Resources

Use these helpful self-management tools to help take control
Relaxation and movement exercises to do

• 5 of the best exercises you can ever do​
• Audio Meditation - Visualize your Pain​ (9:54)
• Guided Imagery for Pain Relief (9:55)
• Guided Imagery Practice For Pain (9:43)
• ​Mindful Breathing (Mayo Clinic)
• ​Mindfulness Bell - A 5 Minute Mindfulness Meditation (5:24)
• Mindfulness exercises
• Mindfulness for Physical Pain
• ​Passive Muscle Relaxation (37:28)
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation to Manage Anxiety and Stress (15:00)
• Sleepy Time Sensation (YouTube channel of soothing sounds)
• ​Tai Chi Chih - Joy Through Movement (50:08)
• Yoga For Chronic Pain | Yoga With Adriene (25:33)

Skills to learn
General

• 50 ways to live well, despite pain (my paper)
• Control what you can control (my paper)
• Self-Management of Chronic Pain
• Tips for better sleep (my paper)
• Tips for people living with chronic pain - add your suggestions to the bulletin board (my project)
• ​Tools for recovery – Plan for Flare ups  (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Self Management (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

Acceptance

• Hopping Off the Pain Merry-go-round (my article)
• Pain and Me: Tamar Pincus talks about chronic pain, acceptance, and commitment (3:06)

Changing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

• Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain: Patient Guidebook (Department of Veteran's Affairs)
• Cognitive Restructuring Worksheet
• DIM SIM Therapy​
• Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide
• How Cognitive Control Can Boost Well-Being
• How to Stop Your Pain with Your Mind​
• Managing Chronic Pain: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach​
• Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress​
• Protectometer- DIMs & SIMs​ (10:54)
• Replacement Thought Examples
• Top 10 Ways to Reduce Anxiety
• How To Use CBT Thought Records To Change The Way You Feel
• What is CBT?

Pacing & goal setting

• Activity Pacing
• Activity pacing: moving beyond taking breaks and slowing down
• Chronic pain self-management: Pacing and goal setting
• Goal Setting for Pain Rehabilitation​
• Pacing For Pain
• Pacing – how to manage your pain and stay active
• The role of avoidance, pacing, and other activity patterns in chronic pain
• Tools for recovery – Boom or bust vs pacing​ (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• What Goals Have You Set Recently? (my blog post)

Resilience

• 10 Habits of Highly Resilient People
• How to Build Resilience and Boost Your Mental Health
• What Chronic Pain Has Taught Me About Resilience - Dr. Trung Ngo (16:49)

​Forgiveness and gratitude

• 13 Most Popular Gratitude Exercises & Activities
• The importance of forgiveness and gratitude (my blog post)
• How to Forgive in Six Steps
• 13 Most Popular Gratitude Exercises & Activities
• A Grateful Day with Brother David Steindl-Rast (5:22)
• The power of forgiveness (3:28)
• How to Forgive Someone Who Traumatized You 
• Your 5-day gratitude challenge: 5 exercises to increase your gratefulness

Other 

• How to Move Patients from Passive Management to Active Self-Management (my article)
• 12 Reasons To Be Happier - Dr. Amit Sood, Mayo Clinic (5:05)​
• Anger management: 10 tips to tame your temper
• Breathe to Heal | Max Strom | TEDxCapeMay (18:32)
• How to Humor Your Stress | Loretta LaRoche | TEDxNewBedford (20:50)
• Lift up your everyday with Occupational Therapy (OT) Life Hacks
• ​Neuroscience shows listening to music has kind of the same effect as meditation
• Self-Compassion Guided Practices and Exercises​
• Supported Self-Management—From a Lived Experience Perspective
• Use mindfulness to cope with chronic pain
• Understanding The Difference Between Pain and Suffering
• When Chronic Pain Leads to Chronic Anger

