Don Allen’s left knee has hurt ever since an accident during his Army service in 1981. His right knee has been acting up as well. But the St. Paul man has one surefire way to blunt the pain: Doing the dishes. Mindfulness training from the Minneapolis VA Medical Center taught him to stay focused on present moments and activities, distracting from his physical pain as well as his stress and depression. Allen later discovered that cleaning the kitchen helped him stay in that relaxed zone at night.

Tag-uri: accident