... lap band surgery and weight loss in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

a popular type of bariatric (weight loss) surgery for obese people is called gastric banding. in this surgical procedure, the surgeon applies an adjustable device (i.e., the lap band) around the upper part of the stomach. the lap band restricts the intake of food and makes the person feel full sooner. This decreases the appetite and ultimately results in weight loss.

.

interview on weight loss with marie lozano of abs-cbn's tv patrol

.

bariatric surgeons often refer their patients to me. my task is to do a psychiatric/ psychological evaluation before they undergo lap band surgery. i assess whether the patient is emotionally prepared to undergo the surgical procedure and whether s/he is motivated to make the lifestyle changes necessary to make the surgery a success. after the surgery, i help them maintain weight loss through acupuncture, hypnotherapy, art therapy, body image enhancement therapy, etc.

.

for people who cannot afford a lap band surgery, i offer the following simple tips for losing weight:

.

• whatever you eat, whenever you eat, chew your food veeerrrry slowly.
• really savor the flavour in every bite.
• stop eating when you are 70-80% full (or to put it simply, stop when you suspect you are full).
• then finish off with a glass of water.

.

sweet and easy, isn’t it? rather than gulping your food, practice "mindful eating" and you’re guaranteed to shed off some pounds in a few weeks-- even without lap band surgery!

.

... gestalt therapy in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

.

just to give you a brief and simple backgrounder on gestalt therapy, it is a type of psychotherapy which focuses on the "here and now." gestalt therapy emphasizes the importance of personal growth by working on one's unfinished business, and by being responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, choices, and actions.

.

every so often, i facilitate gestalt therapy growth groups which always prove insightful and fun. below, you'll see dinj, june, bart, basha, and topher enjoying this type of growth-oriented psychotherapy.

.

.

... adult male victims/ survivors of sexual abuse, male rape, and incest in the philippines... (life coach, psychotherapist, psychologist)

.

more and more adult male victims of sexual assault have been consulting me at my clinic.

yes, it’s true. men and boys can also be victims of the crimes of sexual abuse, rape, and incest.

.

their stories however are frequently ignored or dismissed by others because of two prevailing myths:

.

• the myth that all men are able to fight off such attacks, and

• the myth that all men are sexual so they must have enjoyed the assault.

the adult male victims/ survivors who consult me are usually plagued by feelings of shame, self-blame, anger, depression, and low self-esteem. sexual difficulties, intimacy issues, and relationship conflicts are commonly experienced. they also question their sexual identities and may engage in self-destructive behaviours.

.

if you are an adult male survivor of sexual abuse, rape, or incest, just know that it’s not your fault and that you are not alone. healing is possible and help is available.

.

... and who doesn't like chichacorn? ... (Life Coach, Counselor, Psychotherapist, Psychologist, Psychiatrist - Philippines)

.

back when i was a medical student, it was cornick which kept me awake as i burned the midnight oil to cram for the daily quizzes.
.
of all the brands of cornick which i tried back then, nana rosa's chichacorn was the crunchiest one. in fact, it remained crunchy and fresh-tasting even if the package had already been opened for days. back then, nana rosa's chichacorn only had one flavor. but now, there's a lot to choose from: garlic, cheese, barbecue, sweet, spicy, and sweet & spicy.
.
this afternoon, i spotted a lady that looked uncannily like the caricature on the nana rosa's chichacorn package. summoning up courage, i went up to her and asked her if she happened to be nana rosa and ... egad! she really was nana rosa! (hmmm, talk about trusting my intuition.)
.
and so, right then and there, i thanked nana rosa for indirectly helping me become a medical doctor. if not for the golden-brown crispy crunchy cornick to chew on, i would have dozed off in the middle of my study time and probably failed my quizzes. thanks again, nana rosa! your chichacorn is addictively delicious!
.

... stress management in the philippines ... (Life Coach, Counselor, Psychotherapist, Psychologist, Psychiatrist - Philippines)

.

in stress management, it's important for you to manage the following:

.

• the symptoms (i.e, effects of stress on you),
• the triggers (i.e, the immediate causes of your stress),
• the aggravating factors (i.e, elements in your situation which worsen your stress),
• the root causes (i.e., original source of your stress).

.
if you just "band aid" your symptoms, then don't expect your stress to disappear.
.

cheryl cosim's show on tv5: alagang kapatid

.

... growth group activity: mom stabbed me on my trip to mount fuji ... (Life Coach, Psychotherapist, Psychologist, Psychiatrist - Philippines)

.

to avoid getting burnt-out from their studies at pgh manila, medical students basha, june, ralph, bart, and dinj flocked to my clinic in pursuit of rest, relaxation, and personal growth from a growth group.

