Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an extreme form of anxiety. A relentless assault of unwelcome intrusive thoughts characterizes it. I suffered from OCD for several decades, well before I knew what OCD meant. It is becoming increasingly apparent that many people experience repetitive unpleasant thoughts (RUTs) at a level that … Read More
I have long asked the spouses/ partners of my chronic pain patients to participate in the DOC project (“Direct your Own Care”—my step-by-step method that allows patients to take control of their treatment plan). One reason is that partners of chronic pain patients also experience suffering—they have their own broken … Read More
I have held several three and five-day workshops in Rhinebeck, NY at the Omega Institute with Dr. Fred Luskin, a Stanford psychologist and author of Forgive for Good, my wife, Babs Yohai, a professional tap dancer, and my daughter, Jasmine Yohai-Rifkin who is an expressive arts therapist. The tightly-structured seminar is based … Read More
One of the tenets of successfully solving chronic pain is to stop discussing your pain with others. Dwelling on your pain only strengthens those neural pathways and therefore reinforces your perception of pain. Over the last couple of years, I have seen evidence that has made this notion clearer to … Read More
Compassion: Empathy in the Face of Chronic Pain Empathy is an inherent part of the human experience. Being labeled as a “chronic pain patient” is one of the worst aspects of an already terrible problem. It’s impossible to be truly seen or heard if you are viewed in … Read More
Louis Cozolino, in his exhaustive book The Neuroscience of Human Relationships, points out that that human consciousness developed through interacting with other humans. We all know that people seek connection with others and when deprived of it develop significant health problems. We will do almost anything to stay connected. It … Read More
Your experience of pain depends on many parts of your brain receiving a signal, and comparing it to your expectations based on past experience. Recent research is confirming this on functional MRI (fMRI) scans that look at what part of the brain lights up in response to sensory input. Pain … Read More
The most powerful treatment for any disorder is engaging in practices that calm your nervous system and allows your body to heal itself. Each person has his or her unique way of accomplishing this. I was introduced to this concept in the 1980’s by Dr. Bernie Siegel’s book, Love, Medicine … Read More
This was the highlighted title of an article in the Sports Sunday section of the NY Times a few weeks ago. Of course, it tweaked my interest and I was introduced to an event that I did not dream possible. The article talked about about the Quintuple Anvil Triathlon held … Read More
Your body is a lean and mean fighting machine. That is all it is designed for and intended to do. We somewhat cheated nature in that we possess consciousness and language so we are able to control and manipulate our environment to our advantage. Human consciousness is a recent development. … Read More