Healing Your Brain from Stress

The information provided in this podcast is educational and not intended to diagnose or treat medical conditions.

Dr. Donnie Wilson struggled for decades to solve her numerous health issues and heal her body. But with focused determination, she healed herself. And in doing so, she discovered the Dr. Donnie stress recovery Protocol. On this show, you're going to hear from doctors, nutritionists and Experts along with Dr. Donnie, who will give practical advice and wisdom to help heal your body. This is how humans heal.

Thanks, everyone for joining us. I want to introduce you today to Anne Smolin, who is a therapist. She's really trained as a social worker who does psychotherapy. And she's been doing this for 25 years. So she's really a master of helping humans with mental health, just understanding how our mind and our emotions work and how to just cope with our day to day and our relationships and our work and our life. And so I'm really excited to be able to have this conversation with you. And I'm very excited, too.

Extremely. Yay.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for having me on your show.

Yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome. And just that's my little introduction about you, but tell us a little more. Like, how do you describe your. What you do and what inspired you to do what you do? Okay.

Well.

I have been doing this, as you said, for actually close to 30 years.

Wow.

In the last seven years, I started using a process where it was much more focused on internal transformation. And I found that since I started using that process, that the results I got were so much more.

I guess you could say, marvelous, because when you see a client transform because of doing some inner work, it's really a joy to me as a therapist. And I began to feel.

Like I was having much more of an effect on my clients and hopefully the world. Because when you affect one person, then they affect other people. Right. And that's the beauty of healing. And I think that with everything that's going on in the world today, that's a really good thing to remember.

Yeah. So the process I use is an internal process and it includes a method that was created by Dr. Richard Schwartz, and it's called Internal Family Systems. So don't let that term throw you off because it could be a little bit confusing. But basically it comes from this idea that inside of us, we're not just rubber stamped with one personality. We have a lot of different aspects of ourself. And it talks about and the process focuses on where the event that created a problem that might be going on in your life today. First started. And I think that that idea, and part of the reason I was especially excited to do this today is because in knowing you as well as I do, I really like a lot of the ways that you approach the client. And one is getting to the cause. And so I do that too. I try to get to the cause, the reason why it's happening, rather than just trying to heal a symptom. And when you begin to get to the cause, you're going to begin to get to what happened in the brain. And so there are.

There are, I guess you could say, in ifs, it's a mindful, focused therapy, and it helps these defense mechanisms to relax. And so one of the reasons that I began to use it is because it is so gentle, which goes along with your therapy.

And it.

Avoids defensiveness within the client. So if you've ever done therapy in your life and you've left therapy and you kind of felt unfulfilled, don't blame it on yourself. Because some therapeutic processes, they have their limitations. And so this process, I feel like it's endless. And that once you begin to understand the function of the brain in doing therapy, whatever kind of therapy it is, it begins to become endless. So you start with asking the client, what's something in your life that is causing you problems, instead of you telling them what's causing them problems.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Just a different. It's amazing how sometimes just the way we ask the question changes the whole outcome of the conversation.

Right, Exactly. Just that tiny little tweak that is really important towards staying connected with the person because the answers really lie within you, for you. But sometimes people just don't know the method to get there.

And I want to share just. And I so appreciate this, and I want to just share with everyone listening, like, because I so much as, you know, think about our health from this perspective of stress. And of course, stress comes in so many different forms, even in terms of foods or toxins, but it most definitely comes from maybe what we'd categorize as psycho emotional stresses, you know, like. And those stresses can be what we experience in this very moment, like a pandemic or loss of a job or loss of a loved one, you know, something that is, in this moment, a stress. But there's all. Our brain is constantly processing those stresses in this day and moment. But our brain is also remembering stresses from our past, you know, like these traumas from childhood. And I think that's what you're referring to is being able to help a person reflect on what is their stress in this moment that they are aware of, and then helping them to then understand how that connects with stress from the past and maybe beliefs from the past, because it's in that acknowledgment and awareness and processing that we can actually shift Now. I know maybe you can share a little bit about what's possible with our brain, because I think a lot of times we end up in a belief that as if I realize I can turn this around, have Ace me on Instagram. We end up in a belief where we. Our brain is kind of set in stone, you know, like our neurotransmitters are the way they are, or what happened in our childhood is in the past, and we can't do anything about it or the way we respond in a certain situation. It's just. You know what I mean? People tend to kind of almost fit.

