How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide

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Simon and Schuster, Oct 6, 2015 - Health & Fitness - 352 pages
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.
 

Contents

Making Peace with a Life Upside Down
1
I Skills to Help with Each Day
5
Potent Medicine for Easing the Symptoms of Chronic Illness
69
III Responding Wisely to Troubling Thoughts and Emotions
93
IV Special Challenges
119
V Isolation and Loneliness
197
VI Enjoy the Life You Have
221
VII For Family Friends Caregivers and Anyone Concerned about Chronic Illness
251
VIII Last but Not Least
313
Afterword
333
Acknowledgments
335
About the Author
337
About Wisdom Publications
338
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About the author (2015)

Toni Bernhard is the author of the award-winning How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregiversand How to Wake Up: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow. Until forced to retire due to illness, Toni was a law professor at the University of California–Davis, serving six years as the dean of students. She has been a practicing Buddhist for over twenty years. Her blog, “Turning Straw Into Gold,” is hosted on the website of Psychology Today. She can be found online at www.tonibernhard.com.

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