I'm not sure if this is inherent in your #1, but there should be an increased focus on alternative methods for dealing with pain. For instance, since starting m

I'm not sure if this is inherent in your #1, but there should be an increased focus on alternative methods for dealing with pain. For instance, since starting meditation training, I haven't needed so much as a single Ibuprofen. It's not that my incidence of pain has decreased, but my way of thinking about/reacting to that pain has changed dramatically and I can now make just about any pain quickly fade into the background. It's also helped me to clarify the difference between pain and injury to know when I can push through the pain and when I need to pull back and rest. I learned an important lesson, however. Doctors will frequently use the amount of pain someone is experiencing as a diagnostic aid when determining a patient's diagnosis. I had a ruptured eardrum that I saw a doctor for and that doctor misdiagnosed it because I wasn't showing any signs of pain and that injury is supposed to be excruciating. The doctor explained to me that if it was ruptured, I'd be near tears and screaming for pain medication.