Pain

A hospital corridor with a woman asleep on a bench and a doctor walking away in the background.
MIND-BODY INTERACTIONS
1

‘Invisible diseases’ burden both body and mind. Can therapy help?

Hard-to-diagnose illnesses aren’t ‘all in the mind’. But recognising their links to mental health can help reduce the pain

by Karina Waluk

A smiling runner in a yellow shirt high-fiving a cheering crowd on a street lined with buildings and trees.
GOALS AND MOTIVATION

What runners call the ‘pain cave’

Widely discussed in running circles, there’s a place you go when your body gives up and there’s only mental strength left

by Richard Fisher

Photo of a person at a computer by a window with potted plants, framed by rooftops outside, mug and French press nearby.
THE BODY AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
10

How to live with chronic illness

Whatever your own experience of long-haul sickness, a shift in perspective could help you enjoy a full and happier life

by Jennifer Crystal

Photo of a woman in white comforting an elderly woman in a hospital gown with their foreheads touching in a hospital room.
PAIN

Medicine has failed chronic pain patients. Here’s what they need

Modern healthcare has failed those in pain. It’s time to treat the whole patient with empathy, kindness – and the truth

by Haider Warraich

Photo of a woman in a yellow top using her phone at a table, with a blurred person in the foreground.
PAIN

Sometimes other people know your pain better than you

Why turning to others can give us the self-knowledge we need to understand and manage the experience of our own pain

by Kenneth Boyd

Photo of delicate white cherry blossoms on thin dark branches against a white background.
PAIN
13

How to live well with persistent pain

Tools from acceptance and commitment therapy can help you sidestep the struggle against pain – and thrive, in spite of it

by Whitney Scott

Photo of assorted fresh foods on a wooden table including fruit veg cheese meat fish nuts spices oil bread and herbs.
PAIN
16

Solving chronic pain via the kitchen, not the medicine cabinet

While medicine still struggles with the mystery of chronic pain, simple dietary changes can bring much-needed relief

by Rowena Field

Photo of a cityscape at sunset with silhouetted buildings and a person on a bridge in the foreground.
PAIN

Chronic pain forces a strange dance: performing wellness for others

Living with chronic pain has taught me that pain is boring for others and that our bodies are fragile containers for life

by Jude Cook