Distraction is a way to relieve pain by focusing the mind on something other than pain. With distraction, a person’s mind is busy paying attention to something other than pain, which can make pain more tolerable.
People can distract themselves with activities such as:
Distraction can be helpful for dealing with pain at any level. It can be used alone for pain that is mild or with strong medicines for severe pain. It can help while a person is waiting for medicine to start working.
Some people may not find that distraction is helpful. If it leaves them feeling tired, irritable, or in more pain, they should find another way to deal with pain.
|Primary Medical Reviewer||E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine|
|Specialist Medical Reviewer||Michael Seth Rabin, MD - Medical Oncology|
|Current as of||September 11, 2013|
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise