Restore your heart-body-brain balance for optimal health
Last week I started discussing How to build good habits and break bad ones. It is one of the most important topics to find optimal health. Today on AskDrGil, I want to explore the ways that changes in habits leads to bigger changes in our lives. Can we learn something from quantum mechanics to know about how to build good habits and break bad ones?
Releasing the past is one of the most profound challenges many people face. Painful memories, regrets, or unresolved emotions can weigh us down, preventing us from fully embracing the present and shaping the future we desire. While it may seem like an impossible task, psychological principles provide effective ways to release the past and step into a more peaceful state of being. How to completely let go of the past is an important question in helping overall health.
Two key psychological concepts—the psychology of mind and allowing emotional experience instead of resisting—offer a powerful framework for letting go. By understanding how the mind works and learning to allow emotions rather than fight them, we can free ourselves from past burdens and move toward a more fulfilling life.
The Psychology of Mind (also known as 3 P’s psychology) is based on the understanding that our thoughts create our experience of reality. It is not events themselves that cause suffering, but the meaning and emotional weight we attach to them. This concept is at the heart of many psychological and spiritual traditions, emphasizing that we have the power to shift our perspective and our emotional experience.
People often struggle with the past because they believe that:
The past exists only in our minds. While its effects may feel real, our thoughts shape our relationship to the past. By changing our mindset and emotional response, we can transform our experience of the past and free ourselves from its grip.
One of the biggest obstacles to letting go of the past is emotional resistance. Many people suppress, ignore, or fight against painful emotions because they fear overwhelm. Resisting emotions only strengthen them, much like trying to hold a beach ball underwater—it takes energy, and eventually, it will pop back up.
Why Resistance Causes Suffering
Resistance creates inner conflict. When we reject emotions, we create a battle within ourselves, leading to stress and anxiety.
1. Recognize That Thoughts Are Not Reality
There’s a wonderful bumper sticker that says, “don’t believe everything you think.” Most people in our society do not question their thoughts. The past has no power over you except through your thoughts. One practice I recommend to patients is notice in how often you replay past events in your head. Don’t try to change anything, just watch as though watching a movie. Remind yourself:
“This is just a thought. It is not happening now.”
By understanding that your mind is generating these experiences rather than the past itself, you create space to detach and let go.
2. Allow Your Emotions Fully
When painful emotions arise, instead of resisting, try the following approach:
By allowing emotions to exist without suppression, you give them the space to process and release naturally.
3. Use the Sedona Method to Let Go
Similar to the above method, the Sedona Method, developed by Lester Levenson, is a powerful technique for emotional release. I really like this technique though it’s one that doesn’t work for everyone (what does?). It involves asking yourself a series of simple but profound questions:
This method works by shifting your relationship to emotions. Instead of clinging to them, you practice allowing and releasing, which leads to a natural sense of inner freedom. And it also works on helping us overcome our resistance to change and letting go. For many people, understanding our resistance to the experience is transformative.
4. Reframe the Past with a New Perspective
Often, people hold on to the past because they have assigned it a painful meaning. However, you have the power to rewrite the story. Ask yourself:
By shifting the meaning, you change the emotional weight the past holds over you. Remember this. Physiologically, fear and excitement are the same. Reprogramming ourselves to experience around excitement instead of fear can be very freeing.
5. Practice Present-Moment Awareness
One of the most effective ways to let go of the past is to be fully present. To some extent, these ideas are all about being present. Mindfulness helps ground you in the now, where the past has no control. Simple practices include:
The more present you become, the less grip the past has on you.
6. Cultivate Self-Compassion
Many people hold on to the past because they judge themselves harshly. Self-compassion is key to healing. Try:
By treating yourself with kindness, you create an environment where letting go happens naturally.
Releasing the past is not about erasing memories or denying experiences; it is about changing your relationship to them. By understanding that the mind creates suffering through thoughts, you gain the power to shift your perspective. By allowing emotions rather than resisting them, you free yourself from their grip.
Through awareness, emotional acceptance, and mindful release, you can move beyond the past and into a life of greater peace, presence, and joy. Remember, the past does not define you—your ability to grow, heal, and embrace the present moment does.
If you are struggling with how to release the past, I can help you work through this in different ways. Reach out to my office to learn more.
