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lost_luna's review against another edition
4.75
Genuinely found this so helpful at explaining pain and giving me ideas of how to cope with it.
ammmiiiii's review against another edition
3.0
A really interesting look at the latest research in pain, and the philosophical, psychological, and (surprisingly small) medical basis of it. Easy to digest, succinct, and packed full of further reading.
milandeep's review against another edition
5.0
I find it hard to read books written by doctors but Dr. Monty Lyman turned out to be an exception. He is a medical doctor, author and research fellow at the University of Oxford. When an old injury started to hurt again, I thought I would read up on the pain which led me to this book: The Painful Truth. In this book, Dr. Lyman looks at the various aspects of the pain which are quite uncommon but make a lot of sense and I don't think that most of the doctors pay attention to the various facets of pain discussed in the book. A few things I've learned from the book:
• Pain is a protector, not a detector.
• Pain is not a measure of injury.
• Pain is a decision made by the brain and has a memory.
• Pain is both sensory and emotional.
• Short-term pain is good for us; it is necessary for survival.
• Hypnosis can help in alleviating the pain in some cases.
• Opioids are good for short-term pain, but harmful when used for long-term.
• The experience of pain can enhance the pleasure of the reward.
• If you see someone in pain, your body tends to react to that pain.
• Social media has magnified our social pain.
• How much pain a person feels also depends upon his cultural upbringing.
• Our expectations powerfully influence our perception of pain.
As Dr. Lyman says, "Pain is an integral part of human existence." He suggests to learn about the pain, change your thinking about it which makes the brain less reactive to pain. Everyone feels pain differently and each one of us have different threshold levels of pain. We all have to live with pain from time to time. There are no quick fixes. Healing from pain is a gradual process and learning about is the first step we can take.
• Pain is a protector, not a detector.
• Pain is not a measure of injury.
• Pain is a decision made by the brain and has a memory.
• Pain is both sensory and emotional.
• Short-term pain is good for us; it is necessary for survival.
• Hypnosis can help in alleviating the pain in some cases.
• Opioids are good for short-term pain, but harmful when used for long-term.
• The experience of pain can enhance the pleasure of the reward.
• If you see someone in pain, your body tends to react to that pain.
• Social media has magnified our social pain.
• How much pain a person feels also depends upon his cultural upbringing.
• Our expectations powerfully influence our perception of pain.
As Dr. Lyman says, "Pain is an integral part of human existence." He suggests to learn about the pain, change your thinking about it which makes the brain less reactive to pain. Everyone feels pain differently and each one of us have different threshold levels of pain. We all have to live with pain from time to time. There are no quick fixes. Healing from pain is a gradual process and learning about is the first step we can take.
poorlywordedbookreviews's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
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