Stress Remedy

As a practicing physician, I have a view from the trenches. The current healthcare system is broken! I've seen people placed in horrible situations: a woman with multiple sclerosis who, despite her insurance, couldn't afford her medicine. The medicine would likely prevent progression of a disease that could put her permanently in a wheel chair. Another woman with rheumatoid arthritis faced a similar problem -- not being able to afford the medicine that could stop the progression of her disabling and painful disease. The stories of people without insurance are even worse! A few days in the hospital can bankrupt a family. Read More

In obsessive-compulsive disorder, people are bothered by recurrent troublesome thoughts. For people with panic disorder, certain thoughts can help to precipitate severe anxiety attacks. Pretty much everyone else, to a lesser extent, has occasionally been bothered by repetitive thoughts. Depending on how these thoughts are handled, they may result in feelings of anxiety, sadness, worry, guilt and/or regret. How can an exercise in which one repeats "bothersome thoughts" actually decrease suffering? Read More

As we approach a new year, it's a good time to reflect on time itself. In the movie Click, the main character gets hold of a remote control that can let him fast forward or skip unpleasant times. In certain situations, we've all had an urge to fast forward past a moment. In fact, for many this is a very frequent desire. Read More

Psychology Today initially entitled my blog "Beginner's Mind." What does that title mean? Did Psych Today mean that at that time, I was a beginning blogger for them, so don't expect too much? You know - set a low bar and then I'll look better. That could be one meaning, but there's a better one. I didn't come up with the phrase "Beginner's Mind;" nor did Psych Today. It's an old Zen term made popular by Shunryu Suzuki.

When we experience something for the first time, we enjoy the novelty. See a great movie for the first time and it almost seems worth the nine-dollar movie ticket and the dollar-a-kernel popcorn. See the movie ten times and you'd pay 90 bucks not to have to see it for the eleventh time. Why is that so?