Here’s a story about pain you might find familiar…

It’s a type of pain that has come and gone for months now. Sometimes, it seems to be moving around your body, but it’s mainly felt in a particular place – perhaps your lower back.

Even though you don’t remember sustaining an actual injury, the pain has been slowly growing worse. Often, you notice it when you are driving to work as a niggling ache. Oddly, it’s not so bad at the weekend. You think that, maybe, poor posture is the cause; you’re not as active as you once were. And the hours spent sitting at your desk can’t be helping either.

You’ve been to the doctor to see if they could tell you what’s causing it. They couldn’t give any specific answers, but they prescribed some painkillers and offered some advice about exercising more and, possibly, trying some physio.

The painkillers gave some relief by easing things in the short term. Physio and doing some exercises also helped, but the pain still lingers. Some days it’s worse than others.

You return to your GP and, this time, some investigations are done. Blood tests and a scan. They come back as normal. Apart from some age-related changes and signs of general wear and tear, there doesn’t appear to be an explanation for your symptoms. No other advice is offered, apart from continuing with the things you’re doing. Reluctantly, you accept it might just be something you’ll have to try and live with. Perhaps it will resolve itself, eventually.

If this rings any bells, it’s because I’ve just described the traditional medical approach to managing this kind of problem. Health practitioners might all recommend something different – treatment is disjointed, and you’re left feeling confused.

In contrast, a mind-body approach would consider if there is any stress or other emotion alongside the pain. It might be the type of long-term, low-level anxiety that, eventually, many come to regard as normal. In fact, life without it would seem weird!
The focus of your recovery would be on learning to manage the stress that lies behind your pain – then finding ways of using your mind to help your body and your body to help your mind.

Stress and pain

However, it’s important to realise anything that feeds feelings of stress (even if you are unaware of it) is likely to create pain. We call it ‘the stress response’ and it involves the release of specific chemicals (adrenalin and cortisol). Essentially, it’s your brain’s way of saying to you, ‘Watch out! There’s something nearby which might be dangerous.’

In the modern world, we don’t need to worry about being hunted by wolves when we go out. But we still have to do things like go to work. As you’re driving your car, thoughts about office pressures, excessive workload, or the need to support a family can build. Stressful thoughts could also be generated by heavy traffic, a relationship or global events. Anything that feels outside your control.
This cycle of stress often remains unchanged; work continues as normal from week to week. But this prolonged exposure to stress means those chemicals are constantly trickling into your system. The resulting experience of pain grows more frequent.

This explains why pain can seem to fluctuate. Generally, you don’t feel it at the weekend, then suddenly it’s worse when you’re on your way to work.

A mind-body approach considers the way the brain and body control the way you think and feel. It would look at what you believe is behind your pain. It would explore what others have told you about pain – and your fears about what might happen in the future if the problem isn’t resolved.

The focus of your recovery would be on learning to manage the stress that lies behind your pain – then finding ways of using your mind to help your body and your body to help your mind.

If you’re struggling to manage your levels of stress, you may benefit from working with a professional. Contact us at info@altiusmindinstitute.com and +35799779444.