It is almost impossible to believe that you can break free from chronic mental and physical pain after years of suffering and disappointments. Learn how your nervous system is the game changer in your pain recovery journey. If you are dealing with the misery of being in relentless pain and want to learn science backed Mind Body information and skills by two leading experts in chronic pain, David Hanscom M.D. and Les Aria PhD, then this podcast is for you!
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A fundamental concept in neuroscience and human consciousness is that our judgments and views of the world often reflect our internal state. In other words, when we judge others harshly, we are frequently projecting aspects of ourselves onto them. This cyclical nature of
self-judgment and external judgment perpetuates negativity in both directions.
Connect with David Hanscom, MD
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Defining Mental Rigidity
Episode 51
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 • Duration 45:53
We tend to view our life view as the correct one and become upset when confronted with conflicting evidence. This perspective becomes embedded in our nervous system with repetition and time, and we develop mental rigidity.
Quote: Here are some thought-provoking quotes that address the impact of mental rigidity on life perspective and overall quality of life:
Albert Einstein: “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
Define Mental Rigidity
Mental rigidity is a cognitive state characterized by an inflexible, closed mindset that resists change, adaptation, or new perspectives. Individuals with mental rigidity often struggle to consider alternative viewpoints, adapt to new information, or adjust their beliefs or behaviors in response to evolving circumstances. This rigid way of thinking can lead to difficulty coping with life's challenges, missed opportunities for growth, and strained relationships, as it limits one's
ability to see beyond a narrow, fixed perspective. In essence, mental rigidity prevents a person from embracing the flexibility and open-mindedness necessary for personal development and resilience.
Mental rigidity is a core trait spanning almost every mental health scenario. Why?
Mental rigidity is often present in psychological diagnoses because it represents an underlying difficulty in adapting thoughts, behaviors, or emotions to changing circumstances, which is a
core aspect of many mental health conditions. Here are a few reasons why:
Resistant Patterns of Thinking: Conditions like depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder often involve repetitive, rigid thinking patterns. For example, individuals with depression may fixate on negative beliefs, while those with OCD may be stuck in cycles of intrusive thoughts and compulsions. These patterns make it hard to adopt new perspectives or shift focus.
Difficulty Adapting to Change:Many psychological conditions are rooted in the struggle to cope with or adjust to change. For instance, those with generalized anxiety disorder may find it hard to adapt their expectations, leading to constant worry about potential future events. In personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder, rigid thought patterns can lead to extreme emotional reactions and impulsivity.
Avoidance and Control: Rigidity often arises from a desire to control or avoid difficult emotions and situations, common in diagnoses like PTSD. Here, individuals may engage in rigid avoidance patterns to prevent traumatic memories or feelings from resurfacing, reinforcing inflexibility in coping mechanisms.
Reinforcement of Negative Beliefs: In many cases, rigid beliefs perpetuate symptoms. For example, individuals with social anxiety may hold onto the belief that they will be judged negatively in social settings, reinforcing their avoidance of these situations and further solidifying the rigidity of their mindset.
Biological and Neurological Factors: Certain psychological conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia, may involve neurological differences that contribute to rigid thought patterns. These can affect cognitive flexibility, making it harder to shift attention or reframe thinking.
Ultimately, mental rigidity is often both a symptom and a reinforcing factor in psychological diagnoses. It limits emotional and cognitive flexibility, making it difficult for individuals
to break out of unhelpful patterns and move toward healthier perspectives and behaviors.
David Hanscom, MD – www.backincontrol.com
Les Aria, PhD – www.menda.com
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What Is Love?
Season 1 · Episode 42
Friday, October 14, 2022 • Duration 39:07
There are many concepts about the meaning of the word, “love.” However, Anthony DeMello, in his book, The Way to Love, condenses it down to one word, “awareness.” Awareness is “being fully present in the moment you are in.”
Anytime you are anxious or angry, you are connected to the past and have lost awareness. However, since we are programmed to survive, mentally and physically, we are always on the lookout for danger. These reactions are not controllable, and it requires tools to process them and then being in the present can emerge.
Awareness is at the core of successful human relationships, yet close relationships are the most powerful triggers. Instead of being an opportunity to heal, they often are an additional source of stress (pain). Today, we are just focusing on the word, “awareness” as the word for love. How can you positively interact with someone or solve problems without being aware of who they are and how the world may look through their eyes? How can you listen if you are already projecting your opinion onto them?
Anthony DeMello suggests that awareness may be all you need to heal. He is probably correct. These concepts are particularly relevant to close relationships in context of being in chronic mental/ physical pain.
Get the book The Way to Love by Anthony DeMello
Find out more about David Hanscom MD
Les Aria, PhD Pain Psychologist
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The Need for Nurture
Episode 41
Friday, September 30, 2022 • Duration 38:26
All of us need to have a place where we feel safe and nurtured. Home is the place where this needs to happen. How safe do you feel in your own home. How does your family feel? How do your close friends feel around you?
But remember, the first place to feel safe is with yourself from your own mind. Once you can create this level of safety, you can create it in other areas. Then as your home and circle of friends feel safe, it works in the other direction.
Connect with Dr. David Hanscom
Les Aria, PhD Pain Psychologist
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PRT (Pain Reprocessing Therapy) – Choosing Joy
Episode 40
Friday, September 16, 2022 • Duration 42:26
This is the final episode of the PRT (Pain Reprocessing Therapy) series. There are many ways of calming down your nervous system, but the real healing occurs as you train your nervous to move into the life that you want. You can learn to create a felt sense of safety versus fear of your pain – mental or physical.
“To have a good life, you must live a good life.” David Hanscom
REVIEW: What is Pain reprocessing therapy (PRT)?
PRT is an approach that trains the brain to reinterpret sensory input by (1) Breaking the pain-fear cycle and thereby (2) reducing or eliminating pain by training the brain to reprocess pain signals as safe.
What do we mean by creating more positive feelings and sensations towards your pain?
Besides reducing a person’s fear of their pain, PRT also aims to increase an overall feeling of safety - using the lens of safety.
We become conditioned to quickly engage in wanting to get rid of the pain that we spend all our awakening hours trying to do various things, including distracting ourselves or not even moving because we hurt.
One of the goals of PRT is to help the person shift from “danger mode” to “safety mode.” The therapist can help the patient attend to pleasant sensations in their body (e.g., the breath) through a lens of positivity.
Using your breath, self-compassion, imagery - and associated with pleasant feelings of something that mimics the body sensations (burning pain with hot tub).
We become what we practice. What do you want? The goal of, “Getting rid of my pain” places your attention on the pain and it will continue to run the show.
David Hanscom, MD Les Aria, Ph.D. Pain Psychologist
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You Have to Feel to Heal
Episode 39
Friday, September 2, 2022 • Duration 44:45
Unpleasant emotions are painful and no one wants to hurt. So, your brain represses it (unconscious response), or we suppress it (conscious act). You must first train yourself to feel your own pain before you can reprocess it. Quote: “Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” Sigmund Freud
Emotional and physical pain share the same neurological circuits in your brain. Emotional pain has a bigger impact on your body in that you can’t escape your thoughts. Suppression/ repression is all we know, and it really fires up the threat response. It also causes the hippocampus (memory center) to shrink in size, and the amygdala (fear) to enlarge.
In order to solve your pain, you have to first feel it. Awareness is at the core of healing. Then there are specific strategies that allow you to cope and reprocess your emotions. Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) encompasses most of these approaches.
David Hanscom, MD Les Aria, PhD Pain Psychologist
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What You Resist Will Persist
Episode 38
Friday, August 12, 2022 • Duration 36:29
This episode is focused on the third component of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), which gently “leaning into your pain.” We tease out the difference between “mind over matter” compared to “being with your pain.” It is also much different than “accepting your pain.”
A central skill in in PRT is called “somatic tracking”, which addresses this specific need to “lean into your pain. The goal of somatic healing is to help the patient attend to pain sensations through a lens of safety. At the same time, you must be kind to yourself – you don’t have to like being in pain, and you must nurture you.
Another view of this phase is to, “give up and move on.” Pay more attention to the rest of your life instead of your pain (classic phase of healing). Your pain circuits will atrophy and your capacity to enjoy life will grow.
Find out more about the hosts of Dynamic Healing- David Hanscom, MD and Les Aria, PhD.
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Being Sherlock Holmes for Your Pain
Episode 35
Friday, August 5, 2022 • Duration 37:59
The second component of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is gathering and reinforcing personalized evidence for the brain origins and reversibility of pain.
One way to combat the belief that there is a “structural”/peripheral cause of the pain is by gathering as much counterevidence as possible – evidence reinforcing that the pain is actually due to central processes, as opposed to a structural problem in the body.
Indicators of centralized pain include:
Pain originating during a time of stress
Pain originating without injury
Inconsistencies in how pain presents
Presenting with a variety of different somatic symptoms
Pain triggers that indicate centralized processes (e.g., social contexts, etc.)
The therapist and patient work together in a collaborative effort to gather and reinforce the evidence that their pain is not a function of underlying structural pathology. The therapist can assist the patient in developing an evidence sheet - a list of all the support that reinforces that patient’s pain is due to central processes.
Find out about David Hanscom, MD and his books, products, and events here
Les Aria, Ph.D. Pain Psychologist
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To Solve Anything, You Must First Understand It
Episode 36
Friday, July 29, 2022 • Duration 37:56
“Medically Unexplained Symptoms” (MUS) is a term that came into use around 2002 that implied that your medical provider knows you are suffering, he or she is not sure why, and they will try to help you live the best you can with the pain (mental/physical). This is a deadly term in that it further takes away hope and nothing could be further from the truth.
There is always a reason for chronic symptoms. They are caused by the body’s stress chemistry. Understanding the nature of chronic mental and physical pain allows for solutions. A more accurate term would be “Medically Explained Symptoms” (MES).
It has been shown that suffering from chronic pain has a similar effect on the quality of your life as having terminal cancer – except that is worse. You often don’t know the nature of the problem, and no one is offering viable solutions.
A foundational component of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is education. Chronic pain is a complex set of issues and all of them must be understood in order to successfully address them. There are several steps in the evolution of it.
· Source
· Sensitized
· Memorized
· The modifiers
Find out more about David Hanscom, MD Les Aria, Ph.D. Pain Psychologist
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What is PRT? Pain Reprocessing Therapy
Episode 35
Friday, July 22, 2022 • Duration 40:11
Understanding the nature of chronic pain and that mental and physical pain are essentially the same entity allows you to create new circuits in your brain and the pain will markedly diminish or resolve.
However, there is a sequence that is important to acquire this knowledge and skill set called PRT (Pain Reprocessing Therapy). This podcast presents an overview of the five components that will be discussed in detail in future episodes.
Connect with David Hanscom, MD here
Connect with Les Aria, PhD Pain Psychologist here
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