Like, I'm really glad you bring that up because I was definitely headed toward there because it's so essential to the process. So.

In internal transformation processes.

We go to the crossroads where trauma, whether it's large or small or implicit or explicit. Because when we're very young.

We can't remember what happened, but there's still the explicit memory and the experience that's there. It's kind of foggy. You can't put a narrative to it, but it's there. So.

These parts that are stressed and what do some of them include? So let me just explain this. From the time we're born or even in utero, to where we are today, events occur that create stress or create feelings of hurt, feelings of rejection, feelings of anger, feelings of abandonment. And those feelings cause a change, literally, in your neurotransmitters and in your brain. Well, neurotransmitters, I think, are in the gut and the brain. Right. Dr. Donnie.

Part of what talk therapy does not do and is not able to do is.

It doesn't get to the connection between the.

Like neuroplasticity. And when you use processes that encourage visualization and you actually go to that place with the help of the therapist, where the trauma occurred, you dive inward, and with what we call your higher energy self, you begin to heal yourself.

So.

Let me go back for a second to finish a thought. So from the time we're born to where we are now, events occur that create trauma. And from that trauma that's created, whether it's large or small, we develop. Not deliberately, but the psyche is clever enough to develop protectors. Protectors are those parts of us. So for Instance, if a girl was scolded a lot as a child, she may have learned to be quiet at times, or maybe another person might have learned to act out and become angry. And so these parts of us, and this is one of the things I really love about the process, that is that it's not judgmental to realize that there's an intention in that habit, and it's a good intention in the habit. It's trying to protect you, but eventually it stops doing what its first intention was and it becomes outmoded. So we want to update that stressed part and begin to explain in a very rational, beautiful way from our higher self and to understand from our higher self what really happened. Because what we tend to do is we push away these parts that cause us pain. Everybody does it. And unfortunately, the pain still exists internally, and it affects the way that we react in life. And that reactiveness creates more trauma in the brain.

It kind of like re. Instigated, kind of like almost solidifies it or builds it even more.

Right, exactly. Yeah. And so how do we bring ourselves out of those states? So.

One of the reasons that I refer some of my clients to you is because when you could support the neurotransmitters, it allows what I call a softness to begin to occur in the brain, and it allows there to be more connectivity in the brain. Because when there's trauma, and this is definitely not only for what we think of as post traumatic stress trauma, and, you know, I think that that's a mistake in understanding trauma, is that if you. You can feel trauma today and you don't have to have gone through anything that was severely traumatic, and you can have the same amount of trauma and stress in your body as someone who went through war. So maybe it's in a different form.

No, I agree with you. Because sometimes we think to ourselves, well, my situation wasn't that bad, you know, so we kind of almost like dismiss ourselves. But really.

What could be a stress to you and create this same pattern? It doesn't have to be that stressful, severe, you know, so not dismiss yourself. To really acknowledge that as a human, many different experiences can create this situation. And then, you know, tell us more about how. You know, I love how you're saying. I really find that too, that as we. I mean, just the fact that we can balance the neurotransmitters. Right. Like, and for anyone who's listening, neurotransmitters are like serotonin and GABA and dopamine. Maybe you've heard of them. A lot of times in regular therapy or medicine, you're not really learning that it's possible to actually rebalance these neurotransmitters. But neurotransmitters are made within our body. As Ann was pointing out, Serotonin is mostly made in our gut. It's made from amino acids from our protein in our diet and our nutrients. So we can, if our body can make these neurotransmitters and our stress throws them out of balance, the. That means that we can use nutrients and gut healing, and healing in general to help our body rebalance the neurotransmitters. And because these neurotransmitters are essentially the messengers, I call them the mess. They're sending the messages between our nerves and our body. The more imbalance they are, then it makes it so much easier to do some of this other work, this trauma healing.

