Daniel Davis, LMFT

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NFL Football

January 31, 2017 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

I remember watching NFL football as a young kid. I loved watching quarterback Len Dawson play with the Kansas City Chiefs. I loved playing football in the grass and the mud with my friends. When I was able to play on a team, all the better. In the seventh grade, I played flag football and started at the center position, hiking the ball to the quarterback. The next year I was cut from the eighth grade team.

When I started Cupertino High School in the ninth grade, I was determined to make the team. I often played as hard as I could. I started the freshman football team on defense at Defensive Tackle. In the second game against Mountain View High School, I had a quarterback sack. I was defensive captain for the next week’s game. I was honored as one of the best Defensive Tackles, first team All-League player at my position. I was injured in later years and never played football another year on a high school team. Yet my experience was priceless. I learned a great deal about hard work, focus, discipline, motivation, and teamwork.

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, USA, watching the Oakland Raiders win three World Championships and the San Francisco 49ers win five Super Bowls. I watched coaches like Bill Walsh and John Madden lead their teams with brilliance and class. I loved watching players like Ronnie Lott, because of his values. He would talk about how he loved his fellow players. I learned a great deal about life and success watching the NFL.

For many years, I have been learning about the brain and repetitive brain trauma. A very high percentage of players at the high school, college, and professional levels are effected. According to research cited by Dr. Daniel Amen, ninety-six percent of NFL players have brain damage and seventy-nine percent have CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Former NFL superstars such as Frank Gifford and Ken Stabler suffered from CTE. This condition of CTE causes memory loss, confusion as well as aggression, depression, suicidality, and later in life, dementia. Dr. Bennet Omalu deserves enormous respect and praise for his courageous research to understand CTE.

NFL players have been in the news for allegedly committing domestic violence and sexual assault. I have mixed feelings about football. It has taught me many great lessons. Yet, I can see that it is a violent and dangerous game in many ways. I feel fortunate to have played the game. I respect those men who play the game well, who live with integrity and honor.

Please watch this video by Manuel Costa about the life of an NFL Player:

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aggression, Bennet Omalu, Bill Walsh, brain damage, center position, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, college, confusion, CTE, Cupertino High School, cut, Daniel Amen, defense, defensive captain, Defensive Tackle, dementia, depression, discipline, domestic violence, eighth grade, first team All-League, flag football, focus, football, Frank Gifford, freshman football team, hard work, high school, hiking the ball, John Madden, Kansas City Chiefs, Ken Stabler, Len Dawson, memory loss, motivation, Mountain View High School, National Football League, NFL quarterback, ninth grade, Oakland Raiders, professional, repetitive brain trauma, Ronnie Lott, sack, San Francisco 49ers, seventh grade, sexual assault, suicidality, Super Bowls, Tackling Life Head on: Lessons for Kids' Lives With Ronnie Lott As Coach, teamwork, World Championships

Why is Primary Food so Important?

January 19, 2016 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

“Food is the most powerful drug you will ever take,” writes Barry Sears.

We are effected greatly by the food we eat. I think there are many variations in how each person’s body metabolizes food. Learning which foods specifically work well with your body is essential. Every cell in your body makes themselves new every 5 months, including your brain cells. When we eat a healthful food, our body is able to function better. What we eat makes a big difference in how we feel.

Our cells are not determined by their genes, because genes are only a blueprint. What directs the cellular development are the signals sent to our cells with what we drink, eat, think, and feel. The science of Epigenetics researches how our genes are influenced by our choices.

Anxiety, depression, impulsiveness, poor attention, and worry can be effected by food. Many people who are depressed overeat or eat too little. Skipping breakfast can lead to low energy in the morning. Eating a big meal can make one tired, ready for a nap.

Sugar can give one a temporary high with an increase in blood sugar, but then can lead to a drop in blood sugar. This crash in blood sugar can leave one feeling tired. Research indicates that foods high in sugar have the same effects as addictive drugs, like cocaine or heroin.

Inflammation is a physical condition that can lead to heart disease and complications from aging. Foods high in sugar, refined flour, processed foods, trans fats and saturated fats can lead to inflammation. “To treat depression, we must learn how to get rid of causes of inflammation and restore the normal immune balance through our food and nutrients, as well as our exercise, sleep, and stress management habits,” writes Dr. Hyman.