Read these books/guides

• Back in Control - Dr. David Hanscom (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Chronic Pain Rehabilitation: Active pain management that helps you get back to the life you love - Evan Parks (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Chronic Pain Won't Stop Me: Tools to Make the Most of Life, Despite Chronic Pain - Tom Bowen (my free e-book) - highly recommend!
• Living Well with Chronic Pain - U.S. Pain Foundation (free e-book)
• Living well with pain - Ben Cormack (free e-book)
• Mayo Clinic Guide to Fibromyalgia - Mayo Clinic
• Mayo Clinic Guide to Pain Relief, Second Edition - Mayo Clinic
• Navigating Pain - New Zealand Pain Society ​(free e-book)
• Nothing To Fear. Just A Noise In My Ear. - Tom Bowen (my free tinnitus e-book for children)
• Pain Guide - University of Michigan Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center (free digital guide)
• Pain Management Guide Book - The Honest Physio (free e-book)
• Pain Toolkit - Pete Moore 
• Restoring Venus: A Journey from Chronic Pain to Possibilities - Amy Eicher (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Stories of Hope: For those who want to learn to live well with pain - Amy Eicher (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• The Chronic Pain and Illness Workbook for Teens​ - Dr. Rachel Zoffness (Chronic Pain Champions Member)
• The Explain Pain Handbook Protectometer - Dr. David Butler and Professor Lorimer Moseley
• The Mayo Clinic Guide to Pain Relief - DVD Course - Mayo Clinic
• The Pain-Free Mindset – 7 Steps to Taking Control & Overcoming Chronic Pain - Dr. Deepak Ravindran
• The Pain Survival Guide: How to Reclaim Your Life - Dr. Dennis Turk & Dr. Frits Winter
• The Painful Truth: The new science of why we hurt and how we can heal - Dr. Monty Lyman
• The Pain Management Workbook - Dr. Rachel Zoffness (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Unlearn Your Pain - Dr. Howard Schubiner

Read my articles

• How to Move Patients from Passive Management to Active Self-Management
• A Letter to Pain Providers: 10 Do and Don’t Tips from a Chronic Pain Patient 
• We Have a Chronic Pain Problem, Not a Prescription Opioid Problem 
• Are You Missing Two-Thirds of Your Potential Pain Treatment Plan? 
• Five things I wish I knew earlier in my journey with chronic pain 
• Hopping Off the Pain Merry-go-round 
• My Time at the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center 
• Stop Whining and More No-Nonsense Tips from a Chronic Pain Champion​​ ​
• ​Living With Chronic Pain: ‘Suffering Is a Choice, and I Choose Not to Suffer’ (GoodRX article about my experience)

​
Watch and listen (videos and podcasts)

• Central Sensitization Syndrome (CSS) - Dr. Christopher Sletten (22:19)
• Chronic Pain: A New Perspective | Georgie Oldfield | TEDxUniversityofManchester (18:06)
• Chronic Pain - Is it All in Their Head? - Dr. Daniel J. Clauw (1:54:18)
• Dr. Rachel Zoffness on the Science of Pain: Myths, Truths, and Understanding - Finding Mastery  (1:05:44) 
• Chronic Pain Management – Non-drug therapies - Dr. Daniel Clauw (18:59)
• Compass Opioid Stewardship - Learning to Champion Chronic Pain​
• Dolorology (PAIN) with Rachel Zoffness (1:34)
• Getting a Grip on Pain and the Brain - Lorimer Moseley (40:41)
• Let's Talk About Pain - Dr. Andrea Furlan (a series of informative videos)
• Making Sense of Disabling Back Pain - Peter O’Sullivan Koadlow Lecture 2021 (1:30:29)
• Overcoming fear of movement in osteoarthritis - Joint Action Podcast (44:03)
• Pain and Me: Tamar Pincus talks about chronic pain, acceptance, and commitment (3:06)
• Pain Rehabilitation Center: Mayo Clinic Radio (9:44)
• Pain, the Brain and Your Amazing Protectometer - Lorimer Moseley (1:23:09)
• Pain Psychologist Dr. Rachel Zoffness - Radically Genuine Podcast (1:03:19) 
• Protectometer- DIMs & SIMs​ (10:54)
• Tame the Beast – It's time to rethink persistent pain - Lorimer Mosely (5:00)
• The BEST WAYS To Heal Chronic Pain & Trauma WITHOUT Medication | Howard Schubiner 
• The Hardest Pill to Swallow | Tracy Jackson | TEDxNashville (18:44)
• The Truth About Managing Chronic Pain (w/Dr. Rachel Zoffness) - ZDoggMD (1:39:10) 
• Treating Pain Using the Brain - David Butler (1:15)
• Understanding pain & what to do about it in less than 5 minutes - VA (5:00) 
• Unlocking the Medicine Box in Your Mind - Dr. Beth Darnall (37:42)
• What Chronic Pain Has Taught Me About Resilience - Dr. Trung Ngo (16:49)
• TEDxAdelaide - Lorimer Moseley - Why Things Hurt (14:32)

