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
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
I talk about how powerful the DOCC Project can be and how it can break down the doors of years of chronic pain. Through patient’s stories, the DOCC project is showing that pain free is not only possible, it’s probable. For more on this, check out Reversing Chronic Pain with … Read More
Compassion—First and foremost I am on a much-needed vacation this week in Italy. From 1980 until 1990, my wife lived in Florence. We have many friends in Italy we like to visit as much as we can. It is a unique opportunity for me in that she is fluent in … Read More
“Happy” We all want to become better, happier people, and we work pretty hard at it. The marketing world keeps reminding us that we are not even close to our potential and holds up endless images of perfection that reinforce that idea. The solution advertising offers is a better … Read More
I talk about how the DOC Project can relate to other aspects of our everyday life, including everyday stressors and suppression. This is related to some of what I talk about in “Memorization of Neurological Circuits.”
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
I was relaxing this weekend and cleaning up stacks of papers that have been piling up over the last six months. I ran across this letter a patient had shared with me from her prior surgeon. She had undergone a major low back surgery and came to me with unrelenting … Read More
I have a patient who is a muscular 43 y/o welder. He injured his back on the job about four years ago. After undergoing a laminectomy for low back pain, his pain actually increased. When I first saw him a couple of years ago, his complaint was unrelenting low back … Read More
When a basic human need such as air, food, or water is not met, we experience a deep feeling of anxiety. We then take directed action to meet the need, which allays our anxiety. When the ability to meet our basic needs is taken from us, our anxiety escalates to … Read More