How to build good habits and break bad ones is one of the most important aspects of optimal health. I am asked about this directly and indirectly. People want to know how to feel better. Feeling better often starts with changing habits. Breaking the bad ones is important. But instilling good habits is also crucial to optimal function.
So how do you build good habits and break bad ones? In today’s episode of AskDrGil, I talk about why this is important and some of the things holding us back. Next week I’ll discuss how we can do more to improve our habits. And stay tuned as I may be offering a workshop on this topic in the near future.
We all have negative thoughts. How we deal with them is key to overall health. In this podcast, I discuss the nature of grasping and how to watch your thoughts. We even do a small meditation.
Since we started the New Year trying to change our habits, the place to begin is with awareness. How do we approach this? Is there a scientific-based model to begin? The closest is 3 principles psychology or the 3Ps. Mind, Thought, and Consciousness are how we perceive the world. But what are they and how do we utilize them? In today’s episode, I discuss this model and how we might use it to learn about ourselves and change our habits.
With the start of the New Year, it’s time that people try to start new habits. Today’s podcast is about how we get habits and what types of awareness we need to create new habits.
**Transcript***
New Year’s is a time that people make resolutions and try and do things to feel better, look better, be better. But the question is, is what makes resolutions work or not work? Today on Ask Dr. Gil, I want to talk about the power of habits and how they are created and how to create new ones. So stay tuned. Hello and welcome to Ask Dr. Gil. I’m Dr. Gil Winkleman, your host. And today on the of things and talk about more of the mental, emotional aspect of things. And specifically, I want to talk about New Year’s resolutions slash habits, because I think this is something that we do not think about. And that, hence, is why it becomes a habit. So what is a habit? A habit is something that basically we do unconsciously. And it can be anything from how you brush your teeth to what your routine is in the morning and so forth. And generally, when we do something, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just something that we do on autopilot. And sometimes, and I think habits are created as a result of trying to create efficiencies in our lives and make things more streamlined. Unfortunately, sometimes these habits can be detrimental to us. For example, if you eat when you’re stressed, and instead of sitting with your feelings, you eat your feelings, as a simple example. But I want you to do an exercise right now as you’re listening to this. And I want you to imagine your morning routine and think about the following things. What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed? What’s the way that you might wash your face in the morning? How do you do that? Do you put soap in your left hand or your right hand? Do you use soap? Which hand do you brush your teeth with? When you shower in the morning or evening, which hand do you use to grab the soap? And how do you lather yourself up? Now, I bring these to mind because most of you listening to this will really have to think about, which hand do I brush my teeth with? Most people brush it with their dominant hand. And tomorrow morning, I want you to do an exercise, which is to brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand, or whichever hand you normally don’t brush your teeth with. Some people will brush it with both hands and switch it based on what side they’re on. And if that’s the case, think about another exercise like grabbing the soap with a different hand, as an example. And it’s going to feel weird. And it is something that you will need to think about before you are able to make a change with it. Now, I use these as simple examples. And changing your hand may or may not have an impact on your life, although there is some research to suggest that if you brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand, you’re actually using the other side of your brain to do an activity, which is good for neuroplasticity and for brain development. And that can be a very important aspect for many people. But as far as sort of, is it great for your life? Actually, it may be worse for your teeth because you may not do as good of a job. On the other hand, you might do a better job. But in any case, the point is, how do you bring awareness to what it is that you’re doing? Now, I bring this up as an example that is simple. And it’s the simple things and the simple awarenesses that go into making habits form or forming new habits. You don’t create a new habit without awareness. You have to be conscious about it. And you have to break through something and some form of resistance. Now, the resistance for how you brush your teeth may be a very low threshold in terms of breaking it, but it still takes awareness. And it’s interesting because I’ve actually started trying this as an experiment, mostly to work on another side of my brain. Quick aside as a story, I had an anatomy professor in college named Marion Diamond, who was a neuro anatomist and dissected Einstein’s brain. Crazy story that I won’t go into on the show. But she used to write on the chalkboard with both hands. And it was as a student trying to keep up with her. It was kind of amazing.
