Pain College - Session 3

Session 3: Thinking About Pain

Overview

I. Review of Homework – Questions to Ask Yourself If You Are Worrying ----- Worry Bottle
II. The Pain Onion
III. How do Thoughts Influence Pain and Suffering?
IV. Using Thinking to Manage Pain and Suffering
V. Homework - The Positives
VI. Relaxation Technique – Visualization

Session 3: Thinking About Pain

I. Review of Homework – Questions to Ask Yourself If You Are Worrying ----- Worry Bottle

II. The Pain Onion:

Suffering

Pain Nociception

A. Nociception - Electrical signal that usually signals tissue damage.

B. Pain - Your interpretation of that signal (pain, discomfort, pressure). No brain, no pain. Combat soldiers: Anticipated that they would get to go home if they got injured; therefore, getting injured may have been reinforcing.

C. Suffering - What people do so that we can tell they are suffering.

D. Pain (Suffering) Behavior- What people do so that we can tell they are suffering.

E. You can have one without the other. For example:

1. Nociception without pain - Nerve block at dentist. Spinal block at birth. General anesthesia at surgery.
2. Pain without nociception – Phantom limb.
3. Pain without suffering – Laughing gas at dentist. Morphine. after surgery.

III. How do Thoughts Influence Pain and Suffering?

A. Recall

1. Think about a positive event? How do you feel?
2. Think about a negative event? How do you feel?
3. Past events influence how you feel today.

B. Attention

Think about your collar. The signal was there, signal did not change, and you just attended to it. However, if the shirt were smaller, collar to tight, you’d think about it all the time, it would be a signal that there was danger.

C. Labeling

IV. Using Thinking to Manage Pain and Suffering

A. Anticipate accurately based on what you know.
B. Focus on positive events, progress.
C. Use distraction whenever possible, imagery.
D. Label the pain correctly.

V. Homework – The Positives
VI. Relaxation Technique – Visualization

Creating Your Special Place

In creating your special place you will be making a retreat for relaxation and guidance. This place may be indoors or out.

·      Allow a private entry into your place.
·      Make it peaceful, comfortable, and safe.
·      Fill your place with sensuous detail.
·      Allow room for an inner guide or other person to comfortably be with you.

Death of a Painkiller?

2009-12-22 15:37:24

When an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a ban on acetaminophen-containing pain relievers in June 2009, the response was quick and angry. We were deluged with consumer calls, says FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley. Why the outcry? The panel had suggested that the FDA remove acetaminophen from all prescription drugs, including Percocet and Vicodin, two of the most popular painkillers in the world. The panel also advised lowering the amount of acetaminophen in over-the-counter medications like Tylenol from 500 milligrams to 325, which would cap the maximum daily dose at 2,600 milligrams. The reason: Every year, about 400 Americans die and 42,000 more visit the ER because of acetaminophen overdoses, which can lead to liver damage.

The Sound of Music Eases Pain

2009-12-22 14:55:35

Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland found that people who were listening to their favorite music felt less pain and could stand pain for a longer period.

Running Barefoot Eases Pain

2009-12-22 14:54:49

Scientists have found that those who run barefoot, or in minimal footwear, have a very different stride from their shoe-wearing peers. The sneaker-less tend to avoid "heel-striking," and instead land on the ball of the foot or the middle of the foot. By landing on the middle or front of the foot, barefoot runners have almost no impact collision, much less than most shod runners generate when they heel-strike.