Recent Posts

"I Wish You Well" - Not as Altruistic as it Sounds

“I Wish You Well” – Not as Altruistic as it Sounds

We do not see things as they are; we see them as we are. Anaïs Nin A fundamental concept in ...
 Quit Fighting Darkness and Turn on the Light

 Quit Fighting Darkness and Turn on the Light

Objectives We are trained that if we can solve enough of our problems, we’ll have an “enjoyable life.” Life’s challenges ...
Stay Out of the Surgical Scrap Heap

Stay Out of the Surgical Scrap Heap

Objectives: Although there is no question about the dedication of physicians to providing excellent care, the rigors of training, the ...
It is Becoming Harder to Make a Living as a Surgeon………

It is Becoming Harder to Make a Living as a Surgeon………

When I began my surgical practice in 1986, I was convinced that spine surgery was a definitive solution for pain, ...
If you want to be smarter and live longer, do this!

If you want to be smarter and live longer, do this!

My wife and I started to play ping pong in our backyard about five years ago. We quickly discovered how ...
“Wake the Fun Up” - The DOC Journey App

“Wake the Fun Up” – The DOC Journey App

Nurturing a sense of play is the main focus of the app. It is the optimal healing state of safety ...
“Stars Through the Bars”

“Stars Through the Bars”

Many years ago I was involved with helping a young friend, Larry, in his 20’s deal with a difficult legal ...
Science has the Answer to the Opioid Epidemic - Is anyone listening?

Science has the Answer to the Opioid Epidemic – Is anyone listening?

The Federal government has spent billions of dollars on combating the opioid epidemic. In 2022, 1.5 billion dollars was allocated ...
We have no protection from mental pain

We have no protection from mental pain

Objectives: Pain from any body part is a protective danger signal that guides our behavior and physical responses to avoid ...
Don’t Take on the World’s Suffering

Don’t Take on the World’s Suffering

Objectives Many of us become upset about the state of the world, which is definitely worrisome and disturbing. However, you ...
Calming Down and Healing with Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS)

Calming Down and Healing with Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS)

The Relationship Between Chronic Stress and Health Stress is commonly perceived as a psychological term. That is simply not true ...
The Pain of Social Isolation

The Pain of Social Isolation

Many people suffering from chronic pain are socially isolated. When you are trapped in pain you have a difficult time ...

Stage 1 - Lay the Foundation

Select a step from the dropdown menu below to view the posts in that step. The steps are:

Step 1 - Learn About Your Pain
Step 2 - Expressive Writing
Step 3 - Active Meditation
Step 4 - Sleep
Step 5 - Don't Share Your Pain

Science has the Answer to the Opioid Epidemic - Is anyone listening?

Science has the Answer to the Opioid Epidemic – Is anyone listening?

The Federal government has spent billions of dollars on combating the opioid epidemic. In 2022, 1.5 billion dollars was allocated ...
The Pain of Social Isolation

The Pain of Social Isolation

Many people suffering from chronic pain are socially isolated. When you are trapped in pain you have a difficult time ...
The Root Cause of Societal Disintegration – Untreated Anxiety

The Root Cause of Societal Disintegration – Untreated Anxiety

Being trapped by relentless untreated anxiety is the core driver of destructive human behaviour. Anxiety is the sensation generated by ...
The Myth of MUS (Medically Unexplained Symptoms) - It's MES

The Myth of MUS (Medically Unexplained Symptoms) – It’s MES

There is a deadly diagnosis that has evolved and become increasingly embedded in chronic pain terminology – Medically Unexplained Symptoms ...
Calming and Stabilizing Your Nervous System

Calming and Stabilizing Your Nervous System

Objectives When your nervous system is inflamed and hyper-reactive, lesser levels of stress cause your body to go into flight ...
Active Meditation - a simple starting point

Active Meditation – a simple starting point

Objectives: When you are suffering for any reason, you mind races, which makes it harder to think clearly. Doing battle ...
"The Abyss" - Honour your suffering

“The Abyss” – Honour your suffering

Objectives: Honor your suffering. You are trapped by physical and mental sensations without an apparent way out. You feel extremely ...
Solving Tinnitus - The Ringing in My Ears

Solving Tinnitus – The Ringing in My Ears

Ringing in your ears, regardless of its intensity, is annoying. Actually, it is more than annoying; it is relentless and ...
Your Hand Stuck Over the Stove

Your Hand Stuck Over the Stove

I often encounter a perplexing situation: A patient experiencing severe chronic pain on my spine intake questionnaire rates him or ...
Verbal “Expressive Writing”

Verbal “Expressive Writing”

Freely writing your thoughts and immediately destroying them has been the starting point for almost every person I have seen ...
Marsha's Three Unnecessary Spine Surgeries

