Re-write Your Pain

In the last post, I told you your pain doesn’t necessarily mean damage to your body. And how much pain you feel depends on context.

This time, I'll tell you how to undo the brain's hyper-protectiveness causing you pain.

1. SHIFT YOUR ATTENTION

Research shows that moving your attention ELSEWHERE when you're in pain can cut the pain in half. Amy Baxter uses this trick with kids getting a jab: they count something on the picture, and won't even notice the needle.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not proposing to PRETEND the pain is not there. But once you acknowledge that, you can PURPOSEFULLY move your attention to the area of your body that feels good.

Does it work? Test it yourself with this 7-minute free audio for Pain that you can download HERE.

2. UNDERSTAND YOUR PAIN

When you understand what happens to you and why, you gain agency. It's so different from passively receiving a treatment, often not even knowing what it’s meant to do.

How can you learn about your pain? Start with working out whether your pain is nociplastic. That is, your body is fine and your nervous system has become hypersensitive.

Your pain is probably nociplastic if:

• You have pain in the right bum cheek, go to the massage to remove it and get it the next day in the left bum cheek [that’s literally what kept happening to me in my 30s]
  That kind of ‘‘wandering’’ is quite typical for nociplastic pain.

• You’re not just in pain. You also feel sick, dizzy, always tired. There is always something else piling up.

• Your pain gets worse when the weather is bad, or when you have to spend the whole day in a noisy place. And is gone the moment you go on holiday and leave everything behind.
  Watch out for things that shouldn't have anything to do with your condition that cause or increase your physical pain, such as weather, situations, or crowded places.

• You were sitting on a hard bench on Monday and felt the pain in your tailbone on Friday. If pain appears much after the action that you believe has caused it, it might not be the actual body damage.

• Doctors can't find the reason for your pain (despite multiple tests and examinations).

• The pain started sometime after you got a new job or when your partner started talking of separating.
  Stress or strong emotions are typical nociceptive pain triggers.
  

  If the medicines and treatments make no difference whatsoever, chances are, your pain is nociplastic. And it needs something very different from medical interventions!
  
  You are more prone to hypersensitivity to pain if your nervous system is already dysregulated due to past trauma or chronic stress.

  
  And remember: even if the physical damage does contribute to the pain directly, it might be just a part of the story.
  

3. RE-WIRE YOUR BRAIN

You need to de-couple all the associations your brain has made with pain.
Maybe you would never-ever kneel because you had a knee-replacement surgery.
Or you quit yoga because your doctor told you to be careful with your hip injury.
Fear of movement is a HUGE part of chronic pain and is very important to overcome.

So how can you rewire your brain?

• Send yourself SAFETY messages. Give your nervous system hints that you are not in a threatening situation, that you’re not damaging your body.

• Befriend your body again. Change the way you think about your body. From hatred, disgust, or frustration to love and acceptance. It’s best done through little ACTS of loving kindness, such as gentle, soothing touch.

• Find movements and positions that feel pleasant, or at least neutral.

• Prove your brain that it is OK to move. Every time movement doesn’t lead to a flareup your brain gets updated that this movement is actually perfectly safe.

Thanks to neuroplasticity, the flexibility of your brain and nervous system, the brain will eventually ''click'' and reinterpret the sensations as not threatening.

4. BE PATIENT

You will need infinite patience to go through healing.

And it's not going to be a quick or linear process.

But if you stick to it, you will be able to return to activities you have quit years ago. And rediscover the joy of simply being in your body.

I teach all of this in my flagship course Heal from Within.
If you'd like to jump on the waiting list for the next edition, you can do it HERE.