Image Credit: Photo by Sameer Srivastava on Unsplash For many of us, a sense of purpose is a fundamental psychological and existential need. Indeed, decades of health psychology research link a strong sense of purpose in life with less illness and a lower mortality risk (Alimujiang et al.; Shiba et al.; Boyle et al.)….
Author: Grace Kao
Grace Kao, Ph.D., ABPP is a pain psychologist and associate professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is also the founding psychologist of the interdisciplinary chronic pain clinic at Texas Children's Hospital and former faculty clinician at Baylor College of Medicine. She spends her time supporting patients and families who are navigating the journey of chronic pain, providing instruction and consultation in the area of pain psychology, and writing about health and healing.
“Beautiful” sacrifice/Unseen burden? Navigating emotional labor as a healthcare clinician, woman, and mother
Smile, nod, smile, nod. There is both sincerity and effort in these offerings. After all, behaviors affect thoughts affect emotions affect behaviors. How quickly, it seemed, that the childhood version of myself learned to blur the lines between what I felt and what others expected me to portray. How quickly that appropriate outward presentation became…
The importance of social connection for well-being: Insights from patients, the science of pain, and a “Remarkably Bright” octopus
It seems intuitive that connecting with others is a valued part of life. Still, in periods of challenge, in grief, in illness, in the universal experience of aging, the ease of social connection naturally ebbs and flows. How much, then, should we prioritize the pursuit of consistent social connectedness, in order to thrive? How important…
Seeing the world “as we are”: Can storytelling guide us to better health?
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are” (a quote often attributed to writer Anais Nin) succinctly describes the idea that our individual interpretations of the world deeply shape our realities. In modern psychotherapy, we often refer to these interpretive filters as “lenses” and highlight the impact they have on…
An Advent Meditation: Acknowledge Pain, Nurture Hope
I found myself tearing up at a church service on the first Sunday of the Advent season because a choir was onstage. The small choir, harmonious voices, and dedicated conductor prompted thoughts of my own father, who for years had led the choir at our small, Asian-American community church where I grew up. He now…
“Who I used to be”: Chronic Pain, Identity Paralysis, and Forging a New Sense of Self
“I miss who I used to be,” she says softly. We sit for a moment, both considering the limitations of life lived with chronic pain and the sense of self felt left behind. She pauses for a moment, perhaps to consider the climate of this space – another clinic, another doctor, another evaluation, another day…