The Pain Persona & Story
Welcome to “Illuminate”, our Blog Newsletter that comes out around the first week of every month. The purpose of this newsletter is to “shed light” on topics that we find essential in achieving true health and wellness. Last month we introduced the theme of pain and the journey it can take us on when it exists in our life. This month we are going to continue with this theme as we discuss the persona of pain and the importance of learning its story.
At Sakash Health and Wellness I work with a large population of clients that come to me with what our medical system terms “chronic pain”. As we discussed in the last Illuminate newsletter, A Trip Into The Labyrinth, many of these clients have an extensive history of trying to address this pain and it has led them far into their own labyrinth. Pain is considered chronic when it lasts 3 months or longer and it is the most costly health problem in the U.S.
In general our medical system is based on the primary goal of eliminating symptoms, whether that be pain, high blood pressure, depression, diabetes, reflux, etc. Because of this I will often refer to it as a “sick care” model instead of a “health care” model. A patient must have a symptom first and then the medical system works to address it. Insurance does not prioritize the maintenance of health, it only deems treatments “medically necessary” when symptoms and dysfunctions are already present and when enough boxes can be checked to justify the next level of treatment.
When talking with my clients, I will often compare medical insurance to auto insurance. Auto insurance does not cover maintenance and prevention procedures like regular oil changes, new tires, or balance and rotations. Auto insurance only steps in when damage has occurred. Now a days, more and more individuals have "catastrophic" insurance only as the cost of premiums have risen so high. While some health insurance plans do cover annual wellness visits, I think we can all agree that the majority of our benefits are weighted towards the "after the accident" side of the equation. As a result we find ourselves in a medical model that is dependent upon the decisions and reimbursement of these insurance companies and it is forced to function in the same way. We tend to see a very streamlined decision model that follows a very predictable path; symptom = PCP = test = medication = surgery. How far down the chain you get depends on how far these symptoms persist or progress and, as many of you know and have experienced, getting down the chain can take time.
To consider all responsible parties we must also address the role of the patient, because, to be fair, this process starts way before the medical system comes into the picture. On a daily basis, if you have no pain, how often do you think about your body and how it feels, how it functions? Would you notice small changes moving you in the wrong direction? Would you pay attention to them if you did? And if you did, would you do anything to change them, especially if it really wasn’t limiting you or keeping you from getting your work and daily list of tasks done? I believe that our greatest power, and for that matter our greatest responsibility to our body and our self, exists in this daily potential of practiced awareness. What could we accomplish, or for that matter avoid, if we did self assess more frequently? With enough awareness we could prevent and eliminate the progression into a painful state to begin with. Unfortunately, as an “intelligent species”, I am truly amazed at the level of disconnect that we live our daily lives in, placing us in a more reactive state of being then proactive.
A very influential book for me has been, "Introduction to the Internal Family Systems Model", written by Richard C. Schwartz, PH. D. In summary of its description - Internal family Systems Therapy is one of the fastest-growing approaches to psychotherapy and focuses on understanding and treating human problems in an empowering, effective, and non-pathologizing way. It is a way of healing through listening, acknowledging, and observing our different “parts”. This process guides us to unburden ourselves from long held beliefs, emotions, sensations, and urges that constrain our lives and human potential allowing us more access to our “self”. I believe that this model offers an extremely effective way to prevent pain in the first place but also to understand and work with a pain persona once it is present in our lives. (For all of our readers out there, I highly recommend reading this book. I believe it has the potential to offer you a wonderful method of self reflection in many areas, "parts", of your life.)
If pain had a face what would it look like? If pain had a persona, what would that be? When pain first arrives we all initially acknowledge it. However, we also realize very quickly that this is not a pleasurable feeling nor a presence we particularly like. No one is drawn to want to get to know something that is unpleasant. We just want to get rid of it. Just as one might try to sweep unpleasant thoughts and emotions under the rug, so too do we try to sweep that small nagging sensation under there too. And we wait. We think, if we ignore it, wait it out, that when we look over our shoulder again, it might “just go away”. In many chronic cases, pain has arrived for a reason and it didn't just form overnight. It has relationships to other "parts" of us that hold it in place, pull it around, mold and form it into its next version of itself. It also has a purpose, a reason for being - protecting you.
Do you think it might be worth meeting this stranger? Going through the traditional “Hi, where are you from” conversation? I do. As we acknowledge ourselves to have a past, present, and future, so too should we acknowledge that pain has one as well. If we take the time to get to know it, where it was born, how it has grown, why it exists, we will begin to form a sense of understanding and from that platform compassion and empathy. Because if we don’t, that part of us will eventually speak louder, talk more frequently, and be quite bossy. It has the potential to interfere with what we are doing or what we plan to do. It can and most likely will change our life. It's at this point that we qualify ourselves to enter the medical system. When it gets loud enough, one might stamp it with a label, scan it with an x-ray, and silence it with medication. My question for you is, even though you've succeeded in essentially covering its mouth with duct tape, do you think that it is gone? Do you think your internal family is “healed”? From what I’ve seen and experienced with my patients over 20 years, I don’t. I do believe traditional medical treatments have a place in our overall care but only after we have taken the time to fully come to know what we are treating. That does not happen. We, the patients, don’t take the time, nor does the medical system we expect to fix us. Xrays and MRIs do not give us enough information, nor do they even start to scratch the surface of getting to know your pain persona.
When we get to know our pain as a part of us. When we understand that it is protecting us from something that is occurring within our body and our mind we can develop an understanding and appreciation for it. This opens a door to a very different healing energy. So many of my patient’s come into the studio with their minds and bodies at war. I can literally hear them yelling at each other. If we apply this to a family dispute situation we all know that this approach will go nowhere. When clients come to our studio, our first service to our patients is to be a mediator and a guide, where we use our knowledge of the body and its systems to help them understand theirs. I believe that the best beginning lesson we teach our clients is that the mind and body must make amends. They must forgive one another, speak nicely to each other, and work as a team. This only comes through listening, learning, and understanding. When there has been a long history of conflict this transition in itself can take time. It is not an easy thing to achieve after years of discomfort, frustration, and limitations but it is entirely possible and absolutely necessary.
As a starting point, I encourage all of you to take a pause on a daily basis. Scan and assess. Feel. Don't make pain get loud enough to have to break through to your conscious existence. Look inward and start to explore. This can be intimidating but it can also be empowering. Don't be black and white about what you're looking for either - we are not just an assembly of physical parts. If you are experiencing active pain make sure you identify it as only a part of you, try to separate your self from it. Sit and observe it for a bit. Have a conversation with it. Appreciate that at the end of the day it is a protector of you. You just need to figure out what it is protecting and why.
We will be continuing along this thread of illumination over the coming months as we talk about the different causes of pain. Please feel free to reach out and share your own thoughts and feelings as you read these emails. As you all know we love hearing from you and talking with you. Be well and enjoy the day!
Shellie