Kristi King, wtop.com
UNDATED – Can’t stop your pain? Think about something else.
The answer to dealing with chronic pain may be changing how you think about it.
New research with brain scans reveals what’s going on when different meditation techniques work to ease pain.
It boils down to the brain being distracted. Areas of the brain associated with pain don’t get as fired up as other areas when someone in pain is meditating.
Try it. It might work. Imagine floating in a cloud. Tell yourself, yes it hurts, but it won’t stop me. Focus intently on 12 other things that don’t hurt.
Research at Stanford University’s Neuroscience and Pain Lab shows one of the most successful pain reducers is focusing on the picture of a loved one, according to The Wall Street Journal. Forty four percent of test subjects touched with a heated probe experienced less pain during that love therapy.
Chronic pain that lasts long after an injury has healed, or is around longer than three months may be a brain malfunction, according to the Stanford researchers.
They tell The Wall Street Journal that chronic pain may involve the pain area of the brain misfiring to include other brain areas, such as those that deal with paying attention, perception of danger and emotion.
About one third of Americans — 116 million adults — struggle with chronic pain.
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