Alii on May 18, 2002, at 12:41:50
Oh, I agree with you, Alii - Mr. Saito's advice does sound overly simplistic. He found something that worked wonderfully for him & then assumed that this same technique would work just as well for everyone else suffering from anxiety? No one needs any medication ever?
The idea of going to work or school without any preparations would be a disaster for me, whether or not I was feeling anxious. I'm far too absent-minded & forgetful. I'd always have left something valuable behind or forgot to do something before I left. The times I've not checked, I generally have forgotten something needed.
Do not read books or info about your disorder? Ignorance of your problems is better than understanding it? Maybe for him. For me, it's enabled me to develop strategies to deal with my foibles.
Change your life style completely. That's the easiest of them all, isn't it? Yeah, right!
I have taken aspects of Zen & adapted the ideas for my own life without being aware that these ideas were even based on Zen. I read about it years later. I noticed too many people were so concerned (myself included) with what tomorrow or the future would be like that they forgot the enjoyment of the present moment. I think in Buddhism, it's something about living in the present moment you're in. My own personal nature makes it easy to do. I get distracted by little things very easily so every small bird that flies across my vision, a scent of flowers, the swishing of the tree's leaves in the wind, all those sorts of things matter a great deal to me & constantly draw my attention & enjoyment back to the moment.
But the other ideas are so strange to my nature that they would only serve to increase my anxiety, not to alleviate it. Shows how individual each of us are. I've adapted diff things for myself but I don't for a moment believe that my outlook on life would make anyone else feel good unless their brain worked the same as mine.
Posted by IsoM on May 18, 2002, at 20:57:00
In reply to smile, and you'll feel happy eventually » Alii, posted by BeARdEdLaDY on May 18, 2002, at 15:19:16
The funny thing is it does work to a degree. If it's just a down period, it'll help but a severe depression, it doesn't even touch.
I have read that serious actors who've had deep, dark, depressing roles have felt emotionally drained & dark for months afterwards. Sort of reverse technique?
Posted by ST on May 19, 2002, at 0:52:42
In reply to Re: smile, and you'll feel happy eventually » BeARdEdLaDY, posted by IsoM on May 18, 2002, at 20:57:00
> The funny thing is it does work to a degree. If it's just a down period, it'll help but a severe depression, it doesn't even touch.
>
> I have read that serious actors who've had deep, dark, depressing roles have felt emotionally drained & dark for months afterwards. Sort of reverse technique?Hi,
I just had to read the message with that subject line ("smile, and you'll..."), because I've always tired of listening to well meaning friends with that kind of advice! It - for me - doesn't work in the long run.
The actor correlation perked my interest, of course...
We are very complex creatures. There are many kinds of emotions swirling around within us at all times. The skilled and talented actor knows what to tap in to in order to bring to the surface the flood of emotions that are *specific to his/her character's situation*. But again, it's just acting. Outwardly doing an action associated with happiness will bring out whatever bit of happiness is inside you. But only to a certain extent. Only for awhile. I think that's why it works for the duration of the play or the shooting of a film....but for real life?
I don't know...maybe I'm going off now...But are artists who are deeply "in touch' with their emotions and utilize them at will to create "art" destined to be more f***d up than others? Or are they better off for having the arena to let it all out? Maybe this is a different subject. Should I be posting this at Psycho-social-babble???
Sarah
Posted by Phil on May 19, 2002, at 7:38:47
In reply to Morita Therapy, posted by BeARdEdLaDY on May 18, 2002, at 6:44:02
How do I get well?
a. Throw pills away, don't see doctor
What if it doesn't work?
a. You do it wrong, don't call me. No attachment.
So your philosophy is play through the pain?
a. There's no philosophy, no pain.
I threw my pills away like you said and had a seizure.
a. Seizure first step in doing what's next.
So, you can cure the most complex organ in man by thinking, or not thinking?
a. Exactly.
Do you tell diabetics they can get well without medicine?
a. We have bad connection, call back.
Since your philosophy is up to the student and so simple, you must not charge for your service.
a. OH!!! HAHAHAHA. That American sense of humor. Very funny. I have huge mortgage, no money, high anxiety...whoops.
