Stepping Outside the Box: A Journey from Invisible Pain to Invincible Living

by Traci Patterson

Neuroplasticity also means that the brain can learn and adapt in negative ways. This is the case with chronic pain.

We have to work with the body as a whole. Neuroplasticity plays a huge part in unraveling chronic pain and helping patients regain function. Add neuroplasticity into a multimodality protocol or program and it can be life changing.

A key component of living beyond pain is to manage stress and develop good coping skills. We are capable of modifying what we perceive as stressful and of responding to stress in adaptive ways. Also, the more we can eliminate or avoid stress triggers, the better our stress management will be. Stress affects our pain and dials it up if not well managed.

The more we make negative comments about our pain, the more our brain keeps creating documents and saving them.

Mindset matters when dealing with chronic pain and it makes a difference in how we feel.

If you expect to feel worse, to not get better, to have life ruined by pain, you have a negative (fixed) mindset that will keep you stagnant and in pain.

Positive expectations will push you forward to grow.

When we express gratitude, it makes us feel good. It creates positive emotions and even feeling of happiness.

To develop a positive mindset - use positive affirmations, practice gratitude, and learn to forgive. Such actions involve areas of your life over which you can exercise control and can lead to positive emotions and attitudes that can help you live beyond pain and begin to regain your life.

Stress and anxiety have been proven to increase pain and they can have other negative side effects on the patient’s health.

Find new ways to distract or calm down the patient or loved one, to keep them on track. Meditation, abdominal breathing, self-hypnosis or even music can be useful tools and outlets for both the patient and caregiver.