Meditations for Pain Recovery. Tony Greco

{ INTRODUCTION }

      Meditations for Pain Recovery is designed for people suffering from chronic pain and recovering from addiction to pain medication. It is a companion book to A Day without Pain by Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM, with Mike Donohue; Pain Recovery: How to Find Balance and Reduce Suffering from Chronic Pain by Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM, Frank J. Szabo, Jr., LADC, Daniel Shiode, Ph.D., and Robert Hunter, Ph.D.; and Pain Recovery for Families: How to Find Balance When Someone Else’s Chronic Pain Becomes Your Problem Too by Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM, Frank J. Szabo, Jr., LADC, Daniel Shiode, Ph.D., and Robert Hunter, Ph.D. However, this book can also be read independently of any other book or program.

      Chronic pain affects approximately seventy-two million Americans. The risks of using opioid pain medication and developing addiction are explained thoroughly in Pain Recovery. You need not be an addict to benefit from these daily meditations; however, the premise of this book is that the reader is abstinent from opioids and other mind- and/or mood-altering chemicals. There is also an assumption that those using this meditation book are active in a recovery process and have a therapist, sponsor, or counselor, as well as a support group, whether formal or informal, therapeutic, and/or twelve-step-based.

      Each meditation in this book is based on one of five categories taken from either the “four points of balance” or material on relationships in recovery, which are explained in detail in the book Pain Recovery, along with a reflection for each. According to Pain Recovery, “The four points of balance are applicable to any situation in life, including chronic pain.” Use what works for you and leave the rest.

       More on the Four Points of Balance and Relationships from the Book Pain Recovery:

       PHYSICAL BALANCE

      Physical balance meditations will call attention to your being mindful and respectful of your body on a given day. These meditations will guide you to pay attention to the messages your body sends to your brain. On these days you will be guided to evaluate the state of your body thoroughly and continually, although you will do so without becoming preoccupied, asking questions such as:

       How am I feeling?

       If there is pain, where is it coming from and how bad is it?

       What action that has worked in the past might I take to modify it—stretch, change position, get up and move, breathe, listen to soothing music, talk to someone (reach out), or share with someone who is also hurting (give back)?

      On days of physical balance, you may be directed to the organized series of maintenance and crisis interventions in the book Pain Recovery that includes regular exercise, meditation, massage, stretching, and chiropractic treatments, in addition to other balancing actions.

      Characteristics of a balanced physical experience are:

       Eating nutritious foods

       Avoiding toxins

       Exercising regularly

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