Recognize that pain is created by your brain, not necessarily the body part where it’s felt, and that emotions and stress can activate the same pain centers as physical injury, which is the first step towards healing.
Understand that pain is not the problem but a solution from your brain, acting as a signal or blessing in disguise to alert you to something that needs attention or care.
Recognize that fear, worry, focus, and frustration about pain create a vicious feedback loop in the brain’s neural circuits, making the pain worse over time.
Actively change your internal narrative and self-talk about pain by reassuring yourself that you are safe and not in danger, even smiling, to turn off the brain’s danger alarm mechanism that causes pain.
Give your brain reassurances and smile when experiencing or anticipating pain, as this helps turn off the danger alarm mechanism in the brain that is causing the pain.
Gradually expose yourself to movements or activities that trigger pain, starting with imagination, while simultaneously telling yourself you are safe and smiling, to retrain your brain’s neural circuits.
Be aware of and control your inner self-talk, as negative messages about your body or capabilities can worsen pain, while positive affirmations can improve performance and reduce symptoms.
Approach your brain’s pain signals with compassion, understanding that it’s acting out of fear, similar to reassuring a child afraid of a monster, rather than fighting or being angry at the pain.
Adopt the mindset that pain is not an enemy but a fearful signal from your brain, which allows you to approach it with reassurance and compassion, rather than anger or resistance.
Before practicing mindfulness for chronic pain, first re-categorize the pain as a neural circuit problem (brain-generated thought) rather than a structural issue, then observe it without fighting or frustration.
Engage in physical movement, like yoga, by pairing it with feelings of calm, joy, control, or peacefulness, to retrain your brain’s neural circuits and associate movement with safety rather than fear or pain.
Believe that chronic pain can often be healed without medication by taking the time to understand what’s going on and getting to the root cause, which is often emotional or stress-related.
Employ journaling as part of emotional awareness and expression therapy to deal with unprocessed emotions, leading to inner healing and using symptoms as a guide to understand what’s important in your life.
Recognize that personality traits like people-pleasing or perfectionism, often developed in childhood, can put pressure on your system, so learning to say ’no’ and set boundaries is crucial for self-care.
If you have multiple diagnoses and labels, consider setting them aside to focus on creating overall health through addressing emotional well-being, sleep, stress, and movement, rather than solely focusing on what is ‘wrong’ with you.
If suffering, use pain medications temporarily to alleviate symptoms while actively engaging in pain reprocessing and emotional work, with the goal of reducing or eliminating medication over time as healing progresses.
Approach chronic conditions by stripping away negative labels and the idea of incurability, and instead, carefully investigate your life and symptoms with an open mind to find new avenues for healing.
Be open to exploring different paths to healing for chronic pain, especially if traditional methods haven’t worked, as there are often alternative approaches that can lead to significant improvement.
For healthcare professionals, listen to and understand patients with chronic pain, validating their experience that the pain is real and not imaginary, which provides a hopeful message for recovery.
Healthcare professionals should personalize their approach to pain management, meeting patients where they are at, and clearly communicate that medication is for temporary management while offering to help find the root cause.