And she was said, you need to use both your hands so that you can work both sides of your brain. And she actually played tennis with both arms. She would play a game with one arm and then play another game with the other arm. Kind of amazing and lived a long time. Great, great woman, an amazing teacher and great researcher as well. But may she rest in peace. But I started doing that with brushing my teeth, just to work on my other side of my brain. And it takes a lot of effort to remember that. I instinctively will pick up my toothbrush with my right hand and start brushing with my right side. It’s an electric toothbrush, by the way. So it’s not even like I’m doing anything. I’m just holding it and moving it around. But there’s something about doing it with my left hand that is very, very unusual for me. And there’s a discomfort related to that, which is really interesting. And it was interesting because I was reading an article about this. And they talked about, well, how do you lather your soap in the shower? And I thought, I have no idea. I just do it. And this is the piece about habits that’s really interesting, because usually we just do them. And sometimes people point them out to us, and we say, I don’t do that. But if you stop and think about it and look at it, you’re like, yeah, I guess I do that. So making a concerted effort is important. And there are other aspects to breaking habits that I think are really, really important. And the biggest one, I think, is desire. So that is a piece that I’m going to talk about on the second half of the show.
Because if you don’t have the desire to break a habit, you won’t break the habit, because there’s no force behind it. And this is sort of an interesting piece in medicine, because many people want to break a habit. They say they do. But really, when they dig deeper, there isn’t any impetus to really break the habit. So we’re going to take a quick break. And then on the second half of the show, I’m going to talk about desires related to habits and how to break them. So stay tuned. Habits and how to create new habits and break old ones. Before I continue, I just wanted to let you know, if you have any questions, feel free to send an email to info, I-N-F-O, at askdrgill.com. And I try and answer all of them. And if you have a topic you want me to cover or you have a question, or even if you have a guest that you think I might be interested in having on the show, please send me the information and I’ll be happy to take a look at it. Okay, we’re talking about habits today. And what is really interesting is that most habits are harmless. We go through life without any sort of awareness that we’re doing things in a particular way. And if you’ve ever driven home from work and been like, wow, how did I get here? How did I get home? And that’s habit, right? That’s the unconscious mind sort of an autopilot that’s doing it. And so to pull out of the habit, you need to be conscious. You need to be aware of what is it that I am doing? How am I behaving and responding in these situations? And the big piece about this is desire. Because without desire, you’re not going to break the habit, most likely. And when I say desire, I mean, a burning desire. I don’t mean just any sort of desire. I mean, someone leaves their clothes on the floor and the other partner is upset about it. And you know, the upsetness of the other partner is usually not enough to make a change in the behavior. Sometimes it is. Sometimes people are so conscientious of their partner that they’re willing to make a sacrifice in their behavior to help make the person happier. But usually, there isn’t that happening. And we see this a lot with drug and alcohol addiction, obviously, where patients with the addiction, even in the face of the other person leaving them, cannot get away from the habit. Now, addiction is a little different. Obviously, there’s a physiologic component. And I don’t want to go into that detail. But I do see this in relationships where there’s a non-addictive component and the person isn’t willing to make a change, even in the face of the partner threatening to leave the situation. So it can be very difficult. And sometimes it’s just a lack of awareness. And sometimes it’s just, I’m not changing. And that’s just how it is. That’s how I am. And too bad for you. So there is that aspect of it as well. But so let’s talk about the desire aspect of this, though, because I do think that this is an important factor. And generally, you know, when I talk, and I’m going to talk about health issues for a minute, because I have patients who, for example, are diabetic, and they have a really hard time stopping eating carbs. And I actually had a patient recently say, I just really like cookies and breads.
