This book is an educational/self-help guide for learning how to manage living with persistent pain. There are several mind-body exercises to master, which will reduce suffering as the reader becomes practiced in their use. In the book, we will discuss the nature of pain, stress, the impact of distress on the experience of pain and ways of caring for self. The goal is to become an excellent conservator of the ecological system that is you and learn to keep yourself in physical-mental-spiritual balance.
In this practical guide for sufferers of chronic pain, Philip R. Appel, PhD, presents strategies for pain reduction garnered from over four decades of clinical practice as a pain psychologist. Dr. Appel served as Director Emeritus of the Psychology Service at the MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C. where he worked with medical and surgical patients suffering persistent pain. He was also an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University Medical School. Prior to his 36-year tenure at the Hospital, he served as a Behavioral Science officer in the Army.