Your Hand Stuck Over the Stove

posted in: Recent, Stage 1, Stage 1: Step 1

I often encounter a perplexing situation: A patient experiencing severe chronic pain on my spine intake questionnaire rates him or herself as a zero on a 10-point scale with regards to anxiety, depression, and anger. They may have even undergone multiple failed spine surgeries. Yet upon further, almost intrusive, questioning … Read More

Video: Anxiety and It’s Demons

posted in: Stage 1, Stage 1: Step 1

I talk about how anxiety and stress can lead to certain obsessive tendencies. Some of the tools from the DOCC project are laid out, specifically those that can help break down the circuits that fuel anxious and stressful thoughts and behaviors. For more, see Your Demons are Robots. BF

Video 16/19: “White Bears”

posted in: Stage 1, Stage 1: Step 2

I talk about how the suppression of negative thoughts associated with chronic pain can really fire up the nervous system.  Dr. Daniel Wegner from Harvard published an elegant paper in 1987 demonstratng the impossibity of trying to suppress thoughts. I’ve talked about it before in White Bears and ANTS.   BF

The First and Last Day of School

posted in: Stage 4, Stage 4: Step 4

“It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old.  They grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez “It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old. They stop pursing dreams when they are crushed by relentless anxiety… Gabriel Garcia Marquez … Read More

Arm the Worker

posted in: Uncategorized

Fixing the problems with the worker’s comp system is critical.  However, the system is unwieldy and we are not going to change it anytime soon.  We know extremely well what needs to happen to enable a worker to move smoothly through the system.  One of my physiatrist colleagues felt so … Read More