And, you know, she has a serious problem with her A1C. It’s very high. And she’s using, you know, various forms of of diabetic medications. And she just can’t stop herself. And we can debate and I’m going to put this aside for a minute, we can debate the physiological, addictive qualities of some of these foods, which I do think is a real thing. And I’ve talked about that in other podcasts. But particular patient, my telling her and her other doctors telling her that her blood sugars are going to harm her body wasn’t enough to get her desire level up high enough to overcome her habit. And so for her, what we’re working on is finding what it is within her that would make her want to do this. Now, this is not something that can be imposed upon you from the external, right? In other words, as a doctor, even though we have some power in terms of suggestion to patients, it’s really up to the patient to make the decision for themselves that they’re going to make this change. And that’s true with anybody. It doesn’t matter if it’s a patient, it’s your child, it’s your spouse, it’s a partner. If you’re a teacher, if it’s a student, it’s about finding what it is that’s internal to them, or you, that is going to make the change happen. And here’s sort of an exercise you can do if you’re doing this for yourself, is let’s say you have a goal this year to lose weight, and I bring that up because that’s a goal that so many people in America have a goal to do at the beginning of the year. And my question is, why do you want to lose weight? And you keep asking, well, why do I want to do that? So for example, why do you want to lose weight? Well, I want to look better. Well, why do you want to look better? Well, I want to meet somebody. Well, why do you want to meet somebody? You keep getting down to the core of what it is that makes you want to do what you want to do. And once you get to that place, that’s the motivation, not the necessarily the initial thing. And so that’s the piece I think that is very important for people to do. Now, for a small thing, say flossing your teeth more, that’s, you know, you don’t necessarily need to drill that deeply with this. But for bigger things, I think it is important to do that, because that’s where the desire is. And everything else is sort of external to something else. So for the simple things, what can you do? Well, you create the conditions where the habit can be performed, if you will. And so that becomes the place where it becomes easier. And as a simple example, if you want to floss your teeth more, say once a day, well, you start doing it before bed, before you brush your teeth. And you keep just doing that every evening. And eventually, you get to this place where you know you’ve flossed your teeth, and you don’t have to think about it. And it’s something that you want to keep doing as part of a routine. You need to be aware and focused on it at the beginning before it becomes automatic. Think about if you drive a car, if you know how to drive a car, this will sound familiar. When you first started learning to drive, you would think about everything that you were doing before you did it. And you were very careful. You looked both ways before you changed lanes. You looked in your mirrors, all that stuff. And as you became more comfortable doing what you’re doing, you stopped doing a lot of the things that actually are safe to do. But there’s an automaticness to it, and you stop thinking. And I think that in some cases, that is not a bad thing, because it can be very exhausting thinking about everything that you do in your day to get through the day. But other things, such as driving, it’s a good thing to do. So that’s kind of the piece to that. All right, that’s what I got for you today. I hope you enjoyed this. I hope you have a wonderful new year. And I would encourage you to try incorporating one new habit in your life that you might want to do, even if it’s a small one, just to try out some of the things that I talked about. And send me an email and let me know what you did. That would be great. My email is info, i-n-f-o, at askdrgill.com. And if you have any comments, questions, as I said, you can send it to that email. And if you like the podcast, if you can like it down below, or go to YouTube or Apple Podcasts and hit something on there, that would be great. Thanks so much, and I hope to see you next time.
I wrote an article about the supplements for TBI Recovery. But What supplements are useful if you have a TBI. Well I definitely recommend getting neurofeedback.
But what can you do if you can’t get neurofeedback? It turns out there’s a lot you can do. Listen now to learn.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can have lasting effects on physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. Recovering from TBI often involves a multifaceted approach, combining traditional medical treatments with complementary methods such as neurofeedback and targeted nutrition. Many years ago, I wrote an article in Holistic Primary Care about this combination. This article serves as an update on that article. I explore supplements for TBI recovery in this post with an understanding of why they work.
A sudden jolt or impact to the head can cause a TBI, leading to brain damage. This can cause symptoms such as memory loss, fatigue, mood changes, and difficulty concentrating. Recovery can be challenging and prolonged, as the brain requires adequate support to repair and regenerate damaged cells. Studies have shown a link between TBI and dementia in adults 55 and older. A 55-year-old with a moderate concussion or a 65-year-old with a mild concussion is more likely to develop dementia than a cohort with no concussion. Therefore, treatment of some sort is critical for long-term health. Supplements for TBI recovery, combined with neurofeedback, can support recovery by reducing inflammation, oxidative stress, and underlying nutrient deficiencies.
Demonstrated research shows that many nutrients play a role in brain health and recovery from injury. For instance, inflammation and oxidative stress are common in TBI, and certain vitamins, minerals, and other compounds can counteract these processes.
1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids, especially EPA and DHA, reduce inflammation and support cognitive function. They promote membrane stability in neurons and may improve mood and cognitive outcomes in TBI patients. Studies have found that TBI patients with higher DHA levels experience better recovery rates, as DHA supports cell membrane repair and synaptic plasticity. Omega-3 fatty acids in higher doses (3 grams per day) may reduce depression in patients with no other interventions.
