This email was sent to me by someone that I have never met. A high percent of people find relief on their own with the medical system becoming a resource instead of a place to fixed. This letter illustrates a problem that created my original suffering – positive thinking. It seemed like a good idea for many years and I seemed to accomplish many things with it. My attitude was, “bring it on.” Then I exploded from essentially no anxiety to an intense panic attack. I didn’t see it coming and I did not emerge from this hole for over 13 years.

The letter

Dear Dr. Hanscom,

I’m a positive-minded person. I endeavor to never give up since I always think I will prevail over all adversity. Twenty-plus years of chronic LBP were not overcome by positive thinking. In fact, my almost exclusive reliance on my positive thinking added to my anxiety and fear of ever being able to relieve my chronic pain.

But, only through meditation and an immersion in your program did I finally find relief from my chronic pain. Positive thinking surely plays a part in one’s pursuit of accomplishment throughout our lives. However it is the rewiring of our thought process that brings pain relief. I can be positive that I can overcome my pain but it’s the follow-through steps that make the difference.

Only after going through an excruciating process of forgiving and forgetting, of riding myself of anger and resentment was I able to prepare myself to be rid of my pain. This process enables you to rid yourself of the fear and anxiety that chronic pain produces. You can be positive that you will get better. But, until you commit and do the work your chances of recovery are quite limited.

Do the work by detoxifying yourself. Write down and throw away all of your daily bad feelings, your anger, resentments and negativity. This process includes daily meditation, which when combined with the writing offers you the opportunity to be rid of your anger and negative thoughts that prevent hope. If you believe there is no hope of pain relief you have effectively given up on your current and future prospects of ever living a pain free existence.

At one point in my past I had given up all hope of ever having ANY pain relief. I was anxiety ridden and afraid to get out of bed to face another pain filled day. I was full of the anger and resentment that comes with chronic pain. I did the work and continue to do the work everyday. My LBP disappeared four years ago. I’m rid of the pain-induced anger, fear, anxiety and hopelessness that once controlled my life. Just do the work!

Thank you for your work!

Positive thinking versus positive outlook – my experience

The problem with positive thinking is that it is a global way of suppressing negative thinking. I didn’t want to feel bad, so I wouldn’t allow myself to feel unpleasant emotions. I was masterful at putting my head down, not complaining, and viewed myself as being really tough. But suppression of thoughts only makes them stronger–much stronger. When my anxiety exploded, it was brutal. It was like the top exploded off of a pressure cooker and I couldn’t get it back together. A colleague succinctly pointed out to me that the key is to first, ” allow yourself to feel before you can heal.” You can’t redirect you nervous system, if you aren’t aware of its current state. A positive outlook is much different and represents your efforts to create and execute your vision. Your focus is on the solution instead of the problem.

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Chronic mental and physical disease are connected by a common root cause – stress. How and why?

Stress (threat) creates chemical (physiological) changes in your body (fight or flight), which creates mental and physical symptoms. When you are subjected to chronic stress, the ongoing inflammation and increased fuel consumption (metabolism) breaks your body down. Hence, you’ll eventually develop illnesses and disease.

Stress kills

It is well-documented that stress kills. The Holmes-Rahe stress scale was developed in the early 1960’s with points assigned to life events – both positive and negative. If your score was 300 or more, there was an 80% chance of developing a major illness within two years.¹ I have a close friend that I took the test with recently. His score was 463. Guess what? He developed cancer in his spine.

Bruce Lipton is a developmental biologist who stepped out of academic medicine in 1993 because what he was observing in the lab did not conform to the standard thinking in mainstream medicine. He understood that all life is possible because living organisms were able to transform energy into functional forms. Atoms, the building blocks of life and substance consist mostly of space and are powerful energy fields. Biologists embraced the role of quantum physics in biology in 1927, but mainstream medicine has been slow to adapt. His views have not historically been well-received, but it turns out that he was not only right but was decades ahead of his time.

Beliefs and your body

He is the best-selling author of The Biology of Belief. His work is now well-documented regarding the effects that beliefs exert on your body’s physiology. Negative belief systems fire up the fight or flight response and keeps it there. The common link to chronic mental and physical disease is sustained threat physiology and healing happens when you are in safety. Here is a small sampling of some data that supports this perspective.

• Dantzer in 2018² published a review on resilience. He documented the effects of stress on inflammatory molecules called cytokines. There are four factors that lower inflammation.
  • Optimism/ Hope
  • Sense of control
  • Positive outlook/ vision
  • Sense of social connection and community

Notice that when suffering from chronic mental or physical pain that all these factors are compromised – badly.

• Cole in 2007³ documented that chronic stress and social isolation caused the production of aggressive monocytes that he called, “warrior monocytes.” These are white blood cells that attack foreign bodies such as viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells. But these monocytes also attack your own tissues.
• Lisa Feldman-Barrett runs a large neuroscience lab in New England. She has documented that thoughts and consciousness become embedded in our brains as concretely as any object.⁴ So, each person views the world completely differently regarding threats vs safety and body’s coping resources are also infinitely unique. It doesn’t matter if the threat is real or perceived. If your perception of a situation doesn’t match the reality, you’ll have a stress response and your beliefs have to adjust for similar scenarios in the future.
• Note on the Holmes-Rahe stress scale that most of the stresses are not physical. They are real because they are events for which your body has to mobilize resources to deal with them. Unfortunately, perceived stress also causes your body to be activated.
• Consider ACE (Adverse Childhood Events) scores. The score is a rough measure of childhood trauma and higher scores cause inflammatory markers to remain elevated for decades.⁵ When you are raised in an abusive environment, you are programmed to see much of the world as dangerous, and that doesn’t change unless you thoughtfully reprogram your responses.
• Systemic chronic inflammation (SCI) is a state of inflammation that cannot be measured by blood tests.⁶ The problem arises from the breakdown of small structures in each cell called mitochondria. They are the engines whose chemical reactions create the energy of life. The “fuel” leaks outside the cell and is highly inflammatory. Over 50% of all deaths and diseases are caused by SCI. Chronic stress is one of the drivers.
• Pain reprocessing therapy (PRT) is a process where patients’ fears and beliefs about their pain are acknowledged and connected to the actual experience. Patients are reassured that the nature of the pain or problem isn’t dangerous, and then gently taken through a process of reassurance while performing actions that would normally cause pain. By feeling safe while engaging in activities they considered risky, they are able to calm down, feel safe, and the pain decreases or resolves most of the time.⁷ Again, the structure of their body hasn’t changed, it is their beliefs about it.

