The story of pain is very complicated, from injury, physical stress like hormonal stress in premenopause, environmental stressors, limbic alarm from pain, central sensitization, Inflammation, Microbiota, and emotional stress. Remember, limbic alarm can even show up as introversion – social anxiety. Socialization is essential for health – so not socializing causes more pain.
This link is for severe pain – physical and the severe stress that goes with pain. Apologies for the amateur video below – tough getting through it but I will change when I have the time. Information is good – videographics and flow not good.
There are many ways to help pain – whether it is physical or emotional or both. No matter the cause of your pain, you can change your pain experience by changing your brain – see neuroplastic ‘blue brain below’. Pain is a whole body problem, but the brain is very powerful and can be used to improve pain.
How ‘Strong’ you are has unfortunately not got much to do with pain, except enduring it. We can change our pain experience by understanding the alarm brain, the Limbic System. To concentrate and lower alarm – do try doing the Superbrain Yoga exercise with 2 ventral vagal breaths (see below). Do 1 minute every 30 minutes until brain is rewired.
Anxiety is an inflammatory order and it also robs the brain of energy, robbing the brain of the ability to concentrate and think clearly. When you have severe pain, brain fog makes it difficult to change pain with thoughts. Sending your alarm brain messages of safety can lower alarm in the Limbic System, but more important is the use of physical action to imprint positive changes on your brain. Go easy on yourself as Shame – feeling you are good enough or doing enough – that is anger turned on yourself as blame. Anger and Blame / Shame cause inflammation and pain.
Can you think of something you do that helps you soothe you when you are upset? What tools to you use to lower arousal or alarm in your brain? This could be stroking your cat. Going for a walk. Feeling the wind on your face. Drumming. Dancing.
The Two Step Program is a simple Program to do when you notice pain or stress.:
1. Grounding Technique
2. Ventral Vagal Breath
PROCESSING PAIN (physical, emotional, and spiritual):
NOTICE the feeling/thought. Acknowledge with curiosity – NO JUDGMENT. Then do the Two Step Program which combines Mindfulness Exercises below – choose one and then take 2 ventral breaths (instructions below).
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.
OR
Another effective way to relieve stress is by standing and marching with arms vigorously
OR
You can lift your legs – even while sitting – and tap each knee or leg with the opposite hand.
AND
STEP 2: PRACTISING HEALING BREATH
Practice the ventral vagal breath (abdominal breath) on Step 2
Do this when you have pain or when you are overthinking /worrying
I possible – right palm on the heart and left on the lower belly.
Even better – get a breathing buddy. Watch the person. The shoulders and chest should be relaxed and the lower belly moving out as it fills with breath and back to the spine with out breath.
Kurt Vonnegut has it right: Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.
Reprocessing with somatic experiencing therapy is excellent, and this process not only helps physical pain decrease, but also helps strengthen the limbic system and lower consequences of complex PTSD and undertreated anxiety.
The Two Step Program is an effective way to manage high-impact pain. It works by lowering arousal in the limbic system. Repetition is key – the more you practice, the more it works to change brain pathways. If reprocessing is not working, then an ACT approach is worth looking at.
All of these can be used together with medications, injections (interventional pain therapy) Physical therapy like physio, chiropractor, kinesiology, acupuncture, and of course stretching. Living a spiritual life and helping others – being part of community – is also healing. Look at Types of Pain for specific reasons for pain.
These alarms are going off without you thinking about it. The thinking part of the brain is your cognitive brain. The limbic system is running subconsciously on alarm. “Telling” your brain your brain that you are safe. That you are loved.
When the brain is in severe alarm, pain feels extreme. It can feel almost impossible to calm down or stop your racing circular thoughts. Your sympathetic system is in overdrive and the body wants to fight, flee, or freeze. These tools can help. Use them whenever you have severe pain or worrying thoughts or shame or anger. Notice shame thoughts or “stuck” thoughts and give yourself messages of safety.
These exercises are meant to rewire you brain. Even just noticing alarm helps prevent earlier chronic disease. Noticing alarm is a survival tool. Doing the exercises below is a journey to thriving.
