Self regulation – what it is and what to do

So, if self regulation is about exerting control over thoughts, feelings, actions and physiology, how does it work?
When I skipped through some Google references last night (o font of all knowledge!) I found a good number of sites referring to self regulation and children – but not nearly as many relating to adults, or the [...]

Hypnosis: Response expectancies?

Let’s explore the proposed mechanisms in hypnosis as I wander through the subject this week.
According to some researchers, response expectancies, or ‘the expectation of one’s own non-volitional reactions to situational cues’ are thought to play a major part in both hypnosis and placebo responding. Let’s translate that: a person’s belief that they will respond to [...]

That old mind-body thing again…

Editor’s Selection IconI am not a philosopher.  Neither am I very conversant in the arguments around consciousness.  But working in pain management means the mind-body debate is something I run into now and again.  Is pain all about the body? Is pain all about the mind? Or is it both?  Which influences the other?
This debate [...]

What is an acceptable outcome?

Recently I’ve been doing some content analysis of the responses people entering our service have to the question ‘What is your goal for pain management?’ The question is designed to find out what it is that people want so that in some way we can work to meet their expectations.
Along similar lines I’ve been [...]

Blog roundup

I’m taking a break from tradition today, and linking to several blog posts that caught my eye for a number of reasons.
The first is from the excellent Science-based Medicine, written by David Gorsky (don’t you like how he uses his own name – no pseudonyms here! BTW you can get my details on the About [...]

Take the pain away and the other problems go too? A loooooong post

There are some days I despair that the biopsychosocial model will EVER take hold in the died-in-the-wool medical interventionist strongholds.
This quote from a discussion with a colleague might help you join in my pity party…The conversation is about a case of a young woman with 18 month history of neck pain post-MVA, she has been [...]

Questioning: a skill for health

I must have driven my parents mad as a child: I’m the eternal 4 year old asking ‘Why’! It’s got me into a lot of trouble over the years when I can’t seem to sit with the status quo, just need to ask the question, understand the reasons things are the way they are – [...]

How do you decide when to stop doing something?

There are plenty of times when it’s easy to give up on doing something – just ask me to do the vacuum cleaning or do a workout at the gym! On the other hand, there are plenty of times when someone close to me sighs and asks ‘How long are you going to be?’ [...]

More about acupuncture: press needles as a placebo

Slightly tangential to my normal topics, I located this article today on a placebo procedure that may work for acupuncture.
Many people will be aware that in acupuncture, it’s really difficult to truly conduct a double-blind trial where both the person receiving and the person giving the treatment are unaware of which is the ‘active’ treatment. [...]

Thinking about thinking…

For a long time I thought everyone thought about what they think about, how they think about it, and what their thinking concluded – now I know that some people never do this and live on simply following the rules (and probably having a fun and relaxed time of it!).  I, on the other hand, [...]