At some tipping point, this becomes the new trajectory of your life. Life’s challenges continue to come at all of us. As life becomes easier to navigate, your body is exposed to less threat (stress) physiology and more to safety. Safety is where fuel moves into cells, and your body regenerates and heals.

The metaphor for this navigated course is the ski slope. No matter what your skill level, you must get down the hill. If the ski run is above your skill level, you may not be only stressed, it can be terrifying. The goal is become an expert at life skills and learn to feel safe a higher percent of the time. Here are the prerequisites.

• Have a working knowledge of The DOC Journey course.
• Understand the natural resistance to change.
• Review the “circle of life” with the “ring of fire.”
• Begin to connect to your vision of what is possible.
• Your healing emanates from feeling safe and creative.
• Constructing your new home (life) is the final focus of the journey. Enjoy!!

Overview

First of all, congratulations for reaching this level. The key to healing is persistence and you have already shown a willingness to fully engage in learning to create and live the life you want. Before you began this journey, that may not have seemed possible. But to be clear, your journey is not about completing a course or believing in David Hanscom. It is about connecting your own capacity to heal. Healing of any part of the body is nothing short of miraculous, but so is the gift of life.

Many people arrive at this point of their journey and they feel better. So, being back to their baseline, they quit. “I am good enough,” and they move on with their life. I think that it is tragic to stop now. Your creative brain is coming alive and the potential for future learning and growth is unlimited. Why would you want to stop?

There are actually a few reasons why this happens so often.

• Humans are programmed by every second of their lives. Our brains unconsciously memorize everything. Familiar patterns are not noticed since not only are they embedded in our brains, but they are our version of reality. Any new or unusual data catches our attention and stimulates some level of threat physiology. We feel anxious and instinctively resist change. So, maybe you are back to a comfortable baseline state. Why would you wish to continue?
• There is a lot of anxiety with success, if you are used to simply trying to survive. When is the shoe going to drop? A classic example is golf. It is remarkably predictable that when you have shot well for three or four holes that your anxiety levels rise. Of course your muscle tension increases, and suddenly it seems like you don’t which end of the club to hold. The same scenario holds true in any performance arena at home, work, or even relaxing.
• Examples are present in every kind of performance. Maybe you have been promoted and have a higher profile in your sphere of influence. More eyes are on you, and many people might jealous of your success. They may look for any opportunity to cut you down. There is a term for this phenomenon called “Tall Poppy Syndrome.” It is easier to just blend in with the crowd.
• Understand that the shoe will always drop. That is life. If your goal is to be in an endless state of bliss, you’ll fail. Life presents an endless number of daily challenges and at some level of stress, your body will respond with threat physiology. Maybe it will last for an hour or even days. It is what your body is supposed to do – protect you. But you now have choices regarding how long you wish to remain there.
• A different problem arises in that now you have tasted what it is like to be in the green center, and you don’t want to leave. Additionally, when you are triggered and in the red, the contrast is sharp and you may get more frustrated about what is possible compared what you are experiencing in the moment. I call this, “the curse of awareness.” What you want to do is nuture emotional flexibilty, be present with whatever state you are in, and move in the direction of your choice.
• I experienced a common scenario in that I had no idea that there were other possibilities about the way I negotiated my life. All I ever knew was anger and chaos. Although, I attended workshops, read self-help books, and underwent extensive counseling. I did not connect with how angry I was until I was 50 years old. It was an incredibly unpleasant experience and I did not have the tools to deal with it. Healing happens with connection – to yourself and then to those around you. Not wanting to experience unpleasant emotions may be a major reason why people don’t engage in this process or pull up short of really moving forward. One of my friends has often quoted the phrase, “you have to feel to heal.”

The ”circle of life” containing the “ring of fire” is the signature tool of this journey. A version of it was created by Dr. Paul Gilbert, who was the founder of compassion-based therapy. Compassion (love) as defined by Anthony DeMello in his book, The Way to Love, is awareness. Anxiety blocks awareness. But as you nurture awareness, you’ll actually feel more anxiety, and it requires tools to tolerate it. This is a bidirectional interaction. So, this final level is focused on not only learning to nurture joy, but also to better tolerate anxiety.

The metaphor is building and decorating a new house. Each room represents an aspect of your life that must be addressed. Use it daily as a quick mental checklist as you go from room to room in your own home. The “lot” is the green center of the circle of life. With repetition, you’ll create the life you want. “To have a good life, you must live a good life.”

