Journaling is a way of going on a retreat without leaving your home. It is a way to access and acknowledge past experiences that may be causing you pain and reintegrating them into your life so they become a part of you. It helps bring order to your deepest thoughts and fears and enables you […]

If you have chronic pain, you’re not alone. An estimated 25.3 million adults in the United States report severe, daily pain, significantly more women than men, while 55 percent of U.S. adults report at least some pain in the past three months. Chronic pain is one of the most frequent reasons for physician visits and […]

Chronic pain is the medical term for pain that lasts more than about three months. The word “chronic” means “long-lasting.” Researchers estimate that more than 100 million American adults have chronic pain, so you are not alone. Chronic pain is one of the leading reasons we visit the doctor and take medication. It is extremely […]

Inevitably in life, we or a family member will get sick or hurt at some point. Sometimes it will build slowly, and other times it pops up out of nowhere. That is why understanding the role of a patient advocate will help make a stressful time more manageable. Thankfully, we now have more resources to […]

Patients with chronic diseases—6 out of 10 adults in the United States[i]—need help to adopt and sustain healthy behaviors. “Most clinicians have a really hard time talking to patients about healthy behavior change. We either beg or threaten them to make changes. This doesn’t work very well,” says Thomas Bodenheimer, MD, MPH, a professor in […]

When you break your leg, undergo surgery, or burn your hand, you experience pain—acute pain. With treatment and time, the pain usually disappears. But chronic pain is different. It hangs around even after the original illness or injury has improved, reminding you every day that it has no plans to vacate the premises. Technically, chronic […]