7: Reducing Stress, Chronic Pain, & Talking to Doctors

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Kevin Cuccaro of StraightShotHealth.com. I met him a few months ago at a conference and was impressed with his research on stress and dealing with chronic pain.Many people struggle with chronic pain and Kevin has some valuable strategies for helping recover from it. Kevin is a doctor who left his private practice to pursue patient education and to help address some of the (major) problems in the health care system.As a doctor, he also provides some valuable insight in how to understand and talk to your doctor so that you can get real answers.In This Episode, We Discus3:20 – Why as a doctor, he doesn’t want to see his patients all the time4:30 – The frustration that doctors face5:20 – Why stress can be good and why we need it5:45 – The physiological effects of too much stress6:30 – How stress impacts fertility and memory6:55 – The continued effects of stress on the body7:50 – How to become more resilient to stress and how stress is like a light switch8:28 – How to turn stress on and off9:02 – Tips to Practically reduce stress (Book: The Relaxation Revolution)9:45 – What is the relaxation response10:20 – How to activate your relaxation response to deal with stress12:45 – What happens when your body doesn’t recognize stress16:15 – What causes chronic pain17:10 – Pain is all in the brain17:45 – The biology of pain vs. the mental side of pain20:00 – The core four for reducing stress and pain: Movement, Eating Right, Mindset, Avoiding Problems24:00 – Understanding the mindset of doctors28:00 – The frustration of the current medical system32:00 – The shocking statistic on how a small percentage of the population is using 95% of healthcare resources35:00 – The seven questions you should know the answers to before you see your doctor38:00 – Health advice Kevin wishes he had gotten earlier in life41:15 – Kevin’s recommended books and resources (and see below)Resources We MentionBook: Switch by Chip and Dan HeathBook: The Relaxation RevolutionBook: Unlearning PainBook: Back in Control by David HanscomKevin’s