Marsha’s Three Unnecessary Spine Surgeries

Marsha was a 36 year-old businesswoman with two young children. She was referred to me by another patient and came ...
David Hanscom’s Mission and Resources

David Hanscom’s Mission and Resources

My mission falls into two broad categories. Connect mainstream medicine with existing science – most symptoms, illness and disease  are ...
There is an Answer to the Mental Health Crisis

There is an Answer to the Mental Health Crisis

Objectives Avoiding danger is what keeps us alive. Humans call this signal anxiety. Avoiding this sensation drives much of dysfunctional ...
My Descent Into The Abyss

My Descent Into The Abyss

Objectives There are many different physical and mental symptoms that are possible when you are in sustained flight or fight ...
Charley's Story: Pain Free After 17 Doctors

Charley’s Story: Pain Free After 17 Doctors

This is a story of a middle-aged gentleman who became pain free using DOC Process principles. Although, he saw me ...
Processing Anxiety/ Frustration - They are not Going Away

Processing Anxiety/ Frustration – They are not Going Away

  Objectives Providing yourself with cues of safety is essential to healing. However, your body instinctively gravitates towards being aware ...

Stage 2 - Forgive and Play

Select a step from the dropdown menu below to view the posts in that step. The steps are:

Step 1 - Understand the Impact of Anger on Your Life
Step 2 - Acknowledge Your Disguises
Step 3 - Admit Your Victimhood
Step 4 - Forgive
Step 5 - Play

“Wake the Fun Up” - The DOC Journey App

“Wake the Fun Up” – The DOC Journey App

Nurturing a sense of play is the main focus of the app. It is the optimal healing state of safety ...
Don’t Take on the World’s Suffering

Don’t Take on the World’s Suffering

Objectives Many of us become upset about the state of the world, which is definitely worrisome and disturbing. However, you ...
The Myth of Self-Esteem

The Myth of Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is one of the worst concepts ever propagated. While the definition itself appears harmless enough on its surface, “confidence ...
Depression Masking as Pain

Depression Masking as Pain

Patient’s Letter Hi Dr Hanscom, I have been meaning to check in with you for a while now and let ...
Our Need to Feel Safe

Our Need to Feel Safe

The deep need to feel and be safe is the driving force of all life, including humans. In this physiological ...
Bullying is Good for Your Health

Bullying is Good for Your Health

Bullying is maybe one of the most irrational and unacceptable aspects of the human experience. Everyone at every age, including ...
Social Anxiety – Vulnerability Doesn’t Feel Safe

Social Anxiety – Vulnerability Doesn’t Feel Safe

Humans want to feel safe. Feeling or being safe reflects profound shifts in your body’s chemistry to “rest and digest.” ...
"She Just Let Go"

“She Just Let Go”

My migraine headaches began on the Fourth of July when I was five years old. By age fifty, I had ...
Suicide – A Horrible Way to Escape from Pain

Suicide – A Horrible Way to Escape from Pain

Objectives The root cause of suicide is feeling trapped and mental and physical pain are problematic.significant reasons to feel this ...
"5–3–2" - Processing Anger in Three Steps

“5–3–2” – Processing Anger in Three Steps

Objectives Anxiety is an unpleasant sensation generated by your body’s physiological response to real or perceived danger. It compels you ...
Gun Violence - No Action in a Reaction

Gun Violence – No Action in a Reaction

Our society continues to wring its hands over ongoing problem of gun violence. The bigger problem is the that of ...
From "Would Like" to "Should" - The Unenforceable Rules

From “Would Like” to “Should” – The Unenforceable Rules

Objectives: Our core life outlook is programmed by every second of our life to the present moment. Each person has ...
Grievance Stories

Grievance Stories

Objectives All of us are “wronged” every day and often multiple times. The wrongs may be real or perceived. Your ...
Forgiveness is Not What You Think – Learn It

Forgiveness is Not What You Think – Learn It

Objectives Forgiveness does not have to be that difficult. You are simply making a choice of not letting a situation ...
Healing through Play - It is Safety Physiology

Healing through Play – It is Safety Physiology

Objectives Connecting with your sense of play is one of the most powerful ways of shifting your physiology from threat ...
Calming Yourself by Recruiting the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)

Calming Yourself by Recruiting the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)

Written in conjunction with Dr. Les Aria, PhD  Objectives Every function and action of your body is in a delicate ...

Stage 3 - Move Forward

Select a step from the dropdown menu below to view the posts in that step. The steps are:

Step 1 - Commit to a Daily Practice
Step 2 - Create a Safe Haven - Family
Step 3 - Get Organized
Step 4 - Connect with the Life You Want
Step 5 - Create Your Vision

If you want to be smarter and live longer, do this!

If you want to be smarter and live longer, do this!

