Health
Psychiatrist reveals how simple mindset shifts can significantly reduce chronic pain
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Chronic pain can be debilitating and frustrating, especially among aging adults.
While physical remedies and treatments can provide some relief, experts have found that shifting one’s mindset — or the way the brain approaches pain — can actually ease the discomfort.
Dr. Daniel Amen, a California-based psychiatrist and founder of Amen Clinics, has studied how changing the brain can help defeat chronic pain, as shared in his new book, “Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain.”
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In an on-camera interview with Fox News Digital, Amen noted that many people don’t know that chronic pain doesn’t just live in the joints, the knees or the back.
“If it’s been around for more than three weeks, it is now living in your brain,” he said. “There are actually circuits in your brain that feel pain. They feel both physical pain and emotional pain.”
Pain that sticks around for more than three weeks is also living in the brain, according to the doctor. (iStock)
Some medications that treat depression are FDA-approved for chronic pain, treating both emotional and physical imbalances, according to Amen.
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“It’s because they work on the same circuits in the brain,” he said. “The healthier your brain is, the less physical pain and emotional pain you’ll be in.”
That doesn’t mean, however, someone is “making up” the discomfort in their head, the psychiatrist emphasized.
“It’s going to be a lot more effective if you get your back and your brain working together.” (iStock)
If the brain — which is an organ like any other — begins to work too hard in certain areas, or not hard enough, finding ways to balance it can ease pain and calm the whole body, Amen noted.
In his book, he introduces the “doom loop” — chronic pain activates the suffering circuit in the brain, which then triggers negativity and muscle tension, followed by bad habits.
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“It gets you into the spiral … Your brain is out of control,” Amen said. “Which means if you have back pain, all the muscles around that inflamed area are clamping down and making you hurt even more.”
“It doesn’t mean you won’t need surgery — it just means it’s going to be a lot more effective if you get your back and your brain working together.”
“The healthier your brain is, the less physical pain and emotional pain you’ll be in.”
For people dealing with chronic pain, Amen recommends first checking in on the health of the brain.
“Ask yourself, ‘What does the pain mean to you?’” he suggested, adding that the biggest worry around pain is often the fear of losing freedom.
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Pain is often a symptom of repressed rage, Amen said, citing rehabilitation physician and chronic pain author John Sarno.
“Repressed emotions have to go somewhere, and they in fact go to the pain circuits in your brain that can then activate back pain, knee pain, neck pain,” he shared.
Amen warned of falling into the “doom loop,” which leads from physical pain to negativity, muscle tension and bad habits. (iStock)
The doctor suggested a practice he calls “emotional freedom,” which involves journaling about every five-year span of your life, writing down what happened during those blocks of time. This can include positive experiences, or moments of sorrow and anguish.
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“You really get a sense of where these repressed emotions could be,” he said.
Keeping a positive attitude and optimistic outlook can also suppress anger, therefore relieving pain, the doctor added.
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Just four minutes of daily strength exercises can dramatically improve mobility, balance and leg strength in older adults, per new research from the Penn State College of Medicine.
Standard public health guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. However, the study suggests that fewer than one in five older adults meet the recommended muscle-strengthening guidelines.
The research team designed a home-based program called Functional Activity Strength Training, or FAST-2. They evaluated 97 sedentary participants 65 and older, with an average age of 74.
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Before entering the study, these individuals were averaging just 18 minutes of total physical activity each week.
The older adults were randomly split into two groups, with one group performing the daily exercise routine and the other serving as a control group that received no intervention, according to the study’s press release.
Just four minutes of daily home strength training can significantly improve mobility, balance and leg strength in older adults, according to a Penn State College of Medicine study. (iStock)
Participants performed four basic movements for 30 seconds each, separated by 30-second rest intervals. The entire routine lasted exactly four minutes. The circuit consisted of push-ups, chair stands, two-arm resistance-band rows and stair stepping.
To keep the routine accessible, researchers provided written explanations and simple modifications. For example, participants could perform push-ups against a kitchen counter or wall, or use their hands on their knees for support during chair stands.
Participants were also given four elastic resistance bands and an adjustable step platform.
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“Exercise is actually really complicated, because you have to decide how many repetitions, how far, how many sets, how much rest and how many times per week,” co-author Smita Dandekar, associate professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine, said in the press release.
