Got Old Pains? Talk yourself past it 🤠

Hey man,

Warning: This email goes beyond the surface.

But if you've got old wounds that won't heal...

Keep reading.

The Emotional Scar Tissue We All Carry 😔

That rejection in high school...

The business that failed...

The relationship that exploded...

These memories live in your body like shrapnel.

Most men try to tough it out. 😣

Bottle it up.

"Real men don't process emotions."

"or cry..."

Bullshit.

Here's the truth... 😇

Unprocessed pain doesn't disappear.

It lingers. Gets worse. And spreads.

Just like a bad virus. But for your mind. 🦠

The Third-Person Healing Protocol 🏥

Psychology researchers at Berkeley and The University of Michigan... discovered something revolutionary [1]...

When you revisit painful memories in third person...

Your brain processes them differently.

Less trauma activation.

More healing potential. ❤️

It's like the difference between being IN a car crash...

And watching the dashcam footage instead.

Same event.

Completely different nervous system response.

Your Emotional Release Journal Prompt ✍️

Tonight, try this:

1. Pick one painful memory
   
   

2. Write about it in third person
   
   

3. Start with: "[Your name] went through something difficult when..."
   
   

4. Include: "Looking back, [your name] can see that..."
   
   

5. End with: "[Your name] learned... and is stronger because..." 💪

Real Transformation Story 🦋⬅️🐛

"David" (45, divorced, Ex U.S. Military) shared:

"Ex-wife's affair destroyed me. Couldn't date for 3 years. Anger eating me alive.

Did the third-person journaling thing.

He Wrote:

'David discovered his wife's betrayal.

David felt destroyed. 💔

But David survived.

David learned to trust his gut.

David is free now.'

Cried like a baby writing it.

But something shifted.

Started dating again last month. 💋

Feel like I finally closed that chapter."

Why This Works for Emotional Wounds ❤️‍🩹

First-person memories activate your amygdala...

Remember that thing? It's your emotional warning system.

Fight-or-flight kicks in...

You RE-LIVE the trauma. (Think PTSD... something triggers YOU).

Third-person memories activate your prefrontal cortex... (The smarter /more evolved YOU)...

Executive function engages...

You PROCESS the trauma.

One keeps you stuck. ⛈️

One sets you free. 🌞

The Science of Emotional Distance 🧪👨‍⚕️

A peer reviewed study in Frontiers in Psychology...

along with the University of Michigan's Emotion And Self Control Lab...

spearheaded by Dr. Ethan Kross found:

• Third-person emotional processing reduces short-term PTSD symptoms [2][6][7] 😎
  
  

• Decreases rumination [3]
  
  

• Improves emotional regulation [3]
  

Translation: Use [your own name] or "You" instead of "I" to... Win more in life.

This isn't therapy-speak.

This is neuroscience.

The Hidden Benefit Nobody Mentions 🤫

When you heal old wounds through self-distancing...

You don't just feel better.

You rewire your entire nervous system.

Future stressors hit different.

You become "anti-fragile."

What used to break you now makes you stronger. [4] 🦁

BONUS Hack: Use self-distancing + an Alter Ego to heal faster and persevere more. [5] 🦸‍♂️

(We'll cover Alter Egos in a future series).

Common Resistance Points 🏋️‍♂️

"This feels weird"

• Good. Growth is supposed to feel weird.

"Real men don't journal"

• Real men do whatever it takes to heal.

"I don't want to revisit pain"

• You're not revisiting. You're reframing. Reprocessing.

Big difference.

Your Healing Homework ❤️‍🩹

Pick ONE memory that still stings.

Write 200 words about it in third person.

Watch how the emotional charge changes.

This isn't about dwelling on the past...

It's about freeing your future Best Self.

To your emotional freedom,

Mens Health Secrets
–Live Past 100

P.S. Tomorrow's email gives you the complete lifetime roadmap... for making self-distancing your secret weapon... including the morning ritual that locks it in forever...

P.P.S. Always check with your local doctor before starting any new health protocol. This info is for education and entertainment use only.

P.P.P.S New Skool.com community coming online soon. Come break "virtual bread" and level-up… with other like-minded men age 40 and up. This is your tribe. Join now. Perks of joining now? It’s Free for LIFE. Price activates Q2 2026.

Medical References:

[1] Kross, E., & Ayduk, O. (2017). Self-distancing: Theory, research, and current directions. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 55, 81-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2016.10.002

[2] Wisco, B. E., Marx, B. P., Sloan, D. M., Gorman, K. R., Kulish, A. L., & Pineles, S. L. (2015). Self-distancing from trauma memories reduces physiological but not subjective emotional reactivity among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychological Science, 3(6), 956-963. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702614560745

[3] Moser JS, Dougherty A, Mattson WI, Katz B, Moran TP, Guevarra D, Shablack H, Ayduk O, Jonides J, Berman MG, Kross E. Third-person self-talk facilitates emotion regulation without engaging cognitive control: Converging evidence from ERP and fMRI. Sci Rep. 2017 Jul 3;7(1):4519. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04047-3. PMID: 28674404; PMCID: PMC5495792.

[4] Goggins, D. (2018). Can't hurt me: Master your mind and defy the odds. Lioncrest Publishing. (ISBN-13: 978-1544512280). https://davidgoggins.com/book/

[5] White, R. E., Prager, E. O., Schaefer, C., Kross, E., Duckworth, A. L., & Carlson, S. M. (2017). The "Batman Effect": Improving perseverance in young children. Child Development, 88(5), 1563-1571. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12695

[6] Wallace-Hadrill SM, Kamboj SK. The Impact of Perspective Change As a Cognitive Reappraisal Strategy on Affect: A Systematic Review. Front Psychol. 2016 Nov 4;7:1715. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01715. PMID: 27867366; PMCID: PMC5095639.

[7] Luo P, Jiang Y, Dang X, Huang Y, Chen X, Zheng X. Effects of different forms of verbal processing on the formation of intrusions. J Trauma Stress. 2013 Apr;26(2):288-94. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21800. Epub 2013 Mar 22. PMID: 23526670.