-
On Meditation
I am often asked about my meditation method. People want to know the right way of meditating to recover from CRPS. After all, I credit meditation with my recovery from CRPS. Each time, I reply that I may disappoint them because there is no right or wrong way to meditate; there are only ways that…
-
The Empath’s Dilemma
“I believe that all medical studies are flawed if they do not consider the emotional factor.” Dr. John Sarno I’ve often felt that I was born in the wrong era. On the one hand, I probably would not have survived childbirth had I lived in a past century, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t…
-
Nothing Is Wrong With Your Brain
I have been thinking lately about the ways people flip that switch that starts their recovery from CRPS. A reader reached out to me about a year and a half ago. He is a professional musician, so when his hand was injured in the accident and he developed CRPS as a result, he was devastated.…
-
Advice For The Caregivers
I was recently asked what advice I can give to those who take care of their loved ones with CRPS. I asked several people who are suffering from very debilitating cases of CRPS or fibromyalgia and are pursuing a mindbody healing path. This is what they suggested: Let me summarize it. Many CRPS patients often…
-
The Trying Trap
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein The daily fashion conundrum I faced as a high schooler, was that of desperately trying to look as if I wasn’t trying. This was especially tricky to achieve in an era defined by the ethos of “more is…
-
Anger
Our polite society views anger as an unacceptable emotion. One CRPS patient kept reassuring me that he was not an angry person – until he started sharing stories about getting angry, without even realizing that he was, in fact, very angry! I could sense his anger as he described his experiences, but he was unaware…
-
Solitude to Certitude
Figure in the fog. Darkness and shadows surround. Thoughts of solitude. I wrote this haiku at the age of 12, during my crucible of the atavistically brutal hellscape, most commonly known as middle school. In 1980, bullying as a term, was not in the societal parlance, nor did it occur to me to seek…
-
Humor Is A Painkiller!
“I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.” – Bob Hope Well, CRPS, like every chronic pain, is not a laughing matter. When relentless pain drains all of your reserves of strength and patience, it is very hard to joke around. However, I suggest…
-
Catastrophic Thinking
Recently, I came across this interesting article that is not CRPS-specific, but still very relevant. “Catastrophic Thinking (aka catastrophizing) refers to a cognitive distortion where a person exaggerates the potential negative consequences of a situation or event, believing that the worst possible outcome will occur”. It is closely related to anxiety. Guess what, turns out that…