Does Your Chronic Pain Story Sound Like This?

· You’ve been dealing with pain for a while now and you’ve spent a lot of time with doctors trying to get rid of it

· You’ve endured pills, injections, spinal adjustments, acupuncture needles, surgeries, and/or other treatments that haven't helped you enough

· All together, the medical condition, treatments, annoying people, and physical disabilities have caused you to feel a lot of stress, worry, anger, hopelessness,  sadness, and…..yes……more pain

    Then, during one of your many medical         appointments, your doctor tells you,   

"I'm sorry, you’ll just have to live with the pain.  There are no more options that will help you.”

          This sounds like they’re saying, “You’re Doomed!!”  

      Fortunately, they are wrong and you are not doomed. You have one more very powerful option:

You Have You

What does that mean, "you have you!?"  

  It means

· You are the one who knows your body better than anyone

· You are the one who has the highest motivation to make changes

· You, and not your doctor, are in the best position to create more comfort and return back to life

· Because You are the one who has the power to do all that

You might ask the question, “How!?”  I can show you.  As you read the material below I will explain how you can take charge of your body and develop more comfort in your life.

What is a Pain Psychologist?  As a Pain Psychologist and Behavioral Medicine Specialist,

My overall goal is to work with you to discover how you can more comfortably “live life” – not merely “live with the pain.”

• I’m experienced in addressing the problems of people struggling with a number of chronic conditions, including Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Nicotine addiction.

• I have a very strong sub-specialty in Pain Psychology. and can support and train people-in-pain to use their mind and behavior to alter their nervous systems so that they feel more comfortable and become more active in life.

• The “Skills and Pills” approach I advocate combines my Comfort Skills Training program with a moderate amount of pain medicine and physical therapy provided by other healthcare professionals. 

• Research has shown that this combination is more helpful than medical treatment alone.

• In the sections below I will describe “Comfort Therapy,” a very different approach to helping you find ways to get some relief.

What Do I Believe About Most of You

Based on the latest research and on my 20-years of experience, I believe in the following facts about chronic pain and you:

• You are not imagining the pain

• You are not a complicated “head case”

• You are not a hopeless, helpless, weak victim of chronic pain

• You are not playing some pity-game to get sympathy

• You are not lazy just because you may avoid work or other activities

• You are not a desperate drug addict just because you use pain medicine

• You are not trying to cheat insurance companies or the government when you receive the disability money they owe you

That’s right. The vast majority of you are not faking, imagining, or exaggerating your condition, nor did you create it. As a person-in-pain, you’re likely to encounter unfair criticism about your situation. Some doctors, family members, friends, supervisors, or co-workers may openly express doubt that you hurt or they criticize you about the changes you’ve had to make in your daily routine. Unfortunately, your pain condition is all too real and you’re doing the best you can to deal with it.

A Better Solution → Comfort Therapy

Comfort Therapy is a skill-based practice that helps you pursue Comfort instead of managing, accepting, or running away from pain. This method is based on findings from clinical and brain-based research, as well as from my personal experience working with, and learning from, people-in-pain.

What do I mean by “Comfort” and how does it help you? First of all, let’s look at

• “Misery.” This is made up of painful moods, panicky feelings and negative thoughts and expectations.

  • It includes one or more of the following negative emotional states: depression, anxiety, anger, and/or stress.

  • When Misery increases, it sensitizes your nervous system and that increases pain.

• "Comfort" is the opposite of Misery.

  • It’s made up of pleasurable moods, calm feelings and hopeful, positive thoughts and expectations.

  • It includes one or more of the following positive emotional states: joy, peace, calm and hopefulness.

  • When you raise your Comfort level it calms your brain and nerves to the point that you’ll either

    • 1) feel less physical discomfort, or

    • 2) feel less bothered by pain even when its level hasn’t change

    • You might also find yourself engaging in more activities

• "Comfort Skills." One way to raise your Comfort level is through a collection of techniques and lifestyle changes that I call “Comfort Skills.”

  • Many of these come from standard pain management training but are used here to raise Comfort instead of managing pain.

  • Some of the Comfort Skills include:

    • Hypnosis, Meditation, Imagery and Relaxation

    • Pain Flare Prevention

    • Goal Setting

    • Laughter and Fun

    • Limit-Setting with Annoying People

    • Sleep and Rest Practices

    • Memory Improvement

    • Problem Solving and Other Skills to Change Negative Thoughts and Moods.  

• As a Comfort Therapist, I will train you in Comfort Skills and explore with you your own resources to reduce the Misery in your life. The program primarily offers individual sessions.  Over time, as you utilize this training and support, you may experience what many of my previous clients have – a comfortably satisfying and active life.

What You Can Do Next

• Contact Dr Daniel Lev.  If you have any questions or would like to set an appointment, please give me a call or text me at 808-633-6569, or send an email to  TheComfortDoc@gmail.com