The more you do them, the more likely they are to help. If you are noticing lots of brain fog, pain, fatigue, or alarm, then do the mindfulness and breath exercises (1 minute) hundreds of times a day for about 2 weeks. After that, you will then notice in your body when you need to do them, and it will need to be done much less as the brain’s new wiring takes over.
Do these techniques if you are thinking too much (‘brain worms’) or you notice fiddling, twitching, or worrying. In the beginning you may have to do this 100 times a day. I know I did! If you want to know how and why this works, see the notes lower down in Purple.
or
You can pick up a great page here for a MENU (and 30 day free trial).
It’s very important to get out of your alarm brain. Pain causes alarm, so this is difficult. Try other Mindfulness Steps.
Writing every day twice a day in the morning and the evening is very good for rewiring the brain. Here is a link to explain how it works, written by David Hanscom who is an orthopedic surgeon and osteopath.
Sit or lie in bed pen or pencil and paper. Scribble your thoughts down for 15 minutes, then rip up or throw the paper away. You can write anything down. Don’t worry about grammar.
When I get super upset – say after an argument with my hubby – then I immediately go and write everything down and throw the paper away. I find it calms me down.
These techniques, and the super brain yoga, help to develop connections between the left logical and the right emotional brain.
The super brain yoga can be done in a chair. Please make sure the knees are not too bent. You should be able to see your toes.
These techniques are used to rewire the brain. When there is severe pain or anxiety/panic attacks, we know the limbic system or alarm brain is taking over your brain. It is like a 2 or 3 year toddler having a temper tantrum. You can’t use reason to lower the alarm. It doesn’t work on the alarm brain. These techniques give you distance from the alarm brain. They put the alarm brain in its place. Eventually, the alarm brain will occupy less energy and ‘space.’ It won’t take over your brain.
Thais Gibson talks about attachment disorders which come from more difficult childhoods. Check her video out on my Complex PTSD page.
After 3 months, we know the pain is now stuck in the alarm brain. Don’t believe the messages that the alarm brain is sending. The alarm brain sends out messages of injury when the injury is long healed. For example, 90 to 95% of back pain is from the alarm brain. Don’t feed the alarm brain by listening to these messages. Choose messages of safety! Tell your alarm brain that you are safe. The alarm brain is very powerful and every accident you have or injury you have can feed it. Take away its power with all these techniques above and below.
Sit with your head forward, and, without moving your head, move your eyes from one side of to the other. If you are in a room, focus on the ceiling corners, from one side to the other. If you are outside, look up and to each side as far as your eyes will go, left to right.
You can place a hand on your belly and one on your heart while doing this. Notice your breath. Don’t try to control it, just notice. Notice your body and all the sensations in your body.
This is a technique from EMDR therapy. If you feel worse, stop it immediately.
Try a meditation tape or some You Tube videos.
There are many apps for anxiety. Give them a go. Try the ones that work for you.
Have a look at the On line resources.
If you have back pain, I highly recommend reading Alan Gordon’s book The Way Out and /or David Hanscom’s Back in Control. Also listen to Talk About your Pain on Alan Gordon’s podcast.
Talk to a loved one
Exercise is great for pain – emotional and physical.
Sleep is essential to manage chronic pain. Here is a 13 minute exercise that you can shorten if you want to. It is fabulous for sleep. Use straps if you need – over the feet for a better reach. If you have too much pain or stiffness, use cushions next to your body for some of the exercises.
There are more videos available with 10 minute yoga sessions and also chair yoga. Here are links to Chair Yoga and other Yoga/Exercise Programs.
Catastrophic thinking can cause high alarm.
Self care is so important for chronic pain. Here is a link to a free course Stand Up for Compassion
When we don’t listen to our stress, then our body can make us ill. When we are out of touch with our body, we can miss serious illnesses as well. Doing a 5 minute body scan daily can connect you to your body.
Here is a great Facebook Video on Attachment Disorders.
Finally – Ride the wave. Know you will feel better again.
Take care
Judy