Coping With Pain

Physical pain can be so much more than a headache or body ache, it can be debilitating and life altering. When we don't feel well in our body it affects us on so many different life domains. When we hurt, our personal, work and home lives all suffer. It is hard to find the energy to take on any task, let alone even engage in our personal needs. I understand and even personally recognize how not feeling well physically impacts every aspect of our life...and especially our mental well being. 

There is such a correlation between body pain, migraines/headaches, digestive problems, immune system functioning, chronic health issues, etc. and the impact on depression, anxiety and other emotional/behavioral functions. As we cope with and navigate trauma our body can hold on to the emotions in a physical manner, triggering a variety of physical health symptoms that have an emotional source. 

When managing chronic health issues it can even feel traumatizing and like you are fighting an up hill battle. Our mental health and physical health are highly intertwined and can trigger us in a variety of ways. Sometimes the struggle is that we don't see the connection.

It can feel beyond daunting and out of control to deal with somatic (body) pain and symptoms. As difficult as it is to believe, there is help from the symptoms. Seeking therapy and processing underlying emotions can be helpful. Addressing and confronting anger at our own body opens up the ability to move forward. It might sound strange to hold anger at our own body, but by owning it, processing it and working through it, you have the ability to decrease so much emotional and physical discomfort. Learning healthy coping tools to self soothe is a great benefit in confronting symptoms head on. 

I have found several guided meditations that I use in my practice regularly to help those holding on to various forms of pain. I have uploaded one of my favorite guided meditations called the "Light Stream" already on my website.  

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) can also be an out of the box tool in moving through physical pain, decreasing fear of the symptoms and building control over the pain.

By increasing activity in mindfulness skills we can increase our ability to feel in control of our situation and even be more grounded and present. When using relaxation skills we teach our body how to self soothe and de-escalate. Progressive muscle relaxation is an excellent tool in training our muscles to relax under our own gentle command. Use of deep breathing is another extremely helpful way to self regulate and calm the mind/body connection. 

As frustrating as pain can be, there is hope. There are a variety of skills we can use and many professionals who can help us cope with the emotional burden of pain. Please do not be afraid to reach out and address those underlying causes of pain. There is hope and there is help. 

Pandemic Emotional Burnout

If we were just talking about the quarantine/pandemic and Covid-19, we could all admit this has been a trying time. I was originally going to write a blog about quarantine burnout and realized that just doesn't cut it right now. There is so much taking place in our country that transcends just quarantine and a pandemic...our country is hurting and changing  and we need to process it. There are many emotions floating around. There is heartbreak, hurt, sadness, grief and many other emotions right now. It is a challenge not to internalize those emotions and strife we all feel.

Many have faced quarantine, curfew, loss, illness, and pain in recent months. As citizens, we have already been so provoked that anything else added to our plates feels like more than we can handle. We all want to be safe, yet are missing that social contact and ability to engage with others we have grown accustomed to...The truth is people do need social contact to feel emotional stability and security.

I am hearing from so many of the people whom I work with that they are experiencing a variety of symptoms along the lines of anxiety, depression, fatigue, stress, worry, loneliness, anger, etc. I have turned to labeling many of the symptoms as Quarantine Burnout, or even just sheer emotional burn out. People have simply hit their limit on how much they can really handle and we are instead seeing an increase in different emotional and behavioral symptoms. Everyone expresses their struggles differently so your symptoms may look different from your friend, child, partner, loved one's and coworkers. 

Even as things remain beyond our control, there still are things that we can do to take back control of ourselves, environment and immediate surroundings. It is so important to fight the urge to focus on the future. It is easy to activate the automatic negative thought of Fortune Telling, but we must fight that urge to focus on the future and use our skills to stay present and grounded. Mindfulness skills come in handy to help us focus on the present and what we are truly in control of right now. Many skills can help us stay present: sometimes we need to use safe distractions, hobbies, talking to loved ones, staying busy and using our voice to recognize our own strength. Each and every one of us has a voice and it is how we use our voice to assert our power.  Journal, blog or document your journey. It is healthy and important to process your struggles and writing allows us to externalize our thoughts and feelings. Processing through writing is an amazing tool in recognizing and addressing subconscious and underlying emotional patterns. 

As always there are people ready and waiting to listen if those emotions are too much to bear on your own.