Do you know that you have a gut-brain with more neurotransmitters and serotonin than in the brain located in your head? “Over the years I have seen emotional, psychiatric, and behavioral symptoms triggered by problems in the gut,” writes Dr. Mark Hyman. Our gut-brain is the enteric nervous system (ENS). The bugs who live in your gut are more important in determining your health than your DNA fingerprint, writes Dr. David Relman. Foods low in fiber, high in sugar, processed, and lacking nutrients as well as a high calorie diet cause all the wrong bacteria to grow in our gut. Resolving these issues can have a profound effect on your mental and physical health.

Many of us suffer quietly with anxiety and depression. These mental health problems touch many of our family or friends. Dr. Mark Hyman writes, “Our broken brains cause many problems – anxiety, depression, bipolar disease, personality disorders, eating disorders, addictions, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, (autistic disorders) … learning difficulties, and dyslexia. Many psychiatrists and neurologists wouldn’t qualify these problems as treatable diseases.”

Daniel Amen writes that “a therapist told us this story at a recent lecture:

‘I’m glad you mentioned sugar. I used to be a very angry person; sometimes I would even scare my family. It made me feel terrible. I took anger management classes, but they didn’t even seem to help. When I eliminated sugar from my diet, I noticed an almost immediate reduction in outbursts, plus I had better energy, lost weight, and was much more focused.’”

There is hope. We can change a great deal with good information and our willingness to do what it takes to be healthy and whole. Please watch this video with Elizabeth Schindler and learn about Primary Food:

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Filed Under: Blog, Food Tagged With: addictions, addictive, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, autistic disorders, Barry Sears, bipolar disease, cell regeneration, cocaine, Daniel Amen, David Relman, depression, diet, diseases, drugs, dyslexia, eating disorders, Elizabeth Schindler, energy increase, ENS, enteric nervous system, Epigenetics, food and mental health, gut-brain, heroin, high calorie, high in sugar, impulsiveness, lacking nutrients, learning difficulties, low in fiber, Mark Hyman, neurologists, obsessive-compulsive disorder, outbursts, personality disorders, poor attention, Primary Food, processed foods, psychiatrists, sugar, treatable, weight loss, Worry

How Well Do You Treat Yourself? Are You Important?

August 11, 2015 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

Your body is the only thing that no one can ever take away from you. While you are alive, you physical body is the only thing you are guaranteed to keep. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, whom you have received from God?,” Paul writes in Corinthians in the New Testament.

My performance in school was average from age 8 to 15. I did not work very hard at school, rarely doing my homework and just showing up for class. In 1979, when I was 15 years old, I started cutting and failing my classes at Cupertino High School which is located about a mile from the new headquarters of Apple Computers in Cupertino, California, USA.

When I started attending West Valley College in Saratoga, California, in January of 1982, I was starting over. I had been expelled from two high schools for cutting. I did believe in my intelligence and ability, but I had not yet proved it to myself at school. I finally followed my mom’s advice (years before she had been a classroom teacher). I took a Study Skills class where I learned about note taking, reading the text book, preparing for exams, and taking tests. I learned that generally one needs to study three hours for every hour spent in the college classroom. I spend most of the hours that I was awake focused on school. When I started working, it was at a job where I could study. I often spent 12 to 14 hours most day focused on school. I was an honor’s student. I had excellent grades.

In 1985, I hit a wall emotionally. I feel horrible. My lack of sleep, poor diet, lack of exercise, loneliness, and worry took a toll on my brain and body. I crashed. I took a semester off and started seeing a counselor. I learned to get 8-10 hours of sleep a night, eat well, exercise, meditate, and talk to friends. I do not let myself feel so miserable, because I know what to do when I feel tired, nervous, or worried. I focus on taking care of myself.

Our sleep is the most important thing we do for psychological health. Before electric lights in 1907, the average person slept 9 hours a night. Now, the average person sleeps 6 hours and 24 minutes a night. Dr. Daniel Amen reminds us that if we fail to get six hours sleep a night, a SPECT scan of our brain reveals problems. Dr. James Maas writes that if you get plenty of sleep every night, you will probably feel more alert, have more energy, and be healthier generally. If we are tired, we have lower energy and gain weight. In every significant problem psychologically – such as depression, anxiety, addiction, obsessive thinking – poor sleep is involved.

