The Brain Distracts Us From Unpleasant Emotions By Creating Chronic Pain
Chronic pain - Pain that carries on for longer than 6 months despite medication or treatment
When we get injured, our brain creates acute pain signals to the affected area of the body. Giving our body a chance to heal.
But what if we never sustained an injury and we have pain?
It’s common for healthcare professionals to blame unexplained chronic pain as follows:
No exercise
Too much exercise
The wrong types of exercise
Structural abnormalities
Old injuries
While the degree to which we exercise certainly helps manage pain, there is NO reason for the body to be in chronic debilitating pain without sustaining an injury.
And even if a doctor has told you pain is a result of a structural abnormality i.e. slipped disk, scoliosis or DDD. Pain science is now confirming that structural abnormalities do NOT cause chronic pain, as a large majority of people with the same abnormalities will never experience pain.
So what else could be going on?
Enter Dr John Sarno, widely celebrated pain doctor.
Amongst his best selling books and documentaries, he spent his 30+ career making a case that the brain distracts us from experiencing negative emotions by creating pain. With a lucrative pain industry at stake, the medical establishment pushed back against his ideas.
However the thousands who have trusted his guidance, now no longer manage but have freed themselves from pain.
How do unpleasant emotions create pain?
Think about every time you were nervous and felt your stomach turn, hands sweat and legs shake. This is called the mindbody connection, a negative emotion creating a physical reaction.
So if you’re living a stressful life, or you have unresolved trauma from childhood, the brain assumes there is danger. Constantly experiencing unpleasant emotions which we can’t handle, the mindbody connection steps in and creates a physical reaction.
Or what is commonly called mindbody pain.
But we all experience negative emotions, so why don’t we all experience chronic pain?
Sarno noticed a correlation with his pain patients and specific personality traits, mainly perfectionists, high achievers, people pleasers and ‘goodists’. People with these common traits tend to suppress unpleasant emotions in similar ways.
According to Sarno, if we no longer fear our pain and instead attend to our present emotions, we begin to tell the brain there is no danger. So no need for pain.
Are you experiencing chronic unexplained pain? Are you managing your pain, but you’d like to free yourself from it?
Since the pioneering work of Dr Sarno, pain science has come a long way. There are now many reputable pain specialists continuing and expanding on the work.
If you’d like to get in touch and find out how you can also free yourself from chronic pain, click the link below to find out about The Pain Relief Programme, as well as a FREE initial consultation.
