Fear Can’t Be Controlled with Behavioral Suppression
AI and the Cumulative Effects of “Trauma”
There Is an Answer to the Mental Health Crisis
Connecting to Feelings: The Inverse of Pursuing Self-Esteem
Popcorn Machines and Healing Repetitive Unpleasant Thoughts
Quit Fighting Darkness; It Vanishes in Light
Solving Repetitive Unpleasant Thoughts—OCD Is Just the Extreme
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”: Firing Up Repetitive Unpleasant Thoughts
The “C”quence of Healing Chronic Illness
Stop Looking for Your Authentic Self
‘Tis the Season to Be Triggered at Family Gatherings
Solve Mental Pain to Resolve Physical Pain
From “Would Like” to “Should”: The Unenforceable Rules
Grievance Stories: Remaining a Victim
Your Relationship to Food Mirrors How You Handle Life
Humans Are Not Data Points—Why Modern Medicine Is Hurting Us
Processing Anger with Three Steps: 5–3–2
Romanticizing Pirates—Normalizing Abuse and Suffering
The Golden State Warriors and the “Ironic Effect”
Tulsa Shooting – “The Pit of Despair”
Heal by Connecting with Others
Who Do You Choose to Be Today–With or Without Your Pain
Becoming a Genius at Living Life–and Healing
The Art of Living Your Life Well–Commitment and Practice
Your Life’s Roadmap: Just Begin Anywhere
Connect with the Life You Want
“Our Envy of Others Devours Us Most of All”
Your Body’s Motto: Danger Until Proven Otherwise
Tune Your Nervous System and Lower Anxiety – You have the controls
What Does “Anxiety” Actually Mean?
Deepening Your Awareness of Unawareness
Awareness as a Tool: The “Circle of Life”
How Ingrained Patterns Affect Your Life Lens
It Is Impossible Not to Be Judgmental
Judgment and Storytelling: The Deadly Nature of Self-EsteemIt Is Impossible Not to Be Judgmental
You Have to Feel to Heal: Emotional Awareness
Connecting to Life with Your Senses: Environmental Awareness
From Reactive to Creative: “C” First
Flip Your Consciousness: 4 Types of Awareness
Becoming Aware of Being Unaware
“Anger Academy”—Processing Anger Is a Complex Skill
“Stupid Stress” – Taking on the World’s Suffering
The Impact of Anger on Your Life and Pain
The Curse of Consciousness: Trapped By Your Thoughts
Mortal Combat: A Look at How Feuding Neighbors Are Hurting Each Other
Solving and Preventing Chronic Mental and Physical Disease
Create Your Reality Without Pain–Neuroplasticity
Hope: Escaping from The Abyss of Chronic Pain
A Descent into the Abyss of Chronic Pain
Dynamic Healing—The New Paradigm Medicine Needs
Darkness: The Abyss of Chronic Pain
How Chronic Stress Affects Physiology and Well-Being
“Medically Unexplained Symptoms”? Always a Wrong Diagnosis
The Most Destructive Diagnosis in Medicine
Chronic Pain and My Bad Golf Game
The Risks of Ill-Advised Spine Surgery
Spine Surgery: Proceed at Your Own Risk
Forgiveness Is Not What You Think
Plan A–Lowering Inflammation Lengthens Life
The Relationship Between Anger and Vulnerability
Bullying Is Assault and Should Be Treated as Such
Anxiety Is the Correct Name for Pain
Reprogram your Brain Around Pain–Mental or Physical
“Play 20”–Create Your Life at Any Age
This COVID-19 Pandemic is Solvable–Now
Lower Anxiety with a “Family Business” Business Plan
Chronic Pain and Social Despair–Doctors need to Listen
Five Important Steps to Heal from Chronic Pain
Your Home: Oak Tree or Military Barrack
Never Walk in the Front Door Angry
“The Bottom”–Sometimes It’s OK to be Depressed
Listen to Your Family Without Advice or Criticism
The Other Half of the Pandemic Solution–Create the “Herd”
“Wreck Creation” or Wake the Fun Up!