My wife and I started to play ping pong in our backyard about five years ago. We quickly discovered how ...
“Stars Through the Bars”

“Stars Through the Bars”

Many years ago I was involved with helping a young friend, Larry, in his 20’s deal with a difficult legal ...
Calming Down and Healing with Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS)

Calming Down and Healing with Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS)

The Relationship Between Chronic Stress and Health Stress is commonly perceived as a psychological term. That is simply not true ...
Create a Safe Haven - Family

Create a Safe Haven – Family

Pain = Frustration. In the presence of unrelenting pain this frustration can be intense. Anger is a survival reaction and it ...
Downhill Skiing is Dangerous – So is Life

Downhill Skiing is Dangerous – So is Life

Looking down a hill well beyond your skill level is terrifying. Downhill skis are designed to be fast, are long, ...
Navigating Life is Similar to Playing Major League Baseball

Navigating Life is Similar to Playing Major League Baseball

Feeling safe is the essence of enjoying life, healing, and thriving Healing chronic illness happens by moving towards health not ...
The “C”quence of Healing Chronic Illness

The “C”quence of Healing Chronic Illness

Objectives Connecting to every aspect of your life is difficult but is at the core of allowing your body to ...
"The Pit of Despair"

“The Pit of Despair”

Modern medicine is evolving in a dangerous direction with regards to your care. The major factor in deciding to offer ...
Stress Kills - Don't Allow it

Stress Kills – Don’t Allow it

Each of us has been given a profound gift – life. The meaning of life has been the focus of ...
Happy Holidays – Not

Happy Holidays – Not

My first year in training I will never forget my first holiday season as an internal medicine resident in Spokane, ...
How healing happens

How healing happens

It really appears insurmountable, & the process stops and starts, but when you begin to take this course, to move ...
Connection – The Antithesis of Pursuing Self-esteem

Connection – The Antithesis of Pursuing Self-esteem

Objectives The “C”quence of healing is connection, confidence, and creativity. You must first become aware of and connect with all ...
Why are New Year's Resolutions So Hard to Keep?

Why are New Year’s Resolutions So Hard to Keep?

Each new year, many of us spend time figuring out how we’ll make it better and also to really complete ...
No One Can Take Away Your Holiday Joy - But You

No One Can Take Away Your Holiday Joy – But You

Dealing with Holiday Triggers  This blog is written in conjunction with Dr. Les Aria, who is an experienced pain psychologist ...
Do You Feel Safe in Your Own Home?

Do You Feel Safe in Your Own Home?

One of the most  basic human needs in addition to survival is to feel safe. Of course, the two go ...
Your Relationship to Food and Life

Your Relationship to Food and Life

Objectives Our view of the world and our place in it is programmed in from the moment we are born ...

Stage 4 Posts - Expand Your Consciousness

Select a step from the dropdown menu below to view the posts in that step. The steps are:

Step 1 - Pass Through the "Ring of Fire"
Step 2 - Step Into Your New Life
Step 3 - "Failing" Well
Step 4 - Look Up - Your Spiritual Journey
Step 5 - Giving Back is Healing

"I Wish You Well" - Not as Altruistic as it Sounds

“I Wish You Well” – Not as Altruistic as it Sounds

We do not see things as they are; we see them as we are. Anaïs Nin A fundamental concept in ...
 Quit Fighting Darkness and Turn on the Light

 Quit Fighting Darkness and Turn on the Light

Objectives We are trained that if we can solve enough of our problems, we’ll have an “enjoyable life.” Life’s challenges ...
Why You Do Need an Ego? Dissolve it with Awareness

Why You Do Need an Ego? Dissolve it with Awareness

Objectives Our survival reactions and ongoing negative program cause us to feel guilty and inadequate. We create “stories” about ourselves ...
Kogos: Why Anxiety is the Real Gift of Life

Kogos: Why Anxiety is the Real Gift of Life

This article was written by a journalist that I met in New York City about five years ago. My wife ...
"The Bottom"

“The Bottom”

I have observed from my personal experience and others, that anger drives depression. It is not great to have down ...
 “Our envy of others devours us most of all”

 “Our envy of others devours us most of all”

What about the main thing in life, all its riddles? If you want, I’ll spell it out for you right ...
Be an Expert at Living life

Be an Expert at Living life

This post is the introduction for the last leg of the updated DOC Journey course. The main course is presented ...
Mindfulness Should not be Taught in School – Really??

Mindfulness Should not be Taught in School – Really??

