Most of us have heard the terms acute and chronic when discussing health conditions. But have you ever considered how the nervous system’s ability to access energy might influence the way a condition develops? An acute condition often appears suddenly and is associated with a heightened state of alarm. Imagine a fire that has just erupted into a blaze. There …
Back in the day, I remember watching an episode of the TV show M*A*S*H where one of the characters develops a chronic sneeze. By the end of the episode, the constant sneezing has been driving him crazy. With the help of the chaplain, he eventually remembers a traumatic experience from his past: watching helplessly as his brother drowned. I’ve been …
They say there’s only so much time in a day. Maybe that’s why we’re drawn to experiences where time seems to stand still. Falling in love. Feeling appreciation and gratitude. Getting into a state of flow. Being completely present. In those moments, something shifts. We’re not necessarily given more time, but our experience of time changes. Life feels fuller. More …
One of the most rewarding aspects of the care we provide at the Happy Spine is seeing how improvements in one area of health can often have positive effects in others. Someone may come to us because they’re experiencing back pain, for example, and along the way notice changes in their sleep, digestion, energy levels, or overall well-being. Why might …
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and heard yourself say something in a way you didn’t intend? Maybe it was the words you used. Or perhaps it was the tone you said them with. And sometimes, if you’re really listening, you can hear something underneath the words. You can hear the undertones of how you’re trying to …
Have you ever surprised yourself? Like when the rubber really hit the road, the way you saw yourself, you would have guessed that you didn’t have it in you to succeed like you did, or to stay the course rather than falter or to persevere and not give up? How often do we have thoughts that say “who do you …
When you get a new smartphone or computer, you assume that once you’ve connected to the internet and updated any older programming, your device is ready to use—out of the box, as they say. A smartphone comes pre-programmed to do all sorts of amazing things. It’s a calculator, a flashlight, a camera, a to-do list, a calendar, a weather service, …
The first part of this article was written by Dr. Deb Ayer, a colleague of mine who practices in New Hampshire. We all have agreements we’ve made with ourselves. Some are visible. We can name them. We know we’re choosing them. We can decide whether they still fit. But then there are the invisible agreements. The ones we made somewhere …
My dad was a great man. Not perfect, but great. Perfect isn’t real. In fact, chasing perfection may be one of the fastest ways to flood your body with stress hormones while striving for something that doesn’t exist. One of the unique things about our relationship was that he was 50 years old when I was born. Lately, I’ve been …
A few years ago, after buying our forever home, I started noticing little things that seemed off. As is often the case with a home that’s new to you, small imperfections slowly reveal themselves over time. On the south-facing wall of our living room, there was a small crack in the drywall near the ceiling. On the adjacent wall, one …
