Dr. David Hanscom

Dr. David Hanscom The DOC (Direct your Own Care) Journey presents tools to effectively process stress and nurture joy. In safety, your body can and will regenerate and heal.

They are separate but linked skill sets that allow your body to heal. They evolved from his personal journey out of chronic mental and physical pain. As you become a "professional" at living your life, your body will be less exposed to flight or fight chemistry and more time in safety physiology. The DOC Journey course has a sequence of seven legs to teach you the skills to regulate your body's chemistry and they become automatic with repetition. They will become your new way of navigating life, and as you become more proficient at dealing with adversity, you'll have the capacity for creativity and joy. Some of healing concepts are:

-anxiety relief by regulating your stress physiology
-change your relationship to stress from reaCtive to Creative - You must "C first
-the Dynamic Healing model allows you to bring these concepts into your daily life
-stories of hope - you are not alone, feel that you are being heard, and hope is healing
-treating others with kindness allows you to more ably to treat yourself kindly
-play is a profound healing state of safety physiology and a powerful healing force
-allowing yourself to feel pain instead of fighting it, causes it to fade. "You have to feel to heal."
-awareness is at the core of all the tools. You cannot change what you don't know.
-chronic physical and mental pain have a common cause at the cellular level

This is a link to his resources page that presents the body of his work: https://backincontrol.com/resources-2/

It includes two books, "Back in Control" and "Do You Really Need Spine Surgery?"

The DOC Journey app (https://backincontrol.com/doc-journey-app/) and Course (thedocjourney.com) offer action plans out of chronic mental and physical pain. The key to healing is engagement and the outcomes are consistent with attaining this expertise. "To have a good life, you must live a good life."

11/24/2025

Forget about the pain. What about a day when you are just angry?

Your emotions are not random or weak.They are survival signals from your brain and body.Fear, anger, envy, sadness, and ...
11/24/2025

Your emotions are not random or weak.
They are survival signals from your brain and body.

Fear, anger, envy, sadness, and desire are all ways your nervous system says,

“Something important is happening. Please pay attention.”

When you push these feelings down, your brain does not think, “Good job. Problem solved.”

Instead, it thinks, “This must be really dangerous if we are not even allowed to feel it.”

So your body turns up the alarm:

Your muscles tighten.
Your heart may beat faster.
Your stomach can hurt.
Your sleep and focus get worse.

On top of that, your mind starts to spin with RUTs (Repetitive Unwanted Thoughts), like:

“What’s wrong with me?”
“This will never end.”
“I can’t handle this.”

These thoughts are not the truth about who you are.
They are the sound of a survival system on high alert that feels ignored.

The first step out is simple:
Let’s wake up.

That means:

Noticing what you feel, even if it’s uncomfortable.
Naming it: “I feel scared,” “I feel angry,” “I feel alone.”
Realizing, “This is my survival system talking, not proof that I am broken.”

You do not have to drown in your feelings.
You only need to give them a little bit of honest attention.

When you wake up to your own signals, your brain and body finally get the message:

“You see me. You hear me. We don’t have to scream anymore.”

That is how threat starts to drop, and how RUTs slowly begin to loosen their grip.
Let’s wake up, instead of pushing down.

11/22/2025

Anger is only about self-preservation and will destroy anyone and anything close to it – including you.

11/21/2025

You may feel awake… but if you’re anxious or frustrated, your body is actually reacting to a memory—not the present moment.
Most of us spend our days reliving old danger signals without realizing it.
So the real question is: Are you truly alive… or just surviving?

If you’re ready to step out of survival mode and return to the present, join The DOC Journey and learn tools that calm your nervous system and reconnect you to your life.

Start here: thedocjourney.com
Explore more insights: backincontrol.com

Chronic pain can push anyone into isolation, resentment, and the fight-or-flight response. But healing begins when we un...
11/21/2025

Chronic pain can push anyone into isolation, resentment, and the fight-or-flight response. But healing begins when we understand what the nervous system is trying to do: keep us safe. With the right tools, you can calm the physiological threat response, step out of anger and fear, and reconnect with life.

You deserve relief, and it’s possible.

11/21/2025

There is no awareness in anger.

11/20/2025

Understanding the connection between what you focus on and your well-being empowers you to make more mindful decisions about where to direct your attention and energy.

Your brain is always assessing situations as either safe or threatening, which then guides how your body responds. Life can be tough, and stress affects us all, but The DOC Journey focuses on ways to spend less time in threat mode and more time in a sense of safety. Surprisingly, much of what keeps us upset is within our control, and there are two main types of input that we can choose to influence.

What you are not aware of will quietly shape your reactions, your emotions, and even your health. Awareness is the first...
11/19/2025

What you are not aware of will quietly shape your reactions, your emotions, and even your health. Awareness is the first step to breaking unconscious patterns, calming your nervous system, and shifting from reactive to creative living. When you learn to recognize your triggers, you take back your power and your peace.

When you choose kindness — especially toward yourself — your body begins to relax. Tension eases. The chaos quiets. It’s...
11/13/2025

When you choose kindness — especially toward yourself — your body begins to relax. Tension eases. The chaos quiets. It’s in that space that healing happens.

Start today: offer yourself the same compassion you so freely give to others.

🕊️ Learn how to reconnect, calm your body, and heal at BackInControl.com

11/13/2025

Birdwatching is a remarkable example of active awareness. As you quietly observe nature, your attention naturally shifts from your racing thoughts to the present moment—the sound of rustling leaves, the colors of a bird’s feathers, the rhythm of its flight. This focused attention calms the nervous system, reducing threat physiology and creating a sense of peace and curiosity. Birdwatching isn’t about spotting rare species; it’s about connecting with life around you and allowing your body to move from a reactive state to one of safety and engagement.

Active Meditation builds on the same principle. Instead of forcing the mind to be quiet, you redirect it. Throughout your day, you can practice this by simply noticing your surroundings—feeling your feet touch the ground, sensing the air on your skin, or listening to background sounds. Each time you shift your attention away from distressing thoughts, you’re training your brain to calm its threat response and rewire toward safety. It’s a powerful way to use awareness, not as an escape, but as a healing tool that reconnects your mind and body.

Discover more at www.backincontrol.com — where awareness meets healing.

There is no “goal” in the healing journey — only this moment. You don’t have to wait for a perfect day to begin healing....
11/12/2025

There is no “goal” in the healing journey — only this moment. You don’t have to wait for a perfect day to begin healing. The tools you have right now are enough. Some days will be calm, others will test your strength, and that’s okay.

Healing isn’t about reaching an endpoint. It’s about learning to live fully in the present moment, one breath at a time.

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Oakland, CA
94610

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