NEW TIME! THURSDAY 6pm to 7pm (Pacific time)
Pain is a very compelling protective feeling
We experience pain when our brain evaluates that we are in threat/danger. With input from the body and the brain a decision is made to experience any of the following:
- Pain
- Immune response, inflammation
- Protective movement like limping, muscle guarding, stiffness or other motor changes
- Opiate response so there is no pain if pain will make survival even harder
The word decision is deceptive because there is no consciousness involved, a process that takes mere milliseconds and is below our awareness. What are some of the inputs that combine to make this decision to feel pain or not?
- Sensation from the nerves in the body’s tissue. Chemical, temperature and pressure changes are registered but the brain has to evaluate what those changes mean.
- External sensory input, the environment, what your potential injury looks like, current stressors that are affecting you.
- Memory, past experiences with something similar; beliefs and expectations; current emotional state; and attention.
All this for straightforward simple pain like you get a sliver in your finger. It hurts, you take action, get the sliver out and the pain greatly reduces or is completely gone. Chronic pain is much more complicated.
Pain researcher Lordimer Mosley said: “Pain is produced by the brain when it perceives that danger to body tissue exists and that action is required. (You can) decrease threat value through education of pain physiology.”
In my work with clients in pain I help them do just that, decrease the threat though education, relaxation with awareness, finding ways to move that don’t cause pain, integrating new sensory input to create better brain mapping and positive experiences in the body. It is a collaborative process with each person leading the way by finding new ways to give and receive body signals.
Chronic Pain Support Group
THURSDAYS 6-7pm ONLINE
This is a multi age, multi-condition, all gender group. I facilitate this group by leading relaxation, sharing information from pain science, making a space for everyone to share where they are at without being judged or blamed. We will explore physical & psychological coping strategies and somatic tools to increase ease. I am not a medical provider so I approach pain relief though an understanding of the neuroscience of pain.
$10-20 per meeting. You must pre-register, call 360 705-1216 or email: karenbodyofknowledge@gmail.com
for Reduce Chronic Pain handout click
for What is psychophysiological pain? handout click