Pain hurts and pain hurts because it is mean to! That is a fact and a survival mechanism of life. We want to avoid pain as much as possible because prolonged or unmanaged pain means suffering.
When we experience physical pain, this is the signal something is out of kilter, unbalanced or damage has happened. It’s our bodies way of both alerting us to potential damage or stopping us doing more damage and conversely start to heal and repair.
Pain like those odd little candy beans comes in a variety of flavours and individuals like you can also interpret those flavours in a wide variety of ways. I would like to discuss how and what pain is before suggesting some ways to consider any possibilities of alleviating it.
Pain can be visceral, that is originating in internal organs or from our immediate and visible body; like muscle, skin which can be acute or chronic or somewhere, anywhere inbetween like sensations from joints and bones which can often be describes as both chronic and acute. And may include nerve or neuropathic pain.
This is sensationally what we know as fast and slow pain. Fast pain is sharp and often over in a very short space of time. Slow pain can go on for what seems like ages. Slow pain or chronic pain is what this post is about and some ideas about how this can be better managed.
The sensations of pain are transmitted through our nerves to our brain ( except in a certain case ) and we have the subjective experience of pain. Nociceptors which respond to a variety of ‘pain’ situations like burning, cuts, chemical or physical damage react and send the information back for our subjective appraisal.
Our subjective sense of pain is transmitted via the dorsal root ganglia along the spinal column in most of the body and directly from the face. Our sensory ( not motor ) system feeds into the back of our spine and is then sent to the brain. Once in the brain there is a subjective and unconscious assessment.
The internet super highway of our spinal column deals with the sharp, acute and immediately stingy aspect of pain, while the lateral and ventral spinal nerve pathways (anterolateral ) transmit slow or chronic pain.
I wonder if you know that birds can eat chili seeds without any sensation of burning or heat? The receptors that respond to being burned in a human also respond the the molecular structure of the active ingredient in a chilly pepper. This is why chilis ‘feel’ hot to humans but not to birds.
You may notice I am using the word subjective.
This is deliberate because, I am sure you know, there are situations where a person can literally be oblivious to pain or even think it is a good thing, depending on the situation. When either attention is completely elsewhere or the meaning of such discomforts is very other than pain.
I am told people can skin their knees, rump and elbows and be completely oblivious. A hard massage, albeit painful can feel good. This is what I am meaning by subjective. Change the situation and subjectivity can change.
Anticipating and remembering pain are aspects of our memory and imagination that can amplify pain. This is obvious to anyone who is in the situation of having experienced pain for some time and anticipates more pain. It might be possible in such cases to cut the sensation of pain by around two thirds if the pain can be reduced to the present.
I am also thinking that as a reader, your pain subjectivity changes and alters during the day and night. There may be times of excruciating pain and others when there is little or none. Again when this is true, there are natural processes at large which could be explored and utilised in hypnosis.
If you would like to explore how hypnotherapy could help you manage pain. Of course having seen you doctor first, this is essential! I may be able to help you.
You may wish to mediate your pain using less medication or explore how ideopathic ( without a know medical cause ) pain could be lessened or reduced.
If you can imagine how you will feel, emotionally, physically and mentally with much less pain, just imagine, you may already be changing you subjective experience.
Consultation are free and take up to 25 minutes. When you would like to explore options in feeling less pain, get in touch.
Hypnotherapy Newcastle call 0770 481 8467 or email nigel @ nigelhetherington dot co dot uk and leave a message with you name, number and what you would like to do different.