health – Page 7 – LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Mental Rehearsal Activates, explained:

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Mental rehearsal activates many of the same neural systems as real performance.

This is why it’s powerful in performance psychology, sports, therapy, and skill acquisition.

Here’s what it activates:

1. Motor Cortex

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The primary motor cortex (in the frontal lobe) becomes active during vivid imagery of movement.

Research shows that imagining lifting your arm activates similar neural circuits as actually lifting it, just at lower intensity.

2. Premotor & Supplementary Motor Areas

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These regions plan and sequence movement.

When someone mentally rehearses a tennis serve, surgical procedure, or public speech, these planning circuits fire as if preparing for execution.

3. Cerebellum

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Involved in coordination and timing.

Mental practice refines timing patterns, even without physical movement.

4. Basal Ganglia

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Supports habit learning and automaticity.

This is why repeated visualization improves smoothness and confidence over time.

5. Autonomic Nervous System

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The body partially responds.

For example:

Heart rate may slightly increase
Muscles may show subtle activation (EMG detectable)
Stress hormones can shift

This is why emotional rehearsal (e.g., imagining a stressful interview) can either desensitize or intensify anxiety depending on how it’s done.

6. Emotional & Threat Circuits

If imagery is vivid, the amygdala activates—especially in fear-based rehearsal.

This explains:

Why trauma flashbacks feel real
Why confidence imagery reduces performance anxiety
Why catastrophic rumination strengthens fear pathways

7. Mirror Neuron System

When imagining or observing actions, the brain simulates them internally.

This supports:

Skill learning
Empathy
Behavioral priming

Why This Matters

Mental rehearsal works because:

The brain encodes imagined experience as “real enough” to strengthen neural pathways.

This principle is used in:

Elite sports psychology
Surgical training
Trauma therapy (e.g., imaginal exposure)
Performance anxiety treatment

Mental rehearsal strengthens whichever circuit is repeatedly activated.

Rehearsing competence: strengthens mastery networks
Rehearsing humiliation: strengthens threat prediction
Rehearsing dissociation: strengthens avoidance pathways

The nervous system doesn’t strongly distinguish between external and vividly simulated internal events.

Shervan K Shahhian

Mental Skills Training (MST), a great explanation:

Mental Skills Training (MST) is a structured, evidence based approach used to strengthen psychological abilities that enhance performance, resilience, and well-being.

It’s widely used in sports, military, performing arts, medicine, and executive leadership.

What It Develops

MST focuses on trainable psychological capacities such as:

Attention & concentration control
Emotional regulation
Stress tolerance
Confidence & self-efficacy
Motivation & goal clarity
Imagery & mental rehearsal
Self-talk regulation
Arousal regulation (activation vs calm)

It’s essentially performance psychology in action.

Core Techniques

Common tools include:

1. Goal Setting

Outcome goals (win, achieve X)
Performance goals (improve metric)
Process goals (specific behaviors)

Often structured using SMART frameworks.

2. Visualization / Imagery

Mental rehearsal activates similar neural pathways as physical execution.
Used extensively in Olympic training.

3. Self-Talk Training

Replacing automatic negative thoughts with task-focused cues.

Example:

“Don’t mess up”: “Strong, steady, smooth.”

4. Breath & Arousal Regulation

Box breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing
Pre-performance routines

Regulates sympathetic activation (fight-or-flight).

5. Attentional Control

Training narrow vs broad focus depending on task demands.

6. Resilience Training

Cognitive reframing, stress inoculation, adaptive attribution styles.

Theoretical Foundations

MST draws from:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Self-regulation theory
Psychophysiology of stress
Neuroplasticity research
Peak performance research (e.g., flow states)

What Makes MST Different From Therapy?

Therapy	Mental Skills Training
Focus on healing dysfunction	Focus on optimizing performance
Past-oriented	Future-oriented
Symptom reduction	Capacity building
Clinical population	High-functioning individuals

That said, the two often overlap, especially when performance anxiety, trauma history, or identity instability affect execution.

Clinical & Applied Use

MST can be integrated into:

Trauma-informed performance work
Nervous system regulation training
Executive function strengthening
Identity consolidation under stress

It is especially powerful when paired with somatic regulation work, since cognitive skills fail under dysregulated autonomic states.