That's what I was trying to say.

Yeah. And I find the same thing. And it's like patients will. As their neurotransmitters and their cortisol comes to a better level, all of a sudden, it's just easier to be able to kind of reflect back on yourself and pick up on little things that are happening and be able to have patience with yourself, maybe as part of it. But there must be part of it in the nervous system, too, where it's actually more able to heal. It's on a more balanced foundation to begin with.

So when trauma occurs. Thank you for adding that there's a disconnectivity that happens in different parts of the brain. And so you can heal that disconnection. It's through internal family systems protocol.

I love it. Wow.

Yeah. There's researchers that have done the work on this. We could put that afterwards.

On a link.

If you want to find out more about that fascinating process. And so neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, where new cells begin to get created, can happen from external events. And I think that that's very important for people to realize. And.

Sometimes I like to think of myself as an agent of hope.

And I think you are, too, honestly, because we are bringing messages about the marvelous complexities of the brain and the body, that when you listen to them and you really get in touch with them, you can heal yourself. And so there's something else that I haven't mentioned yet that is really important in this process, and it's called self capital S. Or some people call it self energy. And it's that best part of us that frequently gets lost behind these reactive Parts so reactive, part anger, procrastination. There's a lot of shame attached to these old parts that get in the way neurologically and get in the way psychosocially from being able to have better relationships. So the higher self is a part of us that cannot get damaged. And that's a really beautiful thing. And it includes compassion, curiosity, connection, calm, courage, clarity, caring, creativity. Those are the eight Cs that Dr. Richard Schwartz came up with for higher self. So there's so many more.

Aspects and traits that are included in higher self.

Okay.

Did you have a question?

No. I love that I. Can you say Those again, the eight Cs? I think that's really beautiful because you're saying these are just aspects of being human that are inherent in us.

Yeah. So here I have a diagram right here.

I love it. I love it. Okay, we'll share that too.

Yeah.

And so compassion, curiosity, connection, calm, courage, clarity, caring, and creativity. So this. Would you. How would you describe these? These are what we want. They're always present, but sometimes we have a hard time connecting with them.

Right, right, right, right. And so I, you know, I want people to leave with this understanding of the process. And if I could draw, I would draw it out, which I usually do for my clients, but I can't do it here.

I know. I'm so visual, too. I always like to draw.

Yeah, it goes backwards, I think, when you draw it.

Yeah. So, you know, it's a shame, and it makes me sad sometimes when I see people come in and the trauma happened, maybe when they were three or four, and now they're 35, 40, or even older, and they're still functioning out of that event.

Right.

And when we begin to do the process, which it's never too late to do for anybody, but what I do find is that children do it the best because they're more pliable and they're soft, and they can so easily jump right in there and begin to support the parts of themselves that are feeling.

Abandoned. You know, a whole bunch of those negative emotions that we've all had. So self.

Is something that, again, gets lost and it becomes blocked within us. But we can shift as soon as we begin to become aware. And so awareness is really important because frequently when we are in stressed states, we lose our ability to become aware.

Yeah. So you just closed your eyes a tiny bit right there. Right? Yeah.

I really love that word awareness. I think that's so much of what happens. Like, immediately that stress response happens, the adrenaline starts going, and of. Of course, we Go into a reactivity. And it's like you're saying we, we lose that. I also think of it almost like having a little bit of a space between us and our reaction. And if we're completely identifying with the reaction, it's almost like we've lost ourselves, you know, because now we're just acting completely from the reaction. But the more we can kind of have that awareness, sometimes you can create a space between you, you know, like who you are and what the reaction is.

That's part of the process. And it's called unblending.

Unblending, Very good. I love it. I'm so glad.

Thank you for reminding me of that part.

So it's called unblending.

And it allows you to see what's really happening. So we can tell when we're in a reactive part because reactive parts lose perspective. They become extreme. There's a lot of emotion to them. And usually similar circumstances seem. Circumstances trigger them.

Yeah. So when we unblend. And it can happen in a second, when you begin to become aware.

Yeah.

