Annie Lowrey

And I get that that sounds kind of moony and out there, but it's actually really, really true. I didn't include it in the piece, but one thing I talk to a lot of doctors about is, you know, how you can have itching and pain in limbs that don't exist anymore, right? If you've had an amputation of a foot or a hand, you can still feel things in it.

And I get that that sounds kind of moony and out there, but it's actually really, really true. I didn't include it in the piece, but one thing I talk to a lot of doctors about is, you know, how you can have itching and pain in limbs that don't exist anymore, right? If you've had an amputation of a foot or a hand, you can still feel things in it.

Exactly. It's real. It's just not true. Right. And that's the brain. That's just the brain doing its job, perhaps not in a perfect way. But, you know, the only way that we sense anything is through our brain.

Exactly. It's real. It's just not true. Right. And that's the brain. That's just the brain doing its job, perhaps not in a perfect way. But, you know, the only way that we sense anything is through our brain.

Exactly. It's real. It's just not true. Right. And that's the brain. That's just the brain doing its job, perhaps not in a perfect way. But, you know, the only way that we sense anything is through our brain.

Yeah, there's these interesting studies that show that meditating on pain reduces the sensation of pain for some people, at least. So I know for people who are experiencing childbirth, they'll have you... repeat these mantras, right? Like I'm in pain, but that's my body doing its job. I'm in pain, but that's my body trying to keep me safe and I'm safe. I'm in pain, but it's all right.

Yeah, there's these interesting studies that show that meditating on pain reduces the sensation of pain for some people, at least. So I know for people who are experiencing childbirth, they'll have you... repeat these mantras, right? Like I'm in pain, but that's my body doing its job. I'm in pain, but that's my body trying to keep me safe and I'm safe. I'm in pain, but it's all right.

Yeah, there's these interesting studies that show that meditating on pain reduces the sensation of pain for some people, at least. So I know for people who are experiencing childbirth, they'll have you... repeat these mantras, right? Like I'm in pain, but that's my body doing its job. I'm in pain, but that's my body trying to keep me safe and I'm safe. I'm in pain, but it's all right.

And I'm not always going to be in pain. And that can actually really reduce the sensation of pain, sitting in pain and accepting it. And I don't want to say that that's universal. And I don't know what it feels like to be in anybody else's body, but my own. If you meditate on itch, It just makes it worse. It makes it so much worse.

And I'm not always going to be in pain. And that can actually really reduce the sensation of pain, sitting in pain and accepting it. And I don't want to say that that's universal. And I don't know what it feels like to be in anybody else's body, but my own. If you meditate on itch, It just makes it worse. It makes it so much worse.

And I'm not always going to be in pain. And that can actually really reduce the sensation of pain, sitting in pain and accepting it. And I don't want to say that that's universal. And I don't know what it feels like to be in anybody else's body, but my own. If you meditate on itch, It just makes it worse. It makes it so much worse.

And I've had people be like, well, can you be kind of Zen about it? And I'm like, no, you need to ignore it. You need to say that it's not happening. You need to like attack and override. You need to use all of these other different strategies. Screaming, maybe screaming would help. I don't know that the Zen path works very well with itching.

And I've had people be like, well, can you be kind of Zen about it? And I'm like, no, you need to ignore it. You need to say that it's not happening. You need to like attack and override. You need to use all of these other different strategies. Screaming, maybe screaming would help. I don't know that the Zen path works very well with itching.

And I've had people be like, well, can you be kind of Zen about it? And I'm like, no, you need to ignore it. You need to say that it's not happening. You need to like attack and override. You need to use all of these other different strategies. Screaming, maybe screaming would help. I don't know that the Zen path works very well with itching.

I remember once I, when I was in my phase of trying to figure out anything that might stop it, I went to acupuncture. Because for some forms of itching, acupuncture has been shown to really help. And I was just curled up on my side with all of these like little tiny needles in my ear and on my spine trying to alleviate this itch. And it was making me so itchy to not move.

I remember once I, when I was in my phase of trying to figure out anything that might stop it, I went to acupuncture. Because for some forms of itching, acupuncture has been shown to really help. And I was just curled up on my side with all of these like little tiny needles in my ear and on my spine trying to alleviate this itch. And it was making me so itchy to not move.

I remember once I, when I was in my phase of trying to figure out anything that might stop it, I went to acupuncture. Because for some forms of itching, acupuncture has been shown to really help. And I was just curled up on my side with all of these like little tiny needles in my ear and on my spine trying to alleviate this itch. And it was making me so itchy to not move.

And I ended up like breaking a bunch of them. I was like, oh, God, am I going to stab myself? And it ended up being fine. But yeah, itching, I, you know, movement helps. Ice helps. Ignoring it really helps not thinking about it precisely because thinking about being itchy or scratching makes you itchy and makes you want to scratch.

And I ended up like breaking a bunch of them. I was like, oh, God, am I going to stab myself? And it ended up being fine. But yeah, itching, I, you know, movement helps. Ice helps. Ignoring it really helps not thinking about it precisely because thinking about being itchy or scratching makes you itchy and makes you want to scratch.

And I ended up like breaking a bunch of them. I was like, oh, God, am I going to stab myself? And it ended up being fine. But yeah, itching, I, you know, movement helps. Ice helps. Ignoring it really helps not thinking about it precisely because thinking about being itchy or scratching makes you itchy and makes you want to scratch.