Mind and body in chronic pain: Role of spirituality in healing

General Articles and Research
1

Hi Guys,

We are kicking off 2015 with a thought provoking, highly pertinent new topic.

Chronic pain is experienced by mind and body, a metaphysical connection that is impossible to separate. The mind can be touched by ethereal connections much the same way as the body can be touched by physical treatments. Many would argue that it is impossible to treat chronic pain while ignoring either one of these dimensions. Medications, physical therapy, and surgeries all accommodate the body; spirituality touches the soul and mind of an individual. Together they can create a great change in quality of life for people suffering with chronic pain. Much research underpins how spiritual beliefs shape a persons perception of pain.

Spirituality is a broader concept than religion, although that is one expression of spirituality. Other expressions include prayer, meditation, interactions with others or nature, and relationship with God or a higher power. (Burkhardt, M. "Spirituality: An Analysis of The Concept," Holistic Nursing Practice, May 1989:60-77)

My own unraveling spiritual awakening has brought me a deepening sense of peace, purpose, connection to others, and belief about the meaning of life. I am not saying that it makes everything OK or lessens my physical pain because it doesnt, I have plenty of sobbing ,screaming, begging 'I cant do this anymore' days. But my faith (Christianity) most definitely helps me cope ,and fuels my ability to better manage the social and emotional aspects of pain e.g. isolation, acceptance.

Quite simply, the more time i dedicate to prayer and mindfulness meditation , the more I am comforted . The more I am 'in the now' and aware of my thoughts and feelings, importantly acknowledging/accepting, the less i am overwhelmed and exhausted by them. Spirituality carried me through another intolerable year :-)

The article 'The role of spirituality in healing' is enlightening and I must concur re: the urgent need to offer spirituality in the toolkit for chronic pain assessment and treatment regimens.

(1) Has spirituality help you find physical and emotional relief from chronic pain?

(2) Do you think spirituality has a role in chronic pain management?

(3) Should we be mindful of mindfulness?

Please share your thoughts and the results of your stress test with the rest of the community <3

God bless

Part 1.

http://www.fmcpaware.org/the-role-of-spirituality-in-healing

Part 2.

http://www.fmcpaware.org/the-role-of-spirituality-in-healing-part-2

Treating chronic pain with meditation

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/04/treating-chronic-pain-with-meditation/284182/

Using mindfulness to approach chronic pain.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/using-mindfulness-to-approach-chronic-pain/00016290

Mindfulness or new age waffle?

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/23/should-we-be-mindful-of-mindfulness-nhs-depression

Managing pain with the power of the mind. BBC video

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-ouch-30534749

Check this out ! Test your stress levels - free online test Oxford University. London. (mads scored 37/40 )

http://www.bemindfulonline.com/test-your-stress/

161-Mindfulnessinchronicpain.pdf (1.62 MB)
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This is great information. I have been helped so much by spirituality . It makes such a difference worth how I handle my chronic illness. It helps keep me calm and optimistic. It keeps me from sinking into a dark hopeless place . It’s easy to forget how important spirituality is in dealing with and living with a chronic illness. How helpful it is in regular life before illness. It’s important to remember spirituality isn’t any specific religion or any religion at all for that matter. I myself am a Christian but as Mads pointed out it is also meditation , the mind body connection, higher powers, and much more. It is nurturing your mind and not just your body.

I took the stress test and I was a 9.

I had a surprising reaction to EM. I became more calm and now have less stress. Stress causes my flares to be worse as does crying and excitement or laughing. I have since learned to calm myself and focus more on my spirituality because I had to if I was to reduce my pain. I’m sure most with chronic pain will have higher numbers as would be expected. This was a great reminder to take care of your whole self not just the body. It won’t make this go away but could help make living with it a little more bearable.

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Hi Veerla,

All information is always truly welcomed. I had forgotten the 'mind over matter' post, have attached link so its incorporated and broadens this discussion.

The ice bath is strange- I do a similar thing with daily freezing water (cold immersion). I get asked how can you cope with that. I find it helps me with flares and strangely comforting, I mean it leaves me relaxed :-). Im going to check out this 'Ice Man' today and watch the youtube. Thank you so much for sharing the information and links((((Veerla)))).

Did you take the stress test? Im interested to see what we all score ;) Alina was 9, I was 37

Mind over matter (old post)

http://forum.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/forum/topics/pain-versus-s...

Mindfulness intervention boosts brain activation for healthy pleasures

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141205142434.htm

Alina, what you say is so right.- we find calmness in the storm x

4

Thanks for putting these resources together and introducing this topic. I think it is a terribly important one. We are prone to neglect our spiritual side and yet it is very important in dealing with chronic pain.

I have found that since I practice daily meditation, EFT (tapping) and self-hypnosis I am generally less stressed and less afraid of my pain and that really makes a huge difference. More and more I am able to say, this is just pain; I am not in danger. I am safe. It isn't who I am. I am able to tolerate a good deal more pain and as a result can be more active at times. I also feel less stressed than I did before EM (stress test = 17).

Cheers,

Dragica

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Dear Dragica,

Thank you for your kind words :-). EFT (tapping) sounds amazing. Thats something I have never ever tried. Would you mind telling me more about it ,and how it works for you? Really fascinated to hear more (please)

God bless

mads

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Mads.

EFT is Emotional Freedom Technique. It has been used for years for treatment of anxiety, fear, pain, depression, PTSD, etc. And there is more and more research being done on it every day.

I use it to start and end the day as well as to deal with upsets and pain during the day. One can tap on virtually anything--worries, fears, anger, frustration, side effects of meds, etc. For me it stops the cycle of ruminating over the issue. When I am tapping I soon stop feeling the pain, frustration, hopelessness, etc. I can tap for 2 minutes or 30 minutes depending on the need. I am nearly always calmer and more hopeful afterwards. And if there is a strong emotional component to my reactions, then it works wonders! I found it especially useful when I would experience excruciating pain and uncontrollable shivering in the middle of the night (before taking Lyrica). It would be so physiologically stressful that I would become shocky and experience irregular heartbeats. EFT really helped break down that negative spiral. It was like a friend holding my hand in the dark.

The technique is very simple--it combines tapping at the major meridian points on the body plus CBT-type verbalizations and affirmations. e.g., "Even though I have burning pain in my feet and it causes me considerable suffering, I still love and accept myself completely and utterly. And even though I sometimes become fearful about this pain and about this disease and my future, I still love and accept myself....And I choose to let go of this fear of.... because I am safe right here, right now......"

You can google EFT and tapping, but I use Nick Ortner's resources the most. While he is not the originator of this technique, he certainly has been instrumental in popularizing it among practitioners and the general public. And he organizes the World Tapping Summit every year. These events and resources are free. If one wants CDs or printed copies then one pays. He is due to release a new book on using tapping for pain relief. In fact, he recently conducted a 3-day symposium on that topic on the east coast of the US. You can sign up for the e-newsbrief (just expect emails 2-3 times/week). However, he does offer lots of good free stuff.

Here is his website: http://www.thetappingsolution.com/

Hope this helps,

Dragica

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Great article to add to Dragica's EFT suggestion.

http://wakeup-world.com/2012/08/23/emotional-freedom-techniques-eft...

https://www.facebook.com/search/str/eft%20-%20emotional%20freedom%2...