Do you notice how much energy you spend avoiding one specific pain? You’ve arranged your entire life to make sure nothing ever touches it again. Michael Singer calls this “the thorn.”
The Thorn You’ve Been Protecting for 20 Years Read More »
Do random triggers send your mind spinning for hours? You’re treating your thoughts like they’re you. Learn how observer consciousness can break the exhausting cycle of mental loops and self-criticism.
You’re Not Your Thoughts: Observer Consciousness for Burned-Out Men Read More »
This year I crashed into burnout again. Not my first time, but somehow worse because I knew better. Week 1 of my year in review: viral illness, grief, the Johari Window’s “Lost” quadrant, and the therapy I avoided for 4 years. The honest story, not the polished one.
The Year I Crashed Again: What 10 Months in Burnout Taught Me Read More »
For four months as a junior doctor, I couldn’t tell if I was doing something wrong or if my depleted HSP system was catastrophizing. Here’s how to reality-check the mind-reading pattern with tools that actually work.For four months as a junior doctor, I couldn’t tell if I was doing something wrong or if my depleted HSP system was catastrophizing. Here’s how to reality-check the mind-reading pattern with tools that actually work.For four months as a junior doctor, I couldn’t tell if I was doing something wrong or if my depleted HSP system was catastrophizing. Here’s how to reality-check the mind-reading pattern with tools that actually work.
When I first started using mindfulness, I used Headspace—5 minutes each morning before my 12-hour GP shifts. Most of the time I’d press start, then realize 5 minutes later I’d been thinking about work the entire time. But I kept going. And eventually, a small gap appeared that wasn’t there before.
A year later, the Mindfulness in a Frantic World app had me walk around my neighborhood just noticing. Intricate decorations on houses. Animals watching me back. Life, but with awareness.
Now it shows up everywhere: running, traffic jams, patient consultations, playing piano with my kids. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not. But I’m moving toward a better state.
Week 7 of our series: You don’t need meditation time. You need to be present for the time you already have. Learn the three anchor activities and transition pauses that close the gap between practice and life.
Informal Practice: Bringing Mindfulness Into Daily Life | Week 7 Read More »
Mindfulness series #6 – Why being hard on yourself doesn’t work (and what does) Today we’re talking about self-compassion—and why the way you talk to yourself is exhausting you. This week, I’ve created a self-compassion meditation that teaches you to treat yourself with the same kindness you’d offer a mate going through a hard time.
Self-Compassion: Why Being Hard on Yourself Fails | Week 6 Read More »
Training to be a doctor is brutal. One weekend as a junior doctor, I was running between wards, people dying everywhere, my body like lead. I pushed through. Two weeks later, I couldn’t get out of bed.
This was the pattern I couldn’t see: Discomfort shows up → I avoid it → It gets louder → I push harder → My body forces me to stop.
In Week 4 of our mindfulness series, Dr. Ed Rainbow shares his personal experience with experiential avoidance—the exhausting struggle to push away pain that paradoxically creates more suffering.
Learn the concept of the second arrow: the pain that happens (first arrow) versus the tension you add around it (second arrow, often worse). Discover why what we resist persists.
Includes a 10-minute body scan meditation for working with difficult sensations, plus a 3-minute emergency reset practice and the RAIN technique.
Why Avoiding Discomfort Makes Everything Worse | Week 4 Read More »
