Focusing on the NEGATIVE!

Interesting observation with a patient…

We use a device in our office much like the hospital, called a tuffsat pulse oximeter.  It reads two measures of oxygen…availability and delivery.  Oxygen concentration…as I say…are the boxes on the truck…which can be affected by asthma, anemia, COPD, etc.  Oxygen perfusion…as I say…are the trucks on the street…which is affected by adrenaline, noradrenaline, cAMP…these are all stress factors.  

This patient arrives with an oxygen perfusion at 20% of the lowest level of normal.  Actual numbers…1-3 is normal…she measured at 0.18.  I even put it on my finger to see if it was working properly…yup, shot right up to 2 something.  

My first goal with everyone is to reduce physiological stressors…the stuff going on inside the body…inflammation, hormones, etc.  Often, when patients come in low, after we treat them, the numbers are fine.  In her case, it still measured at 0.18.  

Now, I could question my treatment…and I do.  I double checked some reflexes…retested the weak muscles…all were strong.  Next, I mentioned that these numbers were affected by stress factors, and asked if there was anything going on in her life.  She paused, thought, and replied a fairly certain no.  

I went on to tell her of my years of practice, under the guidance of therapist Gary Rollins, of noticing the negative.  I told her how we instinctively, and perhaps through some learned behaviors, look away from yucky things…our yucky things.  This doesn’t apply to our love of watching others pain!  

If you smash your thumb with a hammer, your first instinct is to look away.  You don’t want to see the blood…your blood.  But, realizing that ignoring it will be more painful than dealing with it, you look back, clean it up, and bandage the wounds.  

I went on that life is just like that.  We instinctively look away from our wounds…which, in the emotional realm I call triggers.  In simple terms, triggers are upsets.  I told her about several things that triggered me, from Amory breaking the parking lot rules, to Sonya not taking care of herself the way she “should” in my opinion.  

I explained that it was pretty obvious when my 2 year old was missing…I clamped down on the parking lot rule.  The issue with Sonya more followed the look away rule.  I didn’t see my upset building…or rather I turned away…because I didn’t know what to do about it.  And the end result was a blow up type argument that could have so easily been prevented.  

The point…it will keep slapping you in the face until you acknowledge it…as we say to the twins at teeth brushing time…you will do this…the easy way…or the hard way.  

After this short explanation, I gave her a moment to reconsider…and now, after enjoying my pain (I gave 5 or 6 examples)…she found something irritating.  And she got in to it…telling me how irritating and why irritating…and all the details of what was irritating.  

And you know what…even as she described her “trigger,” her oxygen perfusion went up.  Sure enough…just talking about the irritation brought her up to 0.3.  Yes, that’s only a third alive, but much better than one fifth.  

Then we examined the charge.  Her stress originally was in the large intestine meridian, which, when you expand your understanding beyond western medicine and pooping…means criticism.  We tapped on the criticism she felt in this irritation…the real reason it was irritating…and, sure enough…she nearly came back to life (up to nearly 1.0).

The wonderful thing for me…as I see this all the time…and with past approaches have been less than successful in helping people achieve calm (and sometimes lead to increased “triggering” and yelling at me!!)…was that she was able to do just what I am here to do for people…notice…calm…and heal. 

In this case, it was merely the noticing how personal she was taking it.  Sometimes you have to hold a boundary…face a conflict.  She just had to laugh at herself.  And she did.  More nourished than when I greeted her!    And that translates perfectly into healing…

PS. She has already been featured in our amazing healing videos, and plans on an even more amazing video…! 

The George Costanza Law of Health Recovery

Do you remember when George, in a desperate attempt to end his suffering, decided to do everything opposite of what he thought he “should do?”

The “punch line” went something like this…speaking to a woman at the café counter, “Hi, my name is George, I’m 40, out of work, and live with my parents.”  It was something like that…and the approach worked.  

My point…not a bad idea to consider…if nothing you know “should be” working…is working…consider ANYTHING.  And in George’s case, the complete opposite was a great insight. 

I see struggling health seekers stuck in a similar quandary…creating “stories” and likelihoods from their struggle.  In George’s experience, he was sure that if he was wealthy…if he had hair…if he specifically was an architect…or an importer/exporter…he would have a successful relationship and/or feel good about himself.  

