Loberg Kristin - Your Survival Instinct Is Killing You: Retrain Your Brain to Conquer Fear, Make Better Decisions, and Thrive in the 21st Century

Praise for Your Survival Instinct Is Killing You

Not only is Your Survival Instinct Is Killing You endlessly fascinating and readable, but it has applicability to every human being, young or old. This book actually fills you with hope while giving you the tools you need to create the changes you wantand is filled with insights and useful examples about what makes us tick.

Betsy Brown Braun, child development and behavior specialist, author of the bestselling book Just Tell Me What to Say and Youre Not the Boss of Me

Most of us make the mistake of thinking that life is all about happinessnot realizing that so much of what we see, feel, and do is colored not by the desire to be happy, but by the very real and hardwired need to be safe. Until we understand this basic fact about ourselvesand, thanks to Dr. Schoen, what we can do about itwe cant begin to truly thrive.

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D., author of Succeed and coauthor of Focus

This is an incredibly informative, exciting, and useful book for lay readers concerned about their own health as well as health-care professionals treating patients wishing to learn a new approach. Dr. Schoen explains how we can develop a new relationship with discomfort, which is at the heart of ill health and compromised performance. This book is written in a style that is as if you were having a conversation with Dr. Schoen. He brilliantly explains much of the current scientific research in ways that a non-scientist can understand.

Larry Drell, M.D., medical director, Anxiety and Depression Therapy Services, Washington, DC

Dr. Schoen does a great job of using real patient stories to show how our mind and body are inseparable. Through his insights, readers will better understand how our reactions to lifes challenges can trigger some of our most challenging health problems. They will also gain some valuable tools for combating their complex medical issues.

Steven Tan, M.D., UCLA clinical professor of medicine

In a world with more creature comforts, we see more impatience, discomfort, anxiety, and depression. In a world that provides us tools for connection, the paradox is that we are technologically hyper-connected yet disconnected from ourselves. What is the effect of being on alert constantlyhandling a barrage of e-mails, texts, and a never ending to-do list? In Your Survival Instinct Is Killing You, Dr. Marc Schoen reveals the effects of living in a constant state of fight or flight and details the toll that this lifestyle is taking on our health. Fortunately, Dr. Schoen also provides brilliant insights and practical tools on how to counteract the effects of these twenty-first-century stressors. This is a must-read for anyone who is overwhelmed with the demands of modern life and needs a way out before its too latein effect, this is a must-read for everyone!

Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald, D.A.O.M., L.Ac., C.C.N., doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine; medical director, Santa Monica Wellness Center; author, The Detox Solution; health editor, The Huffington Post

Your
Survival Instinct
Is Killing You

Retrain Your Brain to Conquer Fear,
Make Better Decisions,
and Thrive in the 21st Century

Marc Schoen, Ph.D.

with Kristin Loberg

HUDSON STREET PRESS

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014, USA

USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

For more information about the Penguin Group visit penguin.com

First published by Hudson Street Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2013

Copyright Marc Schoen, 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

REGISTERED TRADEMARKMARCA REGISTRADA

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Schoen, Marc.

Your survival instinct is killing you : retrain your brain to conquer fear, make better decisions, and thrive in the 21st century / Marc Schoen with Kristin Loberg.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN: 978-1-101-60983-5

1. Instinct. 2. Mind and body. 3. Decision making. 4. Intuition. I. Loberg, Kristin. II. Title.

BF685.S28 2013

155.9dc23 2012037843

Designed by Daniel Lagin

PUBLISHERS NOTE

While the authors have made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the authors assume any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

This book is dedicated to my mother and father
for their love and for always believing in me.

This book is also dedicated to all of my patients
through the years who have allowed me to serve them,
and learn and grow along with them.

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

Charles Darwin

Part 1

The Nature of Discomfort

The 21st-Century Survivalist

The New Paradigm for Transforming
Discomfort into Power

H ave you ever stopped to marvel at how clever your body really is?

In just the past second, trillions of cellular transactions took place within youbut you didnt have to direct even one percent of them. And at the same time, each of those cells was given the proper nourishment to replenish its activity. You didnt need to consciously do one thing. Yes, the mind and body are unbelievably capable of sustaining our lives and the status quo. But what happens when the status quo is no longer supporting our health and our behavior in a productive way?