Turning Straw Into Gold

This is very good article! I'm practising mindfulness myself. When i feel like i'm going to get angry, i start thinking about anger and why i shouldnt get angry. I think mindfulness is when you take control before you lose control or think before you act!

I love your description of mindfulness: "It's when you take control before you lose control" Thanks for reading the article and leaving a comment. I'll be remembering that description! Warmly, Toni

It's so easy for me to fall into the Stall and Wallow phase when I am having a flare. What this essay does for me is to inspire me to move past that but also gives real things to do!!! What a help and what a gift Toni's posts are for so many of us.
Alida

Your comments always inspire me to keep going. Yes, we must avoid Stall and Wallow! Love to you, Toni

Another excellent piece, Toni. Thank you. All your would-have-been students have lost a great teacher but I imagine a great many of us are now getting so much from your writing!

Thank you so much Toni, perfect timing for me.

Dear Doctor,

You wrote to me privately asking if I could give you any advice on where you and your patients might turn for legal assistance in establishing the right of the pain patient to reasonable access to medical care. You're in a state other than California. I wanted to answer your email but it had no return email address. In case you're following these comments, I'll copy and paste my reply here.

Dear Dr. xxxxxx,

I'm so sorry to read about the difficulty you're having getting treatment for your patients. Access to medical care to treat pain is a matter of state law. In California, for example, the doctor's office is required to ask if you're in pain when you visit and, if so, have you rate it 1-10. This was an effort by the state legislature to have pain addressed more effectively in the health care system and it has, indeed, helped.

So I believe it is a political issue not a legal one, meaning that you need to find a group who can lobby the legislature on your behalf (or you need to contact your own local legislators), perhaps showing them the California law as a model.

I hope this was helpful.

Warmest wishes,
Toni Bernhard

I have been managing chronic pain for 20 years now and find mindfulness very helpful. When the pain gets intense mindful breathing helps calm the body and the mind, helping to keep the flight/fight/freeze response from taking over. I have learned to use many therapies and skills from my "toolbox" to help manage my pain and keeping a positive attitude is near the top of the list. As president of the Chronic Pain Association of Canada, I try to lead by example.
Thank you for your work in mindfulness and I am looking forward to reading your book. I could put it on our web site for others to find.
Heather Divine

I'm so glad that you read and commented on my piece. I'm also glad that mindfulness has been helpful to you. I love the idea of having many therapies and skills in your "toolbox." I agree that it helps to have multiple practices. You'll find many more in my book. It's a very practical book and the response to it has been more than I could ever have hoped for.

I would love to have you put it on your website. You could put in the link to the website for the book: http://www.howtobesick.com

It's also available at Amazon Canada. I'll include that link too: http://www.amazon.ca/How-Sick-Buddhist-Inspired-Chronically-Caregivers/d...

Again, thanks for taking the time to read and comment. I can tell from your note that, like me, you're committing to helping others live as best they can with their health difficulties.

Warmly,
Toni