True-Blue Friends

Methods of dealing with chronic pain, by their nature, fall into categories of fast and slow. Painkillers, from aspirin to opiates, fall into the fast category. Taking them tends to have an immediate effect. And, yet, they bring with them the potential for additional problems ranging from adverse reactions to addiction.

Due to a constellation of symptoms, I find myself in the position of being unable to take any painkillers. Thus, I rely on the slow methods of dealing with chronic pain. If you are in a similar position, have heart! While the slow methods take time, they are like a true-blue friend. They will not desert you or become less effective over time. They are always there for you, caring for you, ready at your call, increasing in strength and effectiveness the more you use them.

The first step is embracing a slower path. You may already feel slowed down by your pain in ways you do not like. If you are frustrated by that, no wonder! However, this is not the slowness to which I am referring. No, embracing the slower path is embracing a way of looking at things that is gentle, peaceful, open, and, at the same time, intently alert. Instead of rushing toward a fix for your dilemma, take a step back and begin to look deeply and closely at what is. Make a practice of closely and carefully following your own self, your body and your mind. Observe in detail how your body reacts to each thing you do and what your mind says in response. You want to move and rest as comfortably as possible. Observation often helps in surprising and unexpected ways. We can be so used to pain that we think we know everything about it, only to find with close observation that our body has been sending us messages we have ignored. Even small shifts in how we move and navigate can have profound effects.

Our minds are powerful, integral elements of both our pain and our response to it. Pain after all is a message traveling through our neural system to our brain and back that is notifying us that there is an issue. Harnessing our mind and using it in our response to pain is bringing this powerful ally into our corner. As you experience pain, as you observe yourself, what are your thoughts? What momentary, incredibly fast thoughts fly through your consciousness? Are they helpful? Do you commend yourself for your bravery in the face of your pain? Or, do your thoughts worsen your pain? It's one thing to acknowledge that you have pain. It's another to become bitter or to increase your burden with negative thoughts about your pain, yourself, or the situation. Our bodies are designed to alert us to pain. This fact lies outside the arena of feeling. It simply is. 

Relax into a stance of seeing what is, with your body and your thoughts. Look at whether you are helping yourself in all aspects, or whether some aspects exist in which, inadvertently, you are not helping. Typically, it's easier to make physical shifts in how we do things than it is to make mental or emotional shifts. However, the potential of mental shifts is immensely powerful. Observe your thoughts and begin to weed out those thoughts that do not help. As much as possible take your view of pain out of the arena of emotion. See that it is a fact, not an emotion. Know that you can choose how you respond to this fact. This path is not for the faint of heart, it requires courage and bravery. How wonderful that within ourselves we have access to both.