In Simple Terms

Mental Skills Training:
“Strength training for the mind under pressure.”

Shervan K Shahhian

Performance Psychology, what is it:

Performance psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, emotions, physiology, and behavior affect performance in high-pressure environments, and how to optimize them.

It sits at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and performance science.

Core Idea

Performance psychology focuses on helping people perform at their best when it matters most, not just when they feel comfortable.

It is used in:

Elite sports
Military and tactical units
Performing arts
Business leadership
Medicine (e.g., surgeons)
High-stakes public speaking

Historical Roots

Modern performance psychology developed largely from sport psychology, influenced by pioneers like:

William James: studied attention and willpower
Coleman Griffith: often called the “father of sport psychology” in the U.S.

Today it draws from cognitive psychology, behavioral science, trauma research, and neurobiology.

Key Areas of Focus

1. Arousal Regulation

Understanding and managing:

Fight–flight–freeze responses
Chronic hyperarousal
Performance anxiety

Balancing activation, not too anxious, not too flat.

2. Attention Control

Training:

Focus under distraction
Cognitive flexibility
Rapid recovery after mistakes

3. Emotional Regulation

Managing:

Fear
Anger
Shame
Self-doubt

Without suppressing emotion.

4. Mental Skills Training

Common tools:

Visualization / imagery
Self-talk restructuring
Breathwork
Pre-performance routines
Goal setting

The Flow State

Flow is the state where:

Action and awareness merge
Self-consciousness drops
Performance feels effortless
Time perception shifts

Performance psychology aims to increase the probability of entering flow though it cannot be forced.

Performance vs. Clinical Psychology

Since you’re a psychologist, here’s a nuanced distinction:

Clinical Psychology	Performance Psychology
Reduces dysfunction	Enhances functioning
Focus on pathology	Focus on optimization
Trauma stabilization	Stress inoculation
Symptom relief	Peak execution

But in reality, they overlap, especially with:

Trauma-informed performance work
Nervous system regulation
Identity resilience

Modern Developments

Performance psychology now integrates:

Polyvagal theory (autonomic regulation)
Neurofeedback
Cognitive behavioral frameworks
Somatic integration
High-performance habit design

In Essence

Performance psychology is about:

Performing effectively under pressure while remaining psychologically integrated.

Not just “winning.”
Not just suppressing fear.
But sustaining clarity, regulation, and execution under load.

Shervan K Shahhian

Chronic Hyperarousal, what is it:

Chronic hyperarousal is a long-term state in which the nervous system remains persistently activated, as if danger is present, even when it isn’t.

It’s essentially the body being stuck in survival mode.

What Is Hyperarousal?

Hyperarousal refers to sustained activation of the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight response). In short bursts, this response is adaptive. But when it becomes chronic, it starts to dysregulate the entire system.

This concept is central in trauma research.

Core Features of Chronic Hyperarousal

You might see:

Persistent anxiety or tension
Startle response easily triggered
Racing thoughts
Irritability
Sleep disturbance
Muscle tightness
Hypervigilance
Difficulty relaxing
Feeling “wired but tired”

In trauma contexts, this is one half of the dysregulation spectrum seen in Post-traumatic stress disorder (the other being hypoarousal/dissociation).

Neurobiological Basis

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Chronic hyperarousal (MIGHT) involves:

Overactivation of the amygdala
Reduced regulatory influence of the prefrontal cortex
HPA-axis dysregulation (cortisol imbalance)
Autonomic nervous system imbalance

The system learns: “The world is unsafe.”
And it stays braced.

Psychological Meaning

From a depth or psychodynamic perspective, chronic hyperarousal can reflect:

Early attachment disruption
Developmental trauma
Chronic unpredictability in childhood
Internalized threat schemas

The nervous system adapts to chaos, and then cannot turn off.

The body’s version of existential vigilance, when cognition may appear regulated, but the soma remains mobilized.

Chronic Hyperarousal vs. Normal Stress

Normal Stress	Chronic Hyperarousal
Situation-specific	Baseline state
Resolves after event	Persists without clear trigger
Flexible nervous system	Rigid activation pattern
Body can downregulate	Body struggles to calm

Treatment Directions

Interventions often focus on bottom-up regulation, not just cognitive reframing:

Somatic grounding
Breath regulation
EMDR
Trauma-informed therapy
Safe relational attunement
Nervous system retraining

The goal is not suppression, but restoring the capacity to oscillate between activation and rest.

