Pain and Anxiety: Rinse It Out
In spin class, I have frequently heard instructors say “rinse it out” after a particularly intense bout of cycling. I have always supposed that they are…
What Are The Barriers To Sex?
Paul Karoly, Aaron Taylor, and I conducted a study of over 2,000 people with different forms of chronic pain from across the United States and found that 63%reported that pain interfered…
Improve Your Sleep
Sleep plays a crucial role in the daily experience of people with chronic pain. Of course, research (and probably your own experience) has demonstrated that pain can…
Notice the Positive
It is not uncommon for chronic pain to be linked to depression. For example, 35% of the participants in one study who reported chronic pain were also…
Rebuilding Intimacy
One of my first research studies involved examining the significance of the three most important people in one’s life to psychological well being and distress. I asked…
Anger, Pain & Relationships
Living with chronic pain can be very frustrating. Not surprisingly, people with chronic pain tend to report greater levels of anger than those without pain. Expressions of anger differ,…
Talking to Your Boss About Your Pain
If you are like many people with chronic pain, you maintain a full- or part-time job, despite your pain. Working with chronic pain can be challenging….
Helping Family Cope with Your Pain
Your family lives with your pain too. Although they can’t feel what you feel, they suffer from knowing that you suffer. They may feel helpless and…
Making a Fresh Start
The start of the new year is often a time to reflect on where you have been and where you are headed. You may even have made a…
Living with Pain
These information structures are called schemas. For example, a toddler learns that a furry, four-legged animal is a dog. Upon seeing a cat, the child…