With ever increasing scrutiny of opioid practices and limited availability of new therapies for pain, it can be a difficult time to be a pain clinician and a desperate time for patients with pain. Fortunately, all healthcare professionals can provide patients with self-management tools for living with pain. In this session, participants will learn how to help patients recognize the impact that negative thoughts, emotions, and poor sleep can have on the experience of pain. Teaching patients a simplified version of the gate control theory of pain is a critical first step for helping them understand their pain experience. The dialogue for explaining this mind-body connection will be explored in this session as well as life hacks for positive thinking and self-talk, distraction, relaxation, improved sleep, and much more! New for PAINWeek 2020, we will also share our experience in bringing a 6-week, evidence-based pain self-management workshop to chronic pain patients in our community.