Find a pain psychologist

• American Association of Pain Psychology​ - offers a search feature to connect with a pain psychologist 
• Psychology Today - offers a search feature to connect with a psychologist 

Find a pain rehabilitation program
Please review and compare programs before attending - not all programs are the same. Interdisciplinary programs based on the biopsychosocial model with an emphasis on self-management are the gold standard. Learn more about ​interdisciplinary treatment and read about my experience at the Mayo Clinic.

In the U.S.

• Brooks Pain Rehabilitation Program - Florida
• Cleveland Clinic Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program - Ohio 
• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Functional Restoration Program - New Hampshire 
• Functional Restoration Program at Ochsner Baptist - New Orleans 
• John Hopkins Pain Treatment Center - Maryland (interdisciplinary)
• Mary Free Bed Pain Rehabilitation Program ​- Michigan (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center - Minnesota, Florida, Arizona (interdisciplinary) the program I attended - highly recommend! 
• MUSC Health Pain Rehabilitation Program - South Carolina 
• Nebraska Medicine Chronic Pain Management Program - Nebraska
• Shirley Ryan AbilityLab - Illinois 
• Stanford Pain Rehabilitation Program - California
• ​University of Toledo Pain Rehabilitation - Ohio

Outside the U.S. 
Australia

• Painaustralia - listing of pain therapies, programs, and resources
• Albury Wodonga Health Chronic Pain Management Program 
• Mt Wilga Private Rehabilitation Hospital

Canada

• Michael G. DeGroote Pain Clinic 
• Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute
• Transitional Pain Service

England

• Bath Centre for Pain Services
• Guys and St Thomas' Pain Management and Neuromodulation Centre 
• Manchester Pain Service​
• Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital UK Pain Management & Active Back Programmes
• St George Chronic Pain Self-Management Pain Service

New Zealand

• Practical Interdisciplinary Pelvic Pain Intervention​

Download these apps - many are free!

• ​1step2life (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Aivo  (Free - Android/IOS)
• Bellybio (Free - IOS)
• Breath2Relax (Free - Android/IOS)
• Breathly (Free - Android/IOS)
• Calm 
• Curable
• Headspace
• iBreathe (Free- IOS)
• Mindfulness Bell (Free - Android/IOS)
• Mindshift CBT (Free - Android/IOS)
• My Health Story
• Smiling Mind (Free - Android/IOS)
• ​The Breathing App (Free - Android/IOS)
• UCLA Mindful App (Free - Android/IOS)

Get the news

• Pain News Network
• Practical Pain Management (I'm a patient advocate on the Practical Pain Management Editorial Board)
• Relief: Pain Research News, Insights, and Ideas (IASP Pain Research Forum)
• Science Daily Pain Control News
• Stat

Hear the latest (podcasts)

