War on Drugs.....was it a mistake?

The brief YouTube video (with link below) highlights the origins of the "War on Drugs" and subsequent findings with advanced research and deeper examination into the flaws in the original study. The new conclusions are not only a revelation, they are astounding. Wait until you see for yourself what truly makes a difference in recovering from alcohol or drug addiction. 

If you are interested in helping anyone you know or love suffering from addiction, it is worth your time to take a look. I believe there are also generalizable and valuable insights on how to help anyone in distress of a chronic medical condition, pain or depression. 

Can you find the needle?

Looking for solutions for life problems at times can be daunting. We all have our own set of blinders, unconscious "maps" of the world that operate outside of our awareness. Uncovering or discovering what these very automatic reactions are operating is very difficult. Finding that proverbial needle in the haystack may be obvious to others, but hidden from our awareness. For example, there are some needles, that always seem to find us. We get stuck on many occasions with bad bosses, problems we can't seem to solve, or relationships that just end up a repeat of feeling helpless or a victim. So, how do we sort out finding something very difficult that is causing us distress, fear, anger and holding us back? 

Some ideas to consider are:

• Ask for feedback on how others view you or a situation
• Accept influence from others on new directions to consider to solve a problem
• Use a problem that continues to show up as an opportunity to make an emotional shift 
• Begin to listen to your heart, not your head
• Notice if you are being defensive or rationalizing away the issue
• Quit making excuses
• Stop Blaming..........

So, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, searching the the needle is "something that is impossible or extremely difficult  to find, especially because the area ​you have to ​search for is too large."

How about thinking outside the box of self-awareness and narrowing the search to people you trust? There are ways to break the cycles in your life when you know where to look and have the tools and trust you need to be vulnerable and explore. 

Managing Chronic Pain

This week, I present to the Bay Area Mental Health Providers Net, a networking group of psychotherapists in the Clear Lake and Galveston area. The topic is how to manage chronic pain. I address the current reliance on narcotics to 'treat' the pain, solutions to manage pain without narcotics, and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to work through the pain. I thought I would share with everyone. Enjoy the presentation below!

Click the Play icon in the middle to begin the presentation. You may want to click the full screen button in the lower right corner of the window below. Use the arrows at the bottom to navigate through the presentation.