Health Anxiety: Navigating the Obsessive Grip of Wellness Worry
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Chronic Pain is more than just an annoyance.
It’s a constant, unwelcome companion that can drain energy, disrupt sleep, and leave someone feeling like an imposter camped uncomfortably in their own body.
But what if this unwelcome guest wasn’t always alone? What if chronic pain needs an accomplice to survive?
No smoke without fire after all.
So often chronic pain sufferers either live with the pain or focus on localised relief such as creams and ointments, or pharmaceuticals for the pain itself. And this can help. But too often the effects of these efforts subside and the pain remains.
But.
If you can begin to quash the fire, could the smoke begin to dissipate too? Could the pain ease, if the stress of the pain didn’t weigh so heavily on the body and the mind?
Well, as it turns out, the answer is a resounding YES!
So, the fire…
The original cause, the current cause… What is it, why does it persist, and how do we begin to make moves towards a time with no persistent pain experience at all?
Stress, that familiar foe, can often be the unwelcome sidekick that worsens chronic pain and eventually keeps it alive, creating a vicious and seemingly endless cycle.
Let’s delve into the ways chronic pain manifests, how stress fuels the fire, and explore methods to break free from chronic pain’s grip.
Chronic pain is no one-note tune.
It can manifest in a variety of ways, each with its own special way of causing discomfort:
Imagine you’re having a bad pain day.
Now add to this already uncomfortable day, a situation like your boss breathing down your neck about a looming deadline, some terrible news appearing about the health of an ailing parent, or an unexpected tax bill due to arrive through the door in the months to come.
Yep – Stress! That grim thing that can turn up unannounced in a range of different costumes poking you in the gut at every turn.
This surge of stress hormones can heighten your pain perception, actively and unwantedly making it feel worse. It can also lead to muscle tension; tightness often in the jaw, the shoulders, or the lower back, which can further intensify discomfort.
The pain causes further stress.
The stress amplifies the pain.
Over time, this stress-pain loop can become ingrained, making it even harder to manage both.
Living with chronic pain can affect every aspect of your life:
Firstly, it’s important to understand the difference between chronic and acute pain.
Acute pain, like a sprained ankle, usually heals within a few weeks. And strange as it might seem, acute pain is your friend, alerting you to pay attention to something that may have dire consequences if you ignore it.
“I’M DOWN HERE!!!” your ankle screams to your brain, not letting you forget about the need to tend to this immediate concern of high importance.
But that signal from body to mind to body can begin to ‘hard-wire’, and whilst the ankle may mend, the screaming often stays, habitually screaming its pain signals, a bit like an over-zealous but helpful friend constantly doing things ‘just in case’ and eventually outstaying their welcome.
Problem is, you don’t have the energy to ask them to leave.
So the pain signal continues. Even though the affected area has resumed normal operation.
Now clear, logical, considered thinking would interrupt this signal, weakening its hold and eventually everything returns to a relatively comfortable status quo.
But.
In strolls Stress, our old faithful and complex companion interrupting our logical and considered thinking, telling us to focus our worrying mind somewhere else more important at this very moment (such as that ailing parent or that looming tax bill), and the pain signal hammers in its tent pegs, flips the burgers and settles in for sing-song around the campfire.
Days.
Weeks.
Months…
Years?
Acute. Becomes. Chronic.
Chronic pain is deemed as pain that persists for longer than three months, and recovery more often than not becomes a long-term journey. There’s no set timeline for recovery from chronic pain as it depends on a host of individual factors.
It depends on whether a stressful life surrounds you from moment to moment.
It depends on how willing you are to wage a personal war on the pain you are unknowingly inflicting upon yourself.
It depends on… Belief.
Knowing (and therefore, Believing), that chronic pain is in the brain can take a while to register. Some, never do.
But just because the pain is in the brain does not mean it is not real.
The feeling of pain is 100% REAL – you Are in pain. But…
as Dr Howard Schubiner, a leading expert on chronic pain states “Pain is NOT in your mind, you actually feel the pain. But it IS in the brain”
Chronic pain sufferers often feel down, depressed, and a little lacking in hope that the pain will ever cease.
And understandably so.
How someone deals with stress in their life is said to have a significant impact on whether the chronic pain cycle keeps smacking them in the face like a rubber ball on a line of elastic, or begins to wane.
It’s draining. Exhausting. It’s downright miserable.
Something needs to be done, but the mental and physical energy needed to complete the actions required to change life is as low as can go, and the will and the want to tap into any potential reserves continues to ebb away, adding to the woes, potentially elevating the pain senses further, and deepening the negative feedback loop.
Its a hateful and debilitating cycle, and no manner of pain relief, physio, stretching, or creams or braces or arch supports or whatever is going to help in a long-term way.
YES, these symptom support systems are important – do the creams, do the physio, do the ‘all the other things’. The DOING sends a signal that self-care is being made, and gains can be had from these efforts.
But for the longer term…
The pain signal needs to be interrupted.
Life needs to change.
The war on pain needs to be something in your recent past – it needs to have, begun.
There is hope!
Here are some positive signs to look out for as your chronic pain improves:
In the meantime, whilst energies are low and that will and want aren’t quite in the spot to fuel motivation to make those bigger changes, a little self care can go a very long way.
Self-care is a solid first defence in the fight against pain
Apart from being FREE (yes, that zero cost!), and immediately available, self care sends that signal to yourself that your Intention is good.
Here are some ways to address different pain symptoms:
Yep, the old standard toolkit
Self care practices can seriously have a positive impact on someone’s physical AND emotional states, and The Big Four below can help make great strides towards that point where energy goes up, motivation increases, and efforts towards longer-term solutions can begin to be considered:
Chronic pain can be stubborn, but maintaining self-care can be a solid secret weapon towards relief.
For some though, maintaining a self-care routine can feel daunting and overwhelming.
If you’re struggling, consider seeking professional help.
Help is at hand…
Therapists can provide support, guidance, and additional tools to manage and move on from chronic pain.
One approach that can be particularly helpful is solution-focused hypnotherapy.
Unlike traditional portrayals of hypnosis, solution-focused hypnotherapy doesn’t involve mind control or repressed memories. Instead, it focuses on:
Through these techniques, hypnotherapy can help your brain become more receptive to positive and lasting adaptations in thoughts and behaviours and can promote improved feelings and emotions.
The process is natural and calming and can help reduce the fight-or-flight response that often exacerbates chronic pain.
In summary:
Remember, chronic pain isn’t a life sentence.
With self-care strategies and professional support, you can begin to manage your pain and dissolve its relentless hold on your mind and body.
With less focus on these negative pain signals you can start to reclaim the life you had, or perhaps begin the life you want, on your own terms.
🌐 Sources
NHS UK – Stress – Every Mind Matters: https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/stress/
NHS inform – Chronic pain self-help guide: https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/mental-health/mental-health-self-help-guides/chronic-pain-self-help-guide/
Tims – Chronic or Persistent Musculoskeletal Pain: https://www.tims.nhs.uk/self-care/chronic-or-persistent-musculoskeletal-pain/
Gosh NHS – Chronic pain: https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/conditions-we-treat/chronic-pain/
NHS UK – Chronic pain and low back pain pathway at Sheffield …: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/case-studies/improving-access-to-psychological-therapies-iapt-case-studies/chronic-pain-and-low-back-pain-pathway-at-sheffield-improving-access-to-psychological-therapies-iapt-service/
The Best Ways To Heal Chronic Pain & Trauma Without Medication | Howard Schubiner | Dr. Rangan Chatergee –
Reducing the prevalence of low‐back pain by reducing the prevalence of psychological distress: –
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7518887/
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