In some of my patient’s experience, they are sure (hopeful) that if they eat well enough, avoid the “right/wrong” things…they will have a successful health recovery.   And, yet they don’t.  

I can think of several people who just wanted a doctor to finally diagnose (and treat) their candida or yeast overgrowth…others needed to know what their food allergy was…many people tell me they need an adjustment, even though they have had several hundred adjustments and the pain returns!

As an unbiased reporter…every one of them was…as they say…barking up the wrong tree.  (for those who let me check their trees...there have been some who wouldn’t give up the idea!)  

Now, just so this doesn’t seem critical…or superior in some way…it was the same with me a couple years ago.  Maybe even worse…I knew too much, so I didn’t just do a candida or food elimination diet…I had hundreds of protocols to attempt before I finally said… “Doc, show me the way.”  (and I drove 5 hours one way to my doctor).  

The crazy thing was…I felt better after the first visit.  It was crazy that I allowed myself to struggle for so long when I knew of someone who could end my struggle.  (If you haven’t heard me complain before, I had over a year of sinus infections and congestion).   

I still had many bad days after that, but week by week I improved.  

One lesson I learned the value of diversity.  The “golden key” that my doc found was something not in my list of possible keys (supplements I had for testing).  For me, my magical earth remedy was a plant called Cats claw, along with a huge dose of buckwheat leaf juice.  

But the biggest lesson in all of that was ignorance…I suffered many months attempting to know what I “should do,” and every intuition was wrong.  Heck, it wasn’t intuition…intuition is more like listening inwardly to true genius…I was trying to think my way through it, with the most ignorant part of my brain…conscious thought.  

Looking back to when I was younger and so much smarter…after graduation, I knew how important it was to eat raw veggies…and later knew (I read research that said so!) that I should drink green tea.  And, in both instances, I kept doing so despite intestinal distress, bloating and gas.  Even earlier, during grad school, I believed it true that diet Mt. Dew would improve my health and concentration, despite the fact that I often fell asleep during class!  

Clear enough??…I am an idiot!  But, I’m not stupid enough to not learn from my experiences, and currently I learn from that internal genius as much as possible.  And in following that guidance, and accepting that my thinking brain is ignorant, I am enjoying the best physical health and energy of my life.  

Care to join me in the club of ignorance?!  Listen… instead of knowing…

You’ll be glad you did! 

The Best of...Health Tips

As a generalist medical specialist (think about that one for a moment), I think in terms of whole system, so I picked my three top recommendations for each of what is called the “triad of health.”  That includes our minds and stress (which we might call mental or emotional), our physical self, and the chemical goings on inside of us. 

Now, here's some solid advice for everyone...

Chemical:  

ONE: To pick one top thing, of all the possibilities...wow...there are so many possibilities.  I will have to go with fish oils!  For vegans, use flax plus a DHA from algae.  When I started fish oils several years ago, I was taking 10 caps per day, and in under a year, my mental recall was amazing!!  Fish oils have been the subject of research in BiPolar Disorder, and beat every drug available in side by side tests.  They support immune function, inflammation, ALL hormones but most studied with insulin.  And, they are the reason (at least in part) for my being the “smarty pants” that I am (in my field…complete idiot in many others)!  

TWO: Greens First.  It is my multivitamin.  It is my chosen greens drink after tasting (and gagging on) dozens of greens drinks.  It is the only supplement I have noticed a “feeling” difference with on an immediate basis.  Any and all supplements I take because I believe that they are meeting my needs.  But, the only one I ever took and felt an immediate boost of energy was the Greens First.

THREE:  Manage stress chemicals…adrenaline, cortisol, noradrenaline, cAMP (overstimulation), and dopamine (overwhelm)…with natures stress protectors.  I’m certainly not too proud to say that stress is getting to me…and I don’t let it get too far.  I have treated acute heartburn/reflux…and a pretty bad case, with passion flower.  I have treated dry goopy eyes with lemon balm.  I used a blend of 6 adaptogens preventively when we had twins.  (It wasn’t very stressful at all, but I was ready).  I routinely use Reishi or a blend of mushrooms when stress beats up my immune system.  Join me in admitting that stress is part of your life, and soothe it appropriately.  Or, if you don’t want to admit stress, use them for improving endurance and recovery!  

