Hair Alternative Medicine

Mindfulness and Pain: Just Say Ouch


What's the best way to manage pain?

Just say ouch.

That's a simplified description of the role of mindfulness in reducing the experience of pain. The secret isn't in focusing on the painful sensation itself. No, the power is in recognizing our tendency to say way more than ouch.

Here's the basic math: Suffering = Pain + Resistance. Can mindfulness reduce the sensation of pain? Not exactly, but it can markedly reduce the total suffering we experience by illuminating--and even eliminating--our resistance.

Pain is a warning. It informs and motivates us. If you're resting your hand on a hot stovetop, it's important to feel that pain in order to remove your hand quickly and avoid burns. We need the sensation of pain to protect our bodies from further injury.

Pain also teaches us new ways to move. If you are consistently hurting your back on the weekend, your pain is letting you know that 1) you need to rest and 2) you need to learn a healthier way to work or play.

Chronic pain is more difficult. It is hard to find any redeeming value in long-term pain. We've learned our lessons already, but it persists, and there's not much that can be done about it.

Mindfulness is extremely valuable in alleviating the experience of all kinds of pain but it is especially effective for those likely to hurt on a daily basis.

We feel pain. We say ouch--mentally or verbally. Then what happens? We get wrapped up in ways to resist the pain. We start a mental dialogue about how we're going to deal with it (medication, ice, heat, rest, acupuncture, massage, magnetic therapy, etc.). Then, we get caught in thoughts and emotions:

? Disappointment ("Now I can't go hiking.")

? Worry ("I hope it's nothing serious.")

? Fear ("What if it gets worse?")

? Anger ("Why is it hurting now? I already had surgery!")

? Depression ("What if I have to stop playing tennis?")

? Excitement ("I'm going into labor!")

Our resistance stirs up a lot more tension, resulting in a much more pronounced experience of the pain. Worrying about pain really does make it worse.

This is where mindfulness comes in. By paying attention to the thoughts and emotions that accompany pain, you can learn to separate these from the sensation. Once you've done that, you can actually eliminate the tension and see the pain for what it is--and no more.

By seeing the internal dialogue that comes with pain, you can learn to handle it skillfully and reduce your suffering.

The next time you feel pain, take a moment to focus on it. Watch your thoughts and emotions as they come up. Breathe. And go back to ouch.

Simple pain never felt so good.

Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse in Portland, Oregon. Through her company, Real-World Mindfulness Training, she teaches eyes-wide-open ways to get calm, clear and creative. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, visit http://www.MassageYourMind.com


MORE RESOURCES:

New York Times (blog)

CBO: $940 Billion Health Overhaul Saves More Than Previous Bills
Atlantic Online (blog)
We can go back and forth on whether the cost cutting measures in HCR will be more like the Medicare reforms that stuck through the 1990s or the Alternative ...
If bill fails, Pelosi has strategic alternativeSan Francisco Chronicle
Alternative is unacceptableHeraldNet
Kucinich's health-care vote could be Obama's lucky charmWashington Post
Economist -Minneapolis Star Tribune -Los Angeles Times
all 9,055 news articles »


Health Net of Arizona Named #1 HMO Six Years in a Row
MarketWatch (press release)
... wide spectrum of health care plans and specialty services, including coverage for vision, dental, life insurance, chiropractic and alternative medicine. ...

and more »


Stop the bleeding in California
Los Angeles Times
Like her fellow congressional Republicans, Bono Mack supports an alternative GOP proposal, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says would ...

and more »


BigNews.biz (press release)

Direct-buy Health Insurance: Another Health Insurance Alternative
eMaxHealth
The battle for supremacy in the heated health insurance debate seems to be halting progress. Lawmakers are perpetually clashing proposing bigger, ...
LETTERS: Fix health care by letting companies sell coverage across state bordersGwinnettdailypost.com

all 18 news articles »


Health Care and Alternative Health in France
Futurehealth
The conference was about what we call CAM, or Complementary and Alternative Medicine, in the United States, and particularly about the basis for some CAM ...



The Battle Over Health Care At America's Medical Schools
FOXNews
... for liberal health care policies. Patient-centered organizations such as Physicians for Reform are never invited to present an alternative viewpoint. ...

and more »


New York Times (blog)

Democrats look to combine health care, student loan reform
Central Michigan Life
Alternative loans are not very forgiving, Fleming said, and do not allow as much consolidation or alternative payments. “We discourage students from taking ...
Lobbyists Are in High Gear as Final Outline of Student-Loan Bill Takes ShapeChronicle of Higher Education (subscription)
Direct loans and health-care reform: two great tastes that go great togetherWashington Post (blog)
Opinion: Two Government Takeovers in OneAOL News
Big Government (blog) -Collections & Credit Risk (blog)
all 55 news articles »


PCUCollege.ca will help bring ancient health practices into 21st Century
7thSpace Interactive (press release)
PCU College of Holistic Medicine specializes in teaching Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and alternative health care treatments in Greater Vancouver and ...

and more »


Ban on "Pay for Delay" Patent Settlements Cut from Health Care Bill
The BLT: Blog of Legal Times
In such cases, the brand name maker pays the generic company to delay the market entry of a lower-cost generic drug alternative. The FTC estimated that such ...

and more »


Integrated health services crossing the divide
Vancouver Sun
Putting alternative health services under one roof has proven a benefit for an industry that often faces skepticism on the part of patients and doctors, ...

and more »

Google News

home | Iridology | "Mind Machines" | "Alternative Health" site map | Iridology Site Map | "Alternative Botox"
© 2000 - 2010