A Pain Partner can help support your pain self management program. They can also help you communicate with your healthcare provider. The yellow video on the home page (second video) explains aspects of pain.
The Limbic system controls our pain and affects our bodies. High Impact Pain causes high alarm in our brain. This page explains why but you can start the two-step program so long and you will notice a difference if its done regularly.
Below are tools that can also help you communicate better with your healthcare provider.
If you feel safe, you can go directly to Forms of Pain.
While waiting to see your healthcare provider, consider reaching out to others who can help with pain. Pharmacists. Physiotherapists. Chiropractors. Massage therapists. Acupuncturists. Internet pain programs. In BC we are extremely fortunate to have Pain BC and Self Management BC.
Reach Inwards
Take some quiet time, searching for how ready you are for change. Our pain journeys are personal. We are not always ready to think about changes. Sometimes, we are ready, but our lives overwhelm us. We can’t always make space for change. Even if we start, we don’t always have the ability to maintain the changes.
Decide what you most want. Consider then what will need to happen for that to take place. Improving pain means changing the way you react to alarm. Building different brain pathways. Have a look at the ‘Blue Brain’ Neuroplasticity video and focus on the yellow pathway, a different response to alarm.
Reach Toward THIS PRESENT MOMENT.
Grounding is an easy technique that moves your brain from the alarm of pain to the present movement.
Try the 5 point Grounding Technique. It works better if you say the objects out loud.
5 – look around and if possible say out loud 5 things you can see
4 – Reach out for four things you can touch. Touch them and name them.
3 – Listen for three things you can hear. Name them.
2 – things you can smell. Reach for something to smell and name it.
1 – one thing you taste. If you can’t taste anything, awaken your sense by even tasting your skin or something else.
Another effective way to relieve stress is by standing and marching with arms vigorously
There are ways to be in the moment. Painting. Walking while making a point of noticing the sounds, smells, images of all around you. Exercising while noticing your body and the activity.
Feeding animals – communing with them – noticing them.
Work that keeps you present – can’t think of other things while busy working.
Playing a musical instrument, any instrument, singing. Drumming is particularly good if you have Complex PTSD. Dancing and listening to music.
Learn to relax – something you may have to learn. I found using sleep meditation tapes a really good start. Try 5 minute body scan below. Or use Sleep Meditation Tapes.
The less time you spend in overthinking mode, the healthier you will be.
If you have severe pain, emotional or physical, or both, try this link to Lower Alarm.
Notice Alarm: fidgeting – upset voice – upset tone – loud voice – fast voice – not being able to sleep
or Frozen Alarm : trembling, cold, feelings of numbness, feelings of not being ‘all there’, sleeping too much.
See Palouse below for more help with mindfulness – move away from alarm towards the present moment. Thinking of the future – anxiety. Thinking of the past – depression. The more you try to control your life, the people around you, the more exhausted you will be. And the more alarmed
Mindfulness can take you out of alarm. Palouse Mindfulness Course Free.
If you like reading, I loved Michael Singer’s THE UNTETHERED SOUL. For pain, there is Rachel Zoffness’s THE PAIN MANAGEMENT WORKBOOK.
Think about joining podcasts or getting involved in community. Working on your spirituality is also very very (did I mention very? important. Find something bigger than yourself. We are a tiny blip in the universe.