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The Pain Habit
Everyone deserves to have a life free from chronic pain. You deserve it.
Are you one of the one in five people worldwide who suffer from a condition that results in living with persistent pain? The ability to recover from pain, no matter how long we have experienced it, lies within all of us. It exists within you.
Not everyone knows how to achieve that. Do you? Those who do recover intuitively tap into that ability without thinking. Others don't know where to look, then look everywhere outside of themselves, then believe recovery is impossible and finally stop looking anymore. Has that happened to you?
In The Pain Habit, Physiotherapist Drew Coverdale, after over twenty years of working with patients in pain, offers an enlightening outlook into the habitual patterns which lead to our pain and outlines the path to recovery. This book will help you:
Learn why you developed your pain
Change the belief associated with it
Understand its true meaning
Release the emotions attached to it
Start your journey to recovery
If you've suffered long enough and feel ready to take the steps towards becoming pain-free, you're ready for this book.
Are you one of the one in five people worldwide who suffer from a condition that results in living with persistent pain? The ability to recover from pain, no matter how long we have experienced it, lies within all of us. It exists within you.
Not everyone knows how to achieve that. Do you? Those who do recover intuitively tap into that ability without thinking. Others don't know where to look, then look everywhere outside of themselves, then believe recovery is impossible and finally stop looking anymore. Has that happened to you?
In The Pain Habit, Physiotherapist Drew Coverdale, after over twenty years of working with patients in pain, offers an enlightening outlook into the habitual patterns which lead to our pain and outlines the path to recovery. This book will help you:
Learn why you developed your pain
Change the belief associated with it
Understand its true meaning
Release the emotions attached to it
Start your journey to recovery
If you've suffered long enough and feel ready to take the steps towards becoming pain-free, you're ready for this book.
- GenresNonfiction
180 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2021
32 people are currently reading
378 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 13, 2021
I was given this book for an honest review.
This book takes the view that chronic pain is more about your brain telling yourself there is pain even when the physical injury that caused it has been healed. It makes sense, but if you’ve already gone through pain management techniques/therapy it might not be that helpful.
There were some bits that felt laden with privilege and accusatory, especially the bit where it said that the chronic illness community and support within it could be a reason for not wanting to get better which was quite insulting. For women and people of colour, chronic pain is often overlooked and dismissed and it started to smell a bit “it’s all in your head”.
It was badly laid out and the advice didn’t really start until the last couple of chapters and even then, it was covered in a very laborious way. Bullet points would have been easier, remember that many people with chronic pain have concentration issues and it felt it was more about the author’s achievements and not making it helpful to digest.
How to be Sick is better and a far kinder book with more advice
This book takes the view that chronic pain is more about your brain telling yourself there is pain even when the physical injury that caused it has been healed. It makes sense, but if you’ve already gone through pain management techniques/therapy it might not be that helpful.
There were some bits that felt laden with privilege and accusatory, especially the bit where it said that the chronic illness community and support within it could be a reason for not wanting to get better which was quite insulting. For women and people of colour, chronic pain is often overlooked and dismissed and it started to smell a bit “it’s all in your head”.
It was badly laid out and the advice didn’t really start until the last couple of chapters and even then, it was covered in a very laborious way. Bullet points would have been easier, remember that many people with chronic pain have concentration issues and it felt it was more about the author’s achievements and not making it helpful to digest.
How to be Sick is better and a far kinder book with more advice
April 7, 2021
This book is absolutely amazing. I work with chronic pain sufferers as a therapist, and I personally have recurring migraines. This perspective on pain is similar to what's already out there but with a fresh take that gave me a lot to think about.
I used some of the exercises in this book, focused on my own migraines, and experienced some interesting breakthroughs and transformations regarding the origin and nature of my pain.
I am always a bit hesitant to recommend books to my clients because few people want to hear that their pain is likely psychosomatic or learned pain, but it's often so true that our mental state both increases and prolongs our pain even when there is a physical cause.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with chronic pain who wants to learn to have a new, more compassionate relationship to their pain (and hopefully release some of what's keeping the pain around).