Mental rigidity is a variation of suppressing thoughts in that you allow yourself only certain sets and types of thoughts ...
Understanding the “Curse of Consciousness”

Understanding the “Curse of Consciousness”

RUTs (repetitive unpleasant thoughts) are driven by our unconscious brain Here is the essence of the problem with RUTs and ...
AI and the Cumulative Effects of Trauma

AI and the Cumulative Effects of Trauma

Objectives AI and the human brain both are blank slates whose functionality depends on what is loaded into them. Your ...
Four Aspects of Solving RUT’s

Four Aspects of Solving RUT’s

Objectives Mental and physical pain are processed in similar regions of the brain. Our inability to escape from RUT’s relentlessly ...
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”

A way into “The Abyss” of chronic illness The title of this song1 is a common way many of us ...
Your “Authentic Self”

Your “Authentic Self”

The only “authentic self” that exists is the one who is present today – right this very second. Your actions ...
Connecting the past and present to the future - Bruce Lipton and David Hanscom

Connecting the past and present to the future – Bruce Lipton and David Hanscom

Chronic mental and physical disease are connected by a common root cause – stress. How and why? Stress (threat) creates ...
Romanticizing Pirates - Normalizing Suffering and Abuse

Romanticizing Pirates – Normalizing Suffering and Abuse

Each year we return to Italy to spend time with some of our close friends. My wife lived there for ...
Giving Back is Healing

Giving Back is Healing

Objectives You probably have been trapped by anxiety for so long, and consumed by trying to find a way out, ...
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Stage 5 - Decision-making

Select a step from the dropdown menu below to view the posts in that step. The steps are:

Step 1 - General Principles - The Grid
Step 2 - The Source of Your Pain
Step 3 - The Impact of Stress on Your Pain and Decision-making
Step 4 - Understanding the Magnitude of the Surgery
Step 5 - Making the Final Surgical Decision
Step 6 - Stories of Surgical Despair

Stay Out of the Surgical Scrap Heap

Stay Out of the Surgical Scrap Heap

Objectives: Although there is no question about the dedication of physicians to providing excellent care, the rigors of training, the ...
It is Becoming Harder to Make a Living as a Surgeon………

It is Becoming Harder to Make a Living as a Surgeon………

When I began my surgical practice in 1986, I was convinced that spine surgery was a definitive solution for pain, ...
"My Son Just Died"

“My Son Just Died”

George was a 78 year-old businessman who acted and looked about half his age. He was pleasant and talked freely ...
Make the Right Decision About Spine Surgery – The Grid

Make the Right Decision About Spine Surgery – The Grid

Objectives Chronic mental and physical pain are complex. Isolated interventions cannot and don’t work. Surgery is often considered a “definitive ...
The Impact of Stress on Pain and Decision-Making

The Impact of Stress on Pain and Decision-Making

A person’s stress level has a marked effect on both your central and peripheral nervous systems. The central nervous system ...
How Many More Neck Surgeries?

How Many More Neck Surgeries?

One middle-aged patient sought me out in Seattle from the East Coast for a second opinion regarding his neck. He ...
Do You Really Need Spine Surgery?

Do You Really Need Spine Surgery?

Do You Really Need Spine Surgery? Take Control with Advice from a Surgeon considers all factors affecting your perception of ...
Optimizing (Avoiding) Spine Surgery

Optimizing (Avoiding) Spine Surgery

About three years ago, my staff noticed that our surgical patients who participated in The DOC Journey principles were doing ...
My Early Surgical Philosophy

My Early Surgical Philosophy

I started my practice in Seattle in 1986.  I was feeling pretty beat up from my spine training. I felt ...
Anger Altering  a Surgical Decision

Anger Altering a Surgical Decision

Objectives Spine surgery is not an option if there is not a structural problem with matching symptoms. Back pain does ...
My Call to Action

My Call to Action

Jean was a 48 year-old woman who came to me from a neighboring state for a second opinion. She filled ...
Make the Right Decision About Spine Surgery – The Grid

Make the Right Decision About Spine Surgery – The Grid

Surgery on a normal neck?? Last week, I reviewed the films of a young girl who had been in a ...
Phantom Brain Pain - "The Doctor is Missing Something"

Phantom Brain Pain – “The Doctor is Missing Something”

Any skill in life, mental or physical is first learned and then embedded in our brains with repetition. This is ...
Humans Aren't Data Points - Modern Medicine is Hurting Us

Humans Aren’t Data Points – Modern Medicine is Hurting Us

There is deep basic science and clinical research that documents effective treatments for chronic mental and physical disease. Most of ...
Tulsa Shooting – “The Pit of Despair”

Tulsa Shooting – “The Pit of Despair”

Preston Phillips, the spine surgeon shot this week in Tulsa, was a colleague of mine in Seattle. I did not ...
Permanent Disability – Needless??

Permanent Disability – Needless??

