Mind Over Body
Did you know your mind can actually make your body feel better? You can train your brain to help you cope with uncomfortable procedures and boost your mood on a bad day. To be successful, you must practice these mental tricks a few times before using them. Your child life specialist or a nurse trained in these techniques can help you master them even better.
Relaxation
Worry or stress sometimes actually causes nausea and even pain. Here are a few techniques you can try to relax your mind, and help your body overcome its pain:
• Get in a comfortable position. Breathe in deeply through your nose for a count of 3. Exhale slowly through your mouth, counting to 3. Each time you breathe out, let go of your tension or scary feelings. Visualize your pain leaving your body. Let it drain down and out of your limbs, into the bed and away for good.
• Calming activities like crossword puzzles, embroidery, and slow paced computer games like solitaire, slow your breathing and heart rate and relax your muscles. Next time you feel tense, try a relaxing hobby to calm you down.
• Tense and relax each part of your body, starting with your head and working your way to your toes. Start by opening your eyes wide, then closing them gently. Next shrug your shoulders tightly, then relax. Stretch your hands wide, then relax your fingers. Tighten your leg muscles, then release. Flex your feet toward you, point your toes away, then relax. Repeat, working your way back up to your eyes.
The site Spinoza for Kids offers a stuffed bear that plays relaxation and meditation tapes in English, Spanish, and French.
Distraction
Give your mind something to focus on when you're uncomfortable, otherwise it will focus on whatever it wants—often choosing pain! Try distracting yourself during an unpleasant procedure by playing mind games like this one: concentrate on spelling the names of people in the room backwards. Simple things like talking, listening  to music, or watching videos or TV can help, too.
"We'd do something different to keep my mind off of things," Christina says,
 "Like playing a new game. I'd have to really concentrate to learn how to play."