Why did Bruce and David team up?

It is clear that anxiety and anger are hard-wired automatic reactions that we have not control over. Bruce has pointed out that you might as well have a conversation with the hard drive of your computer. But he has pointed out for a while that you can reprogram them.

I have been on this course of action for a while but have not stated it as clearly as Bruce. I have seen so many “hopeless” patients heal that I am convinced that you can reprogram your brain around almost anything. Our brains are incredibly adaptable.⁸

Getting there

The DOC Journey course and app take you through a sequence that first teaches tools to calm down your nervous system, helps understand the principles of healing chronic disease, presents the problem of anxiety being the pain, explores awareness, teaches anger processing strategies, emphasizes repetition, and then helps you visualize and act on building your future.

The final answer to chronic mental and physical pain is shifting into joy, and where Bruce presents a wonderful picture of what that looks like.⁸ A significant aspect is programming in this outlook. We both agree that positive thinking can’t and doesn’t work. The DOC Journey course and app present practical strategies to achieve the state of consciousness that allows us to not only heal but thrive. Once you flip your beliefs to the future you want, your brain and life will follow, and it will become your reality.

Bruce and I created this four-part video series along with a lesson plan that presents an overview of the healing journey as well as suggestions how to start. We are excited about them in that we did not realize how close we were in our thinking until we made these videos. We hope you enjoy them and welcome to your new life.

References

1. Holmes TH, Rahe RH. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale.J Psychosom Res(1967); 11:213–8. doi:1016/0022-3999(67)90010-4
2. Dantzer R, et al. Resilience and immunity. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (2018); 74:2842. https://doi.orgl/10/1016/j.bbi.2018.08.010
3. Cole SW, et al. Social Regulation of gene expression in human leukocytes. Genome Biology (2007); 8:R189. doi: 10.1186/gb-2007-8-9-r189

4. Feldman Barrett, Lisa. How Emotions are Made. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, NY, 2017.
5. Dube, SR, et al. Cumulative childhood stress and autoimmune diseases in adults. Psychosomatic Medicine (2009); 7:243-250.
6. Furman D, et al. Chronic Inflammation in the etiology of diseases across the life span. Nature Medicine (2019); 25:1822-1832.
7. Ashar YK, et al. Effect of pain reprocessing therapy vs placebo and usual care for patients with chronic back pain. JAMA Psychiatry (2021); Published online 9/29/2021.
8. Lipton, Bruce. The Biology of Belief. Hay House, Los Angeles, CA, 2016.

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Rita

I met her in 2014, as a patient. She had been suffering from severe anxiety, total body pain, and mood swings for over 50 years. She had been put through the medical system in every way imaginable without success. The first year was tough and she worked with one my of pain colleagues implementing the approaches we have presented in The DOC Journey course and app. We were not optimistic regarding how she was going to do after being in pain for so long. The common wisdom is that once you have been in this state for more than 18 months, you can’t solve it. It just has to be managed.

I am not going to spend time with what her life was like while she was suffering so severely. Trust me, starting with being  a single mother of three small children, her stresses were as bad as any. We now know that overwhelming stress causes physiological symptoms, illnesses, and diseases.¹

She broke free over 9 years ago. Like everyone, she has had major trips back into The Abyss. But she has learned to deal with it, understand the triggers, knows how come out of hole, and move on.

“Ritalins”

My wife, Babs, and I have gotten to know her well and have learned that she has a tremendous depth of wisdom and creativity. You might think with her history, that these traits might be permanently buried. Wrong!!

Rita, at 85 years old and going strong. We want to share her insights on life, before and after her era of suffering. We will present them regularly on our social media platform. She is a bundle of creativity and energy, and hence the term we have coined, with her help, is “Ritalins.”

“Neuroshment”

She is an avid learner and has a remarkable grasp on awareness, choice, and neuroplasticity. One of the first comments that caught our attention was her coining a word, “neuroshment.” Stimulating neuroplasticity requires a lot of energy and focus. Twenty percent of your body’s energy is used to support your brain. Most other mammals use about 6-8%.² If your brain is spinning around from relentless unpleasant thoughts, it is no wonder you may feel fatigued.

There is a metaphor that arose out of this word for me. Where is the source of your fuel for your development? What will “neurosh” your brain for growth and change? The answer is the fertile ground of your past. There are no other choices. I have long said that you have to dig deeper in order to reach higher.

Consider your past experience, regardless of the nature of it, as the fertile soil for your sustenance and progress for the future. A redwood tree, not only has deep roots but connects with the root system of other trees to a stability. So, dig in. The more severe your trauma and chaos, the more fertile the ground.

My past was abusive and created severe scarring. As bad as it was, it is not nearly as severe as some of the stories I hear. It doesn’t matter. There is a break point for every person and when you hit it, the result is the same. You’ll fall apart. The question is, “what do you do now?”

I was so broken that my psychologist had me read a book, “Damaged.” I will never forget how I felt when I read it. The clear message that I was damaged to the point that even trying to back to a good life was probably not going work and why put in effort? I will tell you that anyone can heal given even the smallest chance.

Recap

Many of us spend a lot of time outrunning our past. We analyze it, feel ashamed, try to rewrite it, compensate, or cover it up. Much of our life energy is consumed by these efforts. The alternative is to not only become aware of it, understand it, but then use what we learned to grow – neuroshment!! If you continue to feel victimized by it, you know the outcome.

What is your choice?

Records are meant to be broken, but some remain intact for a long time. Rita’s thriving after 55 years in The Abyss is a big one! We will be presenting Rita’s ongoing insights about life. They are inspiring and energizing. Hence the term, “Ritalins.”

References

1. Smyth J, et al. Stress and disease: A structural and functional analysis. Social and Personality Psychology Compass (2031); 7/4:217-227. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12020
2. Mink JW, Blumenschine RR, Adams DB. Ration of central nervous system to body metabolism in vertebrates: its constancy and functional basis. Am J Physiol (1981); 241:R203-12.

The post “Ritalins” first appeared on Back in Control.

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However, you cannot go from pain to play without tools and strategies. It is too big of a leap. The impact of chronic pain on your quality of life has been documented to be equivalent to suffering from terminal cancer – except that it is even worse.¹ We acknowledge the severity of your suffering, and it is why I use the term, “The Abyss” to describe how dark this place is.

Two aspects of healing

The DOC Journey app considers the healing process in two ways that are interconnected.

• Efficiently processing stress – the protective reactions of anxiety and anger. They are gifts that allowed us to evolve and how we survive. You must develop a “working relationship” with them. They are what you inherently possess, but not who you are. This is a necessary skill set in that you can’t move forward without letting go.
• Moving into your life’s vision of what you desire. This is where the deep healing occurs. The strategies you’ll learn will stimulate your brain to physically change (neuroplasticity). As you move away from the pain circuits and more pleasurable ones are nurtured, you will thrive.

Play for the sake of play

You cannot use play and pleasure to distract yourself from being in pain. Anxiety, anger, and pain are too powerful. It is why the healing journey consists of separate facets –  neutralizing the survival circuits and moving into safety. It is a dynamic process with no beginning or end. It’s life.

Visualize your life as a bathtub. The water flowing in through the faucet represents the enjoyable, rejuvenating parts of life. Then picture an unusually large drain that represents anxiety and anger. When you’re agitated and anxious, the drain is wide open, and it won’t matter how much water you run into the tub, it will never fill up. It’s impossible to build up your energy reserves enough to heal.

The DOC Journey app will teach you ways to dynamically plug the drain. You will use them multiple times a day indefinitely, and they quickly become automatic. However, this step alone doesn’t create healing or give you a good life.

To have an enjoyable life, you must live an enjoyable life.

Now imagine running the bath water with the drain closed. You’ve learned how to effectively process your stresses, so you can relax in the tub and enjoy yourself. You can create whatever life you desire. These learned skills are a bit challenging when you are used to spending so much of your life’s energy escaping from pain.

Similar to learning a new language, your brain will develop in whatever direction you place your attention (neuroplasticity). You cannot learn French by fixing your English. The default language for humans is survival and pain. Trying to fix yourself focuses your attention on the problem and reinforces these pain circuits. Learning French requires repetition and practice. In order to experience and enjoyable life, you must live and nurture it. This is where deep healing occurs.

The physiology of threat and safety

Physiology is the term used to describe the operations of your body. It is largely unconscious, automatic, incredibly complex, and powerful.

ANXIETY/ PAIN

Anxiety is a physiological state. It is the sensation you experience when you sense real or perceived danger. Your body is being directed to mobilize resources to enhance your chances of survival. It is intended to be deeply unpleasant so as to mobilize you to take action to optimize your actions and function (physiology) to live another day.

It is well documented in the medical literature that chronic stress kills. Why? It is because when you are exposed to threats in any form, your body goes into a defensive survival state of “flight or fight” where you are consuming energy. When this is sustained, your body utilizes energy from your own tissues, including tendons, ligaments, fat cells, internal organs, brain cells by breaking them down. This response also includes the powerful immune system, which is intended to ward off cancer cells, viruses, bacteria, and any foreign invaders. However, when it remains fired up, your inflammatory cells will also attack and destroy your own tissues. The end results are mental and physical symptoms, illnesses, and diseases.

Humans have and additional trait in that we possess language and consciousness. Although there are many benefits, there is a severe downside that I call, “The Curse of Consciousness.” Thoughts are sensory input that also create this threat physiological state. Since we cannot escape them, every person is subjected to some level of ongoing stress physiology.

SAFETY/ PLAY

Play is also a physiological state and the home run for healing. It is necessary for your body to be in a safe state in order to rest and regenerate to build up your reserves for inevitable daily threats. When you are in a “rest and digest” state, you are repairing tissues and storing fuel.

The essence of chronic mental and physical disease is sustained exposure to threats. The foundation of sustaining life is minimizing your exposure to fight or flight chemistry and maximizing your time in safety.

The DOC Journey app

The DOC Journey app will help you create experiences to relax and relearn to play. The optimum chemical composition for your health is when you are laughing and connected to the present moment. The sequence of the app is based on the following:

• Awareness – necessary for solving any challenge
• Hope – an anti-inflammatory powerful healing force
• Letting go/ processing anger – you can’t move forward while holding onto the past.
• Moving forward/ Play – a profound shift in your body’s chemistry

The app is educational and also has a toolbox you can easily access anytime. The best part of this journey though, is that you’ll learn to “Wake the fun up” – and thrive.

Recap

Visualize trying to cross a large scenic mountain lake while rowing a boat with a big hole in the bottom of it. The boat is slowly sinking, and you can’t easily both bail and navigate. Most of your efforts are focused on trying to stay afloat, and you don’t much energy left to take in the beautiful view and experience peace.

The hole again represents the drain created by ongoing anxiety and frustration. Trying to outrun your automatic survival reactions can’t and doesn’t work. Processing stress and creating your vision are two separate but intertwined aspects of healing. Once you can efficiently plug the hole, you’ll have the energy to live and enjoy your life journey.

Prepare yourself to navigate your life. Do it now because it won’t just happen. You have only one shot at this human experience.

References

1. Fredheim OM, Kaasa S, Fayers P, Saltnes T, Jordhøy M, Bortchgrevink PC. Chronic non-malignant pain patients report as poor health-related quality of life as palliative cancer patients. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand )2008); 52:143-148.

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Threat vs. safety

The essence of the problem of chronic disease, including chronic pain, is being under constant threat and the solution lies in teaching people ways to feel safe. Every successful clinician I know has a remarkable ability and commitment to first establishing a strong relationship with his or her patients. This takes time. Without addressing the root cause of safety vs. threat, treating symptoms has minimal effect.

This is a series of emails from a retired physician who has been involved in The DOC Journey that is based what we learned from our workshops. The sequence is important and is also based on literature-based approaches. Medicine already has the data it needs to solve chronic pain, but it is being systematically overlooked. Many physicians individually do know the data and principles and have a lot of success in helping their patients out of pain. My focus for over 30 years is to simply implement what we already know.

I asked her about sharing her experience with The DOC Journey and sharing these concepts with others. Part of The Journey includes weekly virtual Q&A sessions where we learn more about the healing concepts, share our experiences (except discussing pain or medical care) and provide support for each other.

Terrie’s first email  

If you give me the info you want put out there about The DOC Journey, I will share it on my social media pages. Also, you should be proud of what you have created. I know that I would not have been able to be this calm and productive for the last 3 days (the election) without all you’ve taught me. and just looking at the group dynamics Tuesday and Today shows they all have learned and are applying your techniques too. This is so important right now and I thank you so much.

 Second email

I forgot to mention the most important thing for me personally.

Your techniques and teaching have helped me get through the last 3-4 weeks with minimal anxiety (other than the election and even that was less). Three and a half weeks ago they started a workup for malignancy and so far so good – even though the possibility of multiple myeloma still is out there.

But the key thing is that I have been able to remain calm, acknowledge the anxiety and fear, and then use active meditation, polyvagal breathing/humming, and expressive writing (as well as a few other things) to remain in the present. I’ve had a few days where the thoughts kept coming back no matter what I did. But I persisted, told myself that this was normal and OK, and I just had to keep doing what I could to calm my nervous system down. Eventually those methods worked and my mind would go off onto something else and I felt better.

I have to thank you for getting me through these weeks. As you can imagine my medical mind was working overtime for a while. So, all you’ve done along with the social connection capability has  been a big key – I’m so glad you mentioned that the other day too. 

I don’t want to take up much of your time but just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your helping me get through this.

Thanks again!

Third email

After I received her second email, I asked her if I could share her experience. Here is her reply.

Funny you should ask. I wanted to write you and ask if you needed or wanted a testimonial to support your new evolution of presenting  the DOC concepts? 

In addition to everything else today, I had an EGD (upper GI scope) and colonoscopy to continue the rule out malignancy work up. Everything turned out clean so multiple myeloma is really the only remaining diagnosis to really consider. I hope I didn’t write this whole thing already.  I’d I did I can blame it on the drugs. 

Yesterday was the first time since my PHN (post-herpetic neuralgia) resolved that I had a migraine (they were many times a week before that and often life limiting). But I used every technique I have learned in The DOC Journey and kept it at minimum. As I lay waiting for the procedures I did active meditation, awareness, reprogramming to my internal mind movie, and the polyvagal breathing I’ve learned. I was more calm than ever in my life despite the uncertainty of diagnosis as  well as the election. Amazing. 

Your work has also helped me give up the “need” for an identity as a “doctor” (and a pioneer female Navy doctor, as I helped some women become more accepted), a “Navy high ranking officer”, a “Senior Physician in the Army disability system” and an excellent instructor/ teacher” and even a “published  book author”. I am not saying these to impress you because your career is what I would call IMPRESSIVE and what you’ve done to help people is phenomenal.  

I only put those things out because retiring in June of this year in the midst of the pandemic was one of my major concerns of who and what I would be now. With the help of your work I realized I am me and that’s all that matters. It’s been like shedding and I’ve let go of those other “needed” identities. You have helped me into a happy and pleasure-filled retirement despite all the other “stuff”.  And I thank you. 

Sorry it’s long but if you want to use it I want people to see just how and in what ways or aspects you help people. It’s not just pain, it’s life.  

You also don’t need to use initials or change anything. I would be happy to even be a person they could contact I’d they wanted more info or to know if the program/journey is “worth it.” I would be your spokesperson anytime. My story isn’t as spectacular as the others but you’ve helped me make significant life changes in just 4 months. Best regards, Terrie

Free

Since this series of emails, she has really moved forward and completed a 314-mile walk across the State of Tennessee. She recently participated in an even longer endurance walk. She truly has highlighted the concept that age is just a number.

You do not have to be stuck in chronic pain. At the end of the day, it is a choice. You also don’t have to even believe that you can free yourself. The starting point is actually anchored in disbelief. You have tried everything and nothing has worked? Why would this process be any different? The key is to choose to begin the journey and engage in approaches that will stimulate your brain to change in the direction of your choice (Neuroplasticity), and it will. Each person’s experience is unique.

I am honored to be able to share what I learned from my own journey out of chronic pain in a way that has been helpful to her and many others. However, I disagree with her on one point. Every story is spectacular. I have observed and experienced the depth and darkness of life being trapped in pain. The variables are the different ways people ended up in this hole. However, when a given person figures out his or her own version of climbing out of it, it always borders on unbelievable. The contrast between having no hope to thriving is beyond words. It is always inspiring and what keeps me pushing forward.

The post “Physician, Heal Thyself” – and She Did first appeared on Back in Control.

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My wife, Babs, and stepdaughter, Jasmine, and I have done these workshops together since 2013. Each year, we are energized and inspired by the shifts in mood, outlook, and physical symptoms that occur within a just few days. We have been perplexed for years why this is such a consistent outcome and the last few years of neuroscience research has now explained what happens. It revolves around experiencing threat versus safety.

Fight or flight/ rest and digest

Any mental or physical threat, real or perceived, fires up your body’s flight or fight response through the sympathetic nervous system. The reaction includes stress hormones, inflammation, and elevated metabolism (fuel consumption); and you are on alert, anxious, and agitated. If the perception of danger is prolonged, then your body will respond with many different symptoms and often illness. Chronic stress (threat) keeps you in this heighted state and has been documented in many studies to be deadly. (1)

The essence of the solution lies in finding safety, which creates a “rest and digest” state that allows you to regenerate, drop inflammation, and slow down your metabolism; you feel relaxed with less pain. There are many ways to induce this state of safety. The workshop creates an atmosphere that allows this to happen. Dr. Robert Dantzer and several other researchers wrote an extensive review looking at the interaction of social factors influencing inflammation (pain) and how the inflammatory condition impacts your behaviors. (2) The main ones with most impact are:

• Social connection
• Positive affect (emotional state)
• Sense of control
• Optimism/ Hope

These workshops address all these issues and each of them is calming and directly anti-inflammatory communicated through the Vagus nerve (10^th cranial nerve). Dr. Stephen Porges, through his research and writing on the Polyvagal theory, has nicely laid out the afferent input into the midbrain and its efferent output allows safe human interaction. (3)

Social Connection

There are few times and places where you can feel safe with others. Life is competitive and it’s challenging to get a break. School has many layers of stress. Bullying is rampant. Close friends often turn on each other. Social media has intruded on privacy and quiet time. Research has shown that only about a third of families are relatively free of chaos. Other stressful arenas include sports, music, the arts, employment, and social status. Where’s there a place to rest?

We quickly realized that we didn’t have to do much after we set up the weekend. Participants in a safe and structured setting healed each other. It was also a remarkable experience for us being in the presence of those who are so supportive of each other. Oxytocin is a bonding hormone that is secreted in safe and social situations and is anti-inflammatory.

Positive affect/ play

The  weekend is also focused on re-connecting people with each other by sharing enjoyable experiences. Many of the activities are held in small groups of four or five. Participants can feel safe and it’s remarkable how quickly healing occurs. Much of the weekend is spent in play, which is a great venue to feel safe.

Babs and Jasmine are important contributors by leading you in rhythm, song, relaxation exercises, and sharing.

 Sense of control (The “ring of fire”)

There are many tools that allow you to regulate your own body’s neurochemistry and responses to threats. Just this sense of control is anti-inflammatory. Additionally, understanding the nature of chronic mental and physical pain will enable you to personalize solutions.

Awareness of your current state of being is the first step and we use a tool called, “The Ring of Fire.” Being aware of which color you are in at the moment, allows you to choose your direction. The green center is where you rest and regenerate. Blue is “life.” The red ring of anxiety and frustration is an inherent part of life that must be navigated skillfully. The goal is to be able to exist in any part of the “circle of life” on your own terms.

Hope/ optimism

People in chronic pain lose hope. The loss of hope contributes to the actual pain by increasing inflammation by speeding up nerve conduction. We will be sharing many stories of hope with the group. Regaining hope is powerful.

Comments from prior classes

“I’m still high from the weekend. And off all pain meds (even Advil) after 10 years on opioids…………..    Interesting how the class responded to my hooping (hula hoop). I can see Babs and Jaz doing a session, maybe a half-hour?  What do you think? Neuroplasticity, endorphins, fun!  Whether people catch on right away or not, laughter will be a result.  It could take practice, just like learning the cup song.  And for any resistant males, emphasize that it will improve their sex lives!”

“The program has been enormously helpful, and I can only conclude that it’s helping me to live in a more authentic way, which I feel makes my unconscious happy! I think when you have an abusive parent you have to suppress your feelings so much that suppression, avoidance and denial become your coping mechanisms. But as you know, it’s no way to live your life.

It’s possible I may still need surgery eventually, but if so, I feel that thanks to following the program, I’d be able to do it in a conscious and aware manner. Before, I felt very strongly that It would be a mistake.”

“………….  My family and co-workers are amazed at my progress. I am especially committed to no longer talking about my pain and to writing on a regular basis. I am getting (have gotten) my life back!”

Several commented, “I feel like I just spent a weekend away at camp.”

Reconnection to you

We have always been aware that when returning home, the pain will recur. But tasting freedom from pain is powerful. Every cell in your body is created to survive and thrive. If you allow yourself to be open to possibilities, it is a matter of time before you find your way to healing. Many participants have leveraged these workshops to a more enjoyable life.

References:

1. Rosengren A, Orth-Gomer K, Wedel H, Wilhelmsen L. 1993 Stressful life events, social support, and mortality in men born in 1933. Br. Med. J (1993); 307:1102–1105.
2. Dantzer R, et al. Resilience and immunity. Brain Behav Immun (2018); 74:28-42. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2018.08.010
3. Porges, Steven. The Polyvagal Theory. Norton and Co., New York, NY, 2011.

Ffvb

through the Vagus nerve (10^th cranial nerve).

The post Experiencing Safety: Solving Chronic Pain: An Immersive Weekend Retreat first appeared on Back in Control.

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He defines resilience as, the process that allows individuals to adapt to adverse conditions and recover from them. Stress susceptible individuals have a different immune system profile than that of resilient individuals. He reviews the four most notable factors that affect resiliency and therefore the reactivity of the immune system. It is desirable for the immune system to quickly respond to an acute threat and equally important for it to quickly calm down. In fact, short-term stresses enhance immune function. But chronic psychological stress tends to suppress the immune response.

The psychological factors are:

• Positive affect – “can do” attitude
• Personal control
• Optimism
• Social support

It works both ways

Although, being exposed to chronic threats is problematic, how you process them is critical. One study showed that a positive affect (happiness, joy, excitement, enthusiasm, and contentment) predicted better self-rated health than hunger, shelter, and safety. (2). A classic example is the story of Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist who found a way to thrive in the midst of the horrors of a concentration camp. He relates this incredible experience in his autobiography, Man’s Search for Meaning. (3)

Social connection was shown to counteract increased mortality in men over 50 exposed to high levels of stress over a seven-year period. (4)

It also works the other way around. When the immune system is chronically activated it can induce many unpleasant reactions. The brain is also compromised of glial cells that support the neurons and also throw off small proteins called cytokines. Under threat, inflammatory cytokines are produced that sensitize the nervous system. The inflammation can induce some of the physical manifestations of depression such as poor appetite, fatigue, and insomnia. Eventually, thinking capacity is affected. The immune system directly affects the psychological state of the person and the psychological state affects the immune system.

He also reviews the role of diet on the microbiome of the gut and poor-quality diet reduces resilience and is a risk factor for major depression. (1)

These are just a few points from his extensive review paper regarding the relationship between a person’s ability to adapt to adversity affecting the immune response but also the state of the immune response affecting the capacity to effectively deal with adversity.

You can retrain your brain

The good news is that a person can be trained to be more resilient in all of these domains. The DOC Journey is one program that presents a framework that allows participants to systematically address each of these areas.

• Sense of personal control – learning tools to regulate your body’s stress response is powerful.
  • For healing to occur, you must take control of your own care – and life.
  • You must quit blaming – period. There are no shortcuts to this step.
  • Knowledge is power and allows more control over your decisions.
  • Learning organizational tools enables you to execute your plans based on your vision.
• Positive affect
  • Positive thinking is problematic in that you are just suppressing negative thinking. If something is unpleasant, there is no benefit in pretending otherwise. However, a positive outlook focuses your brain on where you want to go and is a core aspect of the program.
  • Look at obstacles as challenges as an opportunity to practice your skills rather than viewing yourself as a victim.
  • “Do” instead of “try”
• Optimism
  • By understanding the nature of the problem and the principles behind the solution bring a tremendous amount of hope back into a person’s life. Being stuck in chronic pain without any idea how to navigate your way out is possibly one of the worse experiences of the human condition. It is ironic that being in The Abyss of pain is inflammatory and physically exacerbates the pain.
• Social connection
  • Group sessions have been the hallmark of The DOC Journey since 2013. We quickly noticed the healing power of a group in where you can share and feel safe. We have been excited in that our twice-weekly virtual sessions have been as effective as our in-person workshops. We have historically been perplexed why this has been the case but have learned that oxytocin (social bonding hormone) is strongly anti-inflammatory. Other hormones such as dopamine (rewards), serotonin (anti-depressant), growth hormone, and GABA chemicals (anti-anxiety) also create a profound sense of safety and contentment.

The video below is a compilation created from the experiences of some of our participants in our weekly group sessions. I am continually inspired by their persistence and determination to keep moving forward. Sharing in a safe environment is powerful. I have personally benefited and have greatly enjoyed getting to know this group.

The DOC Journey Q&A – The Power of Social Connection

References:

1. Dantzer R, et al. Resilience and immunity. Brain Behav Immun (2018); 74:28-42. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2018.08.010
2. Pressman SD, Gallagher MW, Lopez SJ, 2013 Is the emotion-health connection a “first-world problem”? Psychol. Sci (2013);24:544–549.
3. Frankl V. Man’s Search for Meaning. Beacon Press, Boston, MA, 1959, 1962, 1984, 1992, 2006.
4. Rosengren A, Orth-Gomer K, Wedel H, Wilhelmsen L. 1993 Stressful life events, social support, and mortality in men born in 1933. Br. Med. J (1993); 307:1102–1105.

The post The Bidirectional Interaction between Resilience and Your Immune System first appeared on Back in Control.

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The DOC Journey is a condensed set of core resources that reflects the experience of hundreds of patients suffering from chronic pain that have successfully taken their lives back. It reflects the evolution of our knowledge of about pain and how to more clearly present the problem, principles behind the solutions, and how to continue to thrive and move forward once you have broken free.

The guided course is one one of the resources that provides a guided pathway through the maze of choices offered to patients. It provides background information, tools, strategies and support that enables you to develop a game plan around your unique set of issues and circumstances. As it’s a largely self-directed process, you can then create partnerships with your medical and non-medical providers to solve your pain.

Back in Control: A Spine Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain provides the framework for a deeper understanding the nature of chronic pain and breaks it down in its component parts. It is recommended that you use it as your reference book.

Overview of the guided course

This course is organized around principles we learned in our workshops. We witnessed profound shifts in pain and mood during the three or five-day events and we were consistently amazed by the magnitude of the changes. For those who continued to learn and practice the tools, the outcomes were sustained. Your brain can only rewire by consistent repetition. This is the sequence that emerged from our experience.

• Awareness – first step in solving anything
• Hope – has been shown to be a powerful healing force
• Forgiveness – you cannot move forward until you have let go.
• Play – is how we evolved and figured out human relationships. Re-connecting with this energy is precipitates rapid changes. It does take a series of steps to get there.

Why this sequence

This process is evolved from my own 15-year suffering from severe chronic pain. There was no reason it should have happened and I was extremely fortunate to break out of it. It all began with a panic attack in 1990 out of the blue. I was under a lot of stress but nothing more than I was used to. For 30 years I have been searching for the answer of how could my life been so dramatically and permanently altered in 10 minutes?

I broke free from the grip of pain in 2003, but I only knew that some writing exercises that I had inadvertently began to engage in seemed to be a significant factor. I still did not know why it happened and I certainly didn’t know anything about chronic pain. The neuroscience research since 2009 has clearly revealed the answers and the solutions.

I feel the reason that this journey has been so successful for well over 1500 patients is that I painfully traveled every millimeter of it and learned a process from mostly from what didn’t work. If some approach seemed to have promise, I pursued it personally and shared the ideas with my patients. It is still evolving and I am excited in that I am able to present it more clearly and my patients have been able to respond more quickly.

Awareness is the foundation of healing. You will develop an awareness of:

• The nature of chronic pain – as opposed to acute pain, there is nothing useful about being in ongoing pain. Mental pain is a bigger issue than physical pain.
• Your situation. What factors are relevant to your specific situation? What is your diagnosis? Has it been clearly explained to you?
• The principles behind solving chronic pain. Once you understand the problem and the nature of the solutions, you’ll be able to take charge of your own care.

Hope has been shown to exert a favorable effect on the inflammatory response and is a key factor in healing. (1) Loss of it is a common theme with almost every patient experiencing chronic pain. You are suffering miserably, no one can tell you what is wrong with you, you’ve been told that you just have to live with it and do the best you can, and no really believes how much pain you are in. Where is the endpoint? Not only do patients break loose from the grip of chronic pain, they often thrive at a level they never conceived possible. You will hear many of their stories.

Forgiveness is critical and is the dividing line between healing or remaining stuck. Your brain processes mental pain in the same way as a physical threat. Most people in pain hold onto the situation or person who wronged them. (2) It is understandable, but you cannot heal and move forward until you let go. Forgiveness is learned skill and a powerful statement that you are taking your life back!

Play is how mammals learn to socialize. Humans take it to a different level since we have language added to the mix. You learn safety vs. threat, body language, negotiation skills, effect of tone of voice, etc. When you are in a play mode your body’s chemistry is optimized and your sense of contentment and well-being is increased. This is not play intended just to distract you, but rather that in which you are fully engaged in something you love.

The goal

You will learn methods that will stimulate physical changes in brain (neuroplasticity) and can re-direct your nervous system to form more functional circuits. The outcome is to optimize your body’s reaction from one threat to safety. The final signal to your body’s cells is sent through cytokines. These are extremely small communication proteins. The defensive one are inflammatory (Pro-I) and the safety cytokines are anti-inflammatory (Anti-I). You will learn to regulate your body’s chemistry and inflammation to create a favorable healing environment. The effects are often profound with all parties excited and somewhat incredulous at the degree of healing.

Navigating the course

The core journey is arranged in sequence that begins at where you are at suffering from unrelenting pain and lays down a foundational set of concepts and tools in order to move forward. The intention is for you to move at your own pace, as the healing process is different for everyone. Some people experience rapid relief of pain within a few weeks. Most people experience significant shifts in pain and mood within 3-6 months. But never give up. I have had many patients email me years later that they had broken free from the bonds of pain.

Although there is often some improvement early in the Journey, the tipping point for deep healing always occurs around processing anger, which is inevitable when you are trapped in misery. Anger is protective and we are not programmed to be vulnerable. It threatens survival. That is why the DOC Journey is arranged in this order. You must first be ready to let go before you can accomplish it.

The guided course

There are seven legs to this guided journey with “rest stops” along the way. The reason for the stops is to embed and practice your tools. Calming your nervous system and optimizing your body’s chemistry is a learned skill set. Each person will find his or her own best set of methods.

Leg 1 – Preparing for your journey

Leg 2 – Starting your trip

Leg 3 – Anxiety is the Pain

Leg 4 – Awareness

Leg 5 – Anger processing – the Tipping Point

Leg 6 – Moving Towards Your Vision

Leg 7 – Expanding the Center of Your Circle of Life

The DOC Journey

Although this course is a core aspect of The DOC Journey, other resources are available that will provide additional support and depth of knowledge about how to proceed. The group coaching is especially helpful. Many of your questions will be also be answered with the video tutorials, which are connected to the appropriate lesson and also accessible in the Toolbox.

The best part of The DOC Journey is that the effects continue indefinitely. You have “changed your filter” and you’ll continue to process your environment with this new perspective. Since your brain keeps physically changing, it takes an active effort to turn back. Once you own your life, it is yours.

The post The Guided Course of “The DOC Journey” first appeared on Back in Control.

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Mark was in his early 40’s, successful, married with two young girls, and intense. He is a great guy and had a good time with the group. He experienced a nice improvement in his pain. But I tell every person, “Your pain will recur when you go back to your environment with its triggers–especially the family ones, which are the strongest. That is what happened, but he was able to use his tools and do pretty well. He wasn’t satisfied and returned for two more workshops in 2018 and 2019. Each time he had been doing better but wanted more and had hit a wall. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I am a surgeon and not a counselor. I had a blunt (very blunt) conversation to let go, quit trying to fix his pain, stop seeking more wisdom, and just get on with his life. I told him to quit reading books, including mine, and focus on nurturing himself and his family; that is best done through play. He wasn’t that happy with me because he thought I was going to give him more strategies (I had run out….). I did not hear from him for over six months and was a little worried, so I wrote him. Here is part of his email.

Mark’s letter

In general, I have lost a bit of an interest in all the pain-related stuff. I guess I have read too many books in the past and now everything feels a bit old and repetitive. But most importantly, I came to the realization that I will never fully figure it out. So, as a result I haven’t read or listened to anything pain-related since last summer and I have shifted my attention to other things (He actually listened to me).

Both of my girls (10 and 12) play field hockey. And my youngest one made the first team this year, which is kind of a big deal here where I live. Next to Soccer it’s our number one national sport.

Anyway, in order to support my daughter in her endeavor, I changed from being just a spectator to being her coach and practice partner. In other words, I started playing myself and learning a new and technically difficult sport. So, I have been playing 3-4 times a week since July with my daughter. We go out and play ball for about 1-1.5 hours. On the days that we don’t go out we play and practice our skills in the kitchen. There is always a stick and a ball nearby. Long story short, I live and breathe hockey and I absolutely love it. 

Neuroplasticity in action and from action

Instead of doing what I normally did, which has been the same for the past 10-15 years or so, I started changing myself with new goals and ambitions, new thoughts and emotions, and lots of physical exercise. Instead of being occupied with the familiar and usual things, everything changed. My interests went from intellectual (pain related) to something completely new. One day I realized that without intention I was actually creating a new identity by changing my brain and thus reprogramming my nervous system. 

Even though it’s said that hockey is really strenuous on your physique and in particular your lower back, I haven’t had the least bit of pain. On the contrary, it rather goes away. Even my anxiety at certain times of day, has mostly vanished. I feel like by accident I have found a natural way to un-condition myself from certain pain and anxieties that were built into my daily routine and how I react towards life in general. It’s been wonderful to witness… afterwards. I say afterwards because I wasn’t preoccupied with my (old) condition. I didn’t care about the old me because I was too busy becoming someone else. Do you know what I mean?

I do still have pain, sometimes even a lot of pain.. but that is from all the physical exercise. At 46 years of age I may be pushing it a little.. and I am finding out that I am not getting any younger ! But it’s all good. Mark

Moving forward

We have now reconnected and are in touch regularly. He has even come a long way since this email at the beginning of the year. He told my wife, who provides the rhythm and movement part of the workshop that he had thought the play was a waste time. He told her that he now felt it was the most important part.

Here are some observations he recently shared with me that I feel are the essence of healing. I have a question and answer session every Tuesday and Thursday at noon Pacific Time. This email was in response to one of the Zoom calls.

Read this section several times – he just described the essence healing

When I was listening to Vincent (another Omega graduate) and later also Babs (my tap dancing wife), I couldn’t help but wonder how useful these explanations are to the other listeners. Without a proper context, I am just a guy that started playing with a hockey ball, Vincent (an accomplished artist) plays with masks, and Babs creates art. So, how does that relate to someone else’s personal situation. What are they supposed to do with this type of information? People, including myself in the past want answers to questions so they can solve their own issues. 

I kept thinking how I never really understood that point of letting to and enjoying life. On an intellectual level perhaps but I never was able to practice it in real life. For me it was by sheer luck that I finally made a real shift. I was literally tired of solving a problem that couldn’t be solved by my intellect. I was so tired of it that I stopped listening to all my favorite audiobooks every night including yourself (I didn’t take it personally). And I decided to just have fun and do something else with my life. I happened to choose a brilliant combination of physical activity, play and family.

As I told you in one of my previous emails, I literally changed my identity. I believe for me awareness and a change of my identity was key for my breakthrough.

It wasn’t until afterwards that I realized how my pain and anxiety were closely tied to my identity that I build up over many years. My neurology created the same predictable body chemistry every day. How I dealt with people and situations in life, my thinking patterns, emotions never really changed as they were part of my identity. And as pain is a reflection of your ‘body budget’, the way I unconsciously regulate my ‘chemistry’ was always pretty much the same. To me, this was the metaphorical mountain I tried to conquer with a pick axe.

Even though I know that healing occurs differently with different people, I wonder how most of us can achieve a lasting change  unless we change some of our habits and the way we live, without giving up some of who we are. Who we are now, is the identity that experiences anxiety and chronic pain.

Only by letting go of that part of you and replacing it with someone or something new that is fun, playful and loving you can let go of your pain. Simply because part of you that identified with pain no longer is in control. However, that is the difficult part, it starts with awareness and then following through with starting a ‘new life’.

Mark persisted and made it. Some people have almost immediate responses and he had a great start. But it is hard to comprehend what is possible. By continuing to move forwards, he is now living it. Nice work!!

The post Freed by Persistence and Play first appeared on Back in Control.

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Hi Dr. Hanscom,

My name is Tom and I am 67 years old.

I’ve had 28 surgeries including six spinal operations, three heart attacks, one stroke, an attempted suicide, opioid addiction and 20+ years of debilitating chronic pain. My body is a mass of scar tissue that requires extensive stretching every morning. I’ve done my time in the deep, dark Abyss and yet, I have overcome each of these experiences. I’m a survivor, not a victim.

