Our emotional state impacts our chronic pain experience. Thus, feeling safe or threatened can increase, decrease, or completely eliminate the sensation of chronic pain. Essentially, how much something hurts is often dependent on our circumstances and whether we feel secure or in danger. To understan...

Today’s U.S. presidential election is a top stressor for Americans. An American Psychiatric Association survey conducted last month found that nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are anxious about the election results. With increased stress often comes increased pain, generally experienced as flare...

Certain personality traits increase your chance of suffering from chronic pain. Interestingly, some of these same personality traits also raise your risk of developing cancer. Hmm . . . as a person who has had both, knowing this information gives me pause and reason to pay attention. It also gives m...

This is a question many of us ask ourselves and may struggle to answer. Put more simply, we might say, should I go out and [fill in the blank with your planned exercise/sport] today, or should I stay home and take it easy? Our response depends on the origin of the pain. Below is my answer, told thro...

While I was recently talking with a client, she remarked, “I don’t know how to relax. And when I try, I worry that I am doing it wrong. After a few minutes (of sitting still and breathing) I get antsy and start doing something. It is uncomfortable to be still.”

Not surprisingly, my client, who I’ll...

As you probably know, it is always important to manage stress. Many preventable diseases can be linked back to an elevated and prolonged stress response in the body. During a health crisis, however, it is of utmost importance for us to maintain calm and access the healing energy of the parasympathet...

Please enjoy an excerpt from my book, Winning the Injury Game, available on Amazon.

Injuries raise your stress level. Looking back at the previous tips (for your healing journey), each of these could be a source of stress. Your stress may escalate because you have overloaded your mind or body with ...