Mindfulness for Pain
A toolkit to explore and manage pain using mindfulness techniques.
Chronic pain affects 1 in 5 people in Scotland, and difficulty with pain – whether chronic or acute – is one of the most common motivations for students and staff attending the mindfulness classes at the Chaplaincy.
Read Dr Kitty Wheater’s practical MindLetter, Mindfulness for Pain, on the nervous system’s reaction to pain, and the three ‘R’s of responding wisely.
Kitty runs regular Mindfulness for Pain workshops online during the academic year. This workshop explores common cognitive patterning around pain, as well as simple practices to down-regulate the nervous system’s response. Workshop dates are announced here.
The Mindfulness for Pain toolkit below is available to all, and designed to be used and revisited at any time.
1. Mindfulness for Pain: an Introduction
In this presentation, Kitty explores the common cognitive patterning around pain, whether chronic or acute.
- Video: Mindfulness for Pain
- Recording of Mindfulness for Pain workshop
2. Mindfulness Practices for Pain
Beginners’ practices
Part 1: Resourcing for Pain Audio only (9 mins)
Part 2: Pain: Resource, Recognise, Respond Audio only (9 mins)
Further practices
Mindfulness of What’s Pleasant Audio only (25 mins)
Mindfulness of the Pleasant Audio only (20 mins)
A Spacious Awareness of Pain and Discomfort Audio only (28 mins)
For live sessions during the week to steady and ground the mind, join the twice-weekly lunchtime Mindfulness Drop-in Sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays.
3. Pain First Response Worksheet
Pain is one of the most challenging experiences we can have, but our reactions to it tend to follow predictable patterns. Use the worksheet below, in combination with the resources above, to investigate your own experience of pain and what you find helpful with it. Print and pin the worksheet somewhere prominent, using it as a prompt to help you navigate pain as it arises over time.
