Kudos Karen,,,,,,,Again you come through for us pain sufferers with a fantastic interview with Jennifer Grey, I have to say that when we sufferers hear an interview like that, (I personaly have to stay,stops me in my tracks) and ask myself, hmmm am I doing that? Am I talking to my Doctor, AM i doing a plan for myself? or am I sitting here bitching about this,that, and the other thing.. I sure learned so much with this interview, and it go's to show us why you Karen are such a great advocate for us.
I am very excited to look into the web site Jennifer spoke so highly of. Also as a fan of hers for a great actress, Jennifer hopefully gave us a lot of hope and idea's, thanks to you... oh and,,NO-ONE PUTS KAREN IN THE CORNER...
Thank you for a great interview. Jennifer surely turned into one classy lady willing to lend us her ways of coping with chronic pain, thanks you so much Karen, Linda.
Thanks Karen for this wonderful interview. As a chronic pain patient I found this information very helpful and will employ the things mentioned asap. The pain diary/logs is a good idea, and I know I need help with the Dr./patient communication skills.
Do you know what book she was referring to by Shin Zin Young? I would like to look at it but couldn't find it anywhere. Also, would you have any recommendations for books on hypnosis?
I'm so glad you found the interview helpful, Pam. I was really impressed with the way Jennifer explained how she learned to manage her pain. I got a lot of great tips from her, too.
I don't think she mentioned a specific book by Shinzen Young, but I did find three that he did relating to using meditation to manage pain. Here are links to them on Amazon:
Break Through Pain: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Meditation Program for Transforming Chronic and Acute Pain (hardcover) - surprisingly inexpensive, especially for a hardcover book.
Pain Relief (audiobook)
Natural Pain Relief: How to Soothe and Dissolve Physical Pain with Mindfulness (paperback)
You might also be interested in his website: Shinzen Young's Website
As far as a book on hypnosis, I'm afraid I can't be of much help. Although I understand it can sometimes be an effective option, I've personally been hesitant about trying it.
Oh, Karen thanks sooo much! I may not have ever found the books or website with the spelling I was using.
I also loved the remark Jennifer made about pain and how sometimes there's shame involved, and I can attest to that. No one has ever mention that before to me, but it really does apply, You. Feel. Ashamed, for some reason - which then causes isolation to hide from the embarrasment of it, and why in the world would it be embarrasing, but it is. Maybe you've addressed these in your writings, but I've missed it so I'll have to look through them. Also, the other thing was about how pain becomes muddled and you don't know what you feel anymore because it's a mass of feelings that need to be teased out. Wow.
Thanks again I can't tell you how eye-opening this was, thank you so much!
You're very welcome, Pam. Glad I could help.
I haven't written anything specifically on the shame and embarrasement we sometimes feel with chronic pain. I guess for myself, I tend to think of it more as guilt. I feel guilty when I can't do all the things I think I should or want to do. I did write the article You Are Not Your Illness where I talk about not feeling like you're the same person you once were. I think it's very similar. Our society puts such a high value on achievement and pushing ahead no matter what, that I think we feel shame and/or guilt when we just can't do everything.
I, too, liked when she talked about teasing out our tangled feelings. I also liked the ball of necklaces analogy. And I was particularly intrigued with the idea of separating pain from suffering. She gave me a lot to think about, look into more, and hopefully write about in the future. I'm glad to know you got so much out of it, too.