According to the companies, the FDA sent a complete response letter regarding the trial-stage drug Horizant, which is in the form of an extended-release pill taken to lessen pain caused by the condition.

FORBES: FDA Concerns Shake XenoPort, DepoMed

Such approaches would lessen the pain of adjustment programs, which have hit the poor hardest.

CNN: Bright Ideas

At the same time, the structure of the labour force may lessen the pain.

ECONOMIST: Japan

Rasputin's political power emanated from a supposed ability to staunch the tsarevich's bleeding and lessen his pain.

ECONOMIST: Ra-Ra-Rasputin

And both think the cuts should be strung out over a longer time frame to give the economy a break, particularly at a time when the Bank of England has seemingly run up against the limits of its ability to lessen the pain.

BBC: Budget 2013: Should the government plough ahead with cuts?

Rather than ignoring the affair, be willing to share your pain, listen to each other and provide comfort when one partner is remembering the betrayal -- all can help lessen the pain while re-creating the original bond that joined the two of you together.

CNN: What to do after an affair

The fact that a placebo can lessen subjective measures of pain is not new.

ECONOMIST: Pain perception