Hello my dear readers, After 10 years here at How to Cope with Pain, I will finish writing this month.  This website and blog will continue to be available to you for reference.  To help with that, I’ve reorganized the whole website and blog so the articles are easily accessible.  I hope you’ll return often, […]

This article is in our series about increasing happiness and life satisfaction.  Many people with chronic pain can’t decrease their pain.  So another way to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life – perhaps even more important – is to increase the positive.  That’s what we’ll look at in this series. Let’s look at the other big component of happiness:  life satisfaction and meaning. […]

This article is in our series about increasing happiness and life satisfaction.  Many people with chronic pain can’t decrease their pain.  So another way to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life – perhaps even more important – is to increase the positive.  That’s what we’ll look at in this series. Let’s look at ways to increase our enjoyment of pleasures: vary your pleasure […]

This article is in our series featuring pain management techniques to help you decrease and cope with pain.  It’s your at-home pain management class! The first skills that I teach patients are relaxed breathing exercises. These help you reduce pain by helping you relax. Here are 2 for you to try: Breathing #1 Breathing #2 […]

This article is in our series about increasing happiness and life satisfaction.  Many people with chronic pain can’t decrease their pain.  So another way to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life – perhaps even more important – is to increase the positive.  That’s what we’ll look at in this series. Let’s look at pleasurures. Pleasures are positive, enjoyable experiences.  Pleasures create immediate happiness and […]

This article is in our series about increasing happiness and life satisfaction.  Many people with chronic pain can’t decrease their pain.  So another way to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life – perhaps even more important – is to increase the positive.  That’s what we’ll look at in this series. Let’s look at hope. To be more hopeful, we can learn to recognize […]

This article is in our series about increasing happiness and life satisfaction.  Many people with chronic pain can’t decrease their pain.  So another way to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life – perhaps even more important – is to increase the positive.  That’s what we’ll look at in this series. Let’s look at some optimism examples, using optimism […]

This article is in our series about increasing happiness and life satisfaction.  Many people with chronic pain can’t decrease their pain.  So another way to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life – perhaps even more important – is to increase the positive.  That’s what we’ll look at in this series. Let’s look at optimism. Optimism about the future hinges on what’s called our […]

This article is in our series about increasing happiness and life satisfaction.  Many people with chronic pain can’t decrease their pain.  So another way to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life – perhaps even more important – is to increase the positive.  That’s what we’ll be looking at in this series. Let’s  look at forgiving and forgetting your past.   We’re often mulling over […]

This article is in our series about increasing happiness and life satisfaction.  Many people with chronic pain can’t decrease their pain.  So another way to live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life – perhaps even more important – is to increase the positive.  That’s what we’ll be looking at in this series. Let’s look at increasing positive emotions by looking for the positive in any […]