No Painkillers: Pain Management Techniques Part 1

I’ve received more than a few emails from opiate dependent folks who suffer from chronic pain. The thought of living a life without narcotics is hard for them to swallow, but more often than not, they’ve reached out to me because the pills no longer work.

As tolerance develops, it gets harder and harder to effectively manage the sometimes excrutiating pain that accompanies a lifelong injury. At some point however, the drugs don’t do their job, and another solution must be presented. I decided to put together this series about how to successfully manage pain without vicodins or any other painkiller.

Believe it or not, there are pain management techniques out there that do work, and that don’t require the use of opiates. Whether you’re trying to get off the pills because they’re causing you more harm than good, or you’re looking for an alternative to dealing with your pain, I hope this holistic approach can help you out.

Use Your Brain.
We often underestimate our own brain’s ability to deal with painful stimuli, so we resort to easier methods like vicodin as a subsititute.

Here are a few techniques of the mind that you can use immediately:

First, find yourself a dark and quiet room where you can relax. Recline either in a chair or up against some pillows on your bed, and begin breathing slowly. Breath with your stomach, not your chest. Try not to get distracted. If your mind starts to wander, concentrate on the sound of your breath. Focus on slowing your breathing and your heart rate. Once you feel like you’re calm enough, begin with one of the following:

1. Alter Your Focus: Move your focus from the pain, to a non-painful part of your body.
2. Dissociate: Pretend like the part of your body that is in pain, is no longer a part of your body.
3. Release Endorphins: Imagine that you have control over the pain numbing endorphins that your body produces, then mentally produce a ton of them.
4. Positive Imagery: Imagine a “happy” place in your mind’s eye. Anywhere, any situation that brings a smile to your face and makes you feel relaxed.
5. Counting: Count your breaths, count dots on the ceiling, count sheep, whatever. Just start counting.

Thinking that your mind can make you feel better without any drugs might sound like a load of crap, but trust me on this, it works. I remember about 8 years ago, I severely injured my hand in a work related accident. I had been clean from opiates for a few months, and I really didn’t want to go back to using them again.

When I was sitting in the emergency room, I told the doctor that I wanted to try and endure the pain without any medication. Without even knowing it, I used the above mentioned techniques, and it actually worked. I freaked out! I mean, I was sitting there with a two-inch laceration on the palm of my hand, and broken metacarpal bones, but I was cool as ice. Now that’s powerful!