Becoming a Pain Coach
My recovery happened four years ago, and I am now completely free of pain (and if a new symptom does arise, due to a period of anxiety or stress, I am quick to identify it for what it really is, and stop it from the onset). Since then, I continued to study the mind body connection, and graduated as a Holistic Life Coach and MindBody Practitioner from the MindBodyFood Institute in Australia. My decision to become a Pain Coach was fuelled by the realisation of how little knowledge there is of the mind body connection in chronic pain patients and in Western medicine in general. Sufferers are prescribed drugs, physiotherapy, injections and a host of other treatments that may be excellent at treating acute pain (such as pain stemming from a recent injury), but not chronic pain.
My approach to chronic pain is entirely psychological and focuses on making clients aware of any triggers, emotions or personality traits that are contributing to chronic pain, and educating them on the mind body connection. Most importantly, the approach involves learning how to respond differently to pain, by substituting emotions like fear, anger, frustration, hopelessness and disappointment, with more neutral emotions, positive expectations, empowerment and trust in a better outcome. The more clients practise changing those old habitual emotions, the easier it gets, so that their altered response to pain becomes their new ‘habit’, and their brain no longer remains hard-wired for pain. All of this not only has the side-effect of reducing or eliminating pain, but also helps people develop healthier ways of thinking, build a self-care routine and reduce stress and anxiety in their lives.
If you are still doubtful, think about the below for a while:
If a broken bone can mend itself within 6 weeks, then why does chronic pain[1]* have to last forever?
Why are there so many people with conditions like disc herniations, arthritis and a host of other structural abnormalities, who are living a pain-free life? (lispinemed.com). What if these are simply ‘incidental’ findings that have nothing to do with your pain?
If there is something structurally wrong with you, then why does the pain come and go and vary so much in intensity, and even perhaps change location? It’s as if the pain has got a ‘mind’ of its own (maybe it has a mind!).
An injury would always hurt in exactly the same way, all the time, until it heals.
Despite the ‘dirty’ work of getting to terms with unpleasant
emotions and having to challenge your body’s hard-wired responses, mind-body
work for chronic pain can be the most rewarding and life-changing journey you
can ever embark upon. Determination, honesty, and an open mind are all that’s
needed. Oh, and a touch of bravery to challenge those thought patterns and
beliefs that are not serving you.
[1] Not all chronic pain symptoms are due to Tension Myositis Syndrome – the TMS Wiki can help you figure this out. Sufferers should always exclude serious underlying conditions first, such as cancer, certain degenerative diseases or infection.
