We’ve all done it. Stubbed our toes, cut our hands with paper, tripped over our own feet. You know what you have done, you have the scars and bruising to show for it. And there’s a lot of pain at the start, which eases with time as you heal.
But what if that is not the case for you? What if your pain seems to have come from nowhere? Or it is getting worse with time? What if a sore back from lifting a suitcase ten years ago is still giving you problems? Or things that you wouldn’t expect to be painful, like rain falling on you, hurt a lot.
Non-specific persistent pain – goes on for more than three months and does not have a clear cause – affects around 20 per cent of people in Europe every year.
And the truth is all the blood tests, X-rays and MRIs will not necessarily tell you what the cause is. Or what you should do about it.
The psyche and the soma
You have probably heard the term psychosomatic – used pejoratively ie it’s not real, it’s all in your mind.
But some experts now argue that psychosomatic should be a legitimate diagnosis. Our ‘psyches’ (minds) and our ‘somas’ (bodies) talk to each other all the time. And the pain we feel is a complex mix of what is happening in tissues, and how your brain and spinal cord interpret the information.
Pain is a protective mechanism. You may not like it, but you are supposed to have it. And there are many factors that influence how much pain you have, and when, such as:
- Biological factors:
- Illness
- Tissue damage
- Inflammation
- Genetics
- Excessive load.
- Psychological factors:
- Beliefs
- Thoughts
- Knowledge
- Predictions
- Feelings
- Actions
- Social factors:
- Family
- Friends
- Access to help
- Culture
- Education.
Where does mindfulness fit in?
Research has demonstrated that mindfulness meditation can interrupt communication between the parts of the brain that receive information about tissue damage and those that process what the information means.
It’s a process you can use to self-soothe your own nervous system, reducing the suffering that can accompany illness and injury.
Mindfulness is about awareness – understanding what you are thinking and feeling, accepting without judging, letting go of what does not help.
Getting to know your own thoughts and beliefs can be a powerful way to challenge the ones that do not support you. Thinking is not good or bad – the question is, do your beliefs help you get where you want to go ie reduce your pain?
And the more aware you are of your own experience, the better able you will be to identify what help you need, and how to get support from family and friends.
Five ways to start
Learning to understand your pain, and soothe your own system, takes time. But you do not have to be an expert meditator to make a start. Here are five ideas you can implement today.
- Write things down – sometimes the hardest part is to understand what you are thinking. Some beliefs are so ingrained you do not even know they are there. Hand writing can help slow your brain down. Give you a chance to process your own thoughts. Set aside 10 minutes a day, at a time to suit you, to write down what is going on in your mind. No filter, no judgement, just write whatever is there.
- Shift your gaze – modern life can mean a lot to time spent looking down, and looking at things that are close to you, such as computer and phone screens. It can be helpful to consciously look up and out. To the sky, to the horizon. Make a regular habit to look long distance, take in the full views. Changing where you look has an immediate impact on your nervous system.
- Be in the present moment – use everyday tasks to prevent the tendency to worry about what will happen in the future. Your brain is great at thinking it knows what’s going to happen and increasing your stress accordingly, in advance. One antidote is to practicing just doing what you are doing, and give it your full attention. If you want some ideas of how to fit this into your daily life, sign up for my emails and download my guide to Informal Mindfulness.
- Pick a breathing exercise as an emergency measure. Box breathing is popular – breathe in for a count of four, hold for a count of four, breathe out for a count of four, hold for a count of four. Repeat as often as necessary.
- Learn to meditate. Start with some short practices, see my gifts page for suggestions. Pick a place, and time of day, that works for you. And aim to be consistent – brief practice done often enough, say five days out of seven, is better than longer practices done inconsistently.
Be patient with yourself. Progress takes time. It can help to learn with a group, so contact me if you would be interested to join a mindfulness course, or would like some one-to-one coaching.
