Alone In the Crowd: How to Overcome Urban Isolation

[Guest guest]

Free-Reprint Article Written by: Steve B.

See Terms of Reprint Below.

*****************************************************************

*

* This email is being delivered directly to members of the group:

*

*

*

*****************************************************************

We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article.

Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS

OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you.

This article has been distributed by:

http://Article-Distribution.com

Helpful Link:

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Article Title:

==============

Alone In the Crowd: How to Overcome Urban Isolation

Article Description:

====================

The pain of loneliness never knew a stranger. It is the constant

companion of many a solitary soul. In this massive urban sprawl,

the shadow of isolation is upon countless individuals. Most of us

have felt the chill of loneliness. Some people even resign

themselves to a life-style of being alone. With so many people

around, it is ironic that connecting has become so difficult.

There are two key reasons this. One reason is sociological and

the other psychological.

Additional Article Information:

===============================

791 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2006-07-06 16:25:00

Written By: Steve B.

Copyright: 1998-2006

Contact Email: mailto:stevereed@...

Steve B. 's Picture URL:

http://www.psychotherapy-center.com/images/new-steve-index.jpg

For more free-reprint articles by Steve B. , please visit:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Steve_B._

=============================================

Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters:

=============================================

TEXT Copy-and-Paste and HTML Copy-and-Paste

Versions Of Article Are Available at:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/r/overcoming-urban-isolation.shtml#\

get_code

If you use this article on your website or in your ezine,

We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let

us know where you have used this article, and we will

include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com:

http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=3127 & p=load

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Alone In the Crowd: How to Overcome Urban Isolation

Copyright © 1998-2006 Steve B.

Psychotherapy Center

http://www.psychotherapy-center.com

The pain of loneliness never knew a stranger. It is the constant

companion of many a solitary soul. In this massive urban sprawl,

the shadow of isolation is upon countless individuals. Most of us

have felt the chill of loneliness. Some people even resign

themselves to a life-style of being alone. With so many people

around, it is ironic that connecting has become so difficult.

There are two key reasons this. One reason is sociological and

the other psychological.

For millennia, people lived in small rural villages. They had all

their family and extended family close by. They grew up, went to

school, worked, lived and eventually died with the same people.

They did not have to do anything to become a part of it all. They

were simply born into the close-nit, social fabric of a

community. During the last 100 years, society has undergone

profound changes that contribute to the problem of urban

isolation.

These sociological changes include four main factors. They are:

1. the migration of the population to large cities since the

industrial revolution;

2. the loss of extended family as advances in transportation

create an increasingly mobile society;

3. the breakdown of the nuclear family with the social acceptance

of divorce;

4. and the loss of history with people as close friends move away

to pursue education, jobs and promotions. We have not yet

developed the coping strategies to deal with these radical

changes.

Today people are trying to adjust and deal with loss, loneliness,

isolation, constant change, high-paced stressful jobs, single

parent families, blended families and the repeated necessity of

rebuilding ones social support system. Many people who go into

counseling are struggling with these issues.

One key antidote for urban isolation is membership in caring

groups that you find meaningful and enjoyable. Any topic of

interest is a catalyst around which people collect. You can join

many possible groups. Among them, one of the few instant sources

of caring community remaining in our society is the church. This

institution continues to play a great a role in people's lives,

socially as well as spiritually. In some of my seminars, I

suggest that people participate in at least three groups that

they can feel a sense of inclusion, acceptance and caring.

Membership does have its advantages.

However, not everyone is comfortable joining groups. There can be

psychological reasons that block a person from joining even

though they realize the benefits of a healthy support system.

Some people have traumatic experiences in their family of origin.

The family is the first group in which we have membership. If it

was not safe to be yourself, to have your thoughts and feelings,

with your family it may not feel safe to think of joining any

group.

Others have felt deeply hurt by a peer group that was attacking,

excluding or shaming. Such painful experiences can develop into a

phobia of social groups. If the thought of getting closely

involved in a group seems threatening and anxiety provoking, then

you may be experiencing this type of phobia.

Lastly, even if you do not have any traumatic associations with

groups, if you grew-up with parents who did, you may have learned

to be afraid of groups simply because they were afraid.

Many excellent treatments are now available in the field of

psychotherapy to help people resolve fears of closeness and

connection to individuals and groups. Any traumatic experience

with family or peer groups can benefit from some of the newer

trauma therapies. Treatments that have a high success rate

include the REMAP process, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT),

and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Research is showing these methods to be both faster and more

effective than the old ways of treating trauma that rely on talk

therapy alone.

Although these treatments represent recent advances in the field

of psychotherapy, a growing number of therapists are becoming

interested. Those who train in these approaches find that many

long-term problems can dissipate in short order. Rather than

years of therapy, many issues only take months. Sometimes, even

as little as one treatment session can make a difference.

Last year, one of my colleagues showed an interest in using the

REMAP process to treat her social phobia. In less than an hour

of treatment, she was already starting to feel better about her

life-long social fear. As the year went on, she kept telling me

about how much more comfortable she was feeling in groups. This

was after just one treatment session.

This shows that when you resolve these psychological blocks, the

quality of your life can improve almost instantly. This can

clear the way for you to enjoy further improvement in the quality

of your life by just adding people.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve B. , LPC, LMSW, LMFT is a psychotherapist that

specializes in treating trauma and anxiety disorders including

social phobia. He treats people at his , Texas

office (Dallas area) and through phone counseling worldwide.

You can reach Steve at 972-997-9955 or through his website at:

http://www.psychotherapy-center.com

copyright 1998-2006, Steve B.