Today I want to talk about how I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which is the process of changing self-defeating thinking and behaviors, so my perception of pain can improve. CBT helps me identify, challenge, and change unwanted and unproductive thoughts and feelings, as well as modify and gain control over unwanted behavior. Check out my video below for more information.

In my new book Freedom from Suffering: A Journey of Hope I devoted an entire section on how people can learn to wake up from their chronic pain trance and obtain more effective chronic pain management and have true freedom from their suffering. To purchase my new Freedom from Suffering book please please click here.

You can learn about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or someone you love is living with chronic pain and seems to be suffering; please consider my book Freedom from Suffering: A Journey of Hope. This book was written for people living with chronic pain who are ready to learn and then put into practice seven strategic steps that will help them better manage their chronic pain condition, improve their quality of life, end suffering, and achieve their cherished goals. To purchase my Freedom from Suffering book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please click here and input your name and email address. You will then receive an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.

In order for me to live life to the fullest, I must work to maintain an attitude of gratitude. As I age I am grateful for all the experiences I have had and all the knowledge I have acquired. I’m grateful for all the people who give meaning to my life: my wife Ellen, my mother, friends, colleagues and especially my recovering brothers and sisters. Instead of feeling depressed about all the things I can’t do, I choose to be grateful for all that I can do and everything that is possible; including freedom from suffering.

Aging can also impact our attitude and how we live life as well as our chronic pain management. As we age we may not physically be able to do the things we used to, even if we are not living with chronic pain. But those of us with a chronic pain management condition have more challenges to overcome. My Karate Sensei (Teacher), Master Richard Kim, once told us a story about living with adversity that I would like to share with you.

If you are training and break your toe, be grateful it wasn’t your foot. If you break your foot, be grateful it wasn’t your leg. And if you break your leg, be grateful it didn’t kill you. And if you die, be grateful you don’t have to finish this class. The lesson for me was; whenever you hit an obstacle or a difficult time, say “Thank you adversity for yet another test.”

As I think of Sensei Kim’s suggestion to “thank adversity for yet another test” I realize I have an opportunity to accept my chronic pain condition as one more circumstance to be grateful for and to develop a good plan for managing it successfully. Please see my video for more.

In my new book Freedom from Suffering: A Journey of Hope I share more on how people can learn to develop an attitude of gratitude for more effective chronic pain management and obtain true freedom from their suffering. To purchase my new Freedom from Suffering book please please click here.

You can learn about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or someone you love is living with chronic pain and seems to be suffering; please consider my book Freedom from Suffering: A Journey of Hope. This book was written for people living with chronic pain who are ready to learn and then put into practice seven strategic steps that will help them better manage their chronic pain condition, improve their quality of life, end suffering, and achieve their cherished goals. To purchase my Freedom from Suffering book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please click here and input your name and email address. You will then receive an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.

In 2006 I found research from Health & Productivity Management – Vol. 2, No. 2, 2005, that estimated the cost of chronic pain management to be well over $120 Billion per year. Today as I was researching for this month’s News/Research Posts I found a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that stated that the cost of chronic pain management in America today is over $635 Billion per year in direct medical costs and lost productivity.

I found this information to be very validating as I have also seen the pattern of increase over the past five or six years. I also believe a significant percentage of this cost is due to under-treatment or in many cases late-treatment of a chronic pain condition. Another factor for these high costs is the failure to identify and/or treat coexisting psychological or other medical disorders that I believe to be the number one cause of poor chronic pain management outcomes. Check out my video below.

You can learn about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or someone you love is living with chronic pain and seems to be suffering; please consider my book Freedom from Suffering: A Journey of Hope. This book was written for people living with chronic pain who are ready to learn and then put into practice seven strategic steps that will help them better manage their chronic pain condition, improve their quality of life, end suffering, and achieve their cherished goals. To purchase my Freedom from Suffering book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please click here and input your name and email address. You will then receive an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.