If you spend your energy dollars on things that don’t really matter, you won’t have enough left over for the things that do. On the other hand, there are some pain management techniques that allow you to “earn energy dollars”—energy in the bank for when you need it. Following are some of the tried and true ways to help you manage chronic pain and your “energy dollars.”

First, let’s start with the understanding that by talking about our brain’s role in managing pain, I am not ignoring the fact that chronic pain is very real, physical pain (nor saying that the pain is “all in your head”).