Words

Mary H/ January 29, 2014/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, January 29, 2014) Recently, I was with my sister-in-law, Rita, and she related that as a child she “needed support” from her family but later found that “support” from her husband. When the three of us that were present asked her to give an example, she mentioned that, “He always gave me ‘freedom’ to

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Making Way for the Present: No Mind, No Coping, Just Living

Mary H/ January 13, 2014/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, January 13, 2014) The brain is matter and the mind doesn’t matter……..any longer. Neuroscientists become quite upset when human brain is compared to a computer. Personally, I feel that the brain is no more than a biological computer.  The brain is a composite of electrochemical connections that work similar to a binary computer processor

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SAVE OUR YOUNG

Mary H/ November 23, 2013/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, November 23, 2013) Fact: Our newspapers often report the high incidence of PTSD (1 in 5 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan), as well as the high incidence of suicide (22 per day) in our military.  The vast majority of military suicides are the enlisted ranks between the ages of 17-30.   Interestingly, suicide

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On Suffering

Mary H/ November 5, 2013/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, November 5, 2013) Last Thursday at the Cancer Center,  became a seminar for me on suffering.  Three patients with cancer were distressed, not by their cancer or their therapy,  but by their children’s poor health.   There was essentially nothing I could offer.  Suffering is not medically treatable.   It is pain that

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Fear

Mary H/ October 6, 2013/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, October 6, 2013) One of the statements of the sixties and seventies that I use practically everyday is, the name of Gerald Jampolski’s book, “Love is Letting Go of Fear”.   The other day on seeing a patient I used that phrase for the umpteenth time and thought to myself, “What is fear.

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How to Stay Present Part 2

Mary H/ September 20, 2013/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, September 20, 2013) Self-observation demands a split in  consciousness between one’s bodily sensations and what the senses are focused on outside of the body, be it a person, thing or one’s surroundings.  This state is the evolving present moment.   Our senses connect the observer to what is being observed as one and

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How to Stay Present Part 1

Mary H/ September 3, 2013/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, September 3, 2013) I work at a Cancer Center as a psychosocial oncologist.  My reason for being at the Center is to empower patients to participate, along with their oncologist, in the healing process.  The key to self-empowerment is to let go of the mind’s fear and live in the present.  This understanding

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The Curse of Being Special

Mary H/ August 19, 2013/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, August 19, 2013) Over a number of years I have had clients who demonstrate the curse of being told in childhood, how special they are.  Special comes with the shadow: anxiety, pressure to succeed, perfectionism, isolation and failure to meet expectations; and in time can lead to illness. “The gifted” may either burnout

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Wishing

Mary H/ August 8, 2013/ Paul Brenner, MD, PhD

(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, August 8, 2013) A wish is a specific desire for something in the near or distant future.  When I was no more then nine years old ; my sister, Claire, a budding, fifteen year old actress, told me and acted out the story of the, ” The Monkeys Paw “. In the story,

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