#communication tip

By Jennifer L. Murphy, Ph.D., and Samantha Rafie, Ph.D. and Reviewed by Jessica Schrader from PsychologyToday.com.

“Key Points:

If you live with chronic pain, your experience needs to be shared and you’re the best person to do it.

Be specific about your pain, including the functional impacts on various areas of your life.

If a loved one has chronic pain, it may be best to offer practical assistance rather than advice.”

Read the full article here -->

A common theme for Chronic Pain survivors is that people simply cannot understand the experience and even think it's fake or exaggerated.

When telling someone that you don’t want to do something, make it clear whether its a non-want or an anti-want. Here is the difference:

want- positive feeling toward the option. You would rather this thing happen than any other option

non- neutral feeling toward the option. Perhaps you hadn’t thought about it. But you would not be affected whether or not the option is selected.

anti- you feel negatively about the option. You would rather select something else.

Communication Tip- Are You Using Magic Mist in Your Life? Think about the last presentation you watched or gave. How many times did you want to spray a magic mist over your face and body so that others would see someone other than the real you? Along the same lines, how many times did you want to spray someone else with magic mist so that you’d be more comfortable watching or listening to them during their presentation?