Chronic pain is another epidemic that we're currently dealing with.
More than 100 million people are suffering with chronic pain and it costs our society more than $600 billion a year.
There are almost as many treatments for chronic pain as there are causes of it. Some of them have some value, others are merely sales and marketing.
The true answer is that pain is very individualized, is dependent on self-efficacy, and requires a dynamic approach for success.
One facet of chronic pain management has been understanding pain science.
The overall idea is that if you understand pain, and understand what's truly a threat and what's not, then you'll be less likely to perceive things as dangerous. And if you're not perceiving danger, then you're not perceiving pain (theoretically).
It's a how you think is how you feel approach.
One of the leaders of this approach is Lorimer Moseley.
2 Lorimer Moseley Videos on Pain
Lorimer is a great story teller and communicator. Thus, why he probably has so much success explaining pain.
He has a very famous TED talk from 2011 (below) where he explains pain and why a twig can feel like a spider bite.
Recently he created a new story (below), a la Adriaan Louw, about living with persistent pain and the neuro-cognitive approach.
Summary
It's important to consider how our thoughts influence how we feel.
As you've noticed in the videos above, Lorimer doesn't offer a single solution.
The answers are inward. It requires us to look at our thought patterns and behaviors from a 3rd person point of view. It has to be non-judgemental, introspective, and honest.
Sounds a lot like mediation, huh? That's because mediation and mindfulness can be extremely helpful to cultivate the state of mind that allows us to understand our thoughts and change our behaviors.
But it doesn't have to be meditation/mindfulness. There are many ways to alter chronic pain. Hopefully this post has opened your eyes to another option.
The bottom line is that if you're in pain and not finding any solutions with a medicine based approach, then maybe you should consider a mind based approach.
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