Power Over Suffering

By Carol O'Connor

Get Ahead of Pain, Resist Becoming its Victim and Overcome Existing Syndromes.

 

For far too long we have concentrated on the physical aspects of pain, depending largely on chemical medicine for relief. 

 

In this book we explore the mind-body connection and how we can use new research and strategies in the search for pain relief.  These techniques are being used in pain clinics in North America and across Europe.

 

Imagine harnessing them for yourself.

 

Carol O'Connor has been a health care professional since 2006 and has helped many people with their pain.  In many cases, the causes and solutions are simple.  But sometimes, deeper investigation and strategies are needed.

 

In POWER OVER SUFFERING, you'll discover:

• How emotional mastery leads to symptom relief
• The relationship between anger and inflammation
• How mindfulness can be utilized for powerful relief
• The surprising role of trauma in pain perception

Read about a pain researcher who freed himself from 13 years of chronic pain with a simple technique based on the brain's pain maps. This man is also an MD who has studied pain for his entire career using a biopsychosocial approach that combines body, mind and relationships to conquer pain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carol O'Connor
• Release date: Nov 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215870525

Book preview

Carol O’Connor

Power Over Suffering

Pain and the Mind-Body Connection

Copyright © 2022 by Carol O’Connor

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

Carol O’Connor asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Carol O’Connor has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

General Disclaimer: This book is not a diagnostic tool. However, it is a way for you to understand a little more about common injuries. Please refer to a physician, osteopath, chiropractor, physical (massage or physio) therapist, or psychological or spiritual counselor who is qualified to make a professional assessment and carry out an appropriate treatment for you.

There are many excellent references on the internet, but be careful that each exercise or stretch you do does not further exacerbate your condition. Consider the age and fitness of the one demonstrating, and compare it with your own. For mental and emotional well being, you can choose the type of treatment you would like to use, but find someone qualified to coach you with it.

Second edition

Editing by Doreen Martens

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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For my babies

without whom life would be very dull indeed.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgement

1. The Mind-Body Connection

Is it the Placebo Effect?

The Placebo Principles

Harnessing the Placebo

2. Pain - What it is and How it Works

Modern Theories on Pain

Breaking the Pain Cycle

Train for the Pain

The New Study of Neuroplasticity

Limiting Anxiety to Decrease Pain

Go Straight to Rehab

3. The Care and Feeding of the Body - Pathways to the Mind

Nutrition

Fat, Keto and the Joy of Eating

And…Breathe

The Good and Bad of Exercise

I Have Such Terrible Posture

4. The Care and Feeding of the Mind - Pathways to the Body

Misplaced Pain

Pain and Trauma

Brain, Mind and the Nervous System

5. Anger and Inflammation

Is Inflammation All Bad?

Inflammation and Depression

Inflammation and Anger

Calming the Tiger

6. Ghosts - Issues from the Past

Not Far From the Tree

Recent Trauma and its Aftermath

Gone to Pot?

7. Relationships - Issues in the Present

When You’ve Got Guts

Toxic Relationships

Non-Violent Communication

8. The Other Cheek - Forgiveness

Forgiveness and Mental Health

The Role of Regret

Memory and Shame

Self-Compassion

Embracing Pain

9. Integration

The Principle of Healing

The Power of Touch

Referral Patterns

Early Abuse and Toxic Relationships

Trauma and PTSD

Non-Exhaustive Exercise

The Elephant in the Room

Inflammation

Love and Gratitude

Meditation

Self-Care

10. Afterword

Reference List

About the Author

Preface

Pain. It can stop you in your tracks, or grind you down slowly.

If you fall and break your arm, you can be fairly confident where your pain comes from, how long it will last, and the general phases you’ll pass through to the place of no-pain again. You’ll expect a full recovery.

But for many people, mystery pains arise apparently out of nowhere. They may disappear again like a ghost, or linger stubbornly until you want to scream in frustration. Either way, this can generate anxiety and begin to make you feel like a victim, leaving you constantly wondering when the next migraine will strike you down, or whether that sciatica will reassert itself like a rotten smell, tainting your every waking—and sleeping—moment.

The bias of modern Western medicine can easily lead us to the idea that the body is a bag of chemical reactions draped over a frame of mechanical parts. Change the chemical solution by taking strong drugs, or swap out a knee or hip—and, voila! All should be well.

But what if we can’t get replacement parts, or the drugs just send you into oblivion, so you can’t function with or without them? Many people try to live a whole, clean and natural lifestyle, and they worry about the effect of drugs on overall health.

And why are some days better than others? What is a good day, and why can’t we hold on to it? Does the mind or happiness or positive thinking have anything to do with it?

The premise of this book is that the mind and body influence each other in both directions, with the potential to harm or heal. What troubles the mind will irritate the body. This is most easily seen in symptoms such as insomnia, broken sleep patterns and irritable bowel. When the body is ailing because of poor nutrition, lack of sleep, pain, low to no exercise or sitting eight hours a day, the brain is not being fed at optimal levels, either with oxygen or vital nutrients. The mind can take on a negative outlook if the brain isn’t up to par. Eventually the two ends meet and you’re in a spiral.

Many negative effects begin where the mind and body intersect, so it is often difficult to know where to even start looking for a solution. Heal the body to get at the mind—so-called bottom up healing or therapy? Or start with the mind and go top down, so the body falls into line?

We will be examining hidden sources of pain—the kind of creeping, chronic pain that has your doctor rolling his eyes at you because the test results are normal. Still, the pain won’t go away.

Some of the solutions won’t be revolutionary. I’m sure you will have heard many of them before. But I’d like to show what various approaches and therapies may do for you and how to choose a good teacher, therapist or program for yourself in your journey back to comfort and joy.

Rene Descartes gave us a world of modern trouble when he pressed his philosophy of mind-body dualism, insisting that the mind and body were really separate, and that the one could very well do without the other. Nearly 400 years later, we are still trying to stitch the two of them back together.

Acknowledgement

I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all of my colleagues who gave freely of their knowledge and wisdom to deepen my understanding of pain, and to expand my concept of how it works.

Whether or not I’ve