Imbalances of thought, wherein our minds approach what is happening in our external reality in an inaccurate way, are a common phenomenon. Our minds have the responsibility and challenge of making sense of our experience in the world so that we can understand it. Depending on external circumstances and internal influences, the mind can easily make errors in interpreting our experiences, thus throwing us out of balance. The mechanics of thinking can be significantly distorted by chronic pain and pain medications. Chronic pain can take up so much space in our thinking that little room is left for the healthy consideration of available options. Opiate pain medications can dull and cloud the thought process, making imbalanced thinking, twisted beliefs, and inaccurate interpretations of events and situations much more likely. The following sections focus on some specific and common imbalances in thinking that may be contributing to your suffering. These self-defeating thoughts have the potential to sabotage your efforts to achieve chronic pain recovery. This blog post is an excerpt from Pain Recovery – How to Find Balance and Reduce Suffering from Chronic Pain by Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM, Frank Szabo, LADC, Daniel Shiode, PhD, Robert Hunter, PhD; Published by Central Recovery Press (CRP).