Books to read

Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness

Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible. The Stoic philosopher Epictetus was born on the eastern edges of the Roman Empire in A.D. 55, but The Art of Living is still perfectly suited for any contemporary self-help or recovery program.

The healing journey progresses from “reaCtive to Creative”. You must first see where you are at before you can change direction. You can’t heal by focusing on problems. Healing occurs with creativity and moving away from unpleasant neurological circuits. The wisdom of the Stoics is remarkable in that it is as, or more, relevant as it was 2000 years ago. Regaining a healthy life perspective is the definitive solution to decreasing your suffering.

On the slopes

A world class skier can ski anything humanly possible if the conditions are reasonable. I used to think I was a double black diamond skier until I was exposed to US Ski Team skiers who were far above a level than I ever imagined. They not only possess a high level of skill, but they are supremely confident as a result of putting in thousands of hours of practice.

Many years ago a group of us where on the back side of mountain at Alta Utah. It was a gorgeus day with a lot of new soft powder. We were all “expert” skiers. We were standing in a narrow line waiting to head down the hill and my son, who is a US Ski team level mogul skier was on another transverse about 30 feet above us. We wondered what he wanted us to do. What he wanted was fresh untracked powder and he took off and jumped over all of us. It must have been a 40-foot drop and he landed about 50 feet down the hill. There was no hesitation. He kept going until the bottom skiing at a high speed. I realized that his was a reality I was not familiar with.

But consider any performance from art, music, dance, athletics, mechanics, business, and work. Every endeavor can be manifested at the highest level. You might be thinking, “I could never accomplish this level of expertise, and in a given field, you probably won’t. Or maybe you already have. However, life skills are accessible to everyone and anyone who wants to commit the living an excellent life. All that is required is a willingness to continue to learn and practice. The DOC Journey presents a foundational set of concepts and tools and there are endless additonal ways to enhance your journey.

The only “goal” of this course is to allow you to connect to the moment you are in and with awareness can be in any color of the “circle of life” on your terms. You have the choice to remain there or move in any direction.

Why not attain the highest level of expertise in living your life? The focus is on attaining skills and not reaching for perfect, where you beat yourself up for “failing.” It is about just learning to execute what you know regardless of the circumstances. Outcomes are usually beyond our control, but you can up the odds of success.

This level is a jumping off point for living the rest of your life. Let yourself think big and enjoy your day.

The post Be an Expert at Living life first appeared on Back in Control.

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• Most of us strongly commit to making concrete changes at beginning of a New Year. Why can’t we follow through more consistently?
• The reason is because our behavioral patterns are so deeply ingrained. Just deciding to make a change won’t make it so.
• The commitment needed is to pursue aspects of your healing journey every day whether you are successful or not.
• The other commitment is a deeper one to keep moving forward towards your vision regardless of the obstacles.
• Then you have to trust your skills.

I was skiing on Christmas day, 2008, with my son Nick and his best friend Holt. Holt was the 2007 US mogul champion (bump skiing). My son had just won a national mogul event the two weeks earlier. The three of us were standing on top of a cornice at Snowbird, Utah. For non-skiers, a cornice is a snow formation that occurs at the top of a mountain ridge. As the wind blows the snow up the mountain a drop-off of 20-40 feet will be formed. Most skiers make a diagonal trail down this drop-off, which is fairly simple and safe. US ski team skiers often jump straight off of them.

Just below the cornice was a chute that was about 20 feet wide at the top but only about six feet wide about 2/3 of the way down. About 100 feet down on the left there was an outcropping of rocks, and it was about 200 feet before it opened up.

“Don’t attempt it!!”

While Holt was looking down at this chute, I said to him, “Holt, you are on the US ski team. I don’t think your coaches are going to be thrilled with you skiing down this kind of terrain.” He looked at me and immediately jumped into the chute. He skied about 75 feet straight down, made a gentle turn to the right, another gentle turn to the left and ended up in a large bowl. Nick started off to the right, jumped from a 15-foot cliff into the same chute and made the same turns into the bowl. They were traveling about 40-50 mph when they reached the open area. This was simply an undoable feat for most human beings. It was clear that if they did not remain committed to their decision that they had a high chance of a serious injury.

