The Biggest Misconception About Chronic Pain
When people use the phrase โ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑโ to describe stress-induced pain, the implication is that the pain exists only in your mind โ in your thoughts โ in your fantasy.โ
Not only is this notion dismissive and hurtful to those experiencing pain, itโs quite simply untrue. Anyone whoโs ever experienced stress-induced pain (i.e. the kind of pain that has medical doctors telling you โthereโs nothing wrongโ) can attest that the pain is very, very real.โ
Back when I was getting stop-everything migraines for over a decade, I never suspected that there was anything physically โwrongโ with me โ I knew that my migraines were stress-induced โ but that knowledge did nothing to reduce the excruciating pain sensation. The pain wasnโt fantasy, and I wished that I could just think it away. But the pain was definitely there, and it was definitely real.โ
So when clients ask me, โare you saying the pain is all in my head?โ I reply โabsolutely not.โ But I AM saying that the pain โ ALL pain โ is in your ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ: the control system centered in your brain that controls autonomic functions such as digestion, heart rate, emotions and yes, ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐.โ
Whether the pain youโre feeling was triggered by something ๐ฝ๐ต๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น (like a broken arm) or something ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น (like a stressful workday or a trauma trigger or a stress-perpetuating coping strategy like people pleasing)โฆ the ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ you feel are signals created by your central nervous system โ i.e. in your brain.โ
When the central nervous system senses threat โ which can be physical, emotional, or both โ it responds by sending a variety of SOS signals, and one of those signals can be ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป. (Others include racing heart, panic, startle response, etc.)โ
All pain sensations are created by the ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ. They are NOT created by ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐ in the mind, although thoughts do have a big ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ on ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ.โ
For example, habitual thoughts that communicate internalized emotional abuse (like โIโm a terrible personโ or โeverybody hates meโ) prolong and perpetuate the emotional threat that initiated those thoughts. Such thoughts send ongoing threat messages to the central nervous system, and the nervous system may respond by sending SOS signals such as ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ that you feel in your body.
Does that make sense?
So the next time someone tells you the pain is โall in your head,โ you can tell them:
โNo, the pain is in my central nervous system just like ๐ฎ๐น๐น pain is, because thatโs how pain works!โ
For more support with anxiety and chronic pain, take the FREE QUIZ: โWhy the *bleep* am I still in pain?!โ to help you get some clarity.
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