If you think that self-care is all about taking a bubble bath or focusing on eating plenty of leafy greens, you’re not wrong. But, self-care for chronic pain is so much more than that. Here are 19 ideas for self-care for chronic pain that really work. What is self-care? There [...]
Everyone feels the effects of winter one way or another. Either the chilly temperatures drive you indoors or you have trouble adjusting to the shorter days, even as they begin to lengthen. For some, these effects are compounded by clinical depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Regardless of the reasons [...]
Your job isn’t the only thing that can cause stress in your life. Relationships, children, housing, money, and many daily hassles contribute to stress. If you can't always manage it in the office, here's how you can reduce stress at home with some small changes. What exactly is stress? Before [...]
Massage is one of the ancient arts of wellness. First mentions of massage occurred in China in 2700 BCE, but it was not long before it spread to the Middle East, Greece, and India. Massage is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body. The goal of this manipulation [...]
Caring for a family member with chronic pain or another chronic illness can be challenging. When the diagnosis happens, caregivers are busy with the work of finding out more about the illness, treatment options, and coordinating care. Once this early stage is complete, caregiving becomes a daily routine that can [...]
A big deadline at work. A life-changing event. A public speaking engagement. The thousand daily tasks that never seem to get finished. All of these things cause stress. But what is the purpose of stress in our lives, and is there anything positive that comes from feeling stress? What is [...]
We're only just beginning to understand how stress affects the body. We cover some of the most frequently-asked questions when it comes to pain and stress, such as "can stress cause back pain?" and "what are the best stress management techniques?" in this post. What is stress? Have you ever [...]
The Holmes And Rahe Stress Scale is often used by doctors to find this answer: Can the most stressful life events predict future illness? Two researchers in 1967 thought so. Combing through the medical records of over 5,000 patients with an eye to seeing if there was a connection between illness [...]
Fibromyalgia is a neurological disorder that affects approximately 12 million people in the U.S. This chronic disorder causes aches and pains in the body that are severe enough to impact normal activity and disrupt sleep. If those symptoms weren't enough, however, fibromyalgia also often causes mental health issues for many patients. [...]
Stress is a natural reaction that helps the body decide what to do when a situation requires action. “Fight or flight” is the normal response when we are confronted by a threat that is dangerous or potentially life-threatening, either real or perceived. The body gets flooded by adrenaline, which allows [...]