Practice, practice, practice – and trust yourself

They had been involved in competitive skiing for nine years. Each year, they had logged over 120 days on the slopes, worked on their jumping skills on water ramps in the summer, and exercised in the weight room several times per week. Every winter they spent the first few weeks on flat simple terrain honing basic turning techniques. They had supreme confidence to ski an icy mogul course at high speeds and had a strong commitment to excellence.

They each knew they could make that jump because they were supremely confident skiers and had done tough jumps before. So, when they made the jump into this steep chute, they were well within their capacity to execute the move. But at that moment, it also required them to commit.

Your life

Consider your life with regards to your capacity to effectively deal with adversity, pick yourself up when you fail, and keep moving forward. Unfortunately, most of us are not taught these skills in school, or within our families. Once we are out in the world, life becomes more competitive and the emphasis turns to survival, physically and emotionally.

Why not view your life from the perspective of an athlete, performing artist, or musician? There is a singular focus learning and mastering basics and acquiring additional expertise with repetition. Is your life any less important?

Recap

Commit to scheduling time daily with doable tasks that will stimulate your brain to change. Eventually, with repetition, these more functional behavioral patterns will become your baseline and you will be able to transform your life into one that you want. Don’t hesitate in your pursuit of your new life. It happens from connection, confidence, and commitment. Schedule it into your day.

The approach of the healing journey is not focused on “fixing” yourself. It is about acquiring skills to navigate adversity more effectively. You will spend less time in flight or fight physiology and your body and brain will heal.

Questions and considerations

1. How confident are you in your capacity to navigate adversity?
2. Did you ever consider it in terms of a learned skill?
3. How committed are you to living an excellent life, regardless of the obstacles?
4. We often have high expectations for our children or partners. What are your expectations of yourself? Are you the person you want your children to be?
5. This series of questions is not about being perfect. We are all “flawed” and endlessly fall short of our expectations. The issue is, “what is your ongoing commitment to living a better life and being an example?”
6. The problem is that while suffering from chronic pain, your energy becomes drained to the point that you may not care anymore. It is the reason that your commitment must begin with, “doing something” and keeping at it.

The post Commit to a Daily Practice first appeared on Back in Control.

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• Regular exercise is a defined and to measurably lower inflammation, which will decrease your pain.
• It is basic to healing from any chronic disease, including chronic pain. It won’t solve your pain by itself, but other interventions will have limited impact without it.
• There are well-documented weekly recommendations regarding the type and amount of exercise.
• Both aerobic conditioning and resistance training are important.
• If you are not willing to exercise, you have to ask yourself, “why?”

Being inactive is unhealthy.^1,2 This is a statement that is reflected in many reviews of the benefits of exercise. So, regular exercise is good for your health. There are multitude of papers documenting the benefits of regular exercise, including decreasing chronic pain. Due to the overwhelming amount of data, some of this blog will be presented in a list format.

According to the CDC, 60% of Americans do not engage in the recommended amount of weekly exercise. About 25% are completely sedentary.³ The consequences are severe.

 What are the benefits of exercising?

The list of reasons to exercise is almost endless but it begins with adding about four extra years to your lifespan. More importantly, the quality of life is maintained almost to the end.² There is less of chance of a slow decline in your health, which is not the way you want to pass on.

We don’t want to think much about death, but there are a few factors to consider from the literature and also from my observations being in medicine for over 45 years.

• People don’t want to be dependent on others. There is a fierce drive to hold onto your driver’s license, live in your own house, take care of your daily hygiene needs, and to be able to partake in enjoyable activities.
• People are less afraid of death than the possibility of prolonged suffering.
• No one wants to die. The only ones who do are miserable to the point that they can no longer endure it anymore or are completely dependent on others.
• Social isolation is intolerable. But what happens when your thinking capacities drop, you don’t hear as well, can’t go out for a cup of coffee with friends, or your life is consumed with medical problems?

Here is a short list of diseases/ conditions that are lowered with regular exercise and increased if living a sedentary life.^1,2

• Lower risk of ALL cancers – except prostate and melanoma³
• Heart disease
• Chronic pain
• Adult-onset Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Obesity
• Osteoporosis
• Decreased cognitive function/ dementia
• Stroke
• Depression
• Disability/ less capacity to engage in self-care
• Serious falls
• Insomnia

How much exercise?