Please do not let this happen to you, your family, or friends. The downside of failed spine surgery can be ...
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Stage 6 Posts - Procedures

Select a step from the dropdown menu below to view the posts in that step. The steps are:

Step 1 - General Considerations: Magnitude vs. Benefit
Step 2 - Decompressions
Step 3 - Lumbar Fusions
Step 4 - Deformity Surgery
Step 5 - Other Spine Surgeries
Step 6 - Stories of Surgical Despair

Posterior Lumbar Fusion

Posterior Lumbar Fusion

Video animation of a lumbar fusion The purpose of this letter is to explain what is involved when a posterior ...
Lumbar Laminectomy/Laminotomy

Lumbar Laminectomy/Laminotomy

Print this letter Laminectomy: Video animation Laminotomy: Illustrations What is a laminae? The spinal column consists of vertebra and disc ...
Lumbar Microdiscectomy

Lumbar Microdiscectomy

Print this letter Video animation: Microdiscectomy The purpose of this letter is to explain the microdiscectomy procedure. A microdiscectomy is ...
Trapped for 18 Years from Scoliosis Surgery

Trapped for 18 Years from Scoliosis Surgery

I first met Georgia when she was 15 years-old. She had undergone a fusion for adolescent scoliosis at another hospital ...
A New Life at 72

A New Life at 72

Crystal is a woman from the southern part of Washington. When I first met her, she was over 70 years-old ...
My Low Back Surgery--and Infection

My Low Back Surgery–and Infection

I started my working life as a carpenter at age fourteen. I worked every summer and vacation doing residential construction ...

Important Posts

Do You Really Need Spine Surgery?

Do You Really Need Spine Surgery?

Do You Really Need Spine Surgery? Take Control with Advice from a Surgeon considers all factors affecting your perception of ...
David Hanscom’s Mission and Resources

David Hanscom’s Mission and Resources

My mission falls into two broad categories. Connect mainstream medicine with existing science – most symptoms, illness and disease  are ...
Anger Academy

Anger Academy

Objectives Processing anger is more doable if it is broken down into its components. Anger is a powerful, necessary, and ...
Dynamic Healing

Dynamic Healing

A new, data-based dynamic approach is needed for medicine to successfully deal with our epidemic of chronic disease. It must ...
Plan A–Lowering Inflammation Lengthens Life

Plan A–Lowering Inflammation Lengthens Life

The COVID-19 virus is a member of the Corona virus family that usually just causes the common cold. The problem ...
Essence of Illness

Essence of Illness

The burden of chronic disease is crushing us while we have the answers right in front of us. A recent ...
Navigating the Entire Circle of Your Life

Navigating the Entire Circle of Your Life

The DOC (Direct your Own Care) Journey is a collection of resources that reflect the ones many people have used ...
Clarifying the New IASP Definition of Chronic Pain

Clarifying the New IASP Definition of Chronic Pain

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) is highly regarded international society committed to research and education about ...
Anxiety Basics

Anxiety Basics

Anxiety is the body’s neurochemical reaction to a mental or physical threat. Without it you can’t survive. It’s the sensation ...
Learn Another Language - “An Enjoyable Life”

Learn Another Language – “An Enjoyable Life”

To master a new language requires a focused commitment for an extended period of time. Say you wanted to become ...
Healing Begins at Home – The DOC Journey Starting Point

Healing Begins at Home – The DOC Journey Starting Point

The DOC Journey began to evolve in 2003, as I emerged from my own 15-year struggle with chronic pain. It ...
Happily Ever After

Happily Ever After

My wife and I were at a wedding this weekend. The bride was the daughter of some of our closest ...
Degenerative Disc Disease Isn't a Disease

Degenerative Disc Disease Isn’t a Disease

Surgeries being performed for axial neck, thoracic, and low back pain on normally aging spines was a major reason I ...

Stories of Hope

The Pain of Social Isolation

The Pain of Social Isolation

Many people suffering from chronic pain are socially isolated. When you are trapped in pain you have a difficult time ...
Learning to Heal with Awareness - Gail's Story

Learning to Heal with Awareness – Gail’s Story

Gail is a woman who has been working with the DOC Journey concepts for almost a year. She had been ...
Depression Masking as Pain

Depression Masking as Pain

Patient’s Letter Hi Dr Hanscom, I have been meaning to check in with you for a while now and let ...
"Love Heals" - Moving into a New Life

“Love Heals” – Moving into a New Life

I met Dana a few years ago after she had undergone two low back surgeries and was still experiencing a ...
Solving Tinnitus - The Ringing in My Ears

Solving Tinnitus – The Ringing in My Ears

Ringing in your ears, regardless of its intensity, is annoying. Actually, it is more than annoying; it is relentless and ...
Spastic Bladder Resolved – Being with Anger

Spastic Bladder Resolved – Being with Anger

This is a letter I recently received from a young woman with interstitial cystitis or spastic bladder. It is a ...
Optimizing (Avoiding) Spine Surgery

