Hi all, I thought i would share this with you. it might help and it might not. well, here goes. Years ago, i had a boss at work who was a colonel in the national gaurd, (one of those weekend guys). i was pretty young at the time, about 23, and he was my boss so i was explaining to him why i had missed some work, and telling him about the intense pain i suffered with. Anyway, this guy tells me that he was a "frog-man" early in the Vietnam war. (frog-men later became navy seals) anyhow,,,, he told me that the service taught him a few tricks on dealing with torture. and he thought that this might help me. According to to him, he said to focus on something, anything, a place, a person, a stick anything,,,,, and that you should NEVER expect your torture to end,,, that the trick was to survive 3 seconds, then, focus and concentrate on the next 3 seconds, then maybe push it to 5 seconds , then ten, and so on. if 10 seconds is all you can get, accept it, then, re-gather yourself, concentrate , and go for ten more seconds, thats all your asking for is 10 seconds of survival.  This is a technique i have tryed for at least 18 years, and,,,, well,, to be honest, sometimes it helps, but most times it doesnt. I just thought i would share it and HOPE that it may work for some of you. ( I am a christian, that is NOT what this thread is about, personally i dont care WHAT religion ANY one is!!!!!, my point is,,, when in a hit, and trying this technique, i ask God to help me survive 5 seconds,,, then 5 more,, and so on, and so on.) Most of you probably allready try something very similar to this, like i said, i just thought i would share it and i hope and pray that it might help someone.      Tuck

Great post, Tuck.  My mantra while I'm pacing takes exactly ten seconds.

Hey anything that works right?  I wonder if this is anyway connected or similar to Charlies technigue.

 
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Dr. Wright’s Circulatory Technique:     I am not sure what mechanism is triggered by this but whatever it is, at least indirectly helps kill the pain. I do know that this technique has nothing to do with meditation, relaxation, or psychic ability. It is entirely physical and takes some work. It involves concentrating on trying to redirect a little circulation to the arms, hands, or legs. It can described as a conscious circulatory flexing. Increased circulation will result in a reddening and warming of the hands. Try to think of it as filling your hands with redirected blood. The important and difficult part is that it has to be done without interruption through the pain. Do not give up in frustration. It may not work on the first try. Every now and then it will work almost immediately. I lived for those moments. Try experimenting between attacks. You will find that it gets easier with practice.     I was given less than five minutes instruction in the use of method. The doctor, while placing his arm on his desk, showed me that he could slightly increase his arm and hand circulation. After several attempts, I was able to repeat this procedure and use it successfully. I have had about a 75% success rate shortening these attacks. My 20 minute attacks were often reduced to 10 minutes or less. Once proven that I had a chance to effectively deal with this horror, I always gave it a try as I had nothing to lose but pain.     Perhaps it will help if you think of it as trying to fill the arm as if it is were an empty vessel. I used to try to imagine I was pushing blood away from my head into my arm. Use your imagination. There is one man who wrote that his standing barefoot on a concrete floor shortened his attacks. This may be similar as it draws some circulation away from the head. Cold water, exercise, or anything affecting circulation, seems to be worth a try. My suggestion is to not let up immediately when the pain goes. Waiting a minute is probably a good idea. So long as you do not slack off, this has a chance of working.     This technique is very useful while waiting for medication to take effect or when none is available. It costs nothing, is non-invasive, and can be used just about anywhere. It is not a miracle but it helped me deal with this horror. It can be a bit exhausting but the success rate was good enough for me and a cluster headache sufferer will do just about anything to end the pain. It gives us a fighting chance.     Charlie

tuck, that is a wonderful post. I have used similar (without knowing it was torture survival technique). As you mention, it really doesn't work very often, but when it does, OH MY, what a victory!

During a hit, I attempt to concentrate on something, anything, other than the pain. Seems it's always after the fact, but even as the wave crashes back down on me I'm thinking, HEY, I just had three seconds of IT WAS GONE. Keeps me going, searching for the next three seconds...

Regards

Jon