The research breaks down exercise into light, medium, and intense. The tipping point for significant health benefits is between 150-300 minutes per week of moderate exercise. An example of moderate exercise would be brisk walking and if you decided to jog, you could lower the time to 75-150 minutes per week.^1,2

You don’t have to engage in intense exercise to receive significant health benefits. The minute you begin any light exercise, you have positively impacted your health. You may feel that a little exercise is not worth your time. That is simply not true. The relative benefits are actually higher if you have been inactive.

How intense should the exercise be?

It is important to be careful as you engage in a new level of activity. The CDC recommends getting a medical clearance if you have a chronic medical condition. If you are going engage in more vigorous exercise, clearance should be obtained in men over 40 and women over 50.⁴

Although the benefits far outweigh the risks, in every age group, there is a higher chance of a cardiac event during exercise compared to not exercising. If you have been sedentary, then just begin with light exercise for 5-10 minutes/day.^1,2 It is a lifestyle change and you’ll gradually improve in all domains. The key is being persistent – whether you feel like it or not. Consider the reality that for a short period of potential discomfort, you’ll feel better the whole rest of the day.

People often say that they can’t exercise because of their pain. It is a catch-22 in that exercise is anti-inflammatory, calms the nervous system, and decreases pain. However, in the short-term, it may increase your pain. There is no point in taking a “mind over matter” approach and try to keep pushing through the pain. Just exercise to tolerance or find exercise a body part that is not painful. It is important to enjoy your exercise time in order to maintain it. Again, any exercise in any part of your body will start you on the road to better health. Also remember, you aren’t trying to “conquer” chronic pain. As you lower your inflammation in your body, the pain does decrease.

What kind of exercise?

There are two general categories of exercise. Aerobic conditioning and resistance training. They both need to be utilized with doing aerobic activities maybe three or four days/ week and resistance training two to three days/ week. Heavy resistance training does have an aerobic component but walking or jogging does not meet the strengthening needs.

Regarding aerobic conditioning, it doesn’t matter how you increase your heart rate. Any activity works. Again, make sure that you stay in a range that is safe for you. It is common for orthopedic surgeons to see patients with tendonitis (inflammation) of the achilles tendon, tendons around the kneecap, plantar fascia, or even have stress fractures in the bones of their feet. It is always from a person deciding to “get in shape” and start to overexercise – usually walking or jogging. Otherwise, any graduated activity that increases your heart rate is effective. Think in terms of a long-range change and there is no rush.

The rest of this article will discuss resistance training as there are specific benefits and not enough people consider it as part of their routine. The main reason to implement regular strength training to halt or reverse the muscle loss of aging called, “sarcopenia.”  It lowers your chances of becoming dependent of others for your self-care. If you think being in pain is bad enough, people really dislike feeling helpless. You might consider visiting a nursing home for a few hours. It will motivate you to do whatever you can to stay out of that situation. Research shows that lack of control causes inflammatory markers to increase, thereby increasing your pain.⁴

Resistance training is integral to aging

We all lose a certain percentage of muscle mass every year (estimated to be about 3% after age 60). Since lifespans are significantly longer in the last half of the twentieth century, it means each of us will lose over 30 percent of our strength.⁷ So, resistance training becomes more important as we age.⁶

You not only prevent muscle loss (sarcopenia), but you can also reverse it. It’s been shown that people over forty-five receive a tremendous benefit from resistance training. There are many ways to accomplish this including the weight room, Pilates, yoga, elastic bands, and isometrics.

You will also be exerting stress on your bones, which simulates them to from new bone. It is a way to prevent your skeleton from becoming brittle (osteoporosis).

I prefer resistance training to be done outside of a person’s residence, as few people will consistently work out at home. It’s helpful to be in an environment where others are exercising; also, the equipment is better. Pilates is also excellent in that it emphasizes core strength, and yoga is helpful if the extreme postures are avoided.

The weight room

Regarding the resistance workout program, essentially all of the machines are safe. Avoid the free weights, as there is more the risk of straining your core muscles. Begin with very light weights and do sets of high repetitions –  ten to fifteen per muscle group. Work on opposing sets of muscles. Avoid unsupported bending at your waist no matter what the situation. Supported bending is fine and so is twisting.

Most health clubs offer at least one free personal training session to set you up and ensure your safety. Many physical therapists will help transition their patients from the specific/functional exercise phase into a long-term conditioning program.

Benefits of resistance training

Strength training is a significant  factor in reducing pain and improving your sense of well-being from lowering your inflammatory markers. Here are some benefits of resistance training.

