Quick Ways to Cope with Pain

Bruce N. Eimer, PhD

Alternative Behavior Associates

ain is an unfortunate fact of life for many people. Medications, balms and salves can help, but don't discount the power of your own mind to relieve pain and ease suffering. Clinical psychologist Bruce Eimer, PhD, offers these techniques to cope with pain quickly, wherever you happen to be.

Redirect your thoughts. Steer them to maximize short- and long-term pleasure... minimize short- and long-term pain. "I will go to the gym and work out for half an hour. I won't be ruled by pain."

Instruct yourself to think and behave in a functional way. "I will take a walk to increase the circulation of blood in my legs, bring oxygen to my tissues and lift my mood."

Decatastrophize. Reframe your pain as less terrible than it feels. "I've been here before. I'm in charge. I can handle it."

Distort your perception of pain. Use your imagination to transform your experience of how pain feels. Shift your attention to sensations, thoughts or feelings that are easier to cope with. Let these new thoughts generate sensations that oppose the pain.

Example: When pain strikes, imagine that one of your hands is immersed in ice water. Concentrate on telling your hand to become totally numb. Then place your hand on the part of your body that hurts most. Imagine the numbness flowing into the part of your body that needs pain relief. If you can't reach that place, such as your back, put your hand on your stomach and let the cold flow through your body to your back.

Distract yourself. Refuse to pay attention to the pain. Ignore it like an annoying car alarm. Shift your attention elsewhere. Tell yourself, "I will concentrate on the sensation of rubbing my fingers together... focus attention on my breathing... squeeze my tension into a fist, then relax my hand and let the tension fly out."

Study the pain sensations as if they were separate from you. Tell yourself, "No pain lasts forever." The pain may still be there, but the suffering will be less.

Bottom Line/Retirement interviewed Bruce N. Eimer, PhD, a licensed, board-certified clinical psychologist in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, and president, Alternative Behavior Associates, www.hypnosisgroup.com. He is author of Hypnotize Yourself Out of Pain Now! A Powerful, User-Friendly Program for Anyone Searching for Immediate Pain Relief (Crown House). In the past 20 years, he has treated thousands of people with chronic pain.