Sunday, April 12, 2009

mindfulness meditation and migraine management

I'd like to share some resources that have been immensely helpful in managing daily migraines. Firstly a set of mindfulness meditation tapes by Jon Kabat-Zinn, an MIT medical professor who has applied Buddhist meditation practices to the treatment of chronic pain. He co-authored a book'The Mindful Way through Depression' which has also been valuable.

A different approach, ACT therapy, is based on mindfulness meditation and is outlined in a book by Dr Russ Harris, 'The Happiness Trap. Stop Struggling, Start Living'. I hope they help you.

5 comments:

  1. Have you tried visualisation exercises?
    I found these very helpful, not just to deal with my back pain but also to relieve stress and calm my mind. Check this link for more
    http://www.howtocopewithpain.org/resources/relaxation-visualization-exercise.html

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  2. have a slipped disc, and thats a chronic condition. I have shooting and unbearable pain from my lower back down my legs that is also termed as scatica. I have been in bouts of pain since the last 8 years. Each time I have consulted orthopedics, I have been advised physio therapy and regular exercise to keep pain at bay. While, i try to keep at it, it gets tough with a 3 year old and being a home maker. More than anything else, its traumatic, and wish there was a miracle treatment for this.

    Also over the years, the pain becomes a kind of intruder in your daily life and robs you of little pleasures. I wish i was pain free. Its ironical that I also have migraine, but have controlled it with pranayam - yogic breathing. I think migraine can be conrolled with the practice of yoga and meditation. Pranayam, like I mentioned above, was of immense help.

    Windows of pain is a nice initiative for people in pain. Not many of us have forums to talk about pain and also be understood at the same time. Will watch this space.

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  3. Health.com (http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20188145,00.html) has some interesting ideas for keeping a pain diary. While it can be tedious to keep a diary it can help you to isolate and identify the causes of pain. You can then experiment to see whether doing things differently makes any difference.

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  4. A recent survey on arthritis in Ireland revealed how psychologically damaging chronic pain can be. Reduced social activities as a result of chronic pain was a key finding.

    Based on the results of the survey Arthritis Ireland launched a free support booklet, Coping with Emotions,which offers advice on dealing with the emotions that accompany arthritis and chronic pain. http://www.arthritisireland.ie/

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