Return To Health (Pando Health Groups)

I started this blog about 4 years ago when I had left Scripps, was starting a private practice and wanted to express my frustration with the medical world while exploring what I felt needed to be future directions for health and healing. I wanted to market my new practice which was specializing in long visits that explored the whole person in relationship to their physical condition. I was proud, naive but optimistic. Today, I feel much the same way. I now have opened a clinic, Pando Health Groups, specializing in group visits for chronic and stress-related disease. I found one-on-one visits, even if longer than the "system" usually allots (7-15 minutes) were not as powerful as what I had experienced with group medical visits in their power to connect people, bring them out of isolation and guide them to real and lasting change. I believe from the depth of my being that isolation and separation are the real enemies which create disease, illness and suffering. While ther...

So much of what I long to bring to our world is difficult to market, promote and sell. Why? Because people want to stay comfortable, safe and maintain the status quo. I understand that well -- I have that longing myself. The problem is: doing the same thing(s) yields the same results. Change requires a new paradigm; a new approach; a new style. It has been said that: "The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result". This topic is relevant to individuals and also the medical system. Medicine makes small, insignificant changes on delivery of care and then, it is surprised that nothing really changes. The basic care of chronic illness is a great example. Our society continues to use pharmaceuticals and brief one-on-one visits to address complex, emotion-laden issues that are well beyond this superficial handling of this difficult challenge. Similarly, individuals expect life or situations to change without really doing the work t...

I am very proud to announce a series of lectures/conversations by my favorite healers that I know. I hope you can join us at Pando for a real and powerful look into healing.  These are magical times and these wonderful people are coming to share their expansive visions with you.  Lecture Series Topics and Dates: June 25th   7 p.m. "The benefit of group interventions to support standard medical care"     Paul Brenner, M.D. Ph.D.   UCSD Cancer Center Encinitas July 2nd,   7 p.m. "True Resilience: Withstand, Recover, and Grow from Adversity"                               Don Chartrand ,  Inventor Stress Resilience Training System (SRTS) July 9th,   7 p.m. "The use of Tai Chi/Chi Kung and meditation to improve outcomes in severe medical illness"                            ...

\ vul•ner•a•ble: capable of being physically or emotionally wounded or being open to attack or damage. \ My last 2 posts have featured Brene Brown and her work on vulnerability and shame. The feedback I received was not surprising -- vulnerability is weakness or openness to being hurt. This cannot be desirable.  The problem is that the dictionary definition above addresses physical vulnerability not emotional vulnerability. Different animals. Of course, we don't want to be physically weak or open to being physically hurt. However, it is desirable to be emotionally vulnerable. Why? When we are emotionally vulnerable (or open and real), we do not hide any part of ourselves. We are who we are. We are authentic. While this can be and is scary, it is the route to real power and strength. Because when we don't have anything to hide, we are free. There is no facade to protect; no imperfection or weakness to be embarrassed about or to hide.  What does this look like in rea...

Plunging into the talks of Brene Brown is like standing on the edge of a cliff. It is what happens in our groups at Pando. People risk shame, fear and major discomfort in stepping up and telling other people who they really are. It can be petrifying. It can create turmoil inside. BUT it is liberating, healing and life-changing. The reason that walking into the face of vulnerability is so powerful is that it actually takes away the fear and the shame. It is their antidotes...their kryptonite. Once we go into the darkness, we realize we can do it again. And once we do it again and again, we can finally be ourselves. Our real selves; not who we want to be or wish we could be but our authentic, true selves. And why do we want to be our true selves? Because, then the war is over. We don't have to protect ourselves; we don't have to defend ourselves and we are free at last to be us. We can find peace in any moment and we don't have to hide any part of ourselves. The following i...

Simple question; important answer. What do you do when you feel overwhelmed and in need? Do you have a best friend? Is your mom still there for you? What if you need money? Do you have a true ally to turn to? Can you tell your spouse when you are hurting emotionally? Can you tell someone that they hurt your feelings? Can you tell your closest contacts that you are scared or feel alone? It turns out that these questions are more important than if you have a good doctor or a stocked bank account. It turns out that the willingness to express vulnerability is likely the most important determinant  of health and well-being that we have available to us. As important as exercise; more helpful than kale and almonds (I know this is debatable in our food-obsessed world); every bit as important as vitamins, minerals and all the helpful herbs we can pour into ourselves. Brene Brown captured this concept beautifully in her now famous TED video shown below: This remarkable combination o...

What ever happened to the words zeal and zest? I know they are still around and probably some people use them and even experience these exciting feelings. As I focus on helping people in a different way, these words and experiences have not been my partners. Enthusiasm, passion, joy, fun as well as zest and zeal are usually diminished in people with chronic and stress-related illness. This IS the problem (not just the condition).   Physical and emotional woes zap the positive emotions that live in each and every one of us. We had these great feelings at some point in our life but they get smaller and less frequent when we don't feel well or are overwhelmed by negative emotions or painful and uncomfortable physical sensations. What to do? How to break the negative cycle and get back to the positive chemicals and feelings that are intimately tied. I have been delving into the negative feelings and emotions as a way to work through them rather than stuffing them. While I sti...

There is a massive movement in the healthcare sector to improve the quality, accessibility and general feel of the medical/healing experience. This issue was going on in the 80's, 90's and 2000's. Why are we struggling so hard and so long with this core issue? Why can we not find a solution? The answer is quite simple in my mind. There are 3 main issues which we cannot resolve and have made no progress on. (1) While we handle acute care medicine with great skill and efficiency, we are applying the same principles to treating chronic and stress-related disease even though these are totally different animals with completely different solutions. (2) People are all very different yet we wish to provide "cookbook" medicine which assumes that all people are the same and 2 people with the same condition will respond the same (totally false). (3) We have let ourselves be convinced that the pharmaceutical companies are a real and viable solution to our ills (the opposite...

I had a powerful experience yesterday. A patient named Betty (named changed to protect her anonymity) called. She was not feeling well and she said her blood pressure was 186/130. She does have high blood pressure for which she takes medicine but it is usually perfectly controlled unless she gets upset. I went to see her at her home and her blood pressure was as she had stated. She was otherwise OK but without energy or her usual pep. We talked about what she had been thinking about before she began feeling poorly. She related she was visiting with her granddaughter who related to her that she was in love with a man from Africa who was Muslim. This made Betty feel concerned as she had the perception that Muslims were not good to their wives. She was concerned because her husband was not good to her and actually was quite abusive to her and her kids. She really did not have any prejudice against Muslims but this started her down a "dark road" of bad memories and regrets of...