5 Ways to Positive Thinking

“The mind is everything. What you think, you become.”

When it comes to managing pain, Buddha’s well-known words written many centuries ago still ring true: How you think about your pain can change how you feel it, for better or worse.

So what can we do to change our tune? To get started, here are some basic tips…

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Introduction

Slide 1

Neuroscientific studies have shown that our brains physically change when we experience positive or negative emotions. This plays a significant role in how well we manage pain, especially on a day-to-day basis.

We also know that areas of the brain can be influenced by thought. For instance, if you are riddled with anxiety, your threshold for pain will decrease.

The mind and body are in constant communication, so the way we perceive our pain can change the way we feel it. This is why shifting our perspectives about our pain is so important—it’s an effective way to control our symptoms, no drugs required.

By Robert J. Gatchel, PhD, ABPP

View Sources

1. NIH News in Health. (2015, August 1). Retrieved August 15, 2015, from http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/aug2015/feature1

2. Hofmann SG, Asnaani A, Vonk IJ, et al. The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cognit Ther Res. 2012;36(5):427-440.

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