All of a sudden my heart's racing. And you can pay attention to your bodily symptoms. And that means your adrenaline is high, right?

Yeah, yeah. But you can actually have the sort of wherewithal to be able to notice while you're actually in the moment. It's a. I don't know, it's hard to kind of describe. But I like this unblending because you can. It's like realizing that we can be aware of ourselves and be ourselves at the same time.

Absolutely. And we can access our greatest parts that get lost and thwarted just by shifting.

And everybody's experienced that at some time or another where you're about to become angry and you go, wait a minute, like I don't think I want to do that because, you know. And then the cognition starts to click in because it doesn't get me where I want to go ultimately. And all of a sudden you're having empathy and compassion.

So there is a system within us.

And it includes what we call lost parts, exiles that get pushed away. And then there's the protectors that are protecting those exile parts. And then there's the higher self, which is always there and it really wants to come forward. And it's a self led process. So, you know, eventually I want my clients to do this at home. That's where you become the most self led and independent, is by doing it during the week. Even if it's just, you know, I'm a believer in tiny changes, make remarkable differences so this doesn't have to be burdensome. It's really not a burdensome process. But saying the word burdensome now reminds me of another part of the process.

Okay, tell us we're ready. We're ready.

During these childhood moments, we begin to carry false beliefs.

So I guess I could give a little bit of my own story. Okay, I'll tell a little bit of mine because the illustration of it could be helpful.

Great.

So I'm wannabe children and I'm number six. And at the dinner table at night there was usually a lot of debating, who's the funniest, who's the smartest? You know, at the end there, the little, the little caboose, you know, and I'm trying to get my, my opinion in there. And sometimes I wasn't heard. And I began to develop acute verbalization. I began to sometimes become dramatic. And there was like a little bit of frustration associated with it. And maybe also in there there was this part that became very competitive. And so the injury was not feeling like I was being heard. And the protector was this competitive, very verbal. Especially when I'm in groups, it can really get activated. And it took a session with Dr. J. Early, who is the creator. He and his wife wrote.

This self therapy book and he got me to understand where this came from. And it was only through a few questions. And I found that after one session that reactiveness dropped down so dramatically. And that's, that was many years ago, probably about 10 years ago. But from that experience I really started studying a lot more on this self led self therapy process.

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So what of listeners, what could they. Is there Anything they could do, even right now in the moment, that would help them to learn a little more about this for themselves.

Sure. Yeah, absolutely.

We can kind of do like a quick little session here for anybody who's listening. Would they like that?

Yeah, I think so. Like, just lead through some. I think you. Like you said, yeah, lead through a little bit. I can also, you know, work with you and answer some of these questions. And let's just see where it. Because I think people can reflect for themselves. And just like you said, it's all very gentle. It's all about being curious and open and accepting.

And wanting with this intention of wanting to kind of meet ourselves in a very supportive way. Because I really agree with you. Like, whenever we're trying to heal from stress, we need to do it in a not stressful way. You know, if we. It's counterintuitive, right. To come at it in a stressful way, we need to come at it in a supportive way. So just everyone knowing, you know, hey, take a breath. And when you ask yourself any questions or you're going through this process, to do it in a very loving way with yourself.

Yes. Okay, good. So I'll demonstrate quickly.

A process. And you don't mind if I ask you a few questions, Dr. Donnie?

It's fine. Yeah.

Okay, good.

Thank you.

So first, as Dr. Donney is saying, we begin by bringing the stress in our bodies down. So one of the most effective ways to do that is through deep breathing.

And I don't know how. My TV just got put on.

It wants to join us, but somehow.

It just went on. But it's okay.

Okay. I don't hear it.

Hopefully it's not going to make noise. So we begin this process by taking a deep breath.

And so at the bottom of the lungs is the diaphragm. And if you yawn.

It demonstrates deep breathing.

Start to feel it right there in the lower part of your belly. Feels so good to do deep breathing. And it sends a signal to the brain that you're in a relaxed state.

And so right there is there. There's some neurology.

And so if you scrunch your shoulders up to your ears.

