Live. Learn. Grow.: Your Psychological Toolbox for Transforming Life’S Tough Times

By Nihal Kucuk

Psychologist and author Nihal Kucuk was 27 years old when she experienced her first severe episode of anxiety. Overwhelmed with dread and despair, she did not want to face the world. Kucuk shares how she was forced to look within herself as she vowed to transform her adversity. Her personal quest became her professional mission and her passion for empowering her clients and readers is evident.

Live. Learn. Grow. is a masterpiece; combining cutting edge psychological tools and techniques to help you overcome lifes challenges and thrive. It discusses evidence based research and strategies that help you learn how to master your mind and emotions and the significance of exercise, meditation and nutrition.

Kucuk communicates that life is not a test run - it is too short to live it just existing. She suggests ways to find meaning and connection in your life and demonstrates that no matter what you are going through, you can have the life you want. If she can do it, anyone can!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Sep 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504303880

Nihal Kucuk

Nihal Kucuk is a psychologist who has worked with adults and adolescents for more than fourteen years. She currently runs her own private practice on the sunny Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

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Copyright © 2016 Nihal Kucuk.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-0387-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-0388-0 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 12/02/2016

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Are You Going Through a Tough Time?

Small Steps

Commit to Action

Develop Routine

Thoughts: The First Target for Change

Don’t Take Life or Yourself So Seriously

Cognitive Errors:

Automatic Negative Thoughts - ANTs

How to Deal With Negative Thoughts: Challenge, Accept, or Detach

Worry Time

Silence

Beliefs: The Second Target for Change

Emotions: The Third Target for Change

Techniques for Managing Stress

Meditation: Another One of the Essentials

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

Brainwaves

Having Fun

Spirituality

Forgiveness

Gratitude

Mindfulness

Perspective

Strengthening Your Character

Acceptance—Life Is Full of Ups and Downs

Accepting What Life Hands Us

Being Kind to Yourself: Self Love and Acceptance

Exercise: One of the Essentials

Sleep

Nutrition

Sensory Modes and Changing Your Mood

Music

Colours

Grow Your Own Garden Patch

Aromatherapy

Connections to Others

Other Powerful Therapies

Conclusion

Bibliography

Dedication

This book is dedicated first and foremost to my wonderful family: Mum and Dad, Baki and Elisa. Thank you for all the lessons you have taught me. To all of my deeply treasured friends – you have become my other family: Rema, thanks for always being there with unconditional acceptance and love. Pip, Geralize, Berra, Gonca, Silvia, I love you all. Thank you to all of my clients in the past, present, and future. I am immensely grateful and honoured to have had the opportunity to work with each and every one of you. It is through my interaction with all of you that I have had the most enriching and powerful growth, which has been woven into the tapestry of my life. And last of all, thank you to my coaches and mentors who have helped me through the toughest times in my life. Your patience, trust, wisdom, and humour knocked my perspective back into its appropriate place!

Preface

This book combines a wealth of information I have gained from both personal experience and professional practise. It also presents cutting-edge psychological techniques as well as information from mainstream psychology to help you get through difficult times. It is a book that is not only comforting, but includes practical how-to techniques integrated with spiritual principles to help you thrive in life.

Although this is a self-help book with numerous holistic ideas to help you, some issues you are dealing with may need professional attention from a therapist or psychologist trained in treating stress, trauma, and depressive disorders. Please also bear in mind that it may take some time to find the right therapist for you. Finding someone you are comfortable with as well as developing a good rapport and connection are essential for positive therapeutic outcomes.

Introduction

As a psychologist with over fourteen years of clinical experience with adolescents, children, and adults in a vast range of clinical presentations, I have seen my fair share of difficulties, hardships, losses, and traumas. In writing this book, I have drawn on this experience along with my personal story and my own search to find inner peace and happiness. I want to let you know that, no matter what you are facing in your life, there is a way through it all. I have done it and have helped thousands of my clients do the same. A number of past events and old, negative beliefs about myself triggered an extremely difficult time in my life. I was twenty-seven when I experienced my first severe episode of anxiety. This was the first time in my life that I was forced to look at my life and myself, and try to determine how on earth I had developed this dreaded feeling of not wanting to face the world. The anxiety was debilitating and made it extremely difficult for me to function.

I am the youngest and the only female child in an immigrant Turkish family. Our family arrived in Australia when I was ten months old. My parents decided to follow my dad’s brother and his family and move here, as many immigrants still do today, hoping for a better life. As my parents searched for work, I was left with strangers—friends of friends—who looked after me. I wasn’t aware until many years later that this had created in me a sense of abandonment.

As a young child, I had a few close friends, but they lived far away, and we didn’t go to the same school. I guess I was a little introverted. I didn’t have a bad childhood, but perhaps a somewhat lonely one. My two older brothers did their own thing, and in a sense I felt like an only child, as there was also a big age gap between us. I buried myself in a world of books. I thoroughly enjoyed this world where I felt I belonged and which I understood. With this book, I hope I will be contributing to that world that helped and supported me through numerous difficult times in my life. I sincerely hope that this book can help you. Charles W. Eliot wrote, "Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most