CHAPTER 31 : Is America having a True North moment? I have not wanted to get frankly political in this book, but watching the events in our country since the 2025 inauguration of our current president, I am worried that we have lost our way. Is the USA having a True North moment? We have learned that losing touch with our true north, our best selves, leads to stress, disease and possible early death. We also learned that, in order to stay on track with one’s True North, we need a good handle...

Three Things With the onslaught of bad news this holiday season - the murders at Brown University and MIT, the horrible ant-semitic massacre at Bondi Beach, and then the murder of the beloved Rob Reiner, possibly by his own son, one is reminded that horrifying things in life do not take a break for the holidays. The other day I saw a patient, whom, when I asked about the holidays, teared up stating that it was her son’s 11th birthday, His grandfather was just admitted to ICU with a terminal...

Complaining All of us know someone who complains frequently, maybe it’s you! It turns out that although you may think expressing your opinion, positive or negative, is liberating, complaining may actually be damaging your brain. Neuroscience research has demonstrated that complaining for more than 60 seconds can lead to actual structural and functional brain changes, particularly  in the region known as the hippocampus, which controls memory and emotional regulation. It turns out, just as in...