Overview
- Anxiety and anger are powerful physiological reactions to stress that compromise rational thinking.
- RUTs are driven by threat physiology, and it must be calmed down to meaningfully lower unwanted thoughts.
- As you calm your nervous system and feel safe, you’ll “wake up” and go from reaCtive to Creative.
- As your life expands with awareness, you can create the life you want and take your life back.
- There is no limit to where you can go.
Educational Flipbooks – RUTs
When responding to real or perceived threats, the blood flow to the brain’s higher centers decreases, and it functions less effectively. In fight-or-flight mode, the creativity needed to cope with stress is compromised; you cannot think as clearly.
You are asleep.
Learn to lower your reactivity, calm your body, feel safe, and bring your higher-thinking centers back online, and you’ll wake up. The key to this process is awareness. Go from reaCtive to Creative. “C” first, and healing happens. Quit fighting darkness and turn on the light.
Anxiety is your alarm
Every living creature has a version of this response. Humans call it anxiety. It is simply an alarm system. Because we are on constant alert for danger, we have a baseline level of anxiety and have evolved to avoid it at all costs. When we cannot resolve the threat, there is a more intense, addictive reaction called anger.
Your body’s threat response is automatic and immediate. Your thoughts interpret the situation one to ten seconds later. As we fight unwanted thoughts, we become entangled with them, and we are our thoughts. Then the thoughts become a major source of stress with no apparent escape. So, we are in a fight-or-flight state much of the day, which breaks down our bodies and causes chronic mental and physical symptoms, illness, and disease.
Repetitive Unwanted Thoughts (RUTs) are universal, varying only in intensity and frequency, and can be disruptive. RUTs may be one of the most powerful drivers of chronic illness. They are generally considered to be an entity to be managed rather than solved. They are solvable.
Healing
Through my long ordeal, marked by more than 15 physical and mental symptoms, and through relentless searching of the scientific literature, conversations with experts, and lessons from my patients, healing concepts emerged. My book, Calm Your Body, Heal Your Mind: Transcend Pain, Anxiety, Anger, and Repetitive Unwanted Thoughts, presents four aspects of healing:
- Separate from your thoughts
- Calm your physiology,
- Soften your ego
- Create your new reality by fostering new functional neuroplastic changes in your nervous system.
There are many ways to accomplish this, and with consistent engagement, healing often occurs. Some people are stuck, and the challenge is finding ways to work through the blocks. My self-directed course, The DOC Journey, is one option that requires 10-20 minutes a day and can create significant changes over three to six months. The focus is on acquiring skills, not on the pain.
The course and book are a foundation, not a final solution. I encourage people to explore additional options based on similar concepts. Reading a book will not heal you but understanding and applying the core concepts will help you discover your own pathway to healing. Quit fighting darkness and turn on the light.
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Taking Action
This book presents collective wisdom from many experts. It marks a significant shift in how chronic illness is approached, and many cases may not be as chronic as they appear. These concepts are important, and I am committed to raising public awareness through a grassroots effort. Please consider helping by:
- Sharing social media posts around the theme, “Let’s Wake Up” and go from “reaCtive to Creative.”
- Reading Calm Your Body and passing it along.
- Giving back is also healing. Many of you have asked how you can help, and sharing these ideas is a concrete step toward that goal. I am open to other suggestions.
- The most important step is to pursue your own healing journey. All the world asks of us is to be the best version of ourselves. We cannot change others, but by creating our own sense of safety, we create a tremendous ripple effect on those around us, especially our family and close friends. Learn the skills required to calm and reroute your body and nervous system. The DOC Journey is one option, but once you understand the concepts, find your own way to move forward. Taking control is a major factor in healing.
Healing happens with action and moving towards the life you want. Let’s do it with awareness, both individually and collectively. To have a good life, you must live a good life. It requires skills and practice.