Shervan K Shahhian

Re-establishing Embodied Presence, explained:

Re-establishing embodied presence means restoring a felt sense of being inside your body, grounded in the present moment, and connected to your physical sensations, emotions, and environment.

It’s often discussed in trauma therapy, dissociation work, and somatic psychology.

What Is “Embodied Presence”?

Embodied presence is:

Awareness of bodily sensations (interoception)
A stable sense of physical boundaries
Emotional experience that feels located in the body
Present-moment orientation
A sense of “I am here, in this body”

When someone loses embodied presence, they may experience:

Dissociation
Depersonalization
Emotional numbness
Cognitive overactivity (living “in the head”)
A feeling of floating, unreality, or fragmentation

Why It Gets Disrupted

Embodiment often disconnects due to:

Trauma (acute or developmental)
Chronic stress
Panic or overwhelm
Intense self-exploration without grounding
Existential rumination
Shame or early attachment disruption

The nervous system shifts into survival modes, and awareness withdraws from the body.

What Re-Establishing Embodied Presence Involves

It’s not “forcing yourself to feel.”
It’s gently rebuilding safe contact with the body.

1. Bottom-Up Regulation

Working through the nervous system rather than cognition:

Slow breathing (longer exhale)
Orienting to the room
Feeling feet on the floor
Temperature awareness

2. Interoceptive Awareness

Gradually noticing:

Heartbeat
Muscle tension
Gut sensations
Micro-shifts in emotion

Without analysis, just sensing.

3. Boundary Re-Establishment

Embodiment includes feeling:

Where you end and others begin
The physical edge of your skin
The weight of your body in gravity

Simple practices:

Pressing hands together
Leaning against a wall
Holding an object with texture

4. Emotional Re-Integration

As embodiment returns, emotions often return too.

This can feel destabilizing at first. That’s normal.
Embodiment restores both pleasure and pain.

Clinically Speaking

Re-establishing embodied presence helps with:

Dissociative instability
Identity diffusion
Panic symptoms
Psychological “free fall”
Existential fragmentation

It stabilizes the self by re-rooting it in physiology.

A Subtle but Important Point

Embodied presence is not just grounding.

Grounding: stabilizing.
Embodied presence: inhabiting.

It’s the shift from:

“I am thinking about myself”
to
“I am here.”

Embodied presence is especially important if someone is engaging in:

Altered states
Intense introspection
Explorations of consciousness

Without embodiment, exploration can become dissociative rather than integrative.

Shervan K Shahhian

Somatic Grounding, what is it:

Somatic grounding is a body-based technique used to stabilize your nervous system and bring attention back to the present moment.

Instead of trying to “think” your way out of anxiety, dissociation, or overwhelm, somatic grounding works through sensory and physical experience, because the body often stabilizes faster than cognition.

What It Targets

Somatic grounding is especially useful for:

Dissociation
Panic or acute anxiety
Trauma activation
Emotional flooding
Identity destabilization
Psychological “free fall” states

It helps shift the nervous system from sympathetic overactivation (fight/flight) or dorsal vagal shutdown (freeze/collapse) toward regulation.

This concept is closely related to work from:

(Somatic Experiencing)

(The Body Keeps the Score)

(Polyvagal Theory)

Core Principle

The body anchors the mind.

When cognition fragments, the sensory system can reorient the organism to safety.

Grounding: shifting attention from abstract mental content: to direct physical sensation.

Types of Somatic Grounding

1. Sensory Orientation

Name 5 things you see
4 things you feel
3 things you hear
2 things you smell
1 thing you taste

This re-engages cortical integration.

2. Physical Anchoring

Press feet firmly into the floor
Notice contact with the chair
Grip something solid
Push hands together

This restores proprioceptive awareness.

3. Breath Regulation

Slow exhale longer than inhale
Box breathing (4–4–4–4)
Humming (stimulates vagal tone)

4. Temperature Shifts

Hold ice
Splash cold water
Step outside briefly

Cold stimulation can interrupt dissociation rapidly.

5. Movement-Based Grounding

Slow walking with awareness
Stretching
Shaking arms gently
Pressing palms into a wall

Movement discharges excess sympathetic activation.

