BRIDGING FOR LIFE®

The following article appeared originally in the September 2005 issue of Women’s Health Wisdom, Dr. Christiane Northrup’s monthly e-newsletter. Reprinted with permission from the author. © 2005 Christiane Northrup, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Dear friend,
 
I first met Dr. Stanley Block in Portland, Maine when he was the Medical Director and Chief of Psychiatry at Jackson Brooke Institute, a mental health facility. We worked together in the 1980’s on several successful conferences on the mind-body connection in women’s health. Since then, Dr. Block and his wife, Carolyn, have written a new book called Come to Your Senses: Demystifying the Mind-Body Connection (Beyond Words Publishing, 2005), which describes how and why our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves orchestrate the biochemistry of our mind-body connection. His bridging technique allows anyone and everyone—almost instantly—to tap into the wisdom of the body and experience a more restful, stress-free life. He has successfully used “bridging” to treat everything from depression to alcoholism. Because of the profound simplicity and wisdom of Dr. Block’s bridging technique, I’ve asked him to share an overview with you that will allow you to apply his insights right now.
 
Bridging For Wellness
By Stanley H. Block, M.D. with Carolyn Bryant Block
 
All over the country, women and men are living healthier, happier, and more productive lives, using an elegantly simple technique called bridging. In minutes, bridging takes them from tension, anger, and worry to a harmonious, balanced mind-body state. You can go there, too. It may sound too good to be true, but bridging works because of one immutable fact: as a human being, you are always connected to your wellspring of beauty, strength, and wisdom. You can’t be separated from this source of goodness and healing any more than a ray of light can be separated from its source.
 
Why then, don’t you feel this beauty, strength, and wisdom 24/7? It’s because you, and everyone else, has a built-in system, called the Identity System (all the ideas we have about ourselves and what we should be doing or thinking–CN) that uproots you from experiencing this goodness by creating a cluttered mind and a body full of tension. The Identity System works by contracting your awareness of who you really are (your true self) to a self-limited version of who you think you are (your damaged self). When overactive, you become detached from natural functions such as hearing, seeing, thinking, remembering, and relating to others.
 
Your Identity System plays tapes over and over again on “Channel Me,” which reinforce the false existence of a damaged self. (“Channel Me” is Dr. Block’s name for the repetitive thoughts that we all tend to beat ourselves up with—or egg ourselves on with!–CN.) Helped along by two nemeses, the “Depressor” and the “Fixer,” the Identity System can turn a natural thought into one that generates stress, anxiety, and even fear. Take the natural thought: “I want to be a good mother.” When the Depressor is active, Channel Me might sound something like this: “My daughter is constantly fighting with her brother. Their bickering drives me crazy. Why don’t I have more patience? If I was a better parent, my children wouldn’t fight all the time.” Then the Fixer tries to repair the distress with “I need to be more patient. I should not overreact. I must try harder.” As you can see, both the Depressor and the Fixer reinforce the idea that something is inherently wrong with you. Something that, I assure you, is not true.
 
Fortunately, there is a way to rest your Identity System and immediately transform your life. It’s called bridging—connecting yourself, mind and body, to the sights, sounds, and sensations around you. It is simple, as Sally’s story shows.
 
Sally drives over two hours a day to and from her three children’s schools, lessons, and practices, as well as trips for shopping and other errands. Over the past six months, she became tense and irritable, especially while driving. Because of headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances, she saw her physician, who attributed her symptoms to stress and gave Sally a prescription. Unwilling to medicate herself for a problem she instinctively felt could be resolved more holistically, she refused the drugs.
 
Instead, a friend gave Sally our book Come to Your Senses: Demystifying the Mind-Body Connection. She read the book, followed its amazingly straightforward guidance, and found a new way to live, naturally. Within two weeks, her symptoms disappeared. How did Sally do it? In short, she simply learned to bridge. For example, when she gets trapped in traffic, she consciously engages her senses, focusing on how the steering wheel feels beneath her fingers, listening to the sound of the tires on the pavement, and experiencing the vibrations of the engine. As she pays attention to her driving, her self-induced tension and anxiety naturally melt away.
 
Sally has discovered that it is not traffic, the children’s behavior, or being late that causes her mind-body distress. It is her Identity System’s tapes, recordings her brain is dwelling on, that reinforce a sense that she is somehow damaged—in this case, she should be better able to cope with the world around her. Hers sound something like this: “How come I’m stuck in traffic? Why didn’t I go another way? This always happens to me; it’s too much.” These tapes were affecting her health and making her miserable.
 
