I'd like to elucidate on this a bit. Some distractions are what I'd call "passive" - watching movies, listening to music... While these are good for some things, I've found that more "active/interactive" distractions - those requiring significant mental concentration - are better for taking my mind off of pain. I couldn't tell you if it's the degree of concentration itself, the parts of the brain being utilized, the brain chemicals at work, or what the specific mechanism(s) are - only that if I'm concentrating very hard on creating/designing something, time passes quickly (like being busy at work rather than waiting for quitting time on a slow day) and I either don't notice (as much) pain/discomfort, or I forget about it.

There have been times I've been working on writing an article, creating a presentation, designing a quilt, etc. that I suddenly come to a stopping/break point, look up, and realize it's 2+ hours later than I thought it was and I haven't noticed the time, the pain, the starving dog expiring at my feet...

A secondary(?) benefit is that I've accomplished something and the gratification that comes along with that.

Doc