Clinically Speaking

Somatic grounding is particularly important when:

Insight is intact but regulation is not
Cognitive reframing fails
The person is dissociating mid-session
Existential rumination becomes destabilizing

It’s often a prerequisite for higher-order reflective work.

The Deeper Mechanism

Grounding works because it:

Activates interoceptive awareness
Reintegrates cortical–limbic communication
Signals safety to the autonomic nervous system
Reorients to present-time reality

It is fundamentally about re-establishing embodied presence.

Shervan K Shahhian

Psychological Free Fall, what is it:

Psychological free fall is not a formal diagnostic term, but it’s often used metaphorically to describe a sudden and destabilizing loss of psychological structure, meaning, or emotional stability.

It refers to the subjective experience of:

Losing your sense of identity
Losing your belief system or worldview
Emotional overwhelm without grounding
A collapse of certainty or control
Feeling like you are “falling” internally with nothing to hold onto

What It Feels Like

People describe it as:

“The ground disappeared under me.”
“Everything I believed is unraveling.”
“I don’t know who I am anymore.”
Intense anxiety or existential dread
Derealization or depersonalization
Sudden collapse of confidence

It can feel similar to:

An identity crisis
An existential crisis
Acute stress reaction
A depressive or anxiety episode

Common Triggers

Psychological free fall can be triggered by:

Divorce, betrayal, or relationship loss
Loss of career or status
Spiritual deconstruction
Trauma exposure
Public humiliation
Collapse of grandiosity or narcissistic defenses
Deep shadow confrontation (especially in intense self-exploration work)

This state often appears when illusions dissolve faster than the psyche can reorganize.

Structurally, What’s Happening?

Psychologically, it’s often:

Collapse of a stabilizing narrative
Ego destabilization
Temporary loss of meaning-making structure
Nervous system dysregulation

The mind feels like it is falling because its previous organizing framework no longer works.

Is It Pathological?

Not necessarily.

It can be:

A precursor to psychological growth
A transition phase toward maturity
A dismantling of false self structures

However, if prolonged or severe, it may indicate:

Major depressive disorder
Panic disorder
Trauma-related disorder
Dissociative instability

Duration, functionality, and level of impairment matter.

Growth vs Breakdown

There’s an important distinction:

Breakdown	Breakthrough
Disintegration without integration	Deconstruction followed by reconstruction
Loss of meaning	Rebuilding meaning
Chronic dysfunction	Temporary destabilization

The difference is whether new structure forms.

From a Depth Psychology Lens

Some might describe this as:

Ego death phase
Descent into the unconscious
Necessary disorientation before individuation

But without containment, it becomes fragmentation rather than transformation.

Stabilizing During Psychological Free Fall

Key interventions:

Nervous system regulation first (sleep, breathing, somatic grounding)
Reduce abstraction (stay concrete, practical)
Limit existential rumination
Strengthen routine and structure
Reality-based thinking over catastrophic interpretation

You don’t build meaning mid-air, you stabilize first.

Shervan K Shahhian

Mental Health Subjectivism, explained:

Mental Health Subjectivism is the philosophical view that mental health is primarily determined by an individual’s personal experience rather than by objective, universal standards.

In simple terms:

A person is mentally healthy if they feel psychologically well or experience themselves as functioning well, regardless of external judgments.

Core Idea

Mental health is defined by subjective inner experience, such as:

Sense of meaning
Emotional satisfaction
Personal coherence
Self-acceptance
Felt well-being

This contrasts with approaches that define mental health through:

Functional impairment
Social norms
Biological markers

Philosophical Roots

Mental health subjectivism draws from:

Phenomenology
Existential psychology
Humanistic psychology

These traditions emphasize the first-person perspective over external classification.

Example

Two people meet criteria for depression:

Person A feels deeply distressed and hopeless.
Person B reports feeling at peace with their slowed pace of life and does not feel impaired.

A strict medical model may diagnose both.
A subjectivist approach would argue that Person B may not be “mentally ill” if their lived experience is not one of suffering.

