Healing the Mind and Heart-Monthly Webcasts - Continuing the discussion

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:44:05 GMT

next week's webcast will be on the topic of pain.

Whether it is physical, emotional or social pain when we feel isolated or alienated.I am told by neurologists that all pain lights up in the same part of the brain.

Does that mean the coping mechanisms are the same once the pain changes from acute to chronic?

Join us and share your experience-and your wisdom

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:31:26 GMT

hi Lori,
let's continue this discussion in the "living with pain" section.
Dan

LoriK — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 22:14:57 GMT

Yes. The pain feels as though I'm singled out, yet I forget how pain affects most of us in wheelchairs. I'm not sure how long it will take me to accept this life, but I do wish love for others, because I see so much of neglect. The change in this new life also has change for our friends and families. God Bless

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:08:46 GMT

dear Lori,
as you know, I also live with pain. And when the pain is particularly bad, it does drain the body and demand attention. I don't know about you, but I will likely spend the rest of my life with this pain. So what now?
This is also new for you Lori. It takes the brain a while to figure out this new life in this new body. It takes a while to mourn everything you've lost and live the life you have. And it takes even longer to envision the future that could bring with it gratification and even joy.
I am really struck by how you conclude your posts. They are about love.
Please give the most love you can and start with your body.
Must sign off now, but please feel free to post some more and I will get back to you. Until then, please take care

LoriK — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:53:06 GMT

I don't see happy. I can't vision that for myself . I keep seeking out how o=
ther people have found happiness . A common theme is to look to God. I sti=
ll struggle with things I didn't do as able bodied, so they stick. With me n=
ow and now impossible. Ok not impossible, but hard, such a s going to. Visi=
t my brother in WA.

Always give the most love u can:)

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:45:14 GMT

let me press a little bit harder (it's as if your pain wasn't annoying enough, now I have to be annoying on top of it!).
I want you to consider the question differently – given the life you have and the body you have, could you ever imagine living a life of comfort and maybe even happiness? Tell me if you can create that vision or do you think there is no way you could ever be happy?

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:35:21 GMT

could you ever envision a time in the future when you could be comfortable with your life, maybe even happy? Just wondering if you could imagine that possibility.

LoriK — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:31:42 GMT

I would say a bit jealous of others, sad

LoriK — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:30:30 GMT

AT this point in my life, I feel numb inside. Ost of the time I'm just smiling or complaining to get thru

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:30:04 GMT

hi Lori, nice to see you. So, how would you answer the question? Do you feel you are living the life you have? If so, are you grateful for your life or are you angry for what you've lost?

LoriK — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:25:59 GMT

Dr. Dan, I'm here

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:10:18 GMT

unfortunately we had to cancel this months webcast because we didn't have enough participants. I still think the question of "how do we live the lives we have" is a critical one. So many of us wait for the lives we feel we could have or live with regret or resentment about the lives we once had.
Is it even possible to live this life in this body with all these adversities and still live our lives with grace and gratitude? What do you think?

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:48:58 GMT

next week we will again try to do "living the life we have" as opposed to presenting what we've lost or wishing for something that may or may not happen.

I've had some interesting responses to this idea, so please join me next week, love to hear your thoughts

Dan

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:55:42 GMT

I thought for next week's webcast we would talk about:

"Living the Life We Have"

So many of us feel grief or anger about losing the life we had moral others tell themselves they cannot be happy until they live the lives they want or the lives they feel they should or could have.
What happens when we decide to live the life we have? Is it giving up hope or is it about something else?

Those are my thoughts going into the web chat but anyone who has ever joined us knows that these chats go wherever our group wants it to go!

By the way, if you have time next Wednesday at 4 PM Eastern time, please join us. These discussions are always rich, informative and enlightening for all of us.

Dan Gottlieb — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:15:55 GMT

An interesting study was published recently in the journal "Science" that is relevant to everyone but especially to us.

It was about identity. When they asked people to look back over the last 10 years of their lives, they can easily see how much they've changed. But when they were asked to look ahead 10 years they don't see themselves as changing much.

So on our Web chat on January 6, we will be talking about:

"Our identity: who we were, who we are and who we will be"

much has changed in our lives before and after disability, before and after becoming a spouse or child of someone who is disabled.
So what was our identity before all this happened and how has it changed? We can see dramatic changes when we look back, but can we also see changes when we look ahead or do we think we will be pretty much as we are today?

And of course anyone who has listened to our Web chat already knows that these discussions can go anywhere and everywhere!
So please join us