Optimizing (Avoiding) Spine Surgery

About three years ago, my staff noticed that our surgical patients who participated in The DOC Journey principles were doing ...
How to Heal - A Patient's Story

How to Heal – A Patient’s Story

Essentially every person that has experienced deep healing has learned to process anger and nurture joy. It is much more ...
No More Back Pain - A Story of Healing

No More Back Pain – A Story of Healing

When I discuss the idea that you can reprogram or shift your brain circuits around away from pain, there is ...
Positive Thinking vs. Real-time Reprogramming

Positive Thinking vs. Real-time Reprogramming

You can heal by connecting to your own body’s capacity to heal. But that means connecting with every aspect of ...
Charley's Story: Pain Free After 17 Doctors

Charley’s Story: Pain Free After 17 Doctors

This is a story of a middle-aged gentleman who became pain free using DOC Process principles. Although, he saw me ...
No More Being a Victim - Pay it Forward and Heal

No More Being a Victim – Pay it Forward and Heal

Being a victim is universal because we are victims. Life is challenging for all living creatures, including humans. We are ...
"My Way Out" (of "The Abyss") - One Patient's Story

“My Way Out” (of “The Abyss”) – One Patient’s Story

This is one of many stories of hope that I hear frequently. Her story is a classic illustration of how ...
"Ritalins"

“Ritalins”

I want to introduce you to Rita who holds the record in my practice for the longest time being in ...
"Physician, Heal Thyself" - and She Did

“Physician, Heal Thyself” – and She Did

The solutions to breaking free from the grip of chronic pain have become increasingly clear. The answers are coming from ...
Freed by Persistence and Play

Freed by Persistence and Play

I first met Mark at our 2017 three-day “Rewiring Your Brain” workshop at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. He ...
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Expressive Arts Posts

Hope

Hope

This is a river rock that I painted with the ocean scene to express “The healing journey is not linear!” ...
The Walk Home

The Walk Home

Poem by Susan Angelis Photo by Susan Angelis October 29, 2023 The Walk Home The walk home from Sunday church ...
Fierce Pain - Medically Explainable Symptoms (MES)

Fierce Pain – Medically Explainable Symptoms (MES)

This is a piece sent to me through the expressive arts gallery. My arms reach upward as the mind and ...
"MdDS: She is a Beautiful Flower" (acrylic on black watercolor paper, Feb 2017)

“MdDS: She is a Beautiful Flower” (acrylic on black watercolor paper, Feb 2017)

Julie Graber, 2017: July 2016, a Mal de Debarquement. Rocking, Bobbing, Swaying … 24×7 … circling in a counter-clockwise direction ...
"Mystic Fragmentation ... a medicine painting" (acrylic paint and collaged feet on 48x60" canvas, 2021)

“Mystic Fragmentation … a medicine painting” (acrylic paint and collaged feet on 48×60″ canvas, 2021)

Julie Graber, 2016: a chronic neurological disorder after 8-day river cruise Prague to Budapest, Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS), for ...
Anger

Anger

A deep and overwhelming feeling of helplessness became anger (which usually comes out to somehow rescue me..)..So that’s what I ...
Shadows Dancing in the Fire

Shadows Dancing in the Fire

Painted in 1971 by Gabrielle Schang and Babs Yohai. Dancing through the ring of fire. Dancing through the ring of ...
Emotional Turmoil

Emotional Turmoil

A great life isn’t just about waiting for the storm to pass, It’s about learning to dance in the rain ...
Somatic energy

Somatic energy

I am a Registered Art Therapist in Victoria, BC. My husband is your big fan and introduced me to your ...
With or Without

With or Without

Without or With Without desire I die Without touch I die Without conversation I die Without inspiration I die Without ...
"Compassion"

“Compassion”

As I grow through my journey of coming to peace with chronic pain, I see the need for deep self ...
Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves

I find such tranquility in nature & creating these hidden lid gourd containers helps me feel that I am in ...
Love

Love

I made this doodle at the beginning of quarantine. As a social person, it’s been hard to be isolated from ...
A selection from my mask project

A selection from my mask project

The range of expressions tell the story. The wall in the studio is from 1972-72. They are collage friends. The ...
The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger

My Mask project is part of my fie art practice that began around 1970 and continues today. The series includes ...
Six Feet Apart

Six Feet Apart

“Six Feet Apart” Oil 9×12″ Currently in literal terms, this is the kind of mask that has center stage right ...

 

Click a Show Section button below to view the posts in that section.