First, there is the obvious benefit of having more strength, so a smaller percentage of your energy is spent on daily activities. You are able to stay well away from the pain threshold.

Second, you have more capacity to engage in vigorous physical activities that are enjoyable and relaxing. Actively placing your attention on these neurological circuits stimulates neuroplasticity in a desirable direction. Many of these activities can shared with other people. Social isolation is over 50% in the US ⁸ and spending quality time with others is part staying healthy.

Third, although it’s not going to be at the level of the long-distance runner, there is some degree of the release of pleasant hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins with strength and aerobic training. (Endorphins and enkephalins are the body’s natural pain killers).

Finally, I feel the most important contribution that strength training adds is a reprogramming function. You are now sending a different set of signals to the body regions that have been firing pain impulses to the brain. As you are voluntarily stressing a given muscle group, you have control as to the intensity of the signals. Somehow the combination of control and different inputs has a significant impact on pain.

Recap

Regular exercise improves almost every aspect of life, including sleep. Activities should involve both aerobics and resistance training. If it fits in with a hobby you love, that is an additional benefit. Invite a friend to join you, take a neighbor’s dog for a walk, accompany a grandchild to the park, join a local team—all of these activities allow you to connect not only with your body, but also with your community. Experience of connection in itself promotes a feeling of safety and lowers inflammatory markers.

However, per the sleep hygiene principles, intense exercise should not be performed in the evening. If you must exercise late in the day, keep it light and relaxing; otherwise, the neurochemical stimulation will disturb your sleep. Remember that adequate sleep is one of the cornerstones of alleviating chronic pain.

The key to incorporating exercise into your care is to select an activity you enjoy from the start. Exercise is a long-term commitment, and it is important to have fun while you do it. It’s easy to look at your exercise equipment and feel badly that you aren’t using it more than you should; but those thoughts are counter-productive to your healing. If you reframe exercise as a reward comprised of leaving the house, being with people, and moving your body, you’re more apt to keep it up.

Questions and considerations

1. If you are serious about breaking free from chronic pain, you must exercise. It is a concrete and defined way of affecting your body’s physiology. Are you exercising at all? Are you exercising the recommended amount of time per week? If you are not, you have to ask yourself, “why?”
2. Any exercise helps and the proportional benefits are actually greater at the beginning of your program. Benefits increase with more exercise, but you have to begin somewhere.
3. If you are not in good physical shape, it is hard to have good mental health and enjoy many other activities. What do you want your overall life to look like?
4. Consider the time you may be spending with medical visits, looking for solutions on the Internet, reading self-help books, considering surgery, and discussing your pain and medical care. What if you took 30 min a day from these activities and exercised?
5. These comments sound like I am lecturing and I am. I continually challenge myself and my patients with the question, “What do you want?” The answer is usually, “I want to be free from my pain.” Then do it. There are many basic ways to break free from chronic pain without aggressive medical treatments. Sleep and exercise are foundational steps. If these two are not in place, you will not be able to move forward easily regardless of other interventions.
6. “Just do it.”

References

1. Paterson DH and Darren ER Warburton. Physical activity and functional limitations in adults: a systematic review related to Canada’s physical activity guidelines. International Jrn of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2010); 7:38-50.
2. Powell KE, et al. Physical activity for health: What kind? How much? On top of what? Annual Review Public Health (2011); 32:349-65. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031210-101151.
3. Moore SC, et al. Association of leisure-time physical activity with the risk of 26 types of cancer in 1.44 million adults. JAMA (2016); 176:816-825. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.1548
4. Surgeon General Report. Physical activity and health. CDC (1999). https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/adults.htm
5. Dantzer R, et al. Resilience and immunity. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (2018); 74:28-42.
6. Volpi E, et al. Muscle tissue changes with aging. Current Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care (2004); 7:405-410.
7. Crimmins EM. Lifespan and healthspan: Past, present, and promise. The Gerontologist (2015); 6:901-911. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnv130
8. Cigna US Loneliness Index. Cigna, 2018.

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We are all programmed by our past The way we survive is that our brain is constantly comparing the present to the past and any situation that triggers a hint of a prior threatening scenario, will create a danger signal. There are over 20 million bits of sensory input being processed every second. This warning system has different forms – hot, cold, sharp, pressure, dizzy, bright, loud, bitter, rancid, and the list is long. However, they are all creating a similar reaction of being unpleasant enough to compel you to take action to solve it. They can all be lumped under the word, “pain” and the simultaneous reaction of anxiety.

