Bowen Theory Archives

I feel your pain. Literally.

May 30, 2022Uncategorized

"I feel your pain" is rooted in biology Seeing an individual in emotional pain can activate our own emotional pain circuits. This provides an interesting link to what Dr. Bowen proposed as the togetherness force. We experience this when we recognize

Change Your Paradigm and Move Beyond Blame

May 17, 2022Uncategorized

Blame is about cause and effect When one is in pain or discomfort, it's useful to understand what caused it. That's how we can stop the cause and get back to normal. The body has lots of processes that identify a "cause" and puts it into action to ge

Emotional Pain and Suffering are Different

May 15, 2022Define self

Emotional pain does “hurt”. There is a difference between pain and suffering, and sometimes individuals create more suffering than the initial pain warrants. Emotion pain literally hurts because it can fire the same brain areas that are activated

Can defining self overcome languishing?

April 15, 2022Anxiety, Define self

Can defining self help with languishing? What is languishing and how could defining self help overcome it? A 2021 New York Times article discussed the concept of languishing and suggested that it could be the dominant emotion of 2021. If Bowen Theory

Can systems thinking impact society?

March 27, 2022Define self

How does systems thinking impact society? In Donella Meadows’ book “Thinking in Systems,” there is a list of things one can do to affect a system. It counts downwards from less impactful, possibly harmful actions, to the most impactful actions.

What is chronic anxiety

March 20, 2022Anxiety, Define self

Chronic Anxiety: something for everyone. Chronic anxiety is the outcome of the emotional programming that occurs for everyone, mostly from their family of origin. Learning how to be and what to pay attention to early in life programs our type and lev

What does anxiety want?

March 7, 2022Anxiety, Define self

Anxiety is a self wanting to be defined is a phrase attributed to Dr. Bowen. It actually makes sense if you understand Bowen Theory.

Our emotional inflammatory system

February 14, 2022Uncategorized

Do we have an emotional inflammatory system? Did evolution create emotional inflammation systems by leveraging our physical inflammation system? Evolution designed our inflammatory system to help the body defend our physical self and not lose this �

Using the present to resolve the past

February 7, 2022Define self

Our past experiences may have influenced our “orbit” but that doesn’t mean we can’t change things in the present. Working to change in the present is the high road to resolving the past.

Function better in your systems in 2022!

December 21, 2021Uncategorized

How do you want to function in 2022 from a systems perspective? How do you want to function in your family, workplace, and planet?

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Category: Bowen Theory