Section 1 - Overview of RUTs


Overview of RUTs

RUTs - Defining the Problem

“The Curse of Consciousness” – Trapped by Your Thoughts

“The Curse of Consciousness” – Trapped by Your Thoughts

Objectives: Unpleasant thoughts are impossible to avoid and can significantly impact your quality of life. They are a “neurological trick” created by your unconscious brain. They are not subject to rational interventions. The root cause of the problem is the ...
 Quit Fighting Darkness and Turn on the Light

 Quit Fighting Darkness and Turn on the Light

Objectives We are trained that if we can solve enough of our problems, we’ll have an “enjoyable life.” Life’s challenges never stop, and we may slowly sink into darkness, “The Abyss.” We become desperate trying to escape; especially from our ...
Am I Operating on Your Pain or Anxiety?

Am I Operating on Your Pain or Anxiety?

My surgical decision-making dramatically changed over the last five years of my practice. In spite of watching so many successes of people healing from chronic pain without surgery, I still had a surgical mindset and was always looking for a ...
My Descent Into The Abyss

My Descent Into The Abyss

Objectives There are many different physical and mental symptoms that are possible when you are in sustained flight or fight physiology. At my lowest point, I was experiencing 17 of them. No one could tell me what was happening despite ...


Section 2 - Solving RUTs

Solving RUTs

Separating Your Identity from Your Physiology

The Gift of Anxiety – Your Bodyguard or Prison Guard?

The Gift of Anxiety – Your Bodyguard or Prison Guard?

Objectives: Since the body’s response to threats affects every cell in your body, it feels like part of who you are. We spend a lot of time attempting to avoid this intentionally unpleasant sensation when it is necessary for life ...

 

Four Aspects of Solving RUTs

Four Aspects of Solving RUT’s

Four Aspects of Solving RUT’s

Objectives Mental and physical pain are processed in similar regions of the brain. Our inability to escape from RUT’s relentlessly drives flight or fight physiology, and people may become ill. There is a healing sequence to solve them – separation ...
The Popcorn Machine – Healing RUTS

The Popcorn Machine – Healing RUTS

Objectives Repetitive Unpleasant Thoughts (RUTs) are solvable with a multi-pronged self-directed approach. Consider the four aspects in the metaphor of a popcorn machine. They are 1) the kernels 2) the cooking pot 3) the storage compartment 4) the power source ...

 

Thought Diversion

Write and Don't Stop!

Write and Don’t Stop!

  There are over 2200 research papers that document that expressive writing in some form is effective for improving both your mental and physical health. I have been adamant for a long time that you should write down just negative ...
Unhooking from the Train

Unhooking from the Train

Your body under chronic stress  There are multiple physical and mental manifestations of a chronically fired up nervous system. With engagement of the principles that calm it down, the improvements in my patients’ quality of life are consistent and frequently ...
The Three Column Technique

The Three Column Technique

After you have become comfortable with writing down and immediately destroying your thoughts, the next phase involves the “three-column technique that Dr. David Burns outlines in his book, Feeling Good. It provides an excellent format in which to apply the principles ...
Active Meditation

Active Meditation

A basic tenet of many Eastern philosophies is that worrying about the future and thinking about the past causes internal unrest. There is anxiety around the future and many regrets and frustrations about the past. By staying only in the ...

 

“Turn Down the Heat” – Anger

Anger Academy

Anger Academy

Objectives Processing anger is more doable if it is broken down into its components. Anger is a powerful, necessary, and hard wired survival reflex. You cannot tame it with the conscious brain. It is an acquired skill that requires ongoing ...
Directly Calming the Threat Response

Directly Calming the Threat Response

Your capacity to enjoy your life, feel safe and content is dependent on your body’s neurochemical profile. When you are stressed you don’t feel good. There are methods to regulate your body’s stress reaction and inflammatory response. The gift of ...
"5–3–2" - Processing Anger in Three Steps

“5–3–2” – Processing Anger in Three Steps

Objectives Anxiety is an unpleasant sensation generated by your body’s physiological response to real or perceived danger. It compels you to take action to resolve the threat and live another day. If you cannot escape or solve the threat, your ...

 

Nurturing Creativity

 Quit Fighting Darkness and Turn on the Light

 Quit Fighting Darkness and Turn on the Light

Objectives We are trained that if we can solve enough of our problems, we’ll have an “enjoyable life.” Life’s challenges never stop, and we may slowly sink into darkness, “The Abyss.” We become desperate trying to escape; especially from our ...


Section 3 - The Evolution of RUTs

The Evolution of RUTs

The Need for Mental Control – The “Ironic Effect”

Your Demons are Robots

Your Demons are Robots

It is critical to understand how deeply negative anxiety-producing thoughts are etched into your nervous system. A 1987 Harvard experiment (1) documented that when you suppress unpleasant thoughts, they become more powerful. Unfortunately, they documented a trampoline effect in that they ...

