Automatic Thoughts and Pain

by Dee Emmerson, TCC Writer Kevin hurts all the time since his accident. After learning how thoughts become automatic, he’s noticing that his pain gets worse with certain ways of thinking. Because this surprises and baffles him, he’s trying to pay attention to the...

Letting Others Down: Living with Lupus

  I’m overly conscientious. Some might think this is a good trait, particularly when they happen to be on the receiving end of my hyper-conscientiousness. I will always arrive on time (or early and sit in my car and wait until the appointed time), deliver...

The Low Back Pain Treatments Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About

If you’ve been feeling like your doctor visits aren’t doing much to help your low back pain, there’s now some research to back you up. The health journal, The Lancet, recently published a series of articles looking at how we treat back pain, and the gist of their...

Aromatherapy and Its Use in Chronic Pain

by Blaire Morriss, ANP-BC, RN If you’ve ever smelled lavender and felt calmed, or had the perfume of a freshly peeled orange brighten a moment, you’ve directly experienced the powerful effects of scent. Aromatherapy, the therapeutic use of essential oils, has...

Encouragement for Pain Sufferers

…Where seldom is heard a discouraging word by Dee Emmerson, TCC Writer The old ballad, “Home, Home on the Range” paints a picture of buffalo, deer and antelope roaming under never-cloudy skies—an idealistic view that omitted any mention of human interaction. The...

Calming the “Pain Brain”

Many people with pain are so overwhelmed that they can’t function well— physically, emotionally and/or cognitively. A major contributing factor to this “meltdown” is a hyperaroused nervous system, which manifests as feelings of anxiety and stress. If it were possible...