The Mindbody approach
Your pain doesn't have to be permanent
Neuroscientists are now discovering the importance of psychological, emotional and social factors in causing pain to become persistent.
‘We were unable to help a patient with chronic pain any further. No procedure was appropriate so I therefore suggested she came to you. She messaged me today to say how useful your course was and she was grateful for the suggestion. Such a service is essential for patients with chronic pain. I am sure I will recommend you again to patients who are struggling’
Practice Manager, Cheltenham Spine Clinic 2021
How does stress cause pain?
When we’re stressed our brain perceives danger and goes into protective mode, producing stress hormones which turn on our ‘fight or flight’ reaction. This changes our breathing and increases the tension in our muscles, altering the blood flow and having the potential to cause very real and persistent pain.
Often, we’re not even sure which emotions have triggered these automatic responses.
If you’re living in a state of chronic stress or have experienced unresolved trauma, your brain can get stuck in the ‘fight, flight’ response, becoming over-protective and hyper-vigilant for further danger. When this happens, your nervous system becomes sensitised, reacting in more extreme ways to sensations or activities which are normal, rather like a leaf setting off a car alarm.
One way it does this is through creating pain and symptoms, even when there is nothing physically wrong in the body.
Take a look at Professor Lorimer Moseley’s talk below for his explanation on Why Things Hurt.
Research shows that a person’s responses to stress or trauma are the major factors which determine whether pain becomes persistent, not the severity of the original injury.
The good news is that with the right knowledge and strategies, we can help our brains to feel calmer and safer, moving out of ‘fight, flight’ and into a more restful, regulated and pain-free state.
When the brain no longer believes that we are under threat, it stops sending unnecessary pain signals. As we learn how to manage stress better and deal with our emotions more healthily, we can break the cycles of internal stress and emotional pain which contribute to our persistent symptoms.
How can the Mindbody approach help?
If you have been fully checked out by your doctor and they have ruled out any medical explanation such as tumour, infection, structural or tissue damage, then your pain is highly likely to be caused by learned neural pathways which the brain has developed to protect you from perceived threat or danger. This is called ‘neuroplastic pain‘, and it is reversible.
1
Understand that your pain is neuroplastic
Understanding what is going on physically and emotionally, has been shown to make a big difference to a person’s recovery from persistent pain. I will teach you about how neuroplastic pain works, and help you understand how recovery is possible.
2
Learn how to rewire unhelpful thought patterns
Our brains are ‘neuroplastic’, meaning that our thought patterns can change our brain’s neural pathways in ways which help or hinder us. I will show you how to harness this remarkable aspect of your physiology to overcome your persistent pain and symptoms.
3
Learn strategies for managing stress and emotions
Unresolved emotions, past trauma and perpetual stress can contribute to persistent pain. When you are ready, we can explore these together to enable you to understand and work with them safely and effectively.
Working With You
“I quickly realised that Zélie was someone I could talk to in depth to try to work through some major sources of stress and uncertainty in my life. She was simply fantastic at getting exactly to the point, saying exactly the right thing at any given moment, and instilling in me a source of comfort whilst boosting my confidence immeasurably as we looked at the deep-rooted sources of my emotions and problems and found new ways to approach them.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Some of the most common kinds of neuroplastic pain include:
- Back pain
- Shoulder pain
- Knee pain
- Neck pain
- Jaw pain
- Mouth pain
- Chest pain
- Abdominal pain
- Pelvic pain
- Muscle pain
- Fatigue
- Fibromyalgia
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Tingling and burning sensations
Many kinds of stress, past or present, can contribute to persistent pain. These often come from external pressures, which can go on to become internal stressors through the thought patterns we develop in response. For example:
- Unresolved emotions from the past
- Personality traits, such as people-pleasing, perfectionism or being overly self-critical
- Financial, job or relationship stress
- Fear about the future
- Fear of being in pain, having a relapse, causing further injury etc.
Some people find that once their underlying stress is understood and addressed, and they’ve begun to practise the recovery techniques I teach them, they can experience recovery within weeks.
For others, the work they do may take significantly longer, depending on their experience of trauma and chronic stress.
The good news is that research based on patient outcomes suggests there is no correlation between the length of time spent in persistent pain, and the time it takes for it to reduce or disappear.
Our brain receives signals from the body through our nervous system when it senses a stimulus.
For example, if you pinch your earlobe, the nerves will signal to your brain that something is happening. If the brain perceives this to be a threat, it will send pain signals to tell you to stop. However, no structural damage has been caused.
The pain is there to prevent structural damage from taking place. So there is not a straightforward link between pain and structural damage already existing.
In persistent pain, what often happens is our brains have developed a lower threshold for sending these pain signals, perhaps because we are more afraid of experiencing a relapse, or because our body is in a state of chronic stress.
Part of what I help my clients to do is to raise this threshold, so that normal movements which have no risk of structural damage no longer cause pain.
For others, the work they do may take significantly longer, depending on their experience of trauma and chronic stress.
The good news is that research based on patient outcomes suggests there is no correlation between the length of time spent in persistent pain, and the time it takes for it to reduce or disappear.
No! Your pain is real, and it is unpleasant and distressing. You are not making that up. Just like when someone with an amputated limb experiences phantom limb pain, the pain is fully felt.
Persistent pain is caused by the brain in response to its mistaken perception of threat or danger, without any structural or tissue problem being present.
But by working to develop new neural pathways in the brain, we can help our brain to stop over-reacting to sensations or activities which pose no threat.
More and more research studies are showing that there is very little connection between structural problems such as slipped discs and pain.
These studies take functional MRI scans of people without pain as well as those with pain, and show that the same levels of structural abnormality are present in people who are not experiencing pain.
Many of these structural changes are ‘normal abnormalities’, and part of ageing – ‘wrinkles on the inside’. They are not necessarily the cause of pain. Rather, stress, unresolved emotions and fear of pain are better predictors of persistent pain.
“I want to say a huge thank you to you. Your teachings are a wonderful gift and made a real difference. I am able at last to start doing things again”
GET IN TOUCH
To book a 30 minute discovery call or ask me any questions you might have, use this form or email me at zeliecleaver@gmail.com.