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I used some of the exercises in this book, focused on my own migraines, and experienced some interesting breakthroughs and transformations regarding the origin and nature of my pain.
I am always a bit hesitant to recommend books to my clients because few people want to hear that their pain is likely psychosomatic or learned pain, but it's often so true that our mental state both increases and prolongs our pain even when there is a physical cause.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with chronic pain who wants to learn to have a new, more compassionate relationship to their pain (and hopefully release some of what's keeping the pain around).
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 4, 2021
Quite a good book whereby , it started by telling about what actually is pain in our life - “ “You will see that pain is one of our greatest protectors and our greatest teacher. It gives lessons that we have to fully understand so the lesson can end and we can apply the learning from it in our lives.”
Pain actually is a sign that we need to attend ourself . Tell us that we need to focus on ourself more . Take a break .
Such a great book .
Pain actually is a sign that we need to attend ourself . Tell us that we need to focus on ourself more . Take a break .
Such a great book .
January 5, 2021
I’m thrilled to have been given the opportunity to read this book for free through Booksirens.
The Pain Habit is an enlightening book for anyone dealing with chronic pain. It is a difficult subject to read about, as it is easy to get lost in thoughts about your own habits. I am sure this is a book people won’t read for fun, but it is definitely worth a read it for educational purposes.
It is wonderful that the author is such an authority on the subject. I also appreciate the source references in the text and the extensive source section and the end of the book. It helps with trusting what is written down. The section with other resources is a wonderful addition as well, all be it very commercially. I missed retrainpain.org in the list as a free source for pain education.
The tone of the book is on occasion accusatory. I am sure this isn’t the intend of the author and me reading it in that tone might be because pain is such a sensitive subject.
The examples are refreshing and help explain how pain works. It is great to see some other examples than the guitar amplifier.
I feel quite some parts are mentioned double. On its own that isn’t a problem, as it serves a function but it became a bit annoying after reading the same information multiple times.
It takes a while before the solutions are offered. Ironically, reading about what could be the issue without a how-to apply this knowledge, felt a bit stressful as a reader. I wish the book would have been slightly more focussed on the solutions. As necessary and well executed the pain education is, the solutions are the most interesting. The two were intertwined, which didn’t make the solutions stand out much.
The book is written with the premise in mind that (most) pain patients are believing their pain is the result of physical damage they have suffered. Every once in a while the patients who have not experienced that source for their pain are mentioned, but so casually it is barely worth a mention.
While I agree that there is a bias to believing pain is caused by physical damage and all the problems with that bias, I do think the book underestimates the attention psychological sources of pain get in treatment. I am sure plenty of persistent pain suffers have seen psychologists to find a psychological source for their pain.
I am fairly new to books about chronic pain and chronic illnesses. Still, I have read a couple, mostly experience stories by patients. As valuable and insightful it is to read about other’s experiences, knowledge about the theories behind pain is a must. The Pain Habit is an excellent source for this knowledge. I think this book will be a great addition to the books about chronic pain!
The Pain Habit is an enlightening book for anyone dealing with chronic pain. It is a difficult subject to read about, as it is easy to get lost in thoughts about your own habits. I am sure this is a book people won’t read for fun, but it is definitely worth a read it for educational purposes.
It is wonderful that the author is such an authority on the subject. I also appreciate the source references in the text and the extensive source section and the end of the book. It helps with trusting what is written down. The section with other resources is a wonderful addition as well, all be it very commercially. I missed retrainpain.org in the list as a free source for pain education.
The tone of the book is on occasion accusatory. I am sure this isn’t the intend of the author and me reading it in that tone might be because pain is such a sensitive subject.
The examples are refreshing and help explain how pain works. It is great to see some other examples than the guitar amplifier.
