In this blog I want to talk about how pets can help control pain. I know this works. I have seen the evidence in my own psychology pain clinics in Bedford, Milton Keynes and video link. But now I can show you some hard science to prove it. Pets can reduce reliance on pain…
I write a lot here about how we can cope with chronic pain by using non-drug methods using various psychological approaches and hypnotherapy. This time I am going to take a bit of a different angle. I am going to look at how our mental states can make pain worse and in some cases even…
If you suffer from chronic pain, then it is easy to drift into never seeing your friends. You may feel you just cannot face going out or that you are too much trouble at social occasions. Or perhaps it is just too hard to get dressed up and get out. I am not going to…
his is a question which clients who come to my chronic pain management clinic in Milton Keynes and Bedford, or even via video call often ask me. It usually springs from desperation, from a wish to get back to a previous life, or from a feeling that life has changed irrevocably for the worse. I…
Whether you have throbbing pains, sharp pains, burning pains, or indeed any other description of pain, it’s frustrating because your chronic pain keeps you awake and its exhausting. I find that many of my patients avoid going to bed or leave it later and later to go to bed because they think that they won’t…
There have been two very important developments in pain management in the past few years. One has been our growing understanding of how our minds play a crucial role in our perception of our own pain. The other is the new technology which has mushroomed everywhere. There are now websites and phone apps which can…
Pack up your pain and prepare to party! This month I am going to offer some no-nonsense, easy-to-follow advice. This is because Christmas is coming! I hope you are looking forward to it, but you might also be worrying a bit. There is nothing worse than feeling you are spoiling everything because you are in…
Part 3: Life after cancer This is in the final blog in the short series on coping the psychological aspects of cancer. If you missed the previous two, you can find them here: www.apaininthemind.co.uk/the-psychological-impact-of-cancer-and-some-tips-how-to-manage-it-part-1/ www.apaininthemind.co.uk/the-psychological-impact-of-cancer-and-some-tips-to-manage-it-part-2/ Hearing the words “you have finishing treatment” or “come back for a follow up in x months” are a cause…
Living with chronic /persistent pain can be difficult as often it requires us to change. There is an expression used to describe the reality of living with chronic / persistent pain, it is the ‘new normal’. Life may change, it may be more limited in many ways, but it is still life and a…
Most of us feel better in the summer, warmth often seems to ease chronic pain and the sunshine lightens us all up, doesn’t it? A better mood makes it easier to cope with chronic pain in many circumstances, so get out and enjoy it. You will enjoy the sun even more if you watch out…