Strengths

✔ Respects individual differences
✔ Avoids over-pathologizing
✔ Centers personal meaning
✔ Reduces stigma

Criticisms

✖ Risk of ignoring serious impairment
✖ Hard to standardize for treatment
✖ May conflict with public safety concerns
✖ Difficult in cases of poor insight (e.g., severe mania or psychosis)

In Clinical Psychology

In practice, most modern clinicians integrate both:

For example, even if someone feels powerful during mania, clinicians may intervene if the condition threatens safety.

Subjective distress
Objective dysfunction
Risk assessment
For example, even if someone feels powerful during mania, clinicians may intervene if the condition threatens safety.

Shervan K Shahhian

Neuropsychologist, who are they:

Neuropsychologists are Psychologists who specialize in the relationship between the brain and behavior. They focus on how brain structure and function affect thinking, emotion, personality, and everyday functioning.

Here’s the clean breakdown:

What neuropsychologists do

They assess, diagnose, and help treat conditions that affect the brain, such as:

Brain injuries (TBI, concussion, stroke)
Neurodevelopmental disorders (ADHD, autism)
Neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s)
Epilepsy, tumors, infections
Cognitive and emotional changes due to medical illness
Effects of trauma on memory, attention, and executive function

Their core tool: assessment

Neuropsychologists are best known for neuropsychological testing, which evaluates:

Memory
Attention and concentration
Executive functions (planning, inhibition, flexibility)
Language
Visuospatial skills
Processing speed
Emotional and personality functioning

These tests help answer questions like:

Is this memory problem neurological or psychological?
What brain systems are likely affected?
How severe is the impairment?
What kind of support or treatment will help most?

How they’re trained

A neuropsychologist typically has:

A doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) in psychology
Specialized training in brain–behavior relationships
A neuropsychology focused internship and postdoctoral fellowship
Clinical training in assessment, diagnosis, and rehabilitation

They are not medical doctors, but they work closely with:

Neurologists
Psychiatrists
Neurosurgeons
Rehabilitation teams

Where they work

Hospitals and medical centers
Rehabilitation clinics
Memory and dementia clinics
Universities and research centers
Forensic and legal settings
Private practice

How they differ from related roles

Neuropsychologist vs neurologist:
Neurologists treat brain disease medically; neuropsychologists assess cognitive and behavioral impact.
Neuropsychologist vs psychiatrist:
Psychiatrists prescribe medication; neuropsychologists specialize in detailed cognitive and behavioral evaluation.
Neuropsychologist vs clinical psychologist:
Neuropsychologists focus much more on brain-based causes of behavior.

Big picture role

Neuropsychologists sit at the intersection of neuroscience and psychology, translating brain function into real-world understanding of:

How a person thinks?
Why they behave the way they do?
What has changed?
What can improve? Shervan K Shahhian

Behavior Analysis, what is it:

Behavior analysis is the scientific study of how behavior works, specifically how behavior is learned, maintained, and changed by interactions with the environment.

At its core, it asks:

What happens before a behavior, what the behavior is, and what happens after that makes it more or less likely to happen again?

The basics

Behavior analysis focuses on observable behavior (what people do) and the conditions that shape it, rather than on assumptions about hidden causes.

A classic framework is the ABC model:

A – Antecedents: What happens right before the behavior
B – Behavior: The action itself
C – Consequences: What follows the behavior and influences whether it repeats

Key principles

Behavior is learned through experience
Consequences matter (reinforcement increases behavior; punishment decreases it)
Context matters (environment, cues, history, and current needs)
Function matters more than form (why a behavior happens is more important than what it looks like)

For example, two people might withdraw socially for totally different reasons,

avoidance of anxiety vs. conserving energy, so the function differs even if the behavior looks the same.

What behavior analysis is used for

Understanding habits and patterns
Behavior change (education, therapy, organizations)
Skill building
Reducing harmful or ineffective behaviors
Designing environments that support desired behavior

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

ABA is a practical application of behavior analysis principles, commonly used in:

Autism support
Education
Behavioral health
Organizational behavior management

When done well, ABA is data-driven, individualized, and ethical, focusing on meaningful outcomes and quality of life.

How it differs from other approaches

It emphasizes what can be observed and measured
It avoids speculation unless it can be tested
It complements cognitive and emotional models rather than replacing them

In more modern practice, especially trauma-informed work, behavior analysis is often integrated with:

Emotional regulation
Somatic awareness
Cognitive processes
Contextual and relational factor
Shervan K Shahhian