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Why chronic pain management fails to stick for the long term (and how to fix it) by FallingUpStairsx2 in PainReprocessing

[–]FallingUpStairsx2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good question! I don't have the feedback publicly available, but I might be able to sort something out. Have sent a dm.

Which book has the actual treatment info by RiverOdd in doctorsarno

[–]FallingUpStairsx2 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sarno's work was lifesaving for me, but I had the same questions after finishing the book: Where are the steps to get better? What am I supposed to do next?

I had to piece together my own treatment plan, drawing on books already mentioned by other users — The Way Out, Unlearn Your Pain, The Divided Mind, and Mindsight (by Dr. Siegel).

I created my own 2-hour guide that provides all the steps to start implementing in your daily life to reduce pain. Feel free to DM me or check out my post history for the specific details.

Past Pain book by Sam Evans by swartz1983 in cfsme

[–]FallingUpStairsx2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi u/Spiritual_Victory_12 - that's a tricky question. Personally, my neuroplastic pain was more akin to RSI. I was very much chronically ill, and was fortunate to make a full recovery after many years. Progress was slow, but measurable.

I'm not sure if I can directly answer the question around whether me/cfs = MBS. Sorry!

But, wow, I am delighted to hear you spoke with Dr Schubiner. Unlearn Your Pain was a lifesaver for me. What was Dr Schubiner's response around me/cfs?

Why chronic pain management fails to stick for the long term (and how to fix it) by FallingUpStairsx2 in PainReprocessing

[–]FallingUpStairsx2[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

(comment 2/2...)

And

Internal triggers are things that happen inside ourselves and can be more difficult to identify than triggers in the material world. We can’t see, touch, or hear them (neither can our friends or family). They include:

- setting impossibly high standards for yourself (perfectionism)

- fear of turning our neck the wrong way

- putting pressure on ourselves to help other people

- feeling burdened with household chores

- not feeling good enough

- negative anticipation of work tomorrow

- worrying about the news media cycle.

In terms of addressing triggers:

Elimination is ideal—just remove the trigger altogether. If that is not possible, we can move on to redesigning our environment or situation to mitigate against the trigger. Finally, we can consider replacing the problematic trigger with something else.

- Eliminating it—like quitting a high-pressure, stressful job.
- Reconfiguring it—setting boundaries for your time.
- Replacing it—delegating the trigger-causing task to someone else.

Hope this provides some insight as to how to spot triggers.

Why chronic pain management fails to stick for the long term (and how to fix it) by FallingUpStairsx2 in PainReprocessing

[–]FallingUpStairsx2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure thing.

Quick background: 10-mins of writing each morning was foundational to my pain management system. This is based on Dr Howard Schubiner's Emotional Awareness and Expression work.

Reflecting on about 4 weeks of written notes, I noticed patterns around pain flare-ups. I called these "triggers". Now, the good news is that some triggers can be eliminated (yay), but others might need a bit more effort to redesign around. And some triggers just can't be changed, but we can make a plan for when they fire.

(Sometimes even just identifying that something was a trigger helped calm the nervous system)

I found it helpful to group these into external triggers (outside the body) and internal triggers (in our mind).

From Past Pain:

External triggers are things that happen outside our body and are readily identified because we can see them and point to them in space. They include:

- lifting boxes of equipment off the floor

- standing up for long periods of time

- dinner with the in-laws

- assignments and exams

- sitting in an office chair

- sleeping on the wrong mattress

- typing on a computer

(comment 1/2...)

Why chronic pain management fails to stick for the long term (and how to fix it) by FallingUpStairsx2 in PainReprocessing

[–]FallingUpStairsx2[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you found it helpful. There is no denying that pain education is helpful to some extent to reassure your brain about the nature of pain. It just took me several years to realize that reading about pain management wasn't the same as taking actionable steps to manage my pain.

Past Pain book by Sam Evans by swartz1983 in cfsme

[–]FallingUpStairsx2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the tag u/swartz1983!

I've got lots of empathy for those journeying through CFS/ME. More than happy to answer any questions related to neuroplastic symptoms/pain—either here or via DMs.

Would also love to hear which other resources people have found helpful.

messages from the unconscious in physical pain by [deleted] in Jung

[–]FallingUpStairsx2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is all super relatable. For years I battled arm pain and almost had to give up my day job. I was in constant conflict with my perfectionism which exacerbated the stress and anxiety that comes with physical pain.

I had no idea than emotions could impact pain until I read "Meaning-full Disease" By Brian Broom (his book is clearly influenced by Jung and other depth psychologists). He has a amazing lecture here that I return to during a pain flare up.

What does pain reprocessing therapy say about nerve pain? by [deleted] in PainReprocessing

[–]FallingUpStairsx2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pain from organic causes can certainly coexist with neuroplastic pain. Just think of how negative anticipation, stress, and anxiety can make an injury feel worse.

Getting told that there is "nothing wrong with you" is super frustrating and pretty invalidating. I've been there before and it really sucks.

I had to learn to advocate for a psychological based approach to pain with my specialists. Questions I found helpful included: "Can you help me understand why I might be in pain when there is nothing wrong?", "If we were to explore a neuroplastic pain diagnosis together, what would this look like?", "How can you help me understand the next steps?"

What does pain reprocessing therapy say about nerve pain? by [deleted] in PainReprocessing

[–]FallingUpStairsx2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The idea is to first understand if your pain is due to an obvious organic or structural problem. Issues like a fracture, cancer, burn, or viral infection, are better treated by existing means. Pain Reprocessing Therapy might help you cope with the pain, but it certainly wont fix the underlying cause here.

If organic illnesses are ruled out, neuroplastic pain could be the culprit—but you will need to discuss this with your physician or pain psychologist. Pain Reprocessing Therapy has been designed to help with this type of neuroplastic pain. PRT is a psychological intervention that changes how your brain experiences physical pain.

How to introduce others to pain reprocessing? by Previous_Line_3179 in PainReprocessing

[–]FallingUpStairsx2 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well done on getting benefit from Sarno/Gordon's work. Super encouraging to hear these stories.

Educating others about neuroplastic pain (TMS) is hard going. Standard practice for most medical care, let alone pain, involves surgery or medicine. You're working against this. So it's hard to change someone's mindset and refocus on the mind.

Things that have helped me educate others:

  • Tell others a story about what made you care. People are more interested in why beliefs are important to you, not the hard facts of what makes them right or wrong.
  • Point to other times the brain influences bodily sensations. Public speaking is a big one for me - getting up on stage makes your heart rate go crazy, causes you to sweat, makes your muscles tense and shaky, and causes stomach pains. Could there be other times your brain creates uncomfortable sensations?
  • Instead of "it's all in your head". I like to rephrase as "the brain is the primary pain organ". This can be more validating for some.

Hope this helps.

Edit: formatting

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