The SatoriWest Method - 5 Basic Points POINT ONE - You are not alone We all face hardship and challenges in life. We are all in this journey together. Often childhoods are difficult; there are no perfect parents; adolescence and teenage years are tumultuous; adulthood comes with stress and pressures; mid-life comes with anxiety over loss of looks, abilities and talents; everyone faces loss of loved ones, places and times and we all face our own eventual death. Physical or mental illness affects everyone; compulsive use of substances, sex, love, food, TV, video games, affects many people. All of us endure these things. However, when severe mental illness or chemical addiction strike, life can become unbearable. POINT TWO - Tunnel Vision: The Deeper reason for suffering The reasons cited above are not the actual cause of why people suffering through life. There are people who experience hardship and crises, but are still buoyant and optimistic. The reason has to do with the structure of the human brain. All animal brains are wired to survive. We pay rapt attention to whatever causes our emotions to surge—whether grasping (e.g. food or sex) or fleeing (discomfort and shame). Human intelligence, imagination and sense of self amps this up a lot. We grasp for ideals (e.g. the perfect relationship, the best family, flawless skin, the greatest success and approval, the ideal job and life) and to run from imagined worst outcomes (e.g. any embarrassment, any disapproval, imagined catastrophes, our own inevitable death). Over time, Tunnel Vision sets in: surging feelings, restricted attention and awareness and irrational thinking (e.g. all-or-nothing, jumping to conclusions, “should,” etc.) Tunnel Vision can get so constricted that we go into CRISIS! POINT THREE - Perspective: The Antidote to Suffering and Cause of Happiness The opposite of Tunnel Vision is Perspective. Perspective is a deep sense of aliveness—of sensing the magnitude of our existence. It comes from widening of awareness, such that we see the same things in a new way or we attend to new things we hadn’t noticed before. It comes with vibrancy and vitality, mature perspectives, wise decisions, spontaneity and creativity. POINT FOUR - Our Journey from Tunnel Vision to Perspective  Mindfulness—which we call BrainShifting©, a widened and detached awareness that is enhanced with wellness practices is our care approach. To that end, we have programming that helps patients with wellness and awareness, e.g. a LifePlan© to coordinate their efforts, workshops on wellness topics (e.g. budgeting, nutrition), groups that emphasize The SatoriWest Method© principles, services that enhance wellness (e.g. mindfulness groups, Yoga, acupuncture). POINT FIVE - A Shortcut to Great Perspective: Crisis and Suffering There is an ancient saying: “Those who suffer the most in life, can have the most profound experience of what it means to be alive.” Crises can take people down and keep them there. Yet, it is well-known that there are people who live through crises and say that it shook up their lives in ways that improved their lives for the better—much better than they would have felt otherwise. This is what we believe: Tunnel Vision, for the vast majority of people, is invisible. Yet, sometimes Tunnel Vision gets so extreme that we go into crisis—where thinking gets so irrational we might attempt suicide, homicide or engage in unspeakable cruelty. If there is no lower to go, this “bottoming out” can cause the brain to release us from our Tunnel Vision. Otherwise, we believe the secret is to see your Tunnel Vision when in crisis, see your brain when it is besieged with psychiatric symptoms. That way you can be released from even “normal” Tunnel Vision into greater perspective, happiness, wisdom, maturity and peace. Distress Survey Answer the following with either a T if the statement is mostly true for you, or an F if it is mostly false: ___I worry that my chances for a dream life are fleeting. ___I think about my life ending without having fully lived. ___I feel anxious about getting older, e.g. fearful of losing my looks. ___I am struggling with an illness or loss in my life. ___Inside, I feel insecure. ___I keep a social front, e.g. act happier or more relaxed than I feel. ___I am often self-conscious and unable to be fully relaxed. ___I feel stifled and don’t know how to be real, authentic or spontaneous. ___My life is too stressful. ___I need people to notice when I do something good to feel it counted. ___I crave status and importance. ___I feel lonely when I’m by myself. ___My family or I feel lonely. ___When I don’t look good, it can drag me down. ___I really need to be seen as competent, smart or cool to feel good. ___I am easily irritated or moved to anger. ___I feel stale, lacking in creativity. ___I crave pleasure or fun. ___I have trouble giving up what feels good even when there are negative consequences. ___I find it hard to do nothing- I am easily bored. ___I feel empty, like life has no real meaning or purpose. ___I often regret not doing more things or having more. ___I was insecure or not happy as a child. ___I wish I had a more idyllic childhood. ___________________________________________________________ Remember this is not specifically a depression-anxiety questionnaire; it’s a Life Distress questionnaire. It is likely that most people who are being honest with themselves will answer ‘mostly true’ for most of the questions. It is part of the “human condition” that affects all people |