By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “For some people with chronic pain, mindful meditation is an appealing pain management option because it has an unusual benefit; it is something that you personally control. Unlike pain medications or medical procedures, meditation is not done to you, it is something you can do for yourself.” – Stephanie Burke Pain can […]
Kick Opioid Dependence with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Ultimately, mindfulness drives at the root of compulsive behaviors by undermining the assumption that inner experience is intolerable and therefore requires immediate relief through substance use.” – Jennifer Talley Substance abuse and addiction is a terrible problem. It isn’t just illicit […]
Improve the Symptoms of Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Central sensitization, in short, is a hypersensitivity to stimuli from things that are not typically painful. . . Stress can heighten pain even more, so various forms of stress management may be recommended to patients. This may […]
Improve Pain, Sleep, and the Mental Health of Chronic Pain Patients with Internet Mindfulness Training By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “In the context of chronic pain . . . meditation can help you to stop your mind wandering back to your pain when you are trying to focus on something else, therefore […]
Reduce Pain and Relax the Autonomic Nervous System with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “When we impose a litany of negativity upon our pain, it only becomes worse, and potentially elicits other difficulties including depression and anxiety. When we become more aware of what we are actually experiencing, without the overlay of […]
Improve Pain, Sleep, and the Mental Health of Chronic Pain Patients with Internet Mindfulness Training By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “In the context of chronic pain . . . meditation can help you to stop your mind wandering back to your pain when you are trying to focus on something else, therefore […]
Change the Brain to Improve Chronic Pain with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “we should consider one’s level of mindfulness when calculating why and how one feels less or more pain.” – Fadel Zeidan We all have to deal with pain. It’s inevitable, but hopefully it’s mild and short lived. […]
Relieve Pain with Brief Mindfulness-Based Interventions By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “The mechanisms behind how mindfulness reduces pain . . . continue to include mindfulness meditation’s ability to provide pain relief by cultivating the ability to parse between the objective sensory dimension of pain, and the more subjective judgement that we attach […]
Improve Anxiety and Depression in Iranian Chronic Pain Patients with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “mindful meditation can help ease psychological stresses like anxiety, depression, and pain.” – Julie Corliss We all have to deal with pain. It’s inevitable, but hopefully it’s mild and short lived. For a wide swath […]
Change the Brain to Reduce Chronic Pain with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “While many experts recommend mindfulness-based practices to manage pain, the goal of those practices is typically not to remove pain entirely, but to change your relationship with it so that you are able to experience relief and healing […]