Dr. David Hanscom

04/21/2026

04/20/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀?

Learning to feel again after years of emotional suppression can feel unfamiliar and even uncomfortable. When you’ve spent a long time disconnecting from your emotions, it’s common to not recognize what you’re feeling at all. You may go blank, overthink, or say what you think you should feel. This isn’t a weakness. It’s how your brain adapted to protect you. Over time, the connection between your body’s signals and your awareness becomes quiet. Rebuilding that connection begins with creating a sense of safety, because your brain won’t allow vulnerable emotions to surface if it still feels under threat.

Healing takes patience and simple, consistent steps. Practices like writing honestly about your emotions, noticing sensations in your body, and calming your nervous system through breathing, movement, and connection can gently reopen that awareness. You are not forcing emotions. You are allowing what has always been there to be felt.

The emotions you avoided were never the problem. Suppressing them kept your system on alert. Learning to feel again is how your body begins to settle, heal, and return to life.

04/16/2026

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴.

In relation to my post yesterday, here's a video talking about it further.

Human consciousness allows you to think, imagine, and create—but it also opens the door to anxiety, fear, and endless mental loops. Your brain doesn’t always distinguish between real and imagined threats, so thoughts alone can trigger powerful survival responses. The problem isn’t that your mind is broken—it’s that it’s doing its job too well. Real change begins when you see these patterns clearly and learn how to calm your nervous system instead of fighting your thoughts.

You can also read an article I wrote here: https://backincontrol.com/understanding-the-curse-of-consciousness/?v=da984e42a589

04/15/2026

𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗨𝗧𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

RUTs (Repetitive Unwanted Thoughts) are perhaps the strongest force behind human misery. Not only are RUTs miserable, but they also drive sustained stress physiology that causes chronic physical and mental illness. This article provides a clear explanation of the problem, and the conversation in the literature is increasingly addressing RUTs as a root cause of illness rather than just treating symptoms.

𝗔 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘀𝘁

𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘚𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩, 𝘙𝘜𝘛𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯. 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 (𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯) 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬? 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮.

Excerpt from my book Calm Your Body, Heal Your Mind: Transcend Pain, Anxiety, Anger, and Repetitive Unwanted Thoughts. To be released June 2nd, 2026. My book adds additional dimensions to this excellent summary of RNTs. RUTs are solvable as you calm and reroute your nervous system.

You can read the full article by Jim Kwik here: https://kwikbrain.substack.com/p/can-negative-thoughts-shrink-your-brain

You can pre-order my book here: https://www.amazon.com/Calm-Your-Body-Heal-Mind/dp/1645023400/

04/14/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀

Your body heals when it is in a physiological state of safety. Love is one of the manifestations as well as play, giving back, and regaining your life perspective.

Love isn’t created as much as you allow it to emerge. There are ways to process anger, vs. running from it or acting out. These strategies allow you to intentionally shift into safety and allow love to flourish. We're discussing a few of these tools.e anxious or angry, some scenario in the past is now playing out in the present. Anger and love are mutually exclusive.

Love isn’t created as much as you allow it to emerge. There are ways to process anger, vs. running from it or acting out. These strategies allow you to intentionally shift into safety and allow love to flourish. We be discussing a few of these tools.

Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/OMzjxOjpkQw?si=wXtSmATlxiGkJCcq