[www.keralites.net] How to Overcome Physical Pain With Your Mind!

 

How to Overcome Physical Pain With Your Mind   Three Methods:Relaxing the Body Changing Your Focus Getting Creative  source; WIKI HOW Chronic or severe pain can interfere with our ability to work, function in our relationships, and sleep properly. Although we feel pain in our bodies, the mind-body connection is very strong, and research shows that you can use the power of your mind to decrease your pain. If pain medications and other treatments are unable to bring you relief from migraines, rheumatoid arthritis, or another challenging condition, consider trying mind-based techniques to gain some measure of control over your pain and reduce unpleasant sensations. Method 1 of 3: Relaxing the Body 1.      1 Lay down in a quiet room. Turn off any distractions and reduce any exterior factors that may over-stimulate you. You may choose to close your eyes or focus them on a specific point.[1] 2.      2 Breathe deeply. This is the most important step to mentally coping with physical pain. If the pain is severe, you are likely breathing rapidly and shallowly. Take slow breaths from your belly (this is called diaphragmatic breathing), rather than from your chest.[2] o    Try to focus on nothing but inhalation and exhalation. If you can realize that you are in control of your body and take charge of your own breathing, you may be better able to prevent the pain from controlling you. o    Deep-breathing is part of the Lamaze technique which is used to aid women during childbirth.[3] 3.      3 Let your muscles relax. Once you are breathing deeply, muscle relaxation may come naturally. If not, focus on allowing your entire body go limp and the muscles of your face to slacken. No matter how much it hurts, resist the urge to flail about or clench your fists. Try to let go of all feeling in your body and remain focused only on breathing. 4.      4 Practice mindfulness meditation. This practice focuses on breathing[4] and keeps you in the here and now, helping you to achieve a stable and calm mind. o    Begin simply, with brief sessions of 10 or 15 minutes so that the practice does not seem too overwhelming or burdensome.[5] Sit in a comfortable position on the floor (or in a chair if your pain limits your ability to sit on the floor); pay attention to your deep, measured breathing; and focus on an object or on mentally repeating a soothing or uplifting phrase (this is called a mantra).[6] o    It may take a bit of practice to get the hang of meditation, but it is a powerful way to decrease the intensity of chronic pain.[7] o    Recent studies suggest that meditation may be able to actually change the brain and, thus, how the brain processes pain.[8] Method 2 of 3: Changing Your Focus 1.      1 Divert your attention to another area of the body. Instead of thinking about your aching head or burning hands, focus on another part of the body that is not in pain.[9] 2.      2 Seek out positive distractions. Pain has a way of absorbing all of our attention, but we can fight back by focusing on things we enjoy, such as watching a movie, playing a game, or spending time with a friend.[10] o    Research suggests that listening to music is especially successful in helping people with chronic pain. It decreases pain and feelings of depression while increasing the listener's sense of power.[11] 3.      3 Imagine your favorite food. Indulging in fantasies about food has been shown to alleviate pain—trying imagining a decadent dessert or your favorite Sunday dinner.[12]Whi le this is a short-term solution, it's worth a shot if you're looking for a quick jolt of relief. Method 3 of 3: Getting Creative 1.      1 Use a mental anesthetic. Imagine giving yourself a shot of novocaine into the site of your pain and creating a numbing sensation. Alternately, picture placing ice packs on the area that hurts and bringing cool, soothing, numbing relief to the pain that way.[13] o    To see this thought experiment through to the end, picture the end result of the anesthetic, including what the painful area would feel like after the injection and what the experience of relaxation would be like as the medicine starts to work.[14] 2.      2 Try visualization. Visualization, also called guided imagery, involves coming up with a detailed ideal situation and the emotions that accompany it.[15] In the case of severe or chronic pain, this most likely means imagining a situation in which you are pain-free, at ease, and feeling well and unstressed. o    First, go to a quiet area and get into a comfortable, relaxed position; next, picture someplace you love, whether a favored spot from childhood, the place you like to vacation, etc. Tune into all five senses—sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. Stay in the moment, paying attention to all the little details around you.[16] If you immerse yourself fully enough in this "scene," you may be able to guide yourself away from your pain. o    Visualization can be done in as little as a few minutes, or you may use the process for an hour. Details are key to giving yourself a full, realistic sense of what it would feel like, both physically and emotionally, to be free of pain.[17] 3.      3 Turn your pain into a symbol. If you imagine your pain as a loud noise or a bright light, you can turn down the volume/brightness and thus reduce the amount of pain that you feel.[18][19] o    The trick here is to imagine that you are gradually reducing the irritating quality of the symbol (for example, the grating sound of a car horn); as you reduce that irritation, so, too, will you reduce the irritation caused by your pain. Picture turning off a physical knob and thus "turning off" the symbol and with it the pain.[20] 4.      4 Engage in positive thinking. Chronic pain can cause very unpleasant and negative thoughts that actually increase pain.[21] Try casting situations in a less dire light or thinking about positive imagery (the beach, a place with family and friends)[22] in order to decrease pain. o    You will have good days and bad days, but if you accept that pain is something you can work around and live with—not something you must fight against every moment—living with it may become easier.[23] o    Expectations have a strong impact on the severity of the pain you feel, so telling yourself that it won't be so bad may actually help that to come true.[24]

 

 

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