"Zoom into pain sensations to dissolve their grip Eric Garland explains that chronic pain feels totalizing partly because the mind labels it as one awful mass, but when patients are guided to zoom in with mindfulness and "break down the experience of pain into the subcomponent sensations — sensations of heat or tightness or tingling — as well as to notice the spaces in between those sensations where there's either no sensation at all or potentially even pleasant sensations," the monolithic experience fractures. His randomized controlled trials show this zooming-in practice reduces acute pain by approximately 30% on average — roughly equivalent to 5 milligrams of oxycodone — without medication. Applying this technique to any physical discomfort, from a tension headache to post-workout soreness, can reduce suffering immediately by shifting from labeling pain to observing its actual texture. Source: Eric Garland, Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris, MORE Protocol Episode"