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Grokking Pain: Mindfulness-Based Pain Management in Long-Duration Lunar Residents: Retrospective Analysis
Dr. A. Okonkwo
· Lunar Medical Research Cooperative
Lunar Behavioral Medicine · Vol. 2, No. 1 · August 29, 2023
Abstract
Follow-up investigation building on prior work. Chronic musculoskeletal pain is the leading cause of prescription opioid use in lunar residents. Opioid supply constraints and addiction risk make pharmacological management untenable as a primary strategy. We evaluate a mindfulness-based pain management program adapted for the lunar environment, ac...
Extended analysis and updated findings. The word 'grok' — coined by Heinlein to describe a total, empathetic understanding so complete that the understood and the understander merge — was adopted by a generation of pain psychologists to describe the goal of mindfulness-based pain management: not to eliminate pain, but to understand it so thoroughly, so non-judgmentally, that its power to cause suffering is transformed.
In a lunar habitat, the case for mindfulness is practical as well as philosophical. Opioid medications represent a finite, expensively resupplied resource. A resident who depends on opioids for chronic pain management becomes a supply chain vulnerability. Tolerance develops. And the psychological isolation of lunar habitation amplifies the addictive pull of any pharmacological relief.
Our 6-month trial enrolled...
In a lunar habitat, the case for mindfulness is practical as well as philosophical. Opioid medications represent a finite, expensively resupplied resource. A resident who depends on opioids for chronic pain management becomes a supply chain vulnerability. Tolerance develops. And the psychological isolation of lunar habitation amplifies the addictive pull of any pharmacological relief.
Our 6-month trial enrolled...
Keywords
mindfulness, chronic pain, opioids, CBT, musculoskeletal, psychological, pain management