And you let them come down. Yeah. And then you just stretch your neck out. Because in the tops of the shoulders and the neck is where we carry a lot of stress. And so we're going to ask self criticism if it could just step aside for a moment. And we always want to ask permission of these parts. We never tell them what to do. We ask them if they're ready to do that, and then they begin to get more connected with us. So ask yourself, what is a part? We begin with what we call a trailhead. What is a part that I would like to see a little less of in my life or maybe a lot less of?

So then name it. Identify that part.

Do you want to name yours? Dr. Donnie?

You don't have to. Thank you. I know I started.

Really.

And I think, too, when you say, like, what is the kind of the first thing that comes to mind? But.

I'm sorry to do this, but this is what I do with my clients. So as you tell me, continue to allow the cadence of your voice keep you in that place.

So that's interesting. The cadence has a play too.

Definitely.

Let's see. I was gonna say perfectionism.

Okay. So when you begin to feel that part of you that is actually trying to help you in a way. And so part of what we really want to understand and keep in mind is that we're not asking these parts to be abandoned, but to become balanced. These parts become extreme. And so I would like you to ask perfectionism.

Why is it there? And, audience, you can ask your part. Why is it there? What are you trying to do for me?

And then become mindful of the answer and go with the first answer.

I would say protecting from criticism.

That's very common. That's really good that you got in touch with that. So then when perfectionism begins to get activated and it starts to do its thing.

Where do you feel it in your body?

Well, right now, I'm aware of my stomach.

So the body never lies. Sometimes our minds will, but we learn to help them to not do that. And there's no judgment here, but the body will always reflect truth. And so if you go with your first answer, it probably will be the most accurate one. And so as you take another deep breath, ask that part, when did you first get created in me? And wait.

Don't theorize. Just wait.

And did you get any kind of memory?

Sometimes you won't.

I didn't get anything specific, but I do have an awareness.

Wait. What happened when you closed your eyes?

Perfection. Because we never want to go too fast with these. That's where I have to be in my higher self. Help my client.

So what happened when you did close your eyes and you weren't able to get an answer? Did you feel blocked?

A little. I think it's. You know, I think I am aware of what my mind is distracted with in this moment, you know, but I was Aware of immediately my mind was bringing up childhood. You know, there was just a clear. You knowing that this is, I think, maybe more like even just wasn't necessarily one specific incident, but maybe repetitive.

Yeah, that's what happens frequently. So then. And it's very understandable that you're not going to be able to completely get relaxed and do the process, because you do a video right now.

But other people who are watching and you can continue your process.

What happened for you? Were you able to come up with any kind of a memory?

And don't worry if you were not able to, because sometimes it takes two or three learning sessions to really start to skate a little more smoothly, so to speak.

Just not to break us from this process, but just as an observation, I really find for myself that it's almost like a meditative process. Like if some of you have. Have done meditation when you can get to that place where your mind is really able to let go of what other things are going on in the moment and just let whatever that thought is to flow in meditation. Right. Like.

Yeah. And that's why before I begin a session, especially when I can sense a person's stress is very high, sometimes we'll use essential oils to help stress down. So we'll use some lavender or frankincense, if they're okay with that. And they inhale some of it, just rub it on their necks and the tops of their shoulders. And it takes time to feel trusting of the process and of the therapist. But more importantly, it takes time for these internal parts that have been abandoned and hurt by the world to begin.

To trust you, to reveal themselves safely.

Right. Yeah.

So what happens then? Once you have identified.

Something from the, you know, some event or.

Yeah. So once the memory, and it will eventually come, as long as you do it with patience is shown. And it could be one event, it could be many events, then you move in through visualization and you see yourself and it always pops up.

You know, if you've not experienced it before, it may sound like really that happens, but it really does. And some of the greatest skeptics or the biggest believers at the end, because the process happens so naturally, because it's right there and it's. You know, these parts have been waiting so long to be recognized and to be. And to have their pain witnessed. So through visualization, you see the part and you begin to really get what happened to that little girl at age 7. And maybe you never really completely understood. Usually you don't. And all of a sudden there's Enlightenment. And so all of a sudden, what can happen in the process is the inner critic pops up. So the inner critic is a really big one. And whatever it looks like for you, it comes up and it goes like, stop helping yourself.

