Chronic Pain & Anxiety

Lower back pain, back spasms, neck pain, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome, Irritable Bladder Syndrome (interstitial cystitus), TMJ (temporomandibular Joint), carpal tunnel, dizziness, fatigue, fribromyalgia, headaches and migraines.  

sIt is really hard to believe that physical pain can be caused by unexpressed emotion.  Really, really hard to believe.  I think that we live in a culture where physical pains are more honored than emotional pain.  If someone is upset and crying and takes the day off from work we see this as weakness whereas taking the day off because of severe back pain, we all understand.  There is no judgment there.  Most doctors will support the idea that your pain is caused by structure or physical issues going on.  Few will support the idea that it is driven by anger, guilt or anxiety.  

With technology we can image parts of the body and miscontrue what we see on the image is part of the pain.  But looking at the big picture, studies have shown that both people who suffer chronic pain and those that do not have no statistical difference with herniated disks, stenosis, and degenerative disk disease.  It is a nature part of aging.  This is not to say that some people might benefit from a surgical intervention, but it is much fewer than we think.  Many people have already had the surgery and the pain still exists.  Because the pain is driven by unexpressed anger, fear or guilt.  

We see the mind/body connection at work in many ways which are accepted.  When someone loses a loved one and at the hospital or funeral we see they collapse (their legs give way).  We see the tension in a jaw, fist or back in a situation where we are angry.  We make the connection and we have used phrases that people have used for a years, “he is a real pain in the ass” “or neck” or “I was scared shitless.”  We typically don’t make the connection when it is chronic and we can see the cause of it except for the physical.  This is where some emotional digging is required.  

Dr. John Sarno was the first to suggested a theory that the unconscious mind deprives the body of oxygen in that particular area to cause the muscles to spasm.  He suggested this is a distraction from the real cause which the unconscious mind thinks would be more difficult to deal with rather than the physical. In healing from this one must think totally psychological and reject any physical causes.  This takes time as we have “learned” to see this as physical and it has “worked” for many years to distract us.  The good news is we can unlearn what we have learned and move towards the root causes.  

rrEveryone’s journey is different, but the path is pretty much the same.  It takes time to heal.  There are no quick fixes.  Some people experience immediate relief or a significant reduction of relief.  You might be feeling relief just what what you are reading now.  If while reading this your pain is worse, this is a good sign that you are on the right track as well.  If stirring up things makes the pain better or worse it is a sign that the healing will come with emotional attention.  Pain caused by herniated disks don’t get better or worse by reading or getting new perspectives.  

There are a number tools I use and have used for my own healing. Expressive writing (James Pennebaker) where one writes anything that comes to one’s mind in a safe setting and it is immediately torn up or shredded for no on to look at is really useful.  There are over 200+ studies that demonstrating the power of this exercise and many of them have a positive effect on our emotional health.  Educating the mind both conscious and unconscious to see the real causes and roots of chronic pain are important.  The books of John Sarno, MD: Howard Schubiner, MD; Steve Ozanich, David Schecter, MD; David Hanscom, MD are very helpful and necessary to understand what is going on.  Listening to the audio versions of the books and watching videos of their lectures seem really helpful for many of us.  I think that hearing them say with confidence that the pain is not physical and that we should approach this psychologically is helpful.  Hearing testimonials of people who have suffered and have gotten better and have stayed better is not only inspiring but really seeps into the unconscious mind and when one is experiencing pain they can remember the story and gently tell themselves that this is psychological and emotional.  One learns also how one talks to themself is a key in healing.  Identifying the messages we tell ourselves and changing them can sometime bring immediate relief.  This journey should you embark on it will bring a lot more self awareness than you ever thought.  Many of us think we really know ourselves.  If you are suffering from chronic pain, there are parts of you that are still hidden and the healing will come with awareness and expression.  Changing your self talk will reprogram your mind.   Expressing emotion through counseling, coaching or writing exercises is a big part.  (John Sarno, Howard Schubiner, David Schecter, John Stracks)  Mindfulness, prayer and/or meditation will also be another key. The pain you were experiencing was causing you to be mindful of it and really distract you from the other parts of your body, emotion and what it is you really want to focus on.  The pain because a dictator which ruled over us.  We learned that we were not going to listen and obey it anyone.  We were going to notice it, yes, but not let it rule over us.  We learned that we could listen to someone else.  We could listen to other messages. 

LMany of us had underlying anxiety, anger and grief.  We never knew there was such emotion under there.   veniam

)People who struggle with chronic pain typically are perfectionistic and obsessive.  They have a hard time letting of things.  There are parts in the brain that has to do with focus and attention. (Cingulate gyrus and prefrontal cortex.

A “goodist” was a term coined by Dr. John Sarno, the author of “Healing Back Pain” to describe a person who works so hard and copes so well.  They have a hard time showing weakness or vulnerability.  They don’t want to burden anyone.  They are pretty moral and wouldn’t show much anger.