Many people have a hard time believing their brains can generate physical somatic symptoms in the body. Studies around what’s called the ‘nocebo effect’ prove the brain is capable of producing all sorts of real physical symptoms. The nocebo effect is when there is a negative expectation of having a symptom and then experiencing that […]
I had the pleasure of catching up with Rebecca Tolin, who has not only recovered from her own debilitating chronic fatigue, but has since gone on to helping others heal as a mind-body coach. Rebecca is currently launching a 8 week ‘Be Your Own Medicine’ group course that starts Sept. 22nd. I’m really excited about […]
Do you know your amygdala (the part of your brain that generates negative emotions) has been shown to cause and also cure physical symptoms? Incredible and probably not believable by many. But just because you may not believe it, doesn’t mean it’s not true. We have the neuroscience now to prove what the pioneering Dr. […]
Title of this 2019 review study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine is: ‘Role of kinesiophobia on pain, disability and quality of life in people suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review.’ Kinesiphobia is a fear of movement and ‘is defined as an excessive, irrational and debilitating fear to carry out a physical […]
This 2022 study in the Journal Pain found what I see daily with chronic pain patients. The researchers ‘conclude that chronic back pain is associated with altered threat and safety learning. This ambiguity to emotionally evaluate threat and safety information might lead to overly protective behavior and thus contribute to the maintenance of chronic pain.’ […]
We have tons of clinical data that show positive optimism is related much better health outcomes while negative pessimism relates to poorer health outcomes. One of the ways pessimism shows up is with catastrophizing which is negative thinking or thinking for the worst. Here’s just one example of that where negative pain catastrophizing shows up […]
One of the more common chronic symptoms I treat in people is fatigue. CFS/ME as it’s called, really stops people from moving forward because of the crippling fatigue symptoms it brings. The fatigue symptoms end up reinforcing the belief that something is wrong and maybe I am doing too much. This is not true. This […]
Those who follow me know I am big fan of the science supporting the work I do to help people heal from chronic health conditions. I love it when the title of a complex brain study says exactly what we need to do to help us heal. The title of this study is: ‘Prefrontal Executive […]
Here is an article describing how repressed emotions can affect us and also cause physical somatic symptoms. It’s something I see in my practice and something many of you will relate to as well. What happens with repressed emotions is quite interesting and many times missed by the person experiencing physical symptoms and also the […]
One thing that’s not talked about much in the chronic pain world is what’s called self-efficacy. Self efficacy (SE) is defined in this review study as “the personal confidence to carry out an activity with the aim of successfully achieving a desired outcome. SE is the central motor to developing human motivation, psychosocial well-being, and […]
