To Treat or Not to Treat?
This is a question that came up when talking to a client recently. In the pain management/TMS world there is often a big debate on whether or not to get physical treatment for chronic pain issues.
The argument against is that if we have established that the pain is not coming from an organic/structural cause like a fracture, infection or God forbid, a tumor, and that it is really coming from some prolonged stressful thinking ( some say it’s suppressed rage, unconscious anger etc. ) then going to physiotherapy to treat that issue will only reinforce an idea in the brain that there is something actually wrong. Makes sense right? I mean if you have just gone through a whole bunch of tests and examinations, seen a few different medical specialists who have all said there isn’t anything really wrong, why then do something to fix it? If you believe the problem is caused by stress, rage or anger then we need to treat that right?
Hold on a minute!! If we have just established that the body doesn’t need fixing, why are we now trying to fix our thinking?? If the body has incredible innate intelligence to heal and fix itself why would I want to believe that my mind can’t also?? This is a huge, innocent misunderstanding of the Mindbody Connection.
Thought is always flowing, its nature is to move, this is normal and natural. As I started to see this, I mean really SEE thoughts move through my mind, any kind of attempt to fix my thinking with any of the many emotional work, methods and techniques out there is reinforcing the idea that there is something wrong with my mind. Think about it. If a thought has already left, as they always do, trying to fix it is like dragging it back so that you can work out how to make it leave!! It doesn’t even make sense once you understand how the mind works!! The same as it doesn’t make sense to fix a body part that isn’t broken, it doesn’t make sense to fix a mind that isn’t broken either!!
What do I think about treatment?
Glad you asked! I think it’s good to move the body! Bodies are designed to move and stretch, even work out. The argument in favor of getting treatment says sometimes bodies need physical help like exercises and stretches to relax. If muscles are really tight, so painfully tight that they are restricting movement, causing bloating, swelling, even paralysis then helping them relax is a good thing. I like to walk around the park most mornings, I love my water aerobics class once a week and I will even do a dance in my kitchen if the mood takes me. But I’m not doing any of them to fix my body anymore because I now know it doesn’t need fixing. I used to do Pilates and Yoga to build up my core strength because of all my lower back pain but I don’t anymore and I have no pain. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with exercise and stretching but once I knew that my pain was really a signal to get me to slow down my anxious thinking my motive for doing them completely changed.
It became obvious that all the overthinking about should and shouldn’t was just more stressful thinking. Now that I know that thoughts come and go and that I don’t have to be frightened by negative thinking, that bad moods always pass and my mind can go back to its default of happiness and calm with one new thought there is no need to fix my thinking either! So, no more debate, I do what makes sense to me in the moment.
Still wondering what you should do? Follow your own wisdom! You know your body better than anyone else and that Wisdom is always there to guide you.