It is not only our sleep, but our food that strongly contributes to our health. Dr. Barry Sears writes that “food is the most powerful drug that you will ever take.” Our food affects the functioning of our brain and body. Every cell in your body is made new every five months. This includes the cells of our brain. When we eat food balanced with fresh green carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats, we feel and think better. When we are depressed, it is helpful to eat a balanced breakfast that keeps our blood sugar even. In the morning, I often drink a smoothie with protein powder which gives me energy and clear thinking.

Exercise is also very important as well as sleep and eating. Dr. Agatston writes that adults and teenagers are less active than their parents and grandparents. It is widely accepted that our bodies benefit greatly from exercise. But our brains are affected by exercise the most. When we exercise, we change the wiring of our brains. This change to the functioning of our brain improves our learning, memory, concentration, and focus. Exercise is the best treatment to reduce depression or anxiety available, writes Dr. Mark Hyman. Check with your doctor and then get some aerobic exercise for 20 to 40 minutes frequently.

Taking time to talk with friends or family who are supportive and compassionate listeners is very helpful as well. Learning to relax your mind also helps reduce stress. Getting time to relax and play are part of a healthy balanced life. All these are parts of self-care. You deserve to feel good! Please watch this video and learn more about self-care.

Key Words:
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Blogs by Daniel Davis, self-care
Daniel Amen, sleep
Mark Hyman
James Maas
Paul, New Testament: Corinthians
Barry Sears
How Well Do You Treat Yourself? Are You Important?

Filed Under: Blog, Recovery Tagged With: Barry Sears, Daniel Amen, James Maas, Mark Hyman, New Testament: Corinthians, Paul, self-care, sleep

Are You Aware of One of the Most Important Breakthroughs in the History of Psychotherapy?

July 14, 2015 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

“Francine Shapiro’s discovery of EMDR is one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of psychotherapy. Having used it as part of my practice for the past 15 years, I, and many of my patients, still marvel at the depth and speed with which it can help heal and change the minds and brains, and even bodily symptoms of people who have been locked in, and suffering from trauma, often for decades,” writes author, Dr. Norman Doidge.

“I did what’s probably the largest NIH-funded study on EMDR. And we found that, of people with adult-onset traumas, a one-time trauma as an adult, that it had the best outcome of any treatment that has been published … even in the most biased studies, the EMDR keeps coming up as this very effective treatment,” says Bessel Van der Kolk in a public radio interview in 2013.

Following a hurricane in Mexico, Lucy Arrigas and Ignacio Janero developed the Butterfly Hug in Mexico in order to work with groups of children. Francine Shapiro writes: The Butterfly Hug “has since been used all over the world to help increase the positive feelings of a safe place.”

The Butterfly Hug is one of many techniques used to activate both the left and right sides of the brain. The activation of both the left and right hemispheres of the brain is called, Bilateral Brain Stimulation. In her book, “Getting Past Your Past,” Dr. Shapiro recommends crossing “your arms in front of you with your right hand on your left shoulder and your left hand on your right. Then, you tap your hands alternately on each shoulder slowly four to six times.”

Dr. John Omaha, creator of “Affect Centered Therapy,” says that he demonstrates the Butterfly Hug to clients without emphasizing any particular speed and pressure of the tapping. He said he figures that each client will find the best rate and strength of touch that works for them.

Francine Shapiro suggests another technique to activate both sides of the brain: “alternate tapping your thighs (with the tips of your right index finger, then left index finger) at the same slow speed for the same for length of time (as she suggests above for the Butterfly Hug).”

There are several other techniques to activate both sides of the brain that are part of “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing,” often referred to by the initials – EMDR. One way to active the brain is to follow fingers, objects, or images with your eyes. Another way to activate both sides of the brain is to use sound that alternatively moves from the left earphone to the right earphone. It is possible to have a recording on your iPhone to do Bilateral Brain Stimulation.

Francine Shapiro is a psychologist from Pacific Grove, which is near Monterey, California, USA. Back in 1987, Francine was walking on a long wide path on the west side of the Stanford University Campus. There are a lot of rattle snakes under the large eucalyptus trees in that part of the Stanford Campus. She scans the eucalyptus trees from right to left, thinking about a traumatic incident that occurred earlier in Francine’s life. She notices when she thinks about the traumatic incident, she feels calm. Dr. Francine Shapiro is obviously a keen observer of human behavior – both others as well as herself. She realizes that something very important had just happened to her. Later, Francine notices some thoughts that make her feel afraid. She tries an experiment as she deliberately moves her eyes to the right and to the left. It works again! The anxious feeling goes away as a result of moving her eyes from side to side. EMDR was created!

