Meaning and Purpose Improve Health and Happiness

You can be happier and healthier by increasing meaning and purpose. The terms meaning and purpose often appear together. For our discussion here, I would frame them this way: acting with purpose refers to taking any action that is of sufficient…
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The Fine Line Between Striving and Nonattachment to Outcomes

When living with a chronic debilitating medical condition, it is essential to do everything possible in terms of diet, exercise and rest. It is also essential to do everything possible to find meaning and purpose, to increase social support,…
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Why Suffer Unnecessarily?

In Mindfulness-and Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies in Practice, research psychologists Lizabeth Roemer and Susan Orsillo teach that unnecessary suffering results from three related mechanisms: 1. An unhealthy relationship to our…

Danger: Cognitive Fusion!

Cognitive fusion is the state of mind in which we are so fused with our thoughts that they appear to be synonymous with fact. Most suffering in the world is the result of being fused to our beliefs.  In this state, we have such strong identification…
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Psychotherapy to Treat Medical Conditions?

We normally go to psychotherapists for help with psychological issues and go to physicians for help with medical issues. However, new research in psychoneuroimmunology and neuropsychology reveals direct connections between health and happiness. …

Hope and Cancer

Norman Cousins reported on a UCLA study in which a research team launched a national survey of cancer specialists, asking their opinions of which personality attributes most contributed to improved medical outcomes. A total of 649 oncologists…

Dedication and birth of this blog

This is my first blog post. I dedicate this blog to the tens of thousands of people who live with chronic health challenges despite good health care and good self-care. I also dedicate this blog to all of you who are physicians working with…
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The Connection Between Mood and Cancer

In a large prospective study by research psychologist Richard Shekelle and his team at the Western Electric plant in Chicago, 2,010 middle-aged male employees were given psychological tests that looked specifically at depression scores. The…
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Inspiring Reaction to Serious Illness

When people are told they have a chronic, incurable disease or condition, and especially if the diagnosis is potentially life-threatening or extremely debilitating, they understandably react with shock, terror, disbelief, anger, and grief. For…