Schadenfreude—the pleasure derived from another’s misfortune—is biologically rooted in the brain’s reward system. Brain imaging studies reveal that when we witness the downfall of someone we envy or dislike, the ventral striatum activates—the same reward center associated with pleasure, food, and financial gain. By the way, remember that this is merely a sensation … Read More
Self-esteem is one of the worst concepts ever propagated. While the definition itself appears harmless enough on its surface, “confidence in one’s own worth or abilities,” the ideas surrounding self-esteem implies that if I had enough of “X,” then I would have less anxiety, less frustration, and more happiness. “X” … Read More
Objectives Anytime you are anxious or frustrated, something from the past has invaded the present. By definition, you cannot be completely connected to what is right in front of you. To change these automatic hardwired reactions, you must first create some “space” between you and your reaction. Learning and mastering … Read More
I have been organizing an annual guy’s ski trip for over 30 years. Anywhere from 20-30 of us head to the Peruvian Lodge located at the base of the Alta Ski Resort in Utah. This year (2019), we had 30 people, with several fathers bringing their sons who are in … Read More
I have always enjoyed hard work. I began working in heavy construction at age fourteen during the remodeling of our house. I fell in love with it and kept working at it for another 18 years. I poured concrete slabs, framed, did some finish work, plumbing, and spent three summers … Read More
I received an email from an orthopedic colleague who I have never personally met. We are both part of an Internet discussion group about chronic pain and disability. His observations were very succinct and I think summarizes the problem of physicians not being adequately trained in chronic pain. Here is … Read More
The DOC project is not a formula. You are not going to read my book and experience healing. My book is a framework that will organize your thinking. You can then systematically address all the variables that are affecting your pain. Unless you are actively learning and using the tools … Read More
In our society today, it’s commonly believed that the higher the opinion you have of yourself, the more confident, happy, and successful you’ll be; high self-esteem is held up as the ultimate goal. In actuality, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth: the pursuit of self-esteem is a destructive … Read More
Our medical and political system has failed. Employers have abused workers as long as there have been employers and workers. The intent of worker’s comp’s no-fault system was to both provide excellent medical care as well as improve worker safety. Although workplace safety has dramatically improved since the early 1900’s, … Read More
One of the core concepts of the human condition is labeling experiences, trends, groups or people. It comes along with having the capacity to communicate through language. Yuval Noah Harari in his book, Sapiens, pointed out that the cognitive revolution for Homo Sapiens occurred about 70,000 years ago with the advent of … Read More