EMDR is also used all over the world to resolve symptoms like poor sleep, anger, anxiety, and flashbacks of painful events. It is also used as a treatment technique by the Veteran’s Administration to treat soldiers returning home who show trauma symptoms. EMDR is used to treat psychological problems from robberies, earthquakes, and car accidents as well.

Dr. Daniel Amen writes that “EMDR is one of the most effective treatments I have ever personally seen as a psychiatrist.” There is a great deal of research supporting the effectiveness of EMDR to improve symptoms from events that people experience as traumatic. The changes made by EMDR to the physical brain can be seen in a brain scan called, Single-photon Emission Computer Tomography or a SPECT scan.

This SPECT scan uses a special camera to create a 3-D pictures of the brain that show how an organ such as the brain works, unlike other imaging techniques like X-ray that show the structures of our body. Dr. Amen goes on to write: “We have studied EMDR with SPECT imaging before, during, and after treatment. EMDR is brain treatment. EMDR changes brain function.”

EMDR is a therapy used by trained professionals. Yet, there are EMDR self-help techniques available to help you feel better and think more clearly. These ways to activate both sides of the brain are available to everyone. The book by Francine Shapiro called “Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy,” has clear instructions for everyone who wishes to use these EMDR techniques.

A Whole Brain State is when both the right and left cerebral hemispheres of the brain begin to work together. This is called hemispheric synchronization. Bruce Lipton writes that “in our normal waking consciousness, we tend to operate predominantly from our left hemisphere, the side of the brain preoccupied with logic. In contrast, the right hemisphere is associated with processing emotions. When the left hemisphere is dominant, we tend to overrule our emotional drives with logic and reason.” Neuroscientist, Dr. Jeffery Fannin, asserts that whole-brain function is a “gateway to higher consciousness.”

Please watch my brief video and learn how to do the Butterfly Hug.

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Here is a description of the Butterfly Hug by Lucina Artigas and Ignacio Jarero:

“September, 2014.

The Butterfly Hug method was originated and developed by Lucina Artigas during her work with the survivors of Hurricane Pauline in Acapulco, Mexico, 1998 (Artigas, Jarero, Mauer, López Cano, & Alcalá, 2000; Boel, 1999; Jarero, Artigas, & Montero, 2008). The Butterfly Hug had become standard practice for clinicians in the field while working with survivors of man-made and natural catastrophes.

The “Butterfly Hug” (BH) is a self-administer Bilateral Stimulation (BLS) method (like the eye movement or tapping) to process traumatic material for an individual or for group work. Desensitization (self-soothing) is a reprocessing byproduct using the BH as BLS.

Instruction for the Butterfly Hug Method

Say, ‘Please watch me and do what I am doing. Cross your arms over your chest, so that the tip of the middle finger from each hand is placed below the clavicle or the collarbone and the other fingers and hands cover the area that is located under the connection between the collarbone and the shoulder and the collarbone and sternum or breastbone. Hands and fingers must be as vertical as possible so that the fingers point toward the neck and not toward the arms.
If you wish, you can interlock your thumbs to form the butterfly’s body and the extension of your other fingers outward will form the Butterfly’s wings.

Your eyes can be closed, or partially closed, looking toward the tip of your nose. Next, you alternate the movement of your hands, like the flapping wings of a butterfly. Let your hands move freely. You can breathe slowly and deeply (abdominal breathing), while you observe what is going through your mind and body such as thoughts, images, sounds, odors, feelings, and physical sensation without changing, pushing your thoughts away, or judging. You can pretend as though what you are observing is like clouds passing by.'”

Filed Under: Blog, Butterfly Hug Tagged With: Bilateral Stimulation, Butterfly Hug, Daniel Amen, EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Francine Shapiro, Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy, Hemispheric Synchronization, Instruction, Jeffery Fannin, John Omaha, Lucina Artigas, Norman Doidge, Single-photon Emission Computer Tomography, SPECT scan, Therapy, Whole Brain State

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About Daniel Davis, LMFT

I create an environment where clients experience their unique significance, authentic empowerment, and profound acceptance and collaborate with clients to identify solutions to their current crises. For more information on how I can help you, contact me today by calling 408-249-0014 or emailing info@danieldavislmft.com. I look forward to speaking with you! Read More…

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Daniel Davis, M.A., LMFT
Counselor in Santa Clara, CA
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