When it comes to pain, an important question to ask is: How are we relating to pain? The way that we relate to pain decides whether pain is sucking the life out of us or whether it's fuel for our healing.
The basic way that we tend to relate to pain is to try to avoid it.
If we want to turn pain into fuel for our healing we've got to relate to it differently and that's no small task.
First of all, the primitive parts of our brain (the reptilian brain, or the back brain) are wired to avoid pain.
In this way we're not that different from our reptile counterparts.
Second of all, the avoidance of pain is something that has been reinforced over and over by the people around us throughout our lives.
Thirdly the avoidance of pain is what's being supported by the majority of the healthcare world.
Most people that you go to for help, even alternative healthcare professionals, want to help you avoid pain.
You may have heard it said that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Well, if you've been relating to the pain in the same way and nothing's changing, you might want to think about taking a different route.
The solution is to go towards the pain.
How do you go towards the pain? Bring your attention to it.
Where is it exactly? Notice the boundaries.
Are they clear or fuzzy? Jagged or smooth? Does the pain end abruptly somewhere or does it radiate out? Does it have volume? Shape? Texture? Maybe it's heavy and solid like brick, or maybe it's a viscous fluid like chocolate pudding.
Maybe it has color? When you bring your attention to pain in this way, you might notice that something changes.
Maybe the pain moves to some other part of your body.
Maybe it decreases in intensity, or maybe it increases in intensity.
Maybe you start to feel really angry or sad.
Maybe there's some story that comes to the surface: you find yourself arguing in your head with your dad or your boss.
Now let go of that and just notice how you feel.
Do you feel different? I bet you do.
Any change that you can notice at all, even if the pain got worse, means progress.
That might go against convention wisdom but like they used to say on Scooby Doo, "It's so crazy, it just might work.
"
The basic way that we tend to relate to pain is to try to avoid it.
If we want to turn pain into fuel for our healing we've got to relate to it differently and that's no small task.
First of all, the primitive parts of our brain (the reptilian brain, or the back brain) are wired to avoid pain.
In this way we're not that different from our reptile counterparts.
Second of all, the avoidance of pain is something that has been reinforced over and over by the people around us throughout our lives.
Thirdly the avoidance of pain is what's being supported by the majority of the healthcare world.
Most people that you go to for help, even alternative healthcare professionals, want to help you avoid pain.
You may have heard it said that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Well, if you've been relating to the pain in the same way and nothing's changing, you might want to think about taking a different route.
The solution is to go towards the pain.
How do you go towards the pain? Bring your attention to it.
Where is it exactly? Notice the boundaries.
Are they clear or fuzzy? Jagged or smooth? Does the pain end abruptly somewhere or does it radiate out? Does it have volume? Shape? Texture? Maybe it's heavy and solid like brick, or maybe it's a viscous fluid like chocolate pudding.
Maybe it has color? When you bring your attention to pain in this way, you might notice that something changes.
Maybe the pain moves to some other part of your body.
Maybe it decreases in intensity, or maybe it increases in intensity.
Maybe you start to feel really angry or sad.
Maybe there's some story that comes to the surface: you find yourself arguing in your head with your dad or your boss.
Now let go of that and just notice how you feel.
Do you feel different? I bet you do.
Any change that you can notice at all, even if the pain got worse, means progress.
That might go against convention wisdom but like they used to say on Scooby Doo, "It's so crazy, it just might work.
"
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