.
the theme of our growth group activity was on pursuing one's passion.
.
in pursuing our passion, blocks and hurdles may impede our way.
.
these blocks may even include our loved ones who, out of their good intentions for us, dictate to us the way they think we should live our lives.
.
perhaps "killjoy" is good term to describe them because they "kill" the thrill and excitement of the life journey, sometimes even impeding our ascent to the top.
.
the solution i guess is to hold on to our passion and pursue it wholeheartedly. the choice is ours to live the life we want for ourselves, and not to live the life which others want for us.
.

... growth group activity: taking a bath with a drum full of blood ... (Life Coach, Psychotherapist, Psychologist, Psychiatrist - Philippines)

.

meet my new friends from the polytechnic university of the philippines, our lady of fatima university, universidad de manila, and university of sto.tomas.
.
from the picture below, you'd think that our activity was confusing and chaotic. but from it, we all got reminded of a simple yet deep life lesson:
.

"learn to let go... and go with the flow."

.
hmm...they're all so cute, i wish i could keep them as pets.
.

... my favorite character: melai cantiveros ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

.

well, guess who visited?
.
let me tell you, she's still as strange as the first time i met her.
.
i'll always remember that time during the auditions when i asked her, "ano ba ang talent mo?"
.
"eto po," melai answered... and she started hopping around my clinic like a frog with adhd!
.
hours after she left my clinic, i was still dumbfounded, shocked, stupefied, and perplexed about how anyone could be so strange, so unearthly...so extra-terrestrial. no wonder i love the girl! :D
.

... the 1st Interscholastic Mr. & Ms. Psychology 2011 ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

.

it was truly enjoyable serving as one of the judges in the 1st Interscholastic Mr. & Ms. Psychology 2011 held today, january 5.
.

the school host of the event was the lyceum of the philippines university. the contestants came from manila doctors college (mdc), lyceum of the philippines university (lpu), university of the east (ue), universidad de manila (udm), polytechnic university of the philippines (pup), mapua institute of technology (mit), and adamson university (au).
.
there was no controlling the audience who rooted wildly for their schoolmate contestants.
.
here I am with the other judges:
.

onstage with the judges and top placers:
.
presenting mr. and ms. psychology 2011!
.
and the audience? they're a cute bunch, aren't they?
.
.

... kundalini yoga in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

.

kundalini yoga is an ancient form of yoga that focuses on the spine. practitioners of kundalini yoga believe that youth is determined by the flexibility of the spine, and that a flexible spine is necessary for maintaining a healthy body. hence, the focus of kundalini yoga is on exercises, stretches, and postures that help keep the back muscles and spine flexible and strong. it's become my routine to do a set of kundalini yoga exercises every morning. the exercises make me feel calm, centered, yet energized to face the day's challenges.

.

margaret de castro, a niece of mine who is on vacation in the philippines, works for NASA as an operations research analyst and is also a yoga enthusiast. one morning, seeing me do my kundalini yoga moves, she was kind enough to give me instruction on how to improve the movements. here she is telling me to keep my elbows up as i do the basic spinal twist.

.

filipinos will easily relate to the spinal flex and the cat-cow exercises. filipinos unknowingly practice kundalini yoga when they do the “otso-otso” dance moves (see illustrations below). in fact, even the "spaghetting pababa, spaghetting pataas" move is similar to the spinal grind exercise of kundalini yoga. no wonder it’s easy for filipinos to keep young and flexible.

.

as for margaret, for helping me stretch my spine, i treated her out to dinner, the cost of which was ...mmm... an added stretch on my budget! (joke- hehe!)

.

.

... a new year's resolution ... (life coach,counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, philippines)

.

One of my resolutions for 2011 is to keep fit by playing tennis again. I practically spent my high school and college years on the tennis courts, competing in many club tournaments and actually winning a good number of them.

.

Over the years however, being the busy shrink that I am, I’ve played quite infrequently (mmm...ok, the truth is, rarely!). And although my playing form is still intact, the stamina and strength of my teenage years have considerably dissipated. This basically means that I’m huffing and puffing my lungs out once I’m past 45 minutes of playing.

.

And this is one reason why my nephew Gerard "Gedd" de Castro is heaven-sent. A physician from Maryland, Gedd practices tennis coaching on the side when he’s not busy with work. He gave me a pep-talk which inspired me to rush off to the tennis courts immediately. He was very gracious in giving me tips on how to play better.

.

And in exchange for coaching me on tennis, I returned the favour by being his life coach during the tennis breaks.

.

What a good way to start the year, isn't it? I hope you really do follow through with your own new year's resolutions for 2011!

.