Come on. Like, you don't need to do that. That's just, you know, like, you're being a wimp or you're being weak in doing that. Why do you feel sorry for yourself? And so we asked the inner critic first. We might have to talk to the inner critic and ask it to please cooperate and explain to it. And that's the cognitive part of this, that we're trying to help this part. And so you go in and you see that girl and you find out what false belief did she begin to have at that age when the injury started? And that's called a burden. And then.

Usually if you're, you know, in higher self and you're unblending, you'll very clearly find out what the false belief is. And false beliefs include things like, I'm not good enough. I have to be perfect.

If I speak my mind, I'll be yelled at.

And we carry that burden in parts of our body. And so you might be carrying where, like, something may have happened where, you know, perfectionism began to manifest in the stomach because there's nervousness that could happen. And the stomach is typically where nervousness and anxiety, like, have to do, hurry up, can manifest. And so from going in and rescuing, recovering that part and then using a natural process with water, wind, or fire to bring your part, your girl, to. And sometimes, you know, like, one of my nicknames was Annie when I was a kid. So I bring my little Annie to a safe place. I really get to know her, and I sit across. Some people are not as good at visualization as other people. And that's fine because you don't have to be that great at it to do the process. And then I've used processes where using wind to blow out this need to always be protecting myself.

Oh, I like that.

Helping to kind of like shift the pattern, but say more. So using wind, using.

Yeah, using wind, water, any natural element. And it could be a combined combination of those. And when you do that and some people go into a really deep hypnotic state, people who are very like. It doesn't even take really that long for some people to do that. And that's where neuro. Neuroplasticity and new neural pathways get created. And there's research that proves that all of a sudden, connections begin to happen because traumatized parts of the brain begin to get disconnected from other parts of the brain. And so when you go in, I mean, think about it, it's so powerful when you go to a crossroad in your life and memories begin to flood because you're in a relaxed state. And now, you know, there's blood in the brain and it's functioning and it's open.

You can heal and update that part and allow it to drop off. And it's really very moving for me. Drop off. The stress that it may have been carrying for 25 years and is causing so many different upheavals in relationships. So that's always going to be where these parts cause havoc and in our relationships.

So really, I mean, I really appreciate you sharing all that. I mean, I definitely have.

Experienced that myself, too, at very, you know, various, you know, going through this process at various times in my life. I can definitely share that it has made a huge difference. And I think it's so exciting to know that it's actually shifting what we call neural pathways, which are, like. I think, well, one way to think about that might be it's almost like when we've done something and had the same thought and the same reaction the same way so many times in our lives. It's almost like a rut, you know, like if you're driving down a road and the tire just wants to go in that same spot.

But when you.

When we go through this process of acknowledging what happened and kind of becoming aware of maybe the belief or the protected protective mechanism we created at that point in time, but now we're coming back to it and saying, actually, that's not quite what I want that protective mechanism to be shifted. You're essentially changing the road in your brain. Like, now you're able. The tires can go down a different path the next time. Time you don't have to go in that same rut, would you say that's.

A. Oh, that is absolutely a great way to describe it? Yes. And so.

These ruts that we get in are not really helping us, but in the moment that they become activated, they think that they are helping us.

Well, and of course, usually when they start, it's when we're a child and we have a child's view of the world, you know, and as children, we kind of think everything's our fault and we could control the world with some belief. You know, like, if I never.

If I was listening to you and you say to me, as children, we begin to think that everything's our fault. That's very true. Because when bad things happen, we start to feel bad, as if we're bad. And so that would be a burden. That, that's a very typical burden is that it's my fault. And when, you know, it gets a little bit complicated, but when that part says it's my fault and it feels shame and guilt, then anger comes up and it becomes protective. And that brings me to the idea of polarized parts. So there's a polarization that happens between these parts of us trying to create some. They're trying to create some balance in the so to speak, boat.