Before she learned to bridge, Sally believed these tapes were natural, and just who she was. Now when a thought such as “It’s going to be a terrible day” pops into her head, Sally uses a tool called “thought labeling” and simply tells herself, ‘“I’m having the thought ‘It’s going to be a terrible day!’” She doesn’t have to replay stress-inducing thoughts such as “How come I’m stuck in traffic, Jack is having problems at school, why didn’t I go another way, this always happens to me, it’s too much…” To her delight, labeling her thoughts lets her relax. She enjoys driving, and at the end of her trip is ready for the rest of her day.
 
Susan came to a bridging workshop six months ago depressed, with little energy, and feeling that the demands of everyday life were too much. What had been easy to do a year ago was now painfully difficult. She spent a lot of time ruminating about past events. She had given up exercising, was gaining weight, and had difficulty sleeping. After picking up bridging tools at the workshop, her life changed, literally overnight. At bedtime, instead of mulling over the past or the day’s problems she now simply tunes into the clock ticking, fan sounds, and traffic noises. Lo and behold, she falls asleep rapidly.
 
She says, “I haven’t slept so well in ten years.” Whenever she awakens during the night, instead of playing her Channel Me tapes, she instead tunes into background sounds and gently rubs the blanket, experiencing the sensation on her fingers. She says, “It’s just like my son did when he was a baby.” As a child is soothed by the sensory comfort of a blanket, Susan is calmed and strengthened when she likewise tunes into her senses. This is the essence of bridging.
 
Susan continues to bridge upon awakening in the morning. She feels her eyelids open, experiences gravity’s pull on her body as she sits up, and then focuses her awareness on everything she touches. When she looks into the mirror and thinks, “Bad hair day,” she reminds herself, “It’s just a thought; what else is new?” She recognizes that in the past, thoughts such as these would activate her Identity System and generate what we call a “Depressor” tape: “I’m unattractive. How am I going to get through the day? Mother said I always look terrible in the morning.” Or, no less harmful, she would assume she was broken and play a “Fixer” tape: “I need more sleep. I need more exercise. I need a new hairdo.” She now knows that these tapes damage her by literally embodying her tension, making her physically ill and mentally depleted. (There’s a paradox here. It is human nature to want to improve ourselves and evolve to the next level in our lives. All too often, however, when our “Fixer” is in the driver’s seat, we fail to appreciate the beauty and perfection of the present moment. Instead we move blindly into fixing ourselves. On the other hand, self-improvement from a place of self-acceptance and appreciation can be empowering and stress-reducing.–CN)
 
Now, when Susan feels tense at work, she tunes into the computer hum or air conditioner noises and immediately feels refreshed. She is bridging from her damaged self to her true self. Bridging takes no time out of her busy life. In fact, she says she has more leisure time than before! She is more creative at work and her relationships have improved. With bridging, in a matter of weeks, Susan’s depression lifted. Her actions and reactions have totally changed. Six months after beginning bridging, she e-mailed me to say that her life was so much better because it is no longer ruled by her Depressor and Fixer.
 
To personally experience the power of bridging, try this exercise. Mull over an issue, a problem, a past event, or a person that is making you miserable. Really get into it, and experience the misery in every cell of your body. Now, try to hold onto that misery while you listen to any background sounds such as traffic, a refrigerator’s hum, or a fan’s whirr. See what happens. If you are tuned into the sound, you’ll notice that the misery melts away in seconds; bridging is taking you from a damaged self to your true self. You don’t have to stretch to get there because your wellspring of healing, strength, and wisdom is always with you. You just have to tap into it.
 
Bridging is simply coming to your senses—recognizing and resting your Identity System. When you do, your natural functioning flows. Thought labeling and mind-body mapping (described in our book) are techniques to recognize your Identity System. Since the Identity System can only function in darkness, your light of awareness is all it takes to rest it. Bridging works for everyone, but it does take practice and a “can-do” attitude. Start now and transform your life.

The mind/body connection is a powerful force, fully capable of altering your brain patterns and DNA. With care and intention, you can create the life you always wanted by respecting this awesome truth.

Warmly,

Christiane Northrup, M.D.

Christiane Northrup, MD, obstetrician/gynecologist, is internationally known for her visionary, empowering approach to women’s health and wellness. As a practicing physician for over 25 years, Dr. Northrup is a leading proponent of medicine and healing that acknowledges the unity of the mind and body, as well as the powerful role of the human spirit in creating health.