Living with chronic pain can feel trapped inside a box, disconnected from the joy, purpose, and active life you once knew. As a chronic pain coach, I understand the challenges of this experience all too well. Our brains try to keep us safe by consolidating and isolating us, protecting us from further pain, stress, triggers, or anxiety. However, through my personal journey and helping clients, I know that by refusing to let pain define our lives, we can break free from the pain box and reclaim a fulfilling, active, connected, and pain-free life. Supported by scientific evidence on the mind-body approach, neuroplastic pain, and the biopsychosocial model, chronic pain warriors can overcome chronic pain's mental, physical, and emotional restraints.
This blog will explore how a hypervigilant brain can confine one's life to the "pain box." Then, we will provide valuable tools to break free from a fearful, uneventful, disconnected, and flared-up life.
Are You Living Inside the "Pain Box"?
Living inside the pain box can be suffocating, restricting our lives and preventing us from fully engaging in activities that bring us joy and purpose. At the core of this confinement is the fear-avoidance cycle, which begins with the fear of pain and leads to avoiding activities perceived as threats. According to the Fear-Avoidance Model described on ScienceDirect, avoiding activities can become more disabling than the pain itself. Constant restrictions only amplify pain and anxiety, perpetuating the limitations we experience.
Breaking Free Mentally from the Pain Box
So, how can we break free from the small box that chronic pain tries to confine us to? Let's start with the mind. By shifting our mindset and embracing the possibility of a fulfilling life despite our painful journey, we open ourselves up to new possibilities. Working with a chronic pain coach at Body Amor Wellness, we empower clients to challenge limiting beliefs, build resilience, and cultivate a positive outlook on their current and future lives. Through personalized guidance and support, our clients mentally break free from feeling handcuffed to the limited lifestyle they experienced before engaging in our pain reprocessing therapy and coaching programs.
Breaking Free Physically from the Pain Box
Distraction and action are crucial in reclaiming our lives from chronic pain and reducing pain intensity. By educating ourselves about neuroplastic pain, the fear-avoidance cycle, and nervous system hypersensitivity, we can take action to decrease hypervigilance and engage in enjoyable activities regardless of the presence of pain. Our coaching programs guide clients to align with purposeful or enjoyable activities as the first steps to increasing movement. We help them identify triggers and create a plan to gradually reintroduce exercise, regaining strength and control over their bodies. This approach helps many chronic pain warriors reduce hypervigilance, pain anxiety, hypersensitivity, and pain perception. Taking small steps outside their comfort zones allows them to safely rebuild trust in their bodies and live beyond the limitations of chronic pain and mind-body symptoms.
Breaking Free Emotionally from the Pain Box
Reversing neuropathic pain and mind-body symptoms requires acknowledging that the physical pain journey emotionally affects all chronic pain warriors. Embracing our emotions and understanding their connection to the nervous system is crucial in breaking free from the emotional restraints of the pain box. Chronic pain often triggers negative emotions such as fear, frustration, and sadness, which, in turn, heighten pain sensitivity and perception. Practicing mindfulness, self-compassion, and emotional regulation techniques can calm our nervous systems and create a safe internal environment. These tools enable us to navigate the ups and downs of the healing journey with resilience, hope, and tenacity.
Conclusion
Fellow Warriors, don't let your pain confine you to this "pain box" any longer. Recognize that you have the power to break free from its mental, physical, and emotional restraints. With the support of a chronic pain coach, you can shift your mindset, reclaim control over your body, cultivate emotional well-being, and reverse hypersensitivity and all neuroplastic pain.
If this blog resonated with you in any way, click here to schedule a free pain coaching consultation. Get insight on what's keeping you stuck in the fear-avoidance cycle and get valuable insight as to how to move forward- no sign-up for coaching required! Also, if you are wondering if your pain is neuroplastic or TMS, click here to take this free pain quiz!
Remember, you CAN step outside the pain box, and when you do, you'll discover a life filled with joy, purpose, resilience, and more power than you ever believed you had!
Reference:
Fear-Avoidance Model. (n.d.). In ScienceDirect. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/fear-avoidance-model#:~:text=The%20model%20describes%20patients%20who,and%20resultant%20disuse%20and%20distress.&text=In%20this%20way%2C%20it%20has,disabling%20than%20the%20pain%20itself.