We are brainwashed by our life experiences

Your “Authentic Self”

Your “Authentic Self”

The only “authentic self” that exists is the one who is present today – right this very second. Your actions and reactions reflect your entire lifetime of programming. Much of our programming is less than ideal but it is what ...
Your Personal Brain Scanner

Your Personal Brain Scanner

Every second of your life depends on your brain scanning your surroundings for trouble. This unconscious process guides your behavior so as to avoid danger and maximize your chances of survival. You will become conscious of this ongoing interaction with ...

The Physiology / Mental Mechanics

Threat versus Safety Physiology

Threat versus Safety Physiology

Lesson Objectives Consider ongoing environmental input separately from your body’s responses. Understand the essence of illness/ disease is sustained exposure to real or perceived threats. It creates an adverse chemical profile that increases metabolism (your rate of fuel consumption) and ...
Common Links to Chronic Disease - RUTs are Relentless

Common Links to Chronic Disease – RUTs are Relentless

Objectives: Understanding the nature of chronic disease and the principles behind the solutions, allows you to fully engage in your care. Characteristics that keep us alive are what also create disease states. Chronic pain is a neurological diagnosis that has ...
We have no protection from mental pain

We have no protection from mental pain

Objectives: Pain from any body part is a protective danger signal that guides our behavior and physical responses to avoid danger and remain safe. This system is called the nociceptive system, which guides behaviors to not exceed the limits of ...


Section 4 - Consequences of RUTs

Consequences of RUTs

Clinical Manifestations / illnesses/ Diseases

Extreme Mental Pain - OCD

Extreme Mental Pain – OCD

Neil Hilborn – “OCD” Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an extreme of form of anxiety. It is characterized by a relentless assault of unwelcome intrusive thoughts. I suffered from OCD for several decades well before I knew what OCD meant ...
School or Prison - What's the Difference?

School or Prison – What’s the Difference?

Bullying bothers me–a lot. When I was in middle school and high school, I was very fortunate in that I was not a target of bullying. However, I have watched dozens of friends and family come under attack from bullies ...
Threat Physiology Can’t be Controlled with Behavioral Approaches

Threat Physiology Can’t be Controlled with Behavioral Approaches

Objectives Many people are focused on controlling anger and anxiety with behavioural approaches. These powerful reactions are not controllable and suppressing them increases threat physiology. We all need to be heard, supported, and taught methods to regulate and lower these ...

Behaviors Driven by RUTs

School or Prison - What's the Difference?

School or Prison – What’s the Difference?

Bullying bothers me–a lot. When I was in middle school and high school, I was very fortunate in that I was not a target of bullying. However, I have watched dozens of friends and family come under attack from bullies ...

Punishment Can’t and Won’t Stop Destructive Behaviors

Threat Physiology Can’t be Controlled with Behavioral Approaches

Threat Physiology Can’t be Controlled with Behavioral Approaches

Objectives Many people are focused on controlling anger and anxiety with behavioural approaches. These powerful reactions are not controllable and suppressing them increases threat physiology. We all need to be heard, supported, and taught methods to regulate and lower these ...


Section 5 - Healing Principles

Healing Principles

Addressing RUTs

The “C”quence of Healing Chronic Illness

The “C”quence of Healing Chronic Illness

Objectives Connecting to every aspect of your life is difficult but is at the core of allowing your body to heal. “Being” with your past may be challenging but is necessary in order to learn and grow.  It is the ...
Your “Authentic Self”

Your “Authentic Self”

The only “authentic self” that exists is the one who is present today – right this very second. Your actions and reactions reflect your entire lifetime of programming. Much of our programming is less than ideal but it is what ...

 

Becoming a Professional at Living Life

Navigating Life is Similar to Playing Major League Baseball

Navigating Life is Similar to Playing Major League Baseball

Feeling safe is the essence of enjoying life, healing, and thriving Healing chronic illness happens by moving towards health not by “fixing” yourself. An analogy can be made to becoming a professional baseball player. The goal is to be “safe” ...
Become a Genius at Solving Pain

Become a Genius at Solving Pain

I always wanted to play golf at a level where I could consistently shoot in the 70’s. I began to play when I was 14 but I never took lessons and didn’t practice much. Then in college I subscribed to ...
Repetition and Healing

Repetition and Healing

Objectives Learning any new material or skill is an active process than can only be acquired through repetition. There are few people with a photographic memory and even they need repetition to embed a skill. Living your life in the ...

 

“Letting Go” – Freedom from Mental and Physical Pain

"She Just Let Go"

“She Just Let Go”

My migraine headaches began on the Fourth of July when I was five years old. By age fifty, I had over fifteen physical and mental symptoms from being in a state of sustained threat physiology. They became extreme and intolerable ...
A Bunch of Balloons

A Bunch of Balloons

Much, if not most, of what the DOC project presents about creating a central nervous shift is 180 degrees different than how most of us are taught to deal with our conscious mind. One of the most important paradoxes to ...