Category Archives: Uncategorized

Five-minute step-by-step Guided Mindfulness Routine:


Here’s a concise 5-minute guided mindfulness routine you can follow step by step:

Minute 0:00–0:30 | Settle In

Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor, feet flat, hands resting on your lap.

Close your eyes gently or soften your gaze.

Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, and exhale through your mouth.

Tip: Let your body relax naturally — don’t force it.

Minute 0:30–1:30 | Body Scan

Bring attention to your body from head to toe.

Notice areas of tension or tightness without judgment.

Simply observe sensations: warmth, coolness, tingling, pressure.

Tip: Breathe into any tension, imagining it softening with each exhale.

Minute 1:30–3:00 | Focus on Breath

Shift your attention to your natural breathing.

Notice the rise and fall of your chest or belly.

If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your breath.

Tip: Try silently counting “1” on the inhale, “2” on the exhale, up to 5, then start over.

Minute 3:00–4:30 | Awareness of Thoughts

Observe thoughts as they arise, like clouds drifting across the sky.

Avoid engaging or judging them; just notice and let them pass.

Return your focus to your breath if your mind gets caught up.

Tip: Imagine your thoughts floating by on a river — acknowledge, then release.

Minute 4:30–5:00 | Closing & Gratitude

Take one final deep breath in and out.

Bring gentle awareness to your surroundings.

Set a simple intention for the rest of your day: calm, focus, or kindness.

Slowly open your eyes and stretch if needed.

Shervan K Shahhian

Practicing Mindfulness, how:

Practicing Mindfulness:

Practicing mindfulness is all about cultivating a focused, non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. It’s a skill you can develop with consistent practice, and it can help reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, and enhance overall well-being. 

Here’s a clear overview and some practical ways to practice it:

Core Principles of Mindfulness

Present-Moment Awareness — Paying attention to what’s happening right now, rather than ruminating on the past or worrying about the future.

Non-Judgmental Observation — Not labeling experiences as “good” or “bad,” just noticing them as they are.

Acceptance — Allowing thoughts, emotions, and sensations to exist without trying to change them immediately.

Gentleness — Being kind to yourself when your mind wanders, rather than criticizing yourself.

Simple Mindfulness Practices

Mindful Breathing

  • Focus on the sensation of your breath entering and leaving your body.
  • If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the breath.
  • Try for 2–5 minutes to start, gradually increasing over time.

Body Scan

  • Slowly move your attention through different parts of your body, noticing sensations without judgment.
  • Helps release tension and develop body awareness.

Mindful Eating

  • Eat slowly, noticing the taste, texture, and smell of each bite.
  • Focus on the act of eating rather than distractions like phones or TV.

Mindful Walking

  • Pay attention to the sensation of your feet touching the ground and your surroundings as you walk.
  • Notice sounds, smells, and sights without judgment.

Mindful Observation

  • Pick an object (like a flower or a cup) and observe it carefully for a few minutes.
  • Notice colors, shapes, textures, and details you normally overlook.

Tips for Developing Mindfulness

  • Start small: 2–5 minutes per day and gradually build up.
  • Be consistent: Regular short sessions are more effective than occasional long ones.
  • Use reminders: Set an alarm or cue to take mindful pauses during the day.
  • Be patient: It’s normal for the mind to wander — returning to the present is the practice.

Shervan K Shahhian

“Compassion Beyond Compassion”

The Path Toward the Reduction of Suffering

“Compassion Psychology, it’s a modern approach to Psychology, with its practical applications. This theory was conceived by:

Shervan K. Shahhian in Los Angeles, California, USA and it is still developing as a theory of interpersonal development and Compassion. In Compassion Psychology, the effort is made by an individual to understand themselves better by self reflection, contemplation, meditation and helping others. Once a person understands their own strengths and weaknesses they can possibly make better decisions. Compassion Psychology can only work if a person is willing to make positive changes in their thoughts, words and behavior. Self improvement, compassion for self and compassion for all living things are at the core of Compassion Psychology.”
Copyright 2021
Literary Division
United States Copyright Office

The Path Toward the Reduction of Suffering:

“Compassion Psychology, it’s a modern approach to Psychology, with its practical applications. This theory was conceived by:

Shervan K. Shahhian in Los Angeles, California, USA and it is still developing as a theory of interpersonal development and Compassion. In Compassion Psychology, the effort is made by an individual to understand themselves better by self reflection, contemplation, meditation and helping others. Once a person understands their own strengths and weaknesses they can possibly make better decisions. Compassion Psychology can only work if a person is willing to make positive changes in their thoughts, words and behavior. Self improvement, compassion for self and compassion for all living things are at the core of Compassion Psychology.”
Copyright 2021
Literary Division
United States Copyright Office

Compassion Psychology

The Path of the Reduction of Suffering

“Compassion Psychology, it’s a modern approach to Psychology, with its practical applications. This theory was conceived by:

Shervan K. Shahhian in Los Angeles, California, USA and it is still developing as a theory of interpersonal development and Compassion. In Compassion Psychology, the effort is made by an individual to understand themselves better by self reflection, contemplation, meditation and helping others. Once a person understands their own strengths and weaknesses they can possibly make better decisions. Compassion Psychology can only work if a person is willing to make positive changes in their thoughts, words and behavior. Self improvement, compassion for self and compassion for all living things are at the core of Compassion Psychology.”
Copyright 2021
Literary Division
United States Copyright Office

Compulsive Buying Disorder, explained:

Compulsive Buying Disorder:

Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD), also known as oniomania, is a psychological condition characterized by an overwhelming, uncontrollable urge to shop and spend money, often leading to negative consequences in a person’s life. It’s more than occasional overspending — it’s repetitive, impulsive, and distressing.

