Publisher's Synopsis
Audience The intended audience for this book is people who suffer with chronic pain as well as their families, friends, loved ones, and employers. Research from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that over 20% of the U.S. population (approximately 66 million people) suffer from chronic pain. When you include their families and loved ones, the population who is intensely interested in this topic is at least 120 million people in the U.S. alone. There is still a very large market for chronic pain sufferers as well as their families, employers, and loved ones looking for help and relief. Chronic pain is still poorly treated by traditional medicine, which fares far better with acute disease than with chronic illness such as chronic pain. Reflecting this concern, both the CDC and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now have policy statements recommending non-medication treatments for chronic pain whenever possible, because of the many difficulties inherent with drug management of chronic pain. The ABC Method for Healing Chronic Pain reflects that orientation. The ABC Method for Healing Chronic Pain is written to appeal to this population. The common experience of the patient suffering with chronic pain is years of searching for a proper diagnosis and treatments that work. Typically, these patients are still dissatisfied with results after years of seeking treatments. Often, individuals living with chronic pain experience multiple maladies (called comorbidities) including multiple sites of physical pain, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. It can often take years to get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan that encompasses this complexity. Therefore, this is a population who is highly motivated to seek plain-speaking, practical information about specific steps they can take to feel better. This book will speak directly to that need. The book is written to be accessible and helpful to pain sufferers of all reading levels. What's Distinctive About This Book? The ABC Method is a compendium of the most effective strategies for healing chronic pain, compiled by a board-certified clinical health psychologist who has specialized in this area for over 36 years. Topics covered in the book were chosen based on Dr Weisberg's direct clinical experience listening to patients. The ABC Method is guided by an integrative medicine orientation, directed at helping the reader to optimize their own self-healing resources to find lasting relief. The ABC Method removes the stigma of chronic pain being a "psychosomatic disorder" and instead provides neuroscience-informed information about how chronic pain is a real physical disorder that can be worsened by the normal emotions of grief and anxiety that occur in response to chronic distress. The reader is introduced (in simple, accessible language) to the concept of psychoneuroimmunology, the science of how emotions and beliefs tangibly change the nervous system and immune system - for better or worse. The ABC Method provides the patient/reader with the opportunity to have a complete, personalized pain assessment, bringing needed insight for their treatment planning. The ABC Method is comprehensive, addressing not only biomechanics and stresses but also nutrition, pacing, sleep, brain science, and the physiology of breathing exercises and grounding techniques. The ABC Method provides in-depth guidance on the value of clinical hypnosis, as Dr Weisberg has over 36 years of experience using clinical hypnosis to help his patients heal from chronic pain. The ABC Method empowers the reader with Limbic Retraining, a powerful technique developed by Dr Weisberg for calming the false alarms in the brain caused by chronic pain. The ABC Method clarifies how allowing tears can be a powerful intervention that can reset an agitated nervous system. The ABC Method integrates the latest findings from neuroscience regarding positive neuroplasticity, the exciting research that shows that the nervous system can learn new, adaptive neural pathways that can reduce pain and increase comfort. The ABC Method introduces the concept of "state-dependent memory" - the notion that chronic pain symptoms are sometimes maintained or worsened by past traumatic experiences stored deep in the brain. The ABC Method is filled with time-tested, practical exercises used by Dr Weisberg to successfully treat hundreds of patients with chronic pain. The ABC Method serves not only as a "once-read" book, but also as an ongoing resource guide where readers can refer back to a particular chapter or section as needed over time. The ABC Method introduces the reader to the problem of "Normal Dissociation" that occurs in chronic pain, and how to remove this obstacle to healing.