Can you give me the names of three patients you have cured.
a. No, they're not allowed to think, read, or talk about anxiety. That's why they are well.
I never thought you would drive a Porsche!
a. Oh yes, have 12, get to Zen retreats very fast. As we say in Osaka, haul balls.
So, your anxiety went away when you got rich?
a. Bingo!! Now you know Buddha, you must kill Buddha.
Here's the love offering you requested for doing the interview, $1000.00 US.
a. Thank you, late on Porsche payment.
Your philosophy sounds like Dr. Phil. You know, bite the bullet.
a. Oh! Dr. Phil. He know true secret to happiness. He's my friend.
So what's the secret?
a. Write book, do Oprah. Write another, do Oprah. Like winning lottery.
Thanks again, I need to pick up my medicine.
a. You're welcome, as we say here..don't get generic. Whoops! hahahaha!
Posted by BeARdEdLaDY on May 19, 2002, at 7:55:46
In reply to Re: Grasshopper: Just throw pills away, do dishes, posted by Phil on May 19, 2002, at 7:38:47
Posted by johnj on May 21, 2002, at 22:46:26
In reply to Re: Saito Therapy » Alii, posted by IsoM on May 18, 2002, at 20:55:02
And their mental health facilites, meds, thoughts, are WAY behind. I experienced my panic attack and depression there and had one guy try to cure me by putting his hands on my forehead, praying and dipping me and yelling "you are calm and better now" Felt like something Jim Baker would do, the nurse didn't have as much make-up on as Tammy faye though. You also can't get a lot of the latest meds. The society is not very tolerant of people with an illness. I had other patients coming up to me since I was foreign and asking me what's wrong? It was a terrible experience trying to get help. So, I doubt this guy has come up with something that will work for the majority of depression, anxiety, etc. I am open to anything, but if I tossed my meds and tried to wish away panic it would spell doom for me at least. Oh, I speak the language so I didn't have a communication problem, but the help was really lacking in what I have experienced in the States.
Posted by IsoM on May 22, 2002, at 0:58:41
In reply to Re: Saito Therapy(I lived in Japan), posted by johnj on May 21, 2002, at 22:46:26
That sounds scarey! Thanks for the info. My son who has depression (controlled) & some other problems is considering an extended stay in Japan. Something for him to be aware of. Again, thanks. I can see how the Japanese culture wouldn't find mental illness to be 'honourable' & could feel ashamed of it.
Posted by johnj on May 23, 2002, at 22:33:06
In reply to Re: Saito Therapy(I lived in Japan) » johnj, posted by IsoM on May 22, 2002, at 0:58:41
HI,
I think it is best if he makes a visit at least once a year home. It will put things in perspective and make him adjust much better. But, I have lived off and on and each time I spent over 6 months I had reverse culture shock when I came home, but an elated feeling too. It is also important to have friends from one'e own country. If language aquisition is the goal he may want to isolate himself, but that is not healthy IMO. You need to speak your native language to other native speakers. It allows you to let it all hang out. One excellent aspect of Japan is that the women are very kind, and I had many friends that supported me when it counted. I did make two very good male friends, but they are harder to get close too. I am the kind of person that would rather have a few great friends than many aquiantances though. It is strange that the better my language became the less I seemed to understand of the culture. Hope it all works out for him. BTW, I don't think any ssri's are available in Japan, and my lithobid was not either. take care.
johnj
Posted by IsoM on May 24, 2002, at 0:23:46
In reply to Re: Saito Therapy(IsoM), posted by johnj on May 23, 2002, at 22:33:06
Thanks John, for the info about the meds & other bits. I gently tease him, telling him if he went to Japan, he'd come back with a Japanese bride. AND I wouldn't mind in the least. We both love much about their culture & traditions.
Japanese people (yes, especially the women) find him wonderful as he's very traditional & polite, a little reserved, quiet, & highly intelligent - not to mention he can do origami almost to the standard of a master. When we had a Japanese teacher (female) stay at our place one summer, many of her girl students in Japan wanted to be his pen-pal when she returned & talked about her experiences to her classes.
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