But they become extreme. So when one. When the. When the shame one gets activated, then the angry critical one comes up and gets activated. And don't be such a wimp like that. And then that can create what we call firefighters. And those are the addiction ones. Overeating.

Over drinking, over videoing, over.

Gambling. There's so many of them overworking. And we want those parts to be able to relax and those habits to be able to relax. Right. So that we can access a greater quality in ourselves and in our lives. And these parts want to cooperate, but it requires updating them.

Well. And I came to my awareness as you're describing, that is that I think.

For me at least, because I tend to be. And this is. I also aware of the genetics that come with this. Like it's so interesting to look at how our genetics influence how we respond to certain stresses. And I have genetics that make me more likely to be drawn towards stress and adrenaline, you know, so I just know that about myself. And so when I think sometimes we can get so used to being stressed in a stressed state, you know, so used to being stimulated by some of these activities you were just mentioning, you know, like this stimulation of the adrenaline trigger or the dopamine. But it's actually. And to think when you're in that kind of state, to think of not being in that state almost seem. It can seem peaceful, but it could also seem almost stressful because used to being stressed. You know what I mean? Like I'm wondering in that just having that acknowledgement thought because I think sometimes there can even be a fear that even though this is a healing beautiful process and outcome we're hopefully leaning toward, there can also be fear about the process, right?

Yes, exactly. And so we're always working with the part. And one of the questions that we ask the protector is what would you be afraid of? So your perfect. What would you be afraid of if you stepped aside and relaxed? See the language we use, we don't say to people in a pejorative way, that's a very dysfunctional habit that you have there because that creates defensiveness.

Then you're right back to where you started from.

Yeah, right, exactly. And then the very thing that created the injury to begin with, which is usually pejorative in nature, in some way gets recreated. And then there's a defense. So we asked the part, what would you be afraid of if you stepped aside and relaxed? And let's just say with anxiety, it would say, maybe I wouldn't be able to function as well. I wouldn't be on top of it as much. I wouldn't get the job done. And then you begin to update it with some of your information that you know about that. And you, you ask the part, well, when you're in an anxious state or are you able to think as clearly? And it usually goes. It thinks and it goes, no, I guess I'm not. And then you say, do you feel like you would be able to still function and get the job done without all of the success of adrenaline and that hurriedness?

No, I don't think so. I think I would really. I really think I need that in order to get the job done. And then you teach people how to gather information that is factual, such as stress, blocks, creativity.

So when you know, one of the best traits to be successful is being creative because it allows the mind to just flow. Right. When we get into a state of flow. So as we cognitively update these parts and we ask them, now, what do you think I need to do more of once they begin to transform? You know, so transformation. Sorry, I didn't really.

This is perfect. I love it.

Parts get transformed so anxiety can move, and sometimes they get transformed to exactly the opposite of what they were. And the fears that they had if they dropped, dropped down and became relaxed and weren't there and filled with these activities, reactiveness, actually those things that they're afraid of begin to become much easier to do in the person's life. And so I find it every single time that the reason that the part has, that's that it's afraid to release is usually the exact opposite of what it's creating. So there's no judgment in this, this language or word. They're irrational beliefs don't really make sense.

Yeah. When you actually look at it, you're like, how does. How did this ever become the belief? Yeah, yeah.

And so they transform. So anxiety can transform into serenity. And then it's fear of not Being able to get things done. Oh, all of a sudden it learns, wow, if I'm in a state of serenity, I'll actually have more energy to get those things done. And not only will I get them done, but I'll enjoy getting them done. And all of a sudden, I don't have to be a victim of this very hurried world that we all live. Live in, where we think that it's only checking off the list and getting things done. And we make our work, meditation.

A Zen element to working and functioning and being.

I think it's. I love that word, transformational. It is. It's transformational to be able to.

To know that that's possible and then to be able to experience it. In some ways, it reminds me of also emdr. You know, there's other kinds of therapy that have this as aspects of it, this where EMDR also. I think of it like, with emdr, it's a. It's an eye movement technique, but I.

Think of it as EMDR is eye movement desensitization Reprocessing. And it was created by or discovered by Francine Shapiro.

