In my last blog, we saw last week how we can improve our mental attitude and how this can help us live with chronic pain. In this blog, we are going to look at some more direct help. How we can use our minds directly to lessen our pain. So here we go.
Understanding chronic pain
This is not simple; it is not just how the signals go from the site of the pain to your brain. It is also about how you process these signals. If these signals are provoking strong negative reactions, such as fear, then the pain will feel worse. If you learn how you can decrease the pain you will feel less afraid before you even do anything.
How to decrease pain
First of all, go over to my website and practise some of the breathing techniques there. This is the foundation for a lot of the work we can do. Breathing in these special ways will slow your system down, lessen your blood pressure, relax your muscles, and slow racing thoughts which can lead to anxiety. Once you have done that you are in a much better place, you are much more receptive to some other techniques.
How to ignore the pain bully
You know the scenario. Your pain comes on and that part of your body feels huge. It feels like it had a life independent of the rest of you. It is the big bully in your universe, shouting at you, pushing everything else out of the way, and demanding all the attention. Well, here is the good news. You can deal with that bully by ignoring him.
Here I show you do it. Think about the rest of your body, the parts which are not painful. Choose a part of you that is a long way from the site of your pain. So, if you have pain in the lower back perhaps you want to focus on your hand. If you have a pain in your shoulder then perhaps you can focus on your toes.
Choose the part of your body and think about the things you do which you like using that part. Your hands stroke your pet. Your feet walk in the country. Just let your mind run free. Then look at that part of your body and imagine yourself taking a picture of it. Then put this picture at the front of your mind and work on it.
First, colour it and sharpen its definition so it is the brightest thing in your mind. Then work on sensations. Make that part get warmer, feel how good that feels, then cool it down, and enjoy that sensation too. Repeat this several times, making each sensation stronger each time. Then try another sensation, imagine the part gently vibrating, and every vibration bringing a calming feeling. Keep repeating this, turning the vibrations up and then down.
When practising this technique, you might find it useful to name and number the sensations. You might want to give the unpainful body part a name. The good place, perhaps. Get to know what feels most comfortable and helpful to you. You may end up saying I know warmth at seven and vibration at 5 in a good place takes my mind off the pain.
It takes a while to get this right, but it is very effective. Your mind can only concentrate on one thing at once. Concentrate on your good place and the pain bully will recede into the background.
Changing the pain bully to a little fluffy ball
Do you remember the bully in the school playground, when he was confronted he seemed to shrink? He didn’t look taller than everyone else anymore, he looked quite insignificant. He was not nearly so scary. You can do this with your pain. Here is how.
Start by imagining your pain as a ball, an unpleasant ball. Perhaps it is spiky and rough, perhaps it is in a colour you hate. Imagine it and make it as nasty and unpleasant as you can. Then start doing your breathing techniques. Every time you breathe out change one thing about this nasty ball. Let your mind run free, you will know what is best for you. Perhaps you can start by making it less rough, less spiky, perhaps you can remove the spikes one by one. Then work on the colour, fade-out that nasty colour, perhaps initially something neutral.
Once you have a less nasty, more neutral ball you can start improving it to something you can work with. Make it soft or fluffy, whatever feels good to you. Then begin to work on the colour to change it to your favourite colour.
Then you can start to make the ball work for you. If you find an ice pack helpful, for example, make the ball cold, if heat works to ease your pain do the opposite. Whatever works for you physically, give these properties to your ball. As you do this add some replacing images as well.
It is all in the senses
Let’s start by stating the obvious, pain is a nasty sensation, one you do not want and may well make you feel frightened. You may not know that you can alter sensations by a simple mind/body technique. Here it is.
Imagine your good place (see two posts ago) and give it a sensation you like, one which helps with your pain. This is often heat or cold or a numb feeling. Focus on your good part and make the feeling as strong as you can. Now imagine that feeling travelling through your body into the painful place and that sensation melting into the pain. Then repeat, focusing on the good place, increasing the helpful sensation and imagining it travelling to the painful place and that sensation transferring and melting the pain.
Try some of these strategies and let me know how you get on or share some of yours in the comments below. I look forward to reading them.