Here is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of Freedom From Headache Pain. It describes an interaction between Anne, the migraine headache sufferer, and Dr. Ben Zood who is helping her. Read it and try the pain relief technique described.

CHAPTER 6: Release from the Spiral of Agony

Anne understood what Dr. Zood was saying -- her attempt to fight or escape from the headaches only increased her pain. Still, she was discouraged because she thought she was doomed to her fate of severe headaches. "If there's no way out, then what can I do?" she asked. "It sounds as if I'm going to have to put up with pain forever!"

"Only if you choose to," Dr. Zood stated assuredly, "You don't have to put up with migraine pain forever. Migraine and other severe headaches can be eliminated, but you must realize that you cannot force your way out of the spiral of agony. The way out is a matter of insight, of seeing that trying to force your way out just digs you in deeper. The key to ending headache seems almost nonsensical at first  -- which is why so many people suffer. The first key is to stop trying to fight the pain, and to stop trying to escape from the pain."

Dr. Zood watched Anne's jaw drop in disbelief, and then he elaborated, "Let me explain with an analogy. A person afraid of drowning will struggle and flail around.This just increases the chances of drowning quickly. Fighting or trying to escape simply makes things worse. What is the perfect thing to do when drowning? If you stop struggling and just lean back and relax, you will float. Severe headache is similar -- fighting the pain or trying to escape from it makes it much worse. You must stop fighting the pain, and you must stop trying to escape from it."

Though the drowning analogy made sense to Anne, she was perplexed about how a drowning person could ever be persuaded to stop struggling. "I've got to fight these headaches! How can I stop struggling?" she asked, "It sounds as if you are asking me NOT to take my hand off a hot stove, and just stand there and suffer!" There was obvious annoyance and frustration in Anne's voice.

"Your question of how  to stop struggling is an astute one," Dr. Zood responded, "People often resist the idea of not fighting pain -- they fear they will be stuck in pain forever. If you saw a drowning person struggling, how could you tell them to relax and stop fighting? They would probably think you are crazy. It takes a tremendous leap of faith to do the perfect thing here.  First you must understand that trying to fight the pain or to escape from it makes the pain worse. Then you must experience for yourself that the pain changes when you stop fighting or trying to escape.  The way to stop fighting or trying to escape is to turn your attention to the feeling of pain in your body, and stay with it. The natural reflex is to turn your attention away from the pain to avoid it, to bury it. Believe it or not, you must learn to turn your attention toward the pain, to examine the sensation of the pain, and to examine the emotion associated with the sensation. Most people continue the fight -- they never stop struggling with the pain, so they never see what happens when they stop fighting. Here, let's try another experiment."

Dr. Zood picked up the pliers and handed them to Anne. "I will let you do this, because I want you to be in control. Take the pliers and slowly squeeze one of your fingers. There's no danger here -- you can always stop when it hurts too much. I want you to direct your attention to the feeling in your finger  as you increase the pressure. Pay very close attention to the feeling, and don't let your mind wander away from it."

Anne placed the pliers around her left index finger and started squeezing gently. She felt the pressure building. Dr. Zood said, "Tell me what you are feeling as you go along."

Anne replied, "I feel some pressure in my finger. Now it's starting to hurt."

"Good," said Dr. Zood, "now pay very close attention to that hurting feeling as you increase the pressure."

Anne directed her attention to the feeling in her finger. It hurt, but it was unlike anything she could remember. This was the first time she ever turned her attention toward pain without trying to escape. As the pain increased, Dr. Zood observed her wince slightly, and she started breathing faster.

Dr. Zood spoke softly, "Anne, notice how your body is reacting now. Pay attention to the feelings in the rest of your body. These are the feelings of trying to fight or escape. Pay attention to your muscle tension and to your breathing.  Without trying to change anything, be aware of the rest of your body."

Anne noticed that her breathing was getting shallower and more strained, and that the muscles in both her arms were trembling. The pain was intense now -- she felt like screaming. She let out a little cry.

"Okay, that's enough for now," said Dr. Zood. Anne removed the pliers and started to shake her finger.  He asked, "What were you feeling besides the sensation of pain in your finger?"

