Reducing Chronic Pain By Changing Your Mind-Set

About 1 in 5 adults experience chronic pain, and it can be difficult to find a proper solution. Many are left with no choice but to take painkillers such as Opioids. Taking painkillers can feel like an immediate fix, but the temporary fix can be addicting.

For those looking for lasting change, new evidence is showing the incredible impact of making deep mental change. Various approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness practices can help reduce pain over time.

In this study published in Evidence Based Mental Health, researchers compared the results of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based methods such as meditation and yoga. The study revealed no winner. In fact, both CBT and mindfulness practices, such as yoga and meditation, led to incredible results.

On the contrary to positive change work, a negative pain mindset can make the pain worse. In this article written by Beth Darnall, she explains this further. She points to brain-imaging research that shows how a negative pain mindset, or thinking deeply about the pain and expecting it to get worse, makes it worse.

Learn more from the full article on Scientific American.

Today, it takes years to learn the skills you need to make such deep changes in the brain. The latest research on virtual reality (VR) shows exciting evidence that it can help us achieve lasting change. By tapping into the brain’s innate neuroplasticity with VR, deep and positive change never seemed more attainable.