Pain Control

Mindfulness helps to change the perception of pain. Most want to forget about it, and push it to the back of their mind, however fighting it creates internal stress and is overall counterproductive. The Body Scan meditation is a great tool for pain control - it is a natural and effective method without the side effects associated with medication. Some patients who use mindfulness alongside their pain relief medication have reduced their doses of these drugs, even coming off them altogether.

Those who suffer from chronic illness or pain often have thoughts that are ruminating (all I can do is think about how much this hurts, it will probably get worse), or magnifying (this must mean something terrible is going on in my body) and often feel helpless (I’m never going to get better, nothing will ever help me). Mindfulness can help with all these components, as well as other associated conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, and insomnia.

The mind and body are connected so any pain relief programme must incorporate a mind-body approach.