PLEASE NOTE:  First is ALWAYS eating lots of colors, lots of veggies, and adequate protein.  I am assuming that this is being assumed…no supplement will work on top of a poor diet.  

Physical:  

ONE:  “Baby Patterns”  This is a series of exercises I modified from Paul Chek’s primal patterns.  These are simple, full body movements that use the large muscle patterns learned as a baby.  Using them, I stay in pretty good shape with minutes of exercise a week!  They can be modified for any fitness level, from super easy to very challenging.  They can be done at work (so quick you don’t sweat), or anywhere you have a few feet of floor, a wall, or chair. I have a one page summary that I am happy to share if you email a request.  

TWO: FUN!  My “other” exercise is playing with my kids.  They ride on my back, I toss them around, chase them…we have fun!  And this is where I work up my “sweat” these days versus pounding the pavement, road work, or the painstaking repetition of “cardio machines.”  Play so hard you sweat…and if you don’t have kids, or they are grown, play something else that is fun.  Plus, have you ever seen a playful person look “old” or unhealthy…have you ever seen an “old” person who was playful?!

THREE: Yoga!  I am a novice at yoga, at best, but I have one simple program that takes about 5 minutes using basic yoga movements.  If you love it, certainly go for more.  Yoga gently stretches your body, includes some body weight resistance work, and is perhaps the only time of day I calm my mind!  Great for focus, flexibility, even strength!  And calming!!  

Mental: 

ONE: Make at least 80% of your actions (your to-do list), things you want to do...that make you feel good, happy, satisfied, pleased, passionate, etc.  I call this "self responsibility." You will exhaust yourself, and be limited from that exhaustion to serve yourself and others, if you continuously have a to do list of shoulds, need to’s and painful obligations.  AND, don't beat yourself up because you spend too much time in “obligation” right now...it is a process to learn to serve yourself AND others.  Being kind and giving to yourself is part of meeting your needs…pick the one (most painful) thing…and get rid of it. 

TWO: As I say in my book… “If it’s worth feeling, it’s worth saying!”  The art of expressing your feelings, needs, and desires without blaming and inciting defensiveness is a worthy endeavor.  It’s a work in progress for me, but the value of getting good at this is immeasurable! I recommend a book called “Non-Violent Communication.”  The summary is this…you can have your cake and eat it too!  You can get the basics from their website, more from their book, and even more from local trainers in NVC (no referral here, just keep an eye out).  

THREE:  Boundaries!  And being nice in forming them!  It is stressful to allow others to cross your boundaries, and both you and the crosser suffer (maybe some passive aggressive attitude!?), so don’t do it!  The trick is to notice and pay attention to when you are resenting what you are doing or allowing someone else to do.  You will also notice that you are exhausted, as there is no work more tiring than letting people step on your boundaries.  Non-Violent Communication is a great step by step system for kindly asking for what you want…particularly needed for us conflict avoiders!  

And for the number one health tip, to make an even 10 total:  Ignorant curiosity!  While I am no master of ignorant curiosity…and it is not something we are taught very well (the message in this culture is “don’t be stupid!”), this may remove more stress from your life than anything I can offer!  I practice ignorant curiosity in my clinic pretty well.  It has vastly improved my skills and results.  The opposite of ignorant curiosity is absolute certainty.  Many of my patients are told that they are wrong that they feel unwell, or it’s in their head…because their doctor is certain that this one lab test is normal.  Ignorant curiosity might say, hmmm… “that doesn’t explain your symptom, let’s keep looking.”  Ignorant curiosity might even cause you to learn something you don’t know…which is completely impossible from a perspective of “knowing.”  

Ignorant curiosity also eases the pressure of expectations.  How stressful is it to know that something should turn out in one way, and it doesn’t?  Ignorant curiosity wonders, almost playfully, what the outcome might be.  

I highly recommend beating the drum of ignorant curiosity as often as possible.  Our central nervous system learns whatever we practice.  The saying should be… “Fake it until you learn it.”  

That's my best (general) advice after 40 years of life.  Love to hear what you think.  AND, I would love to hear your advice...what you have learned in your life...that could benefit others.  I just might learn something if you choose to share! 

Best,

Dr. Stone