Since this is what our brain is repetitively processing the environment every second, it is all being deeply programmed into your nervous system. It is also the reason that chronic pain (anxiety) almost always worsens with time. You are becoming more skilled in recognizing and feeling the pain. It is similar to a pianist practicing to the point where he or she develops the skills to be considered a virtuoso performer. The term for this process is, “neuroplasticity.” We are all programmed by our past up to this exact second.

The Talent Code What does this have to do with my golf swing? One of the first books I have historically had my patients read is a book called The Talent Code by Dan Coyle. He has done a wonderful job of looking at the factors that create genius. It is a growing observation that genius is rarely born. It occurs after about 10,000 hours of repetition. However, it is a specific kind of repetition called “deep learning.” The other two factors are “ignition” (obsessive repetitions) and “master coaching” (laying down the correct pathways).

Deep learning is the most basic concept in that it is necessary to enter information into your brain in a way that you can retain it. Each of us knows that if you just read or hear some new information that you will retain very little of it. It is necessary to use some technique such as visualization, verbally repeating new thoughts and concepts to yourself, writing them down, analyzing and challenging the ideas, re-interpreting material according to your perception of it, etc. By using techniques you are comfortable with, you can increase your learning by 500 to 600%. Conversely, random repetitions will decrease learning by 15-20%. In other words, you must actively process information to retain it and make it part of your nervous system. Master coaching keeps the repetitions within a narrow range.

Holt’s deep learning So, my way I approached golf was to take a lesson, learn a new concept, not practice enough, and jump to another concept. It is no wonder that I never came close to being an expert. My son’s best friend, Holt, won the 2007 US Mogul skiing championship by using deep learning. He broke down one of jumps called a “D-spine” into 13 different parts. Each practice jump was focused on just one of the components. It is a stunt where the skier does both a back flip and rotates sideways. He could lay down a competitive run almost 80% of the time, which is stunning considering the complexity of the sport. And he did it by practicing about a third as much as most of his competitors. Consider chronic pain. You are trapped by relentless unpleasant sensations without an obvious alternative. The pain impulses fit the definition of “deep learning” in that they are so specific. The obsessive repetition is self-apparent and these circuits don’t require master coaching.

Stimulating neuroplasticity So, these basic automatic survival circuits are permanently embedded. Paradoxically, the more you pay attention to them or, even worse, suppress them, the stronger they will become. The key is to reprogram your brain to have alternative and more functional responses to threat – whether it is real or perceived. There are three steps: 1) awareness of the automatic response 2) create some “space” between the stimulus and reaction  3) substitute a response that is your choice. With repetition your brain will develop new circuits that are more pleasant and eventually automatic. You are creating a new nervous system within your current one. It is similar to having a virtual desktop installed on your computer. By trying to “fix” my bad golf swing, I got nowhere. If I had created and pursued a vision of what I wanted to create, I may have had more success. You have heard the saying, “Practice makes perfect.” What is more true is, “Perfect practice makes perfect.” Why keep embedding your mistakes or dysfunctional reactive patterns?    

“I read your book and I still hurt” It is common for people to say that they have read multiple books, including Back in Control, and they still feel the same. Yet when I ask them what reprogramming skills they are regularly using, the answer is always the same – none or maybe just a couple on occasion. You don’t want your brain’s reactive response to a threat to always be unpleasant. Even worse, what we often perceive as a threat is actually not a threat. It is a “cognitive distortion” and really a huge waste of time and energy. If you want to break free from pain, you have to develop a regular practice. It does not require much time once you have learned the healing concepts.

The DOC Journey presents a sequence of learning that allows you to first understand the nature of the problem, develop a strong foundation by using tools to calm and stabilize your nervous system, provides strategies to break free from your past programming, and most importantly move forward into the life that you desire. What kind of golf game (life) do you desire? I am probably not going to commit to a great golf swing at this point in my life. You have no idea how much I know about the mechanics of the swing, but I don’t want to spend that much time practicing. But I am committed to learning as much as I can about the latest neuroscience research around chronic disease and bringing these ideas into the public domain. My personal challenge is presenting them as clearly as possible. I am excited about learning these skills and encouraged that patients are responding more quickly. I am continually inspired by people’s persistence and courage in the face of the adversity of chronic pain.

References:

1. Coyle, Dan. The Talent Code: Greatness isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How. Random House, New York, NY, 2009.

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