Overcoming Negativity in Healing

by Tim Brunson, PhD

Albert Einstein once said that you can never solve a problem while being in the same state in which you created it. While he most likely was not talking about helping therapy clients or the treatment of medical patients, he very well could have been. When people seek professional help for resolving a mental or physical condition they often seem to be mired in excessive negativity. Somehow they expect respite despite their obsession with associating fully into the condition that they are hoping to escape. Unfortunately, what they are doing is further reinforcing their problems. Breaking this pattern is the major role of the healer.

Recently I saw a very interesting lady. She was morbidly obese and had breathing problems as well as a host of stress-related issues and a plethora of medical concerns. Although she was several years younger than me, she appeared to be my senior by at least a decade. She was officially drawing disability payments. On top of that she had a life-long severe smoking addiction – which was the presenting problem that prompted the appointment.

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