Key Features:

Preoccupation with shopping — Constant thoughts about buying things, planning shopping trips, or looking for sales.

Impulse control issues — Difficulty resisting the urge to purchase, even when unnecessary or unaffordable.

Emotional triggers — Shopping often serves to relieve negative emotions like anxiety, sadness, boredom, or stress.

Negative consequences — Financial problems, debt, relationship conflicts, or feelings of guilt and shame.

Temporary relief — Buying may provide a short-term mood boost, but it’s usually followed by regret or remorse.

Psychological Aspects:

  • Often linked with anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive traits.
  • Can involve low self-esteem; shopping becomes a way to cope with emotional distress.
  • May show similarities to addictive behaviors, because it activates reward pathways in the brain.

Signs & Symptoms:

  • Frequent shopping sprees beyond means.
  • Hiding purchases from family or friends.
  • Feeling tension before buying and relief afterward.
  • Accumulation of unnecessary items.
  • Repeated unsuccessful attempts to control spending.

Treatment Approaches:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — Helps identify triggers, challenge maladaptive thoughts, and develop healthier coping strategies.

Medication — CONSULT A PSYCHIATRIST

Financial Counseling — Learning budgeting, self-monitoring, and avoiding debt.

Support Groups — Groups like Shopaholics Anonymous provide peer support and accountability.

Compulsive buying is often hidden and underdiagnosed, because it doesn’t always involve illegal activity and can be socially acceptable in consumer-driven societies. Awareness and early intervention are crucial to prevent financial, relational, and emotional harm.

Shervan K Shahhian

Financial Hoarding, what is it:

Financial Hoarding:

Financial hoarding refers to a compulsive or excessive accumulation and retention of money or financial resources, often beyond what is necessary for basic needs or reasonable security. It’s considered a type of behavioral or psychological pattern, sometimes overlapping with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, or certain personality traits.

Here’s a detailed breakdown:

Key Characteristics

Excessive Saving or Retaining: Keeping money even when there’s no practical reason to do so. This can go beyond simple frugality.

Anxiety About Spending: Spending money may trigger guilt, fear, or intense anxiety, even for essential items.

Reluctance to Share or Invest: Hesitancy or refusal to share wealth, donate, or invest in opportunities.

Focus on Security: Money is often hoarded as a symbol of safety, control, or status rather than utility.

Emotional Attachment: The person may feel strong emotional comfort from holding onto money.

Possible Psychological Roots

  • Fear of scarcity: Worry that resources will run out.
  • Control needs: Money becomes a means of feeling in control over life circumstances.
  • Past trauma: Childhood poverty or financial instability can lead to hoarding behaviors in adulthood.
  • Obsessive-compulsive tendencies: Sometimes financial hoarding is a manifestation of OCD-like behaviors.

Impacts

  • Strained relationships: Family or partners may feel frustrated or neglected.
  • Mental health issues: Anxiety, stress, or depression can worsen due to the hoarding behavior.
  • Opportunity cost: Avoiding spending or investing can limit personal growth and life experiences.

Interventions

  • Psychotherapy: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can address underlying fears and beliefs about money.
  • Financial counseling: Structured planning can help reduce anxiety while still maintaining security.
  • Gradual exposure: Practicing small, controlled spending or sharing to reduce fear over time.
  • Mindfulness and self-awareness: Recognizing emotional triggers for hoarding behaviors.

Shervan K Shahhian

Understanding Pathological Gambling:

Pathological Gambling:

Pathological Gambling (also called Gambling Disorder) is a recognized behavioral addiction characterized by persistent and recurrent gambling behavior that disrupts personal, social, and occupational functioning. Unlike casual or social gambling, it involves an inability to control the urge to gamble, even in the face of significant negative consequences.

Key Features:

Loss of Control: Difficulty stopping or cutting down gambling, even when wanting to.

Preoccupation: Constantly thinking about gambling, planning the next game, or ways to get money to gamble.

Tolerance: Needing to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement.

Withdrawal: Feeling restless, irritable, or anxious when trying to stop or reduce gambling.

Chasing Losses: Continuing to gamble to recover money lost previously.

Lying/Deception: Hiding the extent of gambling from family or others.

Risking Relationships or Opportunities: Jeopardizing significant relationships, career, or education due to gambling.