• Airing Pain​
• Back in Control (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Compass Opioid Stewardship​ (produced for clinicians, but useful information for patients, too)
• Courage for Pain (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Empowered Beyond Pain 
• Feel Better. Live More.​
• Joint Action​
• Modern Pain Care
• Pain Reframed
• Radically Genuine Podcast​
• The 15 Minute Pain Experience (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• The Knowledge Exchange (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• ZDOGG MD

​
Listen/read/watch my interviews 

• Book Plug - Chronic Pain Won't Stop Me​ (Part of Footsteps Festival 2021)
• Compass Opioid Stewardship - Learning to Champion Chronic Pain​ 
• Good Rx
• Modern Pain Care interview (Podcast episode with Dr. Mark Kargela about my experience)
• Pain Toolkit 
• The 15 Minute Pain Experience (The Chronic Pain Experience)
• The 15 Minute Pain Experience (Community for the win)
• The Knowledge Exchange

Visit these sites

• American Chronic Pain Association
• American Migraine Foundation
• American Sleep Association
• American Tinnitus Association
• Australian Pain Management Association
• Back in Control
• ​British Pain Society 
• Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center (University of Michigan)
• Chronic Pain Ireland
• Compass Opioid Stewardship Program 
• Flippin’ Pain
• Institute for Chronic Pain 
• My Live Well with Pain​
• National Fibromyalgia Association
• Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (University of Michigan)
• Oregon Pain Management Commission​
• Osteoarthritis/Arthritis Association
• Pain Guide (University of Michigan)
• Retrain Pain
• Start Your Recovery
• Tame the Beast
• The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy
• U.S. Pain Foundation
• US Association for the Study of Pain

Read these blogs

• 1step2life blog (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Back in Control blog (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• Chronic Pain Champions blog (check out the archives and categories from the home page)
• Healthskills blog (written primarily for clinicians, but useful information)
• Institute for Chronic Pain Coping with Pain Series 

Connect with people

• Adelaide Pain Support Network​ Facebook group (Adelaide, Australia)
• Attitude of Gratitude With Chronic Pain Facebook group
• American Chronic Pain Association local support groups
• Chronic Pain Champions – No Whining Allowed Facebook group (my group)- highly recommend!
• Exploring Pain: Research & Meaning Facebook group (geared more to clinicians and pain science but open to patients)
• Journaling Through Pain Facebook group (Chronic Pain Champions member)
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• Opioid, Gabapentinoid, Antidepressant Tapering Support Group Facebook group
• Pain Reframed Facebook group (geared more to clinicians and pain science but open to patients)
• People in Pain Network local support groups (Canada)
• The Knowledge Exchange Facebook group (geared more to clinicians and pain science but open to patients - Chronic Pain Champions member)

Use these templates/forms

• Medical summary template
• ​Medicine list template
• Pain concerns form

Play to win

• Chronic Pain Champion word search (think how each word applies to your pain journey and how you can champion pain) Online version /Print version
• Chronic Pain Champion bingo (mark boxes as you complete them each day or use a reminder of tools you can use to manage pain)

Have a laugh (some of my favorite video clips)

• Airplane Classic Scenes​
• Back to School - Professor Terguson Loses It Scene 
• Chippendales Audition - SNL​
• Fire Marshall Bill at Magic Show
• Funny signs, headlines, and more (my video)
• Homes for Every Homebuyer: Trolls - Realtor.com®​
• Monty Python Olympics
• More Cowbell - SNL​
• Weird Al" Yankovic - Fat
• Weird Al Yankovic - Gotta Boogie (audio only)
• Weird Al" Yankovic - Like A Surgeon ​
• ​Weird Al" Yankovic - Living With A Hernia
• Weird Al" Yankovic - Perform This Way
• Weird Al" Yankovic - Smells Like Nirvana​
• Weird Al" Yankovic - Wanna be Your Lover​​

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