Paintracking

Health

Survive and Thrive

Deborah Barrett Ph.D., LCSW on November 19, 2016

Experiencing distress? Yoga may help you let go of unnecessary suffering.

Experiencing distress? Yoga may help you let go of unnecessary suffering.

Chronic Pain

Children with Chronic Pain

Deborah Barrett Ph.D., LCSW on October 21, 2013

All parents face conflicts over their desires to protect their children and to encourage their independence. This conflict is even more challenging when a child lives with chronic illness. Yet children (and parents) fare best when they can accept and adapt in ways that do not magnify the illness. Read on for strategies to help.

All parents face conflicts over their desires to protect their children and to encourage their independence. This conflict is even more challenging when a child lives with chronic illness. Yet children (and parents) fare best when they can accept and adapt in ways that do not magnify the illness. Read on for strategies to help.

Chronic Pain

What If You Hurt ALL the Time?

Deborah Barrett Ph.D., LCSW on June 7, 2013

When pain and exhaustion are constant and unrelenting it feels hopeless. Yet even the worst chronic conditions have some variation. Finding and understanding these subtle differences opens the possibility of more significant improvement.

When pain and exhaustion are constant and unrelenting it feels hopeless. Yet even the worst chronic conditions have some variation. Finding and understanding these subtle differences opens the possibility of more significant improvement.

Somatic symptom disorder, a new diagnosis in the DSM-5, may shift the discourse from the "realness" of symptoms to how "normal" one's response is. But what does "normal" look like?

Chronic Pain

How to survive chronic pain, one moment at a time

Deborah Barrett Ph.D., LCSW on March 24, 2013

Chronic pain can feel all-encompassing. It can be helpful to remember that all that we ever have to get through is this very moment, and that the present moment is always changing. This article suggests ways to improve the moment, adapted from dialectical behavioral therapy, an approach that draws in equal measures from cognitive-behavioral therapy and zen Buddhism.

Chronic pain can feel all-encompassing. It can be helpful to remember that all that we ever have to get through is this very moment, and that the present moment is always changing. This article suggests ways to improve the moment, adapted from dialectical behavioral therapy, an approach that draws in equal measures from cognitive-behavioral therapy and zen Buddhism.

Chronic Pain

The Dialectic of Pain: Synthesizing Acceptance and Change

Deborah Barrett Ph.D., LCSW on March 23, 2013

Pain is inevitable, but suffering and misery are not. The more we fight pain, the more likely we are to experience hopelessness and despair, and the harder it becomes to identify constructive change. Like those Chinese finger-trap toys, the more forcefully we tug to release our index fingers, the more tightly ensnared they become. Calming down opens the means to escape.

Pain is inevitable, but suffering and misery are not. The more we fight pain, the more likely we are to experience hopelessness and despair, and the harder it becomes to identify constructive change. Like those Chinese finger-trap toys, the more forcefully we tug to release our index fingers, the more tightly ensnared they become. Calming down opens the means to escape.

Chronic Pain

Chronic Physical and Emotional Pain Disorders

Deborah Barrett Ph.D., LCSW on September 24, 2012

As psychotherapist who lives with chronic pain and works primarily with people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, it is not surprising that I would see overlaps. However, the commonality I have found is striking—not so much about symptoms themselves, but in the wider context of their social meaning and status.

As psychotherapist who lives with chronic pain and works primarily with people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, it is not surprising that I would see overlaps. However, the commonality I have found is striking—not so much about symptoms themselves, but in the wider context of their social meaning and status.

Chronic Pain

Mack Truck Mornings

Deborah Barrett Ph.D., LCSW on August 4, 2012

"I've been hit by a Mack Truck!" and alternative responses to the feeling of mornings with fibromyalgia that can help you get up and through the day, despite pain.

"I've been hit by a Mack Truck!" and alternative responses to the feeling of mornings with fibromyalgia that can help you get up and through the day, despite pain.

When you are in serious pain, the last thing you feel like doing is being intimate. Yet research shows that indulging in sex has powerful painkilling properties.

Chronic Pain

Treat Chronic Pain as an Ongoing Experiment

Deborah Barrett Ph.D., LCSW on October 24, 2011

One of the most difficult parts of living with chronic pain is its unpredictability. Learning the reasons behind your ups and downs puts you in the driver's seat.

One of the most difficult parts of living with chronic pain is its unpredictability. Learning the reasons behind your ups and downs puts you in the driver's seat.