Using your mind to control your pain: Think positive!

"Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable." Voltaire

A recent edition of "The Journal of Pain" reports that Positive activities, such as increasing supportive emotions, can reduce body discomfort in adults with mild to moderate chronic pain. A multi-center study led by the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare system randomized subjects to complete two, four, or six positive activities over the course of six weeks. Examples of the recommended positive activities included identifying three good things that went well each day and dwelling on them, focusing intensely on positive experiences two to three times a day, and practicing how to respond positively to good news shared by others. At the end of the six week period, those who were assigned four positive activities or more reported reductions in bodily pain that lasted six months or more following program completion.

There is an important lesson here for all of us, especially those who suffer from chronic pain. It's not all that difficult or expensive to create your own positivity program. This might mean keeping a journal and writing regularly about the good things that happen every day. Perhaps it's about sharing the joy when good things are happening in the life of family and friends. Maybe it's just about counting the blessings, not the tears!

Sources: wikimedia,newswise,brainyquote

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