Written by: Miriam Gauci Bongiovanni, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
At a time when self-confidence and self-worth are increasingly being put forward as the main drivers of personal success, there’s still a component that’s often overlooked if you want to extend success to your holistic wellbeing: this has to do with building confidence in your own body’s strength and healing capabilities. The subject of this article relates to the fact that most people seem to have a rather low opinion of their body’s resilience and strength. The belief that we are prone to damaging our bodies, and that chronic symptoms may last forever is very popular, and that’s because our education regarding the psychophysiological components of health is severely lacking.
I, like many others, used to believe that my body was irreparably broken. Sadly, this belief was reinforced by health practitioners ‒ including physical therapists and specialists ‒ who informed me that I should give up on the physