Roadmap to a solution

What are the clues? Over 90% of people who have died of COVID-19 have some other chronic medical condition(s) (1). The common perception is that in this scenario, the body simply gets overwhelmed. The pre-existing situation is unsolvable and the outcome is inevitable. This idea could not be farther from the truth.

All these chronic conditions are associated with elevated inflammatory markers from the body responding to threats. A major aspect of this response is the immune system. Mental threats are more problematic than physical threats in that you cannot escape disturbing thoughts and emotions and repressing them is even worse. Therefore, every human being is exposed to some level of elevated stress hormones and inflammation. Many people have learned to process threat in way that causes little damage. However, many, if not most of us, have not been taught these skills and therefore are  exposed to elevated levels of inflammatory cells. It is the essence of chronic disease.

The following chronic diseases are all connected to sustained inflammatory and metabolic destruction of tissues: cardiovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, Parkinson’s disease, autoimmune disorders, obesity, adult-onset diabetes, anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder. It is all the same process with different clinical manifestations and many people suffer from multiple different ones.

Plan A–Lowering Inflammation Lengthens Life

This document, Plan A, presents 12 categories of interventions that will lower your levels of inflammation. If most severe cases of COVID are connected with chronic medical conditions, then address them. By starting with lower levels of inflammation, there is a better chance of staying below the critical threshold where the inflammatory process spins out of control, there is diffuse damage to many different organs, and your lungs fill up with fluid. There are now multiple professionals advocating a similar approach. One group looked at it from using preventative medications, but it can be achieved with these other means.

Getting and being happy is a learned skill and it is well-documented that those who learn it live longer with a better quality of life. Dealing with COVID-19 requires the same approach as dealing with chronic disease–lower threat and inflammation and create safety. Obviously, it all occurs at a much faster rate with COVID.

Join us in this grass roots movement

Please circulate Plan A to as many of your friends, family, and colleagues as possible and also encourage them to pass it along to their circles. This plan was assembled by a group of physicians and scientists who feel strongly that this approach will have an impact in lowering the severity of this deadly disease. It also represents a template for the future of healthcare moving from an illness to a wellness model. It boils down to means of creating safety instead of being at the mercy of threats. Most chronic mental and physical disease is preventable and some if it even reversible. This booklet represents a major effort to change both the trajectory of COVID–19 pandemic and also the manner in which we approach health care and chronic disease.

There is another aspect of all of this to consider. Inherent in this approach is each person taking full responsibility for his or her role in their health. It is easy to look at others or society for solutions when they truly exist only in each one of us. It is possible with a collective effort of taking personal responsibility for every aspect of our lives, we can change the course of this relentless pandemic, the nature of health care, and create societal changes that will enhance the quality of our lives and those of future generations. We each have to take action, as the burden of chronic disease is crushing us. (2)

Seeing such clear relationship between chronic stress and disease, both in my clinics and in the literature is what finally persuaded me to quit my practice. The DOC Journey is the most recent evolution of the healing process. It has been inspiring and energizing to continue to see people without hope consistently connect to their own capacity to heal.

Plan A – Lowering Inflammation, Lengthening Life

References:

1.   Williamson EL, et al. OpenSafely: factors associated with COVID-19 death in 17 million patients. Nature (2020); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2521-4.
2. O’Neill Hayes, Tara and Serena Gillian. Chronic disease in the United States: A worsening health and economic crisis. Americanactionforum.org; September 10th, 2020.

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There were three ground rules: 1) you could not complain about your pain or let the other participants know where you were hurting 2) medical care could not be discussed 3) no complaining – period. Most participants were initially thrown off by not being able to discuss their pain but quickly realized how important it was in contributing to his or her healing. What I had not realized prior to conducting these workshops is how much people do complain – not only about their pain, but also about life in general. How can you enjoy your life when you are continually upset?

Directing your attention

Your nervous system will rewire in whatever direction you place your attention. How much time do you spend thinking (obsessing) about your pain? How aware are you of others needs? What percent of your conversations are spent discussing some aspect of your suffering? Do you really enjoy discussing your pain? Don’t you become tired of it?

Georgia

One of the most dramatic turnarounds I have witnessed was a patient who came to me to have her scoliosis fixed. Her curve was about 60 degrees and she was suffering from chronic back pain. There is little evidence linking scoliosis to chronic pain. Since her spine was still balanced I was not inclined to consider a surgical procedure. It would have involved at least 8 hours of surgery with a complication rate of over 50%. She had been wheelchair-bound for about 10 years and was taking a lot of narcotics. I told her that I would consider surgery only if she engaged in the rehab process as outlined in my book, Back in Control. One of my pain specialist colleagues was remarkably effective in helping my patients through the process. However, within a couple of months we both had to let go in that she was not taking any responsibility for her condition and not willing to put forth any significant effort.

About a year later she re-appeared on my schedule. I have to confess that I was dreading walking into the room since I had already given her so many admonitions to engage. I opened the door and she was standing there with no wheelchair in sight, without any brace support, was off all of her narcotics, and did not have any pain. She was working out in the gym and getting back to re-engaging with her friends. I was stunned.

Of course, I was a little more than curious about what had happened. She confessed that she had been sitting in her house every day obsessing about everything that had gone wrong in her life. Essentially, all of her conversations were focused on her problems that were created by her pain. She had been in a couple of car accidents and had gone through a bitter divorce. She resonated with the forgiveness section of the DOC project, and quit talking about her miseries. She decided to let go and move on. Within six weeks the pain began to abate and by 4 months it was gone. I still see her around the hospital, as she did have another fall; but she is still living the life she has always wanted to live. She radiates energy and joy.

Stop it

Stop discussing your pain, medical care, or even any of your troubles with the world – NOW. There are no shortcuts. You are not going to move forward while hanging on to your grievances. Every day is an opportunity to begin anew. Behavioral patterns are so deep that changing your conversation to enjoyable topics may be difficult. Just do it. It will initially be challenging but you will be surprised at the effectiveness of this simple strategy. Can’t do it? Really? How badly do you want to heal?

The post Not Sharing Your Pain – Omega first appeared on Back in Control.

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• Forgiveness – is a selfish act that entails refusal to allow others, the past or circumstances to affect your day.
• Being aware of nature of the chemical reaction to a threat and that stress is not as much of a problem, as your response to it that drains you of your life energy.
• Understand you have a choice of whether to remain in the situation that is creating the stress. In other words, are you choosing to remain in a perceived or real victim mode. Let me explain using traffic as an illustration.
• “Kill your ego.” This was advice given by David Burns, author of Feeling Good, at one of his workshops. This a large topic but do become aware of how much energy you spend defending the image of you that you have created. It is one of the reasons I feel that self-esteem is such a deadly concept.

Traffic

Why would you get upset when someone cuts you off in traffic or suddenly pulls out in front of you? There was no physical harm. Your heart and respiratory rate may have increased. What drains you of your energy is getting upset at the person who cut you off. Maybe you have a story in your head about “idiot drivers” that is reinforced every time you get behind the wheel. Consequently, your body is full of adrenaline and you are physically burning energy that is completely wasted.

“The unenforceable rules”

Dr. Luskin, author of Forgive for Good, has a term for this phenomenon. He calls it “the unenforceable rules. You might wish that people would not cut you off or pull out in front of you, which is fine. However, when that wish turns into a demand in your head that, “I should not be exposed to this kind of bad behavior”, you now have a problem that is not solvable. Your driving experience is going to consistently be stressful when it could be a time to relax and enjoy the trip. You might ask, “What are my choices?’

Your choices

First of all, if you you are going to assume the responsibility of driving that means you are going to have to deal with drivers who may not feel the same way. Texting, drinking, drugs, etc. are all potential issues or maybe the driver who upset you just lost her job. Taking the position that all drivers should perform well is not reality. So you have a choice to accept the fact that essentially every time you get in the car there is going to be multiple situations are less than ideal. Then you can relax, stay alert, deal with them and enjoy your trip.

Your second choice is to avoid driving. That is an option. You may not like it. But it would solve your problem. The only choice that does not make any sense is to continue to be upset every time you drive.

Mayor Moran

I ran across these pictures a few months ago that help illustrate my point.

When your body is consistently full of stress hormones you have a much higher chance of becoming ill. This has been documented in hundreds of studies with a classic one being published in 1964. (1)

Who knows how long he would have lived if he had remained in his business and political world but his story does illustrate a dramatic turnaround. He chose to decrease his stress. My observation is that he also took charge of his life and made a decision to improve his odds of staying alive.

My choice

I made the opposite decision in 1990 when I began my slide into a severe burnout and depression. I instinctively knew that I could not run from this and that changing to a less stressful career was not gong to be the answer for me. Maybe I was right and maybe not. I dove in and fully committed to finding the answers to my unexplained onset of anxiety through every possible means. But I almost did not survive the ordeal.

I was lucky and have been able to share what I learned from suffering from chronic pain for over 15 years. I did learn that I was the problem and that I had a choice of how to react to my environment. I have steadily improved this skill although I wish I was much better at it. I have much more stress on my plate now than when I buckled in 1990. I also have much more energy as I am not remaining unhappy about situations I cannot affect or change.

Perhaps a combined approach of cutting back a least a little while learning these tools would have been better decision. I don’t get a re-do. So here I am, incredibly grateful that I did make it and can share my story. Patients often tell me that I just don’t understand the pain that they are in. Fifteen years is a long time to be in pain and seven of those were living on a razor blade. I do understand that he or she might be suffering as much as I did; but not more. I have been given a second shot at life and have taken control of creating it. You have that same choice.

The way to take back your life is to assume responsibility for every aspect of it. If you find yourself blaming others for ANY of your problems, wake up.

1. Rahe RH, et al. “Social stress and illness onset.” Jrn Psychosomatic Res. (1964); 8: 35.

The post Take Back Your Life first appeared on Back in Control.

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