I feel quite some parts are mentioned double. On its own that isn’t a problem, as it serves a function but it became a bit annoying after reading the same information multiple times.
It takes a while before the solutions are offered. Ironically, reading about what could be the issue without a how-to apply this knowledge, felt a bit stressful as a reader. I wish the book would have been slightly more focussed on the solutions. As necessary and well executed the pain education is, the solutions are the most interesting. The two were intertwined, which didn’t make the solutions stand out much.
The book is written with the premise in mind that (most) pain patients are believing their pain is the result of physical damage they have suffered. Every once in a while the patients who have not experienced that source for their pain are mentioned, but so casually it is barely worth a mention.
While I agree that there is a bias to believing pain is caused by physical damage and all the problems with that bias, I do think the book underestimates the attention psychological sources of pain get in treatment. I am sure plenty of persistent pain suffers have seen psychologists to find a psychological source for their pain.
I am fairly new to books about chronic pain and chronic illnesses. Still, I have read a couple, mostly experience stories by patients. As valuable and insightful it is to read about other’s experiences, knowledge about the theories behind pain is a must. The Pain Habit is an excellent source for this knowledge. I think this book will be a great addition to the books about chronic pain!
May 5, 2023
The book highlights the deep relationship between body and mind in a practical way. I was struggling with several conditions by the time I was reading this book (and other books as well) on the topic, they all helped me realise the importance of paying attention to my thoughts and to challenge them in order to turn around the damaging beliefs and opinions about myself and my body, and eventually they helped me to bring my body back to a certain balance. I still have a long way to go, but I feel empowered now and I can see clearly how my own behaviour, thoughts and beliefs literally can be my greatest enemy. I received an advance review copy for free of this book, and I'm leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you.
October 13, 2022
This book opened my eyes to a lot of things to do with pain, also some chronic pain and how to break the habit if somebody might be or has been for many years to choose something this unbelievable.
Reading this book again in working through it to help me and maybe others to try and have a better life dealing with chronic pain.
The author is amazing and talks to me anytime always willing to help always, I hope to tell the honour to meet him one day and person and shake his hand thank you for your help and outstanding work.
Thank you.
Reading this book again in working through it to help me and maybe others to try and have a better life dealing with chronic pain.
The author is amazing and talks to me anytime always willing to help always, I hope to tell the honour to meet him one day and person and shake his hand thank you for your help and outstanding work.
Thank you.
January 12, 2021
Very clear and helpful.
Having read quite a lot of literature on the subject, I found this book particularly clear and helpful. Things I had read about before but not understood suddenly became clear. In particular, I found the written dialogue between the unconcoius and concious mind very useful. I've already had some really good results and today was the most positive day I've had in ages. Looking forward to tomorrow!
Having read quite a lot of literature on the subject, I found this book particularly clear and helpful. Things I had read about before but not understood suddenly became clear. In particular, I found the written dialogue between the unconcoius and concious mind very useful. I've already had some really good results and today was the most positive day I've had in ages. Looking forward to tomorrow!
Want to read
August 11, 2021Dr Tovah and I at TMSRoundTable are interviewing Drew Coverdale this week 8 pm UK time , you may be interested in finding our more about his book and his goals in writing this book for people with chronic pain.
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July 9, 2021
Love this book
Whether the information is new or familiar to you, this is a superb read. It is working for me. Brilliant
Whether the information is new or familiar to you, this is a superb read. It is working for me. Brilliant
August 9, 2024
For anyone struggling with chronic pain I would highly recommend reading this book, especially if you're not convinced of the role of the brain in the perception and intensity of pain. I found this book to be really well written and thoughtful in the way it presents the concepts and is backed up by really great real life examples. In my experience there is no quick fix for chronic pain but I think understanding and believing the theory behind it plays a large part in helping with recovery. The book also provides some useful strategies you can use which could help improve your pain experience. 10/10.
August 11, 2025
Excellent read and very helpful
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews