BECOME YOUR OWN THERAPIST--IN 50 MINUTES

Psychiatry doesn't pay much attention, anymore, to helping people dig into their life stories to uncover the sources of their emotional turmoil and pain.  That's strange.  Because psychiatry used to be about listening to people.  Now, it's about medicating people.  You can't truly get better without getting to the bottom of what you've lived through.  The chapters of your life story have meaning.  So, you have to re-read them. 

The toughest parts of your life story are the ones to dig into.  Those are the ones that will help you trace the roots of your psychological pain--and overcome it.  When these experiences and relationships are buried, you become anxious or depressed from the pressure they build up underground, in your unconscious mind.  Every human being needs to feel like they know themselves.  Otherwise, you feel like you're lost and on the run, at the same time.  That causes worry, fear, anxiety, despondency, trouble sleeping and a desire to make yourself numb (like with alcohol or overeating). 

The mind-brain connection is very real.  In fact, both Prozac and effective psychotherapy (not to mention, meditation) can bring about very similar healing changes in the brain that are visible on brain scans.  These positive changes have been linked to lower inflammation in the brain.  And if psychotherapy can relieve inflammation in the brain, it's easy to believe that psychological pain can cause that inflammation. 

The fact that burying emotional pain can actually inflame your brain is amazing, but it's a fact.  And that's why it's so important to uncover what's troubling you and come to terms with it.  It not only settles your mind, it cools down your brain--for real.

Think about the three things that happened in your life--all the way from childhood until now--that were the toughest to survive.  What patterns of thought and behavior did they set in motion?  If you suddenly lost someone you loved, are you now afraid of forging truly close relationships?  If you avoid really close relationships, has that made you feel depressed?  Or, if you moved, again and again, during your childhood, and that made it really hard to make friends and really hard to feel like you had any control over your life, has that made you afraid of changes now--even many years later?  What strategies (some of them probably counterproductive) did you need to use as a 10-year-old or 12-year-old to wall yourself off from all that chaos?  Where did the anxiety go from that time in your life?  Did it get buried?  Is that anxiety now leaking out everywhere and taking over your life?  Is it giving you panic attacks--even when minor changes have to be made now?  Your story has meaning.  Dig for the three most significant trouble spots in your life so far and you'll be able to repurpose the negative energy from those times into insights that will fuel your growth.

The self-defeating patterns that got started when you went through your "three toughest times" made you deny parts of yourself--maybe your real goals or real feelings or real dreams--in order to not disappoint others or pretend that everything was okay.  Now, it's time to  take a few steps in the direction of who you really are.  Have you avoided change because you lived through chaos as a kid?  What kind of changes have you considered making, but felt afraid to embark upon?  Maybe it's trying to start a business, even though watched your mom and dad lose theirs.  Maybe it's becoming a teacher, even though school was is a source of difficult memories for you.  Maybe it's saying "yes" to a close relationship, even though you unconsciously avoided them in the past.  You don't have to dive into the deep end of the pool.  It's okay to dip a toe in the water.  Read a book about starting the kind of business you've dreamed of.  Tell the person you've been dating that you aren't so sure, anymore, that you want things not to get "serious."  Turn your pain into your power.Think about the three things that happened in your life--all the way from childhood until now--that were the toughest to survive.  What patterns of thought and behavior did they set in motion?  If you suddenly lost someone you loved, are you now afraid of forging truly close relationships?  If you avoid really close relationships, has that made you feel depressed?  Or, if you moved, again and again, during your childhood, and that made it really hard to make friends and really hard to feel like you had any control over your life, has that made you afraid of changes now--even many years later?  What strategies (some of them probably counterproductive) did you need to use as a 10-year-old or 12-year-old to wall yourself off from all that chaos?  Where did the anxiety go from that time in your life?  Did it get buried?  Is that anxiety now leaking out everywhere and taking over your life?  Is it giving you panic attacks--even when minor changes have to be made now?  Your story has meaning.  Dig for the three most significant trouble spots in your life so far and you'll be able to repurpose the negative energy from those times into insights that will fuel your growth.

There are specific supplements that can decrease brain inflammation, so that you mind can start taking you down more productive paths.  Low mood and anxiety and problems concentrating can all respond to supplements including curcumin, lavender oil and rhodiola, amongst others.  But, if you had to start with one, I'd pick curcumin.  It's anti-inflammatory.  It's all natural--derived from a spice called turmeric.  And it has no known significant side effects.

You truly can become the person you were meant to be.  That really is the most important journey of your life, and it is what I am committed to helping you achieve.  Whatever treasures of your personal power are buried in the past, you can retrieve them.  Whatever obstacles are in your path, you can overcome them.