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Healing, Strengthening, and Advancing the Lives of LGBTQ People Seeking Recovery

Can Mental Tricks Manage Pain? Day 6

Saying a mantra Repeating a mantra—usually a sound, word, phrase, or a prayer—is a common practice in many religions and it can relieve pain as well. As little as 30 seconds of using a mantra can dampen unpleasant sensations, says Ellen Slawsby, PhD, director of Pain Services at the Benson Henry Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Slawsby recommends a picking neutral or positive word or phrase rather than a sound. “That’s using something inborn, an internal mechanism to elicit your own endorphins or endogenous morphine,” she says.

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