6 ways to use your mind to control pain
Meditation with guided imagery, which often involves imagining yourself in a restful environment, may reduce your need for pain medication. Relaxation, meditation, positive thinking, and other mind-body techniques can help reduce your need for pain medication. Drugs are very good at getting rid of pain, but they often have unpleasant, and even serious, side effects when used for a long time. If you have backache, fibromyalgia, arthritis, or other chronic pain that interferes with your daily life, you may be looking for a way to relieve discomfort that doesn't involve drugs. Some age-old techniques—including meditation and yoga—as well as newer variations may help reduce your need for pain medication. Research suggests that because pain involves both the mind and the body, mind-body therapies may have the capacity to alleviate pain by changing the way you perceive it. How you feel pain is influenced by your genetic makeup, emotions, personality, and lifestyle. It's...