"I felt like running away! It reminded me of the feeling I had when I was a child and I was being chased by a nasty dog. I was desperate to get away. My mind was screaming!"

"Where did you feel that in your body?" asked Dr. Zood.

"My stomach was tight, and it was hard to breathe," replied Anne.  Then she looked down at her finger. "Ow! My finger hurts!" she exclaimed, as if she regretted squeezing it in the pliers. She was looking at the pressure indentation on her finger, and at the whiteness where the pressure had stopped the blood flow.

Dr. Zood leaned forward and spoke earnestly. "Here is another excellent opportunity to practice. Stop shaking your finger and trying to escape from the pain. Pay close attention to the feeling in your finger. Take a deep breath, relax, and turn your attention to the sensation in your finger."

Anne leaned back in her chair, looked up at the ceiling, and took a deep breath. She stopped shaking her hurting finger, and tightly grasped her left hand with the right. As she turned her attention to the finger, she noticed that it hurt, but it also had a cold, itchy feeling. "My finger feels really itchy!" she exclaimed with surprise.

"Yes, itching is a mild sensation of pain. Most people are amazed at what happens when they pay attention to pain -- the sensation changes. The common reaction to pain is to focus on the emotional distress accompanying pain, and to try to escape. When we try to escape from pain, we turn our attention away from it, so we stop noticing the actual sensation. The next time you have any kind of pain at all, I want you to gently  turn your attention toward it. Do not try to fight or escape! Be with the pain, the pain is part of you. Accept the pain, give in to it, and don't fight it. Just let go and surrender to it. In other words, feel  the pain, go to the center of it."

"Surrender to it and feel it." Anne repeated under her breath. She looked at her finger and focused her attention on how it felt. She smiled as she noticed the feelings in her finger changing to a slight numbness.

Dr. Zood beamed.  He was watching Anne smile as she looked at her finger -- he could see she had discovered something valuable. "The next time you sense a headache coming on, I want you to remember this lesson," he said in a compassionate voice. "First, do not try to escape from your sensations and feelings. Pay close attention to the feelings in your head, and accept them. If there is any pain, do not fight it. Instead, just be with it and feel it. You know from years of experience that fighting migraine pain doesn't help, don't you? You can't run from it either, can you? It always wins. Do the one thing you have never done before, and that is to feel the pain and surrender completely." Anne sighed and nodded her agreement.

Dr. Zood continued, "Fighting pain just strengthens it. So do something different. Get rid of your old habits, they didn't work. Stop fighting, and give in. Let the pain have its way. Let it sink in, as water sinks into sand. Don't resist!  Take a deep breath, feel the pain, and relax into it as much as you can."

Anne shot Dr. Zood an incredulous look that said, "You've got to be kidding!"  Then she spoke out loud with obvious annoyance and sarcasm. "Relax into migraine pain? That sounds like relaxing while the dentist gives you a root canal without any anesthetic!"

Dr. Zood replied, "Yes, I understand. That does sound unbelievable to you now, doesn't it?  There is a special technique I will teach you called Relaxed Focusing. With practice, this technique will eventually help you to relax into pain. It takes a while to learn, but it is well worth it.  The idea behind relaxed focusing is twofold. First, you teach yourself to get into a deeply relaxed state, which is incompatible with the defensive reflex. Second, you teach yourself to maintain a highly focused attention on a single point while you are relaxed. Both these skills require practice, just like learning to ride a bike. Neither relaxing on demand nor intently focusing attention come easily for most people, and combining them is even more difficult. We are trying to achieve a state that doesn't occur often in normal, daily life.  Usually, when we are paying rapt attention to something, our bodies tend to tense up. An example is when we are watching an exciting sports event. Conversely, when we are very relaxed, our minds tend to wander.  That's why we need practice to be able to relax and focus at the same time. Shall we try it right now?"

Try the technique described above the next time you have any pain. Let us know how it works for you. For another free excerpt from the book that describes the technique of  Relaxed Focusing,  please send an email by clicking here.