“It’s hard work … so if we can make it short, we’re part [of the] way there.”
The program consisted of four basic movements: push-ups, chair stands, resistance-band rows and stair stepping. (iStock)
As the participants grew stronger, they were encouraged to progress to higher levels of difficulty, such as transitioning away from modifications or increasing the height of the stepper.
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After 12 weeks, the results suggested that a tiny dose of regular exercise could yield noticeable physical benefits. In a 30-second chair-stand test, the exercise group performed an average of 4.2 more repetitions than the control group.
“These indicators … give you a sense of whether or not you’re going to be able to be active in the future.”
The adults doing the exercises also shaved 2.3 seconds off their time during a test measuring how they could stand up and sit down five times consecutively. Furthermore, they extended their one-legged balance time by an average of 3.6 seconds.
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The researchers emphasized that these specific measurements are critical medical indicators of an older adult’s future health.
By keeping the routine ultra-short, researchers eliminated common barriers like time constraints and exhaustion, resulting in an exceptionally high 81% workout completion rate. (iStock)
“These indicators predict your future ability to go into a nursing home, your future likelihood of falling and of developing difficulty walking,” noted lead author Christopher Sciamanna, professor of medicine and of public health at Penn State College of Medicine, in the press release.
“They give you a sense of whether or not you’re going to be able to be active in the future.”
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While traditional home exercise programs generally see low engagement, the participants in this study successfully completed their workouts on 81% of the tracked days, according to the researchers.
After 12 weeks, exercising seniors gained the ability to complete an average of four more chair-stand repetitions than those who did not exercise. (iStock)
The study had several noted limitations. As it tracked a relatively small sample size of fewer than 100 individuals over a brief 12-week time frame, it is unknown whether these mobility gains can be sustained long-term.
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Additionally, the researchers did not specify the exact dropout rates or detail how the routine might affect seniors who already relied on assistive devices like walkers or canes.
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Because the final trial results reflected a specific group of participants who met the entry criteria, further investigation is required to determine whether the short routine can safely benefit older adults facing more severe physical limitations or cognitive decline.
The study was published in the journal PLOS One.
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Jill Smokler, founder of Scary Mommy, has died at age 48 after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
The popular “mommy blogger” had been fighting the disease for the past two years, according to an announcement posted on ScaryMommy.com on Monday.
The stay-at-home mother of three launched the blog in 2008 as a place to share the “joys and pitfalls” of parenting, according to the article.
As Scary Mommy expanded from a personal blog into a major parenting brand, Smokler built a following with her honest, often self-deprecating take on motherhood. She went on to speak at blogging conferences, author bestselling books, appear on national television programs and earn three Webby Awards, her biography states.
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“Jill spent her life telling the truth about motherhood — that it could be wonderful and impossible in the very same breath — and in doing so, she gave millions of women permission to stop pretending and feel a little less alone,” her family shared in a statement following her passing.
Jill Smokler, founder of Scary Mommy (pictured in 2018), has died at age 48 after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/ZUMA Press Wire / Shutterstock)
“She was funny, fearless, generous and entirely herself. More than anything she built, Jill was proudest of her three children, Lily, Ben and Evan. We are heartbroken to lose her, and endlessly proud of the mark she left on the world.”
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Smokler’s first sign of the disease was in April 2024, when she experienced a sudden seizure. She then underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, after which she didn’t recognize her own children, she previously shared with Today.
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“I am definitely grateful that I don’t remember the looks on their faces when I didn’t recognize them,” she said. “That must have been gutting.”
Smokler was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults and one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. There is currently no cure.
About 13.9% of all brain tumors are glioblastomas, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. (iStock)
Following surgery, the blogger underwent radiation and chemotherapy, during which she was open about her treatment side effects, including fatigue and hair loss. Additional surgeries and clinical trials followed, according to previous interviews.
“Thank you, Jill, for everything. May you rest in peace,” the Scary Mommy post concluded.
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About 13.9% of all brain tumors are glioblastomas, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. More than 12,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year.
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Median survival is approximately 12 to 18 months after diagnosis, even with treatment. Only about 5% to 7% of patients survive five years after diagnosis, data shows.
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