Reliance on Others for Money: Borrowing or stealing to finance gambling.

Consequences:

  • Financial problems (debt, bankruptcy)
  • Legal issues
  • Strained family and social relationships
  • Emotional distress: depression, anxiety, shame
  • Co-occurring disorders: substance abuse, mood disorders

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-5):

  • Gambling behavior is persistent and recurrent.
  • It leads to clinically significant distress or impairment.
  • Symptoms must be present for at least 12 months.

Treatment Approaches:

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Focuses on changing thoughts and behaviors around gambling.

Motivational Interviewing (MI): Enhances motivation to change gambling habits.

12-Step Programs: E.g., Gamblers Anonymous.

Medication: Sometimes SSRIs, opioid antagonists, or mood stabilizers for co-occurring conditions.

Financial Counseling and Support: Managing debts and preventing access to gambling funds.

Shervan K Shahhian

Gambling Disorder, what is it:

Gambling disorder:

Gambling disorder (previously called pathological gambling) is recognized in the DSM-5 as a behavioral addiction. It involves persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior that leads to significant distress or impairment. 

Here’s a detailed overview from a clinical psychology perspective:

Key Features

Persistent gambling behavior despite negative consequences (financial, social, occupational, or legal).

Loss of control: Repeated unsuccessful efforts to reduce or stop gambling.

Preoccupation: Constantly thinking about gambling, planning future bets, or thinking of ways to get money for gambling.

Tolerance: Needing to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement.

Withdrawal-like symptoms: Restlessness or irritability when attempting to cut down or stop gambling.

Chasing losses: Trying to recover lost money by gambling more, often worsening the problem.

Deception: Lying to family members, friends, or therapists about gambling behaviors.

Risking significant relationships or opportunities: Gambling interferes with work, relationships, or educational/career prospects.

Relying on others for financial rescue: Seeking loans or financial help to relieve desperate financial situations caused by gambling.

Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-5)

  • Diagnosis is typically made when 4 or more of the above behaviors occur over a 12-month period.
  • Severity can be classified as:
  • Mild: 4–5 criteria
  • Moderate: 6–7 criteria
  • Severe: 8–9 criteria

Psychological and Behavioral Factors

  • Cognitive distortions: Beliefs like “I’m due for a win” or “I can control the outcome.”
  • Emotional triggers: Stress, boredom, loneliness, or depression may intensify gambling urges.
  • Comorbidities: Often co-occurs with substance use disorders, mood disorders, or impulse-control disorders.

Treatment Approaches

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Targets cognitive distortions and helps develop healthier coping strategies.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

  • Enhances motivation to change gambling behavior.

Self-help programs

  • Gamblers Anonymous or other peer support groups.

Pharmacotherapy

  • CONSULT A PSYCHIATRIST

Family therapy

  • Helps repair relationships and develop a supportive environment.

Red Flags

  • Increasing secrecy about finances.
  • Borrowing money to gamble.
  • Mood swings or irritability when not gambling.
  • Frequent thoughts about gambling.

Shervan K Shahhian

Surrogate Partner Therapy, what is it:

(Please Consult a licensed Therapist, Psychologist and a Psychiatrist Regarding this Very Serious Type of Therapy)

Surrogate Partner Therapy:

Surrogate Partner Therapy (SPT) is a form of therapy that involves a triadic relationship between a client, a licensed therapist, and a trained surrogate partner. It is designed to help clients overcome sexual dysfunctions, intimacy challenges, touch-related anxiety, or trauma-related sexual issues in a structured, therapeutic context.

How It Works
Assessment with a Therapist

The client first meets with a licensed mental health or sex therapist to discuss their concerns and determine if SPT is appropriate.
Issues addressed may include anxiety about intimacy, erectile dysfunction, vaginismus, lack of sexual experience, or touch aversion.


Introduction of a Surrogate Partner

If deemed suitable, the therapist collaborates with a certified surrogate partner (often trained through organizations like IPSA — International Professional Surrogates Association).
The surrogate partner works directly with the client, but always in coordination with the therapist.


Structured Sessions

Sessions may include communication exercises, relaxation techniques, guided touch exercises, sensate focus, body image work, and sometimes sexual activity — depending on therapeutic goals.
Progress is regularly reviewed by the therapist, maintaining ethical oversight.


Gradual Integration

The ultimate goal is for the client to develop comfort, confidence, and skills, and then transition these skills into their personal life or relationships.
Who Can Benefit?
People with sexual dysfunctions (e.g., erectile issues, anorgasmia, vaginismus)
Individuals with trauma-related sexual difficulties
Clients with severe social or sexual anxiety
Those with little or no sexual experience who want to learn in a therapeutic environment


Ethical & Legal Considerations
SPT is legal in many places but is sometimes controversial because it may involve sexual contact.
It is not prostitution — it’s a therapeutic modality conducted with professional standards, contracts, and therapist oversight.
Confidentiality, informed consent, and clear boundaries are essential.
Shervan K Shahhian