Welcome to February’s Pain-Blog Carnival…  the best articles of the month.  Enjoy!

CRPS/RSD A Better Life provides an overview of mirror therapy in A Novel Approach To Pain Treatment.
A new contributor, Against the ‘Graine (great name!) looks at Keeping Hope Alive.
Learn more about Mitochondrial Failure and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at Fighting Fatigue.
Arthritis Friend presents an episode of the medical show [...]

Each Monday this series of articles will feature pain management techniques to help you decrease and cope with pain.  It’s your at-home pain management class!
In this series, we’ve been looking at using pain management skills regularly.  For some of you, you may be doing pretty well and need only to tweak skills or practice a bit more regularly.  [...]

Today is the last day to send in your submissions for our February Pain-Blog Carnival.
Brian Bentow, author of The Computer Athlete’s Handbook, describes his work in the YouTube video below.  I think the ideas in his book are crucial for computer users to learn.  (And I didn’t even know that he quotes from my review of his book [...]

Sign a petition for an RSD Awareness Day
I just finished reading Lost Souls, by Niles Elliot Goldstein (author of God at the Edge).  In Lost Souls, Goldstein looks at what happens when people are faced with big challenges.
I believe having chronic pain is one such BIG challenge!

Goldstein introduces several phases we might go through (though [...]

Each Monday this series of articles will feature pain management techniques to help you decrease and cope with pain.  It’s your at-home pain management class!
Today it’s your turn to let me know how you’re doing with practicing pain management techniques, or whatever new habit you’re trying to incorporate into your life.  You can write the following information [...]

A reader Esther wrote in recently to share this website:
Journal of Sacred Work

This website focuses on caring lovingly for others, with a spiritual perspective.  Esther writes:
I’m forwarding this website for information to share.  I was directed to this website by the director of the hospice where I volunteer as well as work.
I consider myself a caregiver [...]

A great summary article was published recently about CRPS, a pain condition with symptoms of:

burning pain
sensitivity to touch
pain in response to non-painful stimuli
weakness, tremor and muscle spasms
changes in temperature and increased sweating

If pain is felt in your body, why is it thought to be a problem in your brain?
In CRPS (and very possibly other pain [...]

Each Monday this series of articles will feature pain management techniques to help you decrease and cope with pain.  It’s your at-home pain management class!
I hope you’ve been succeeding with using pain management techniques regularly - or at least making progress in your new habit!  But none of us is perfect, and we can all use a boost, [...]

A reader Jeff wrote in recently with this comment:
I tend to see that more of those suffering in pain are female.  But I am male, and I know of other men who live in constant chronic pain as well.  I ask all those men who suffer not to be afraid to speak out as well, [...]

A reader Heidi wrote in recently to ask about pain and depression.  She asks:
How can I keep my spirits up when it hurts SO bad?

Great question, Heidi.  Unfortunately, depression can be one very serious problem related to pain.  Feeling sad can accompany pain disorders because of both the pain itself as well as the consequences [...]