Dr. David Hanscom

04/11/2026

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵? 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲.

When you are upset, your thinking brain, called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, does not work well. You are reacting rather than thinking clearly, and doing battle with anger doesn’t work. You’ll lose. Since it is so powerful and addictive, what can you do? Simply decide not to engage and move on. We call it “flipping the switch” in a 5-3-2 sequence, referring to the number of words in each step. Here it is.

✅ 𝐍𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
✅ 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡
✅ 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧

Learning to process and develop a working relationship with anger is always the tipping point in healing. Moving on, connected to who you are, is how healing happens. I am aware of how silly this video is, and I don’t want to downplay the powerful, destructive nature of anger. However, step back and look at what upsets you. Most of it is not worth expending your time and energy on. “Simma Down Now.”

You can read a blog I made that relates to this: https://backincontrol.com/processing-anger-with-three-steps-5-3-2/?v=0b3b97fa6688

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iGcCssftc0

SNL-Simmer Down Now

04/11/2026

04/10/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁.

There's a cruel irony at the core of Type C coping: the "nicest" people—those who never complain, never cause conflict, and never burden others with their feelings—are often the ones who become the sickest. When you suppress emotions over time, your body perceives a constant threat with no relief or resolution. Your immune system reacts by triggering inflammation, your metabolism raises energy levels for defense, and your nervous system heightens sensitivity to stay alert to danger—and none of these responses ever turn off because the threat (your unresolved emotions) never goes away. With prolonged threats, you start to experience symptoms like back pain, tension headaches, anxiety, poor appetite, nausea, sexual dysfunction, burning sensations, skin rashes, dizziness, ringing in your ears, and insomnia. But when threats persist through emotional suppression, serious illness or disease can develop. It’s well-known that stress can be deadly, and the symptoms of chronic illness only increase the threat, creating a vicious cycle.

Research on children who experienced bullying found significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker linked to chronic disease and heart issues) compared to those who were not bullied. The body records emotional trauma physically even when the conscious mind doesn't acknowledge it. If you come from a tough background or try to meet unrealistic expectations, physical symptoms and illnesses can start earlier. People who work hard to stay healthy but still suffer from chronic pain often feel frustrated because their best efforts can't fix the problem—because the main cause (emotional suppression leading to sustained threat physiology) remains unaddressed. Sadly, this frustration still causes chronically elevated stress chemicals, which manifest as multiple physical symptoms, including a weakened immune system. The harsh truth is that your "niceness," your emotional control, your ability to avoid causing problems—these aren't strengths. They're survival strategies from childhood that are now harming your body, one suppressed emotion at a time.

04/09/2026

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 “𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲” 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻.

𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝗮𝘀. 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗶𝘁. 𝗛𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟯𝟬%. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼, 𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

The article explains that disc degeneration is a natural, expected part of aging, much like wrinkles or gray hair. Numerous imaging studies show that a large percentage of people with no back pain at all have significant disc degeneration, bulging discs, or other “abnormal” findings on MRI. These changes often become mistakenly labeled as the cause of pain, leading patients to believe their spine is damaged or deteriorating, which can increase fear and anxiety. This fear response can actually amplify pain by keeping the nervous system in a heightened state of threat.

Rather than focusing on structural changes, the article emphasizes that chronic back pain is more strongly linked to how the brain processes threat and stress. When people understand that their spine is generally strong and not “falling apart,” it reduces fear and allows the body to shift toward a state of safety, where healing can occur. The key message is that pain is real, but it is not necessarily caused by physical damage—reframing the problem opens the door to effective recovery by calming the nervous system and re-engaging in normal movement.

04/08/2026

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀!

I am writing a blog this weekend on the effects of racket sports on longevity and cognitive functions. The sports that have been extensively researched are table tennis, tennis, racketball, and badminton. Overall they add about seven to nine years to your life with a significant improvement in cognitive function. Tennis seems to have the most impact but they are all in the same range of benefit. I assume pickleball is in the mix but is a newer sport that I did not see a study on. Most of the studies are in adults but this one done on young children caught my attention. We know that many parents and children are stressed. Why not play together?

Here is one quote on the cognitive aspect:

It is concluded that longer tennis experience was associated with better performance in working memory and cognitive flexibility in children between the ages of 8 and 12. Furthermore, tennis experience is positively associated with executive functions. The results of the present study may be of great practical importance for parents and educational settings to design physical activity programs that target the improvement of cognitive function for children.1

Mental rigidity is a trait that is common in almost all mental health diagnoses. Notice they specifically comment on improving cognitive flexibility.

Most of the data is in adults but this one caught my attention. The factors that are felt to be of benefit are social interaction, need for rapid responses, and exercise. Other sports and any types of exercise are also helpful, and it is interesting that racket sports keep showing up towards the top of the list.

References:
1. Xu Y, Zhang W, Zhang H, Wang L, Luo Y and Ni G (2022) Association between tennis training experience and executive function in children aged 8–12. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 16:924809. Doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.924809

2. Giommi F, et al. The (in)flexible self: Psychopathology, mindfulness, and neuroscience. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology (2023); 23:100381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100381

You can click this link to see the Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9f6RGkTpd1/

And here's a blog I wrote that relates to it:
https://backincontrol.com/if-you-want-to-be-smarter-and-live-longer-do-this/?v=da984e42a589

04/07/2026

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙭 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚

We all work hard to be “successful”, and we often achieve our goals. There may be an unpleasant surprise of increased anxiety. Now what and why? The anxiety can be intense because you have already done what you thought would calm you down and allow you to live your life in peace. But you have lost the distraction of busyness, and there don't seem to be many options. We then find ways to self-sabotage. Or you can learn tools to learn how to tolerate “quiet”.

Watch our full conversation here, and our other videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI0_XGxkRls

04/06/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 "𝗜'𝗺 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲" 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲?

"I'm fine" might be the most dangerous sentence in the English language when it becomes your default response to genuine suffering. Type C coping emerges from early conditioning—often from childhood messages like "children should be seen and not heard," "spare the rod and spoil the child," or simply having parents who weren't emotionally available when you were upset. You quickly learned that suppressing your feelings was preferable to dealing with them. Many of us were taught from an early age that "it's better to look good than feel good." The root problem causing your emotional reactions was never addressed. You didn't feel heard, so you adapted by disconnecting from your emotions entirely. What you didn't realize is that suppressing thoughts and emotions is like turning up the heat on a pressure cooker—the pressure doesn't disappear just because you can't feel it building.

Your body retains the memory even when you can't feel it. Every "I'm fine" when you're actually not fine registers in your nervous system. The inflammatory markers increase, stress chemicals flood your system, your immune function becomes impaired, and your DNA expression shifts to produce "warrior" white blood cells that heighten pain and damage tissue. Mental pain triggers the same physiological reactions as physical pain—both are processed in similar brain areas. Since you can't escape your thoughts and you've learned not to feel them, you're stuck in a constant threat response that operates below your conscious awareness. Your body is crying out while you keep up a calm exterior, insisting you're "fine" even as chronic illness, autoimmune issues, and unexplained physical symptoms begin to show. The lie of "I'm fine" isn't just polite social cover—it's a survival instinct that's now slowly killing you, invisibly, from the inside out.

04/05/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲

Grief can feel overwhelming, isolating, and endless. But it is also a reflection of love and connection. When you begin to understand what’s happening in your body and nervous system, even the deepest pain can start to soften.

Read the full article here: https://backincontrol.com/love-lost-grief-and-despair-found/