This book speaks to anyone in pain, to their families and friends, and to the caregivers around them. It does not focus on bodily injury, nor on the neurophysiology and pharmacology of disease. Instead, the author begins by examining what pain is—particularly physical pain, recurring pain, chronic pain—and how other suffering can layer onto it: muscle tension, defensive posture, involuntary contraction. From there, he explores the mounting psychophysical stress that leads to depression, and how to avoid it.
Muscle relaxation exercises give way to mental relaxation exercises, reflections on what remains positive in a sufferer's life (interests, abilities, opportunities), and invaluable advice for family members, friends, and caregivers—guidance on the kind of real, constructive help only they can provide.
One thing is certain: pain can amplify and multiply, yet specific attitudes and exercises can diminish it and make it more bearable. These interventions are simple and effective, but they require patience and goodwill from everyone involved. The author addresses the sick first, because "many have grown irritable, withdrawn, pessimistic through illness—they have changed for the worse. This process can be stopped and reversed. You can change for the better." Much depends on the will to fight suffering, by exercising your capacity to notice sensations, to recognize when pain rises and falls, and to understand what may have caused those shifts. At the outset of this learning process and its foundational exercises, the author offers this wisdom—almost a guiding motto: "I do not exult if something succeeds, I do not despair if something fails: I continue."
Peace is always possible, and moments of peace can grow. This is the book's clear and consoling message.
- Natalia Livi, 1994
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