Expressive Writing May Help Fight the Corona Virus
Ways to Forgive– It is a Learned Skill Set
Beyond Forgiveness–Compassion for Those Who Hurt You
Embracing Anxiety: “The Ring of Fire”
Why Isn’t Anyone Doing Something? The Polyvagal Theory
Affirmations and Neuroplasticity
Solving the Unsolvable: Anxiety
Dashed Hopes for Patients in Pain–“The Pit of Despair”
Neuroplasticity Can “Program Out” Your Pain
Mental Health Is More Critical Than Physical Health
Is It Time to Remove Anxiety from the DSM?
The DSM Classification System: More Harmful Than Helpful?
Depression Is Anxiety – Anxiety is the driver and not subject to conscious control
From Reactive to Creative–Transforming Anxiety
Holiday Land Mines with Your Family – You will be exposed to your most powerful triggers
Anxiety–Prison Guard, or Bodyguard? – Anxiety both protects and traps you, but you have a choice
Anxiety Is a Symptom – It is not a psychological diagnosis
Am I Operating on Your Pain or Anxiety? – Anxiety may be the real problem
Anxiety Basics – It’s not Primarily a Psychological Issue
John Sarno, M.D., An American Hero: Marking a Shift in How We Treat Chronic Pain
Out of Pain (and Wheelchair) With Forgiveness – with Fred Luskin
- Just as skiing down a hill that is above your skill level can be terrifying, life has many challenging runs. Becoming an "expert" at life allows you to enjoy it.
- Humans' inability to escape from unpleasant thoughts creates much suffering. One effective strategy is simply shifting your attention to a specific sensation multiple times a day.
- Feeling trapped without an escape causes an intense flight-or-fight reaction. There are viable ways out of the suffering; the first step is giving yourself a break.
- Chronic stress keeps your your body revved up, and it eventually breaks from the effects of the threat physiology. Learning to regulate flight or fight to safety is healing.
- Humans need to feel safe and do not tolerate uncertainty and vulnerability well. Yet vulnerability is essential for satisfying relationships.
- Our nation's mental health is declining. Why? The driving force, anxiety, continues to be addressed purely as a psychological problem when it is not.
- Repetitive unpleasant thoughts reflect sensations created by our powerful unconscious brain. You cannot access choice while fighting off RUTs.
- Mental rigidity is one way of trying to escape unpleasant thoughts. It is usually a futile effort and is a core characteristic of many mental health diagnoses.
- From birth, most of us are guided to engage in behaviours that allow us to look good regardless of how we feel. There is a significant negative impact on body and brain.
- Similar to AI, your brain's functional capacity depends on the quality of data input and the processing algorithm. You are the product of your past but can choose your future.
- Being trapped by anything, especially your thoughts, creates a sense of desperation. Sometimes the only way out appears to be suicide. There are many viable alternatives.
- Physical and mental pain are processed in similar regions of the brain. Unlike physical pain, we have no automatic protection from mental pain.
- A key to solving chronic mental and physical pain is being with it rather than running from it.
- The answer to our mental health crisis lies in addressing the root cause of fight-or-flight physiology. Anxiety is considered a psychological diagnosis but it is a physiological state.
- In order to heal, you must first allow yourself to be immersed in the past and then move forward with confidence.
- Obsessive thoughts are universal and they can disrupt enjoyment of life. The extreme manifestation, OCD, is considered untreatable. It is solvable using a multipronged approach.
- There is no limit to adversity in life. Yet we keep focusing on fixing our problems to have a better life. Why not focus on turning on the lights?
- Unpleasant thoughts cause the body to be in flight-or-fight physiology. They may be the major force causing physical and mental illness. The problem is solvable.
- The need for mental control sets off the "ironic effect": Suppressing sadness creates more unhappiness, and pursuing happiness creates more sadness. What is the answer?
- A key to healing is learning skills to feel safe, instead of problem-solving. A comparison can be made to a major league baseball, in which a player's goal is to get on base.