How can mindfulness help me control my pain better? Well, to understand that question and answer, we need some context.
It is estimated that we have between 40,000 and 70,000 thoughts in one day… that’s truly an incredible and almost unfathomable number. But think about the number of times we subconsciously or quietly judge a thing to be good or bad. Take, for instance, our tendency to think about weather:
“I can’t wait to spend the weekend at the beach. The sun, the lake, and the relaxation will be so enjoyable!”
Vs.
“Ohhh, it’s rainy, so I probably won’t go outside. I don’t want to get wet and have to deal with soggy clothes and umbrellas!”
Though we may not consciously be thinking these exact thoughts when we experience them in day-to-day life, they are often the silent decisions that our judgmental minds make moment-by-moment about all the thoughts, sounds, sights, emotions, and sensations that we feel.
We are typically creatures who seek pleasure and move away from displeasure. This is usually a pretty good compass in our lives and helps us make important decisions. Evolutionarily, it was a very important cognitive attribute - shelter = good, rain = bad, sickness, etc.
You may be asking yourself, “Cool, what does this have to do with pain then?”
Well, pain is obviously bad! Therefore, it needs to be something that we get rid of! Right?
Pain, when in the presence of an acute injury or true danger to one’s body or health is certainly a worthwhile thing to pay attention to and take care of. However, when that physical injury has healed, yet this pain persists, these thoughts and tendencies of the mind to try to get rid of the pain can actually keep us in a sort of loop. A loop which goes something like this: painful sensation > judgment of bad/danger/fear > body’s increased sensitivity to stress, sensations, sleep deprivation, etc. > more painful sensations.
Here's where mindfulness helps us take back control.
Mindfulness is becoming aware, on purpose, without judgment. When we instinctively judge pain as unequivocally “bad” and something to escape, our minds often amplify the suffering. This harsh judgment intensifies our emotional response to pain, triggering stress and anxiety that can, in turn, exacerbate the physical sensations. In the mindset of mindfulness, we aim to break this cycle by observing pain with non-judgmental awareness, allowing us to mitigate its emotional and physical impact and promote a more compassionate response to our own suffering.
Mindfulness, then, becomes the tool by your side to help alleviate your pain and promote self-compassion; this can lead you back towards getting back to doing the things you love and being the person you used to be.
If you have found this information helpful and have some questions, feel free to email me. Call me for a free 15-minute consultation and we can get specific about what your plan might look like to help better control your pain.
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