After two serious spinal injuries, Vidyamala Burch found herself facing the loneliness of disability and chronic pain with few skills or resources to turn to. But instead of giving up, she set out on a mission to embrace her physical challenges with compassion, acceptance, and peace. Living Well with Pain and Illness shares the fruits of her courageous life's work, teaching us how the practice of mindfulness can help us thrive in the face of health challenges of any kind. Drawing on the wisdom of a dozen years teaching meditation and a lifetime of study of the benefits of mindful living, Vidyamala encourages readers with insights and instruction in: The five-step model of mindfulness and how to use it to foster healing The Breathworks approach to meditation, and how to apply it to health concerns such as migraines, arthritis, and chronic fatigue Step-by-step techniques, illustrations, and case studies demonstrating how to effectively bring mindfulness into daily life Chronic pain has been called the modern world's silent epidemic. Billions are spent every year in an attempt to cope, yet the best solution available may be absolutely cost-free mindful living. In Living Well with Pain and Illness, Vidyamala Burch presents a work that is at once an inspirational memoir and practical guidebook for using mindfulness to reframe your relationship with physical and emotional suffering.

Comfort, understanding, and advice for those who are suffering--and those who care for them. Chronic illness creates many challenges, from career crises and relationship issues to struggles with self-blame, personal identity, and isolation. Beloved author Toni Bernhard addresses these challenges and many more, using practical examples to illustrate how mindfulness, equanimity, and compassion can help readers make peace with a life turned upside down. In her characteristic conversational style, Bernhard shows how to cope and make the most of life despite the challenges of chronic illness. Benefit from: • Mindfulness exercises to mitigate physical and emotional pain • Concrete advice for negotiating the everyday hurdles of medical appointments, household chores, and social obligations • Tools for navigating the strains illness can place on relationships Several chapters are directed toward family and friends of the chronically ill, helping them to understand what their loved one is going through and how they can help. Humorous and empathetic, Bernhard shares her own struggles and setbacks with unflinching honesty, offering invaluable support in the search to find peace and well-being.

In the United States, chronic diseases currently account for 70 percent of all deaths, and close to 48 million Americans report a disability related to a chronic condition. Today, about one in four Americans have multiple diseases and the prevalence and burden of chronic disease in the elderly and racial/ethnic minorities are notably disproportionate. Chronic disease has now emerged as a major public health problem and it threatens not only population health, but our social and economic welfare. Living Well with Chronic Disease identifies the population-based public health actions that can help reduce disability and improve functioning and quality of life among individuals who are at risk of developing a chronic disease and those with one or more diseases. The book recommends that all major federally funded programmatic and research initiatives in health include an evaluation on health-related quality of life and functional status. Also, the book recommends increasing support for implementation research on how to disseminate effective longterm lifestyle interventions in community-based settings that improve living well with chronic disease. Living Well with Chronic Disease uses three frameworks and considers diseases such as heart disease and stroke, diabetes, depression, and respiratory problems. The book's recommendations will inform policy makers concerned with health reform in public- and private-sectors and also managers of communitybased and public-health intervention programs, private and public research funders, and patients living with one or more chronic conditions.

A sensitive, hopeful exploration of maximizing your quality of life while living with chronic illness.

Chronic pain includes many types of conditions from a variety of causes. This book is designed to help those suffering from chronic pain learn to better manage pain so they can get on with living a satisfying, fulfilling life. This resource stresses four concepts: each person with chronic pain is unique, and there is no one treatment or approach that is right for everybody; there are many things people with chronic pain can do to feel better and become more active and involved in life; with knowledge and experimentation, each individual is the best judge of which self-management tools and techniques are best for him or her; and, the responsibility for managing chronic pain on a daily basis rests with the individual and no one else. Acknowledging that overcoming chronic pain is a daily challenge, this workbook provides readers with the tools to overcome that test. A Moving Easy Program CD, which offers a set of easy-to-follow exercises that can be performed at home, is also included.

Using mindfulness-based techniques and cognitive behavioral tools, a leading expert on the use of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) teaches readers to transcend the experience of chronic pain by reconnecting with other, more valued aspects of their lives.

Chronicles one person's true life story of illness and her physicians compassionate commentary as they journey through the four stages of chronic illness; Getting Sick, Being Sick, Grief and Acceptance and Living Well. Designed for people at all stages of the chronic illness journey, this book is also illuminating for caregivers and loved ones.