Driving home from work one night, I was rear-ended by a young teenage driver, which exacerbated an already bulging disc in my back. This one, minor accident began a chain of events that would change my life into one of endless misery, pain, and despair.

I tried every therapy I could find from surgeries, injections, chiropractors, acupuncture, drug therapies, hypnosis, biofeedback, counseling from eight different psychologists and psychiatrists, and even a healer that worked with tuning forks. No one could figure out why I was in constant, debilitating pain. Nothing worked. The only common treatment I received was a prescription for narcotic painkillers.

Into The Abyss

My whole life deteriorated as I was overcome with debilitating, chronic pain. It wouldn’t go away and I talked about it obsessively. I was too ill to attend my son’s baseball games and my wife and I weren’t able to have any quality time together. Friends and family didn’t want to talk to me anymore because I was such a “downer.” I became self-isolated. I was obsessed and all I could focus on was my pain, suffering, and how I was victimized.

Things got worse. I had a stroke when I was 47 years old.

I woke up, got out of bed, and fell on my face. My left leg would not respond to commands and my thinking was clouded and unclear. For a few hours, I was temporarily blind. I also lost my short-term memory. I went from reading a book a week to not being able to comprehend two sentences in a newspaper article. By now, I was deep into the Abyss. I had lost everything, including my business and marriage. I spent my days wallowing in chronic pain and self-pity.

My neurologist kept assuring me that my brain could reprogram and I might regain my balance, the use of my leg, my reading comprehension, and some of my memory. I had my doubts, but I had nothing to lose by believing him. Over a period of eighteen months, I regained full control of my left leg. Most importantly, after a few years, I reprogrammed my brain so that I could function almost as well as I did pre-stroke.

Connection

In all of this crisis and personal implosion there was a glimmer of light. I reconnected with my high school sweetheart, Patty. We had broken up when we were 21 and had gone our separate ways. She found me on Facebook and we reconnected 10 years ago. We’ve been inseparable, ever since. Patty and I are a team. She is my soul mate to whom I owe my life. Patty was the one who called the medics when I attempted suicide. And it was Patty who never gave up on me, although I gave her plenty of reasons to.

I attempted suicide not because I wanted to die, but because I couldn’t stand the physical pain of living any more. When my suicide attempt failed, I was faced with the reality that I’d quit trying to get better. I started to listen when people said my life still had some meaning and that I meant something to others and those in my family. I decided that any life, even one full of pain and suffering, was worth living. I told myself I would never give up again.

“I’m done with this”

I made the decision to quit narcotics and find a solution for my chronic pain. I didn’t think there was a cure, but rather a better approach to cope with it. I started calling clinics and caregivers across the country looking for relief. I discovered your project and that of another doctor, the late Dr. Peter Przekop in Palm Springs, with whom I spent a month.

Under Dr. Przekop’s care, I learned how to meditate, and through that practice, I experienced a profound recovery while in an altered state of consciousness. However, I was still feeling pain and prior to reading your book, was convinced that I’d never be pain-free.

The tipping point occurred when I started reading the “Stories of Hope.” When I first picked up Back in Control, I was focused on other people’s stories of hope, pain, and suffering. I perused these types of stories because I wanted to confirm that my pain and suffering was worse than everybody else’s. However, as I read their stories of pain, suffering, and recovery I started to realize that the solution was within me. It was up to me to resolve myself. I started to ask, “What can I do for myself that the doctors couldn’t?”

Taking charge

Through The DOC Journey I finally figured out that I was going to heal myself. I was done waiting to see what “they” were going to do to help me, how were “they” going to fix my pain. Drugs, injections, surgeries, and therapy were not going to cure me – I was.

In the long run, my stroke was actually a blessing rather than a curse. I had first-hand success with neuroplasticity and knew that the process worked. While I had doubts about the power and influence anger was having on my chronic pain, I knew that I could reprogram my brain.

Expressive writing forced me to accept that regardless of my chronic pain and suffering, I was still accountable for my words and actions. I wrote about my wounds, demons, and downfalls. I wrote about all of the people who had caused me anger and earned my scorn. Expressive writing helps me manage my anger and frustrations as I “shred and shed them” each morning.

I learned to forgive and move on, which helped to cleanse me of the anger I had built up inside of myself. I forgave my dad, the teenager that crashed into me, and the neurosurgeon that erred. I came to understand that the anger inside me was preventing me from moving on with my life.

Choosing not to remain a victim

To this day I have resolved to deal with my anger head-on, without delay. Anger is inevitable, but allowing it to poison your life by hanging on to it is a choice. I have elected to take responsibility and control of my “pain circumstances.”

It was absolutely critical to my recovery that I learned to control and manage my anger, learn forgiveness, and be compassionate towards those I resented. Once I learned to forgive and forget, I become unstuck and was able to move on.

Physically, I haven’t felt this good since before I was hurt 30 years ago.

From reading Back in Control, I have learned to use the principles of active mediation, expressive writing, anger management, daily walks, yoga and swimming as daily endeavors. I got a second chance to live my life, to repair the relationships I’d damaged, and become a survivor – not a victim.

I did not elect to be in pain, but rather I elected to not be in pain.

Best, Tom

He is The DOC Journey

His story gives me a lot of hope. I always chose to give every patient that walked through into clinic my full attention and to work with them. However, down deep I would not have had much hope for improvement for him with this amount of trauma. I certainly would not have expected this kind of a turnaround. If you look at his story, he engaged with every concept presented in the DOC process. It is not a self-help program but rather a framework to break the parts of your pain into smaller components, and people find their own way out.

He and I have now met and connected and he is looking forward to giving back, which is also an important aspect of healing.

I could write a book about all the aspects of escaping pain that are illustrated by his experience (I guess I already did). I just want to highlight two of them. The greatest obstacle to solving pain is your unwillingness to engage in any part of a healing journey. The DOC process is just one possibility. One my successful patients made a comment that he had to, “Suspend disbelief” to embark on his journey.

The second point is that the tipping point of deep healing is always processing anger through forgiveness. This is not a philosophical issue. It a matter of deciding to take full responsibility for every aspect of your life. Anger is the last ditch effort to regain control to survive and your stress hormones are through the roof. The mental and physical toll of living with anger at your core is horrific. One of the clearest parts of his story is him deciding that he was done living like he was and he decided simply to take his life back regardless of where it took him.

His story is remarkable, but not unique.

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