2. Antioxidant-Rich Supplements
TBI often increases oxidative stress, which can lead to further cell damage. Antioxidants can neutralize these effects and protect brain cells from further harm. Key antioxidants for TBI recovery include:
Vitamin C: Known for its neuroprotective effects and ability to reduce inflammation.
Vitamin E: Protects cell membranes and reduces free radical damage.
Coenzyme Q10: Supports cellular energy production and can mitigate mitochondrial dysfunction, often observed in TBI. CoQ10 is a very important supplement for TBI recovery because of the energy requirements needed by the brain. Watch my video about mitochondria to learn more.
Blueberry Anthocyanins: Anti-inflammatory and reduces oxidative stress, this is highly important for brain healing. They also help regulate BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor), something that gets mis-regulated after a brain injury.
3. Magnesium
Magnesium deficiency is common in TBI patients. It plays a critical role in stabilizing neural activity and reducing excitotoxicity (neuronal damage caused by excessive neurotransmitter release). Magnesium supplementation can help reduce symptoms like headaches and cognitive issues, making it a valuable addition to TBI recovery protocols. Magnesium also is important for ATP production.
4. Curcumin
Curcumin, an active compound found in turmeric, possesses potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Curcumin can cross the blood-brain barrier, making it particularly beneficial in brain-related injuries. Studies suggest curcumin may reduce amyloid plaque formation, commonly associated with cognitive decline, and improve neurogenesis (the process of creating new neurons). The research on curcumin for TBI is conflicting. Some studies show it being effective, while others have not. Variations in the quality of supplement may be a factor in these results. If you try curcumin, find a high potency version.
5. Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency is linked to a variety of neurological and cognitive issues, such as mood disorders and slower recovery from brain injuries. Vitamin D supports brain health by promoting anti-inflammatory cytokine production and regulating calcium levels. Studies show that supplementing with vitamin D can improve outcomes in TBI patients, particularly those with mood-related symptoms.
6. Riboflavin and other B Vitamins
Riboflavin is essential as a coenzyme in ATP production. As I’ve already discussed, brain healing requires high amounts of energy. Patients given 400 mg of riboflavin daily for two weeks within 24 hours of the TBI showed significant improvement than patients given a placebo. Studies with other B vitamins in humans are limited. But B12 deficiency is associated with cognitive decline and is crucial for neurological function. As we get older, our ability to absorb B12 diminishes leading to potential issues. If you are over 55, you may want to see about getting B12 injections to help.
7. Zinc Picolinate
Clinical studies show zinc deficiency is a big problem for patients with TBI. In rat studies, severe zinc deficiency worsened the effects of TBI. Studies in humans showed that increasing zinc immediately after a concussion improved outcomes and lessened the severity of symptoms. Zinc is also important in forming the protein metallothionein, which protects the blood-brain barrier.
As you can see, there are many supplements for TBI Recovery. Key nutrients like omega-3s, magnesium, and antioxidants address underlying inflammation and oxidative stress. I like to combine nutrients with LENS neurofeedback, though I can’t always provide that to patients. But the research continues to validate natural approaches to TBI treatment, offering a non-invasive option to recovery.
Dr. Gil, a naturopathic physician in Honolulu, has over 20 years of experience using LENS neurofeedbackLENS neurofeedback and the Walsh Protocol to help patients with TBI. His approach incorporates nutrient therapy alongside LENS sessions to provide a comprehensive recovery plan that targets both physiological and neurological aspects of TBI. For more information on this approach, you can contact Dr. Gil at info@askdrgil.com or 808-726-2772.
Some Sources:
Mitigating Traumatic Brain Injury: A Narrative Review of Supplementation and Dietary Protocols
Improving treatments and outcomes: an emerging role for zinc in traumatic brain injury
No one likes to have symptoms. When we do, we tend to pop a pill of some sort to keep them from bothering us. But what if healing crisis detox symptoms are a good thing? Today on Ask Dr Gil, I discuss the benefits of detox symptoms and why they are so useful for healing. Whether it is removing senescent cells, or cancer cells, healing crisis detox symptoms are telling us something about the body. We need to (within the best of our ability), allow the crisis to abate on its own as the body’s wisdom knows it needs to remove something.
Mitochondria Health Supplements are something very important to our health. But why? In this podcast, Dr Gil discusses the role of mitochondria, what they do in the body and what supplements are useful for helping one improve the health of mitochondria.