And it's similar in that it's. I think of the eye movement as like a distraction so that you can get to looking at these past events and the beliefs and sort of reprogramming in there. But you have this distraction technique to assist you with that, too.

That's very interesting that you see it as a distraction technique. And I'm going to say that's a good point that I never actually realized about the process. But in addition to that, it also creates a cadence. So if you do it with the eyes and you're in like a. You know, there's. There's the delta is the low, large brainwave that happens during sleep. Right. Delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma. So the brain, the eyes are a connection and an extension of the brain. And when we have a certain cadence happening, that's like the whole idea of the old classic watch, hypnosis.

Oh, yes.

You know, like, we rock babies in that cadence and they enjoy it, and it really works.

And I love how you mentioned it earlier, too, in terms of just even speaking in that cadence through this process, that it's connecting with that part of the nervous system that's in a more relaxed state.

Yeah.

Wow.

Well, you taught me some of that about chewing your food slowly.

It's amazing, right? How we, you know, when you think about how much information our bodies get on how much, like, even little things we can do, like taking a deep breath or speaking more in that cadence or chewing our food. These things have such an influence. We're basically speaking to our nervous system in a different way versus the way when we're racing through the day, you know, then our nervous system's getting that stressed message all the time.

Yeah. So it's getting ourselves out of a fight flight freeze zone. And that takes work.

And when you help my clients to do that, they come back to me.

And they make incredible changes. And it's a wonderful thing to work with you.

The clients of mine that work with you, that need you.

Are really happy to have you and to be able to do the work of the trance, the psychological transformation in a way that makes a difference and really changes their lives. So when we're babies, we come out pliable and we're soft. And then as we get old, we become brittle and rigid. We want to try to maintain that softness throughout as much of our life on this earth that we can. And it comes through nutrition, it comes through transformative psychological processes. And the interface between those two.

Is intimately connected. And I found over the years that I really was not able to bring my patients into what I call like the green lane without the nutritional and the neurotransmitter and the functional support.

Wow. I mean, it makes sense, right? I mean, we used to kind of assume that our brain was so separate from our body and it's not. It's so interconnected. I don't even know. It's more connected than we can even imagine.

Isn't it even the same thing?

It's the same. It's like. It's exactly like. It's so connected. It's one.

So of course, if we're going to be healing our bodies, we need to be working on all of it, you know, together. Because I mean, I guess sometimes I'll think of it in terms of efficiency even like if we just were trying to solve a problem from one direction, but we're not paying attention to the whole rest of the system. We're much less likely to create any kind of change. But if we can see the system as a whole and address it as a whole, you know, so address from a perspective of nutrients and food and sleep and gut health and also work on helping the psycho emotional part of the nervous system together, we're way more likely to be efficient at shifting the person's experience in their body.

Definitely. As a matter of fact, unfortunately, if we don't do those kinds of things, it becomes somewhat. It doesn't work. And so.

Tiny changes make gigantic differences. So start small with doing some of this. And 1% improvement in a habit over a year can create 37% improvement in that habit. So if you add just a little tiny bit of improvement every day to a habit, whether it's, you know, doing this process, in a year, you'll have a 37% improvement.

That's it. I love that we can even put it on a percentage. And how can people get in touch with you if they'd like to learn more from you or work with you?

I mean, they can go onto my website.

Okay.

And write me a request on the bottom. There's a form there.

It's Hann, it's your name dot com.

Or Ann a N N as in Patrice Molin. S M O l l o n.com annpsmolen.com there's no E's in my name.

Okay, very good. That's a good way to think about it, because it is tempting to put an E in there somewhere.

Definitely.

Okay. So if they go to the website, they can find you and get in touch with you.

Work with people in person or virtually or how do you.

I'm doing video conferencing on Zoom.

Thank you so much, Ann, for being here and sharing. It's really been helpful, and I think people will really appreciate it. So, yeah, I love it.

Thank you so much for having me. Dr. Donnie.

Thanks for listening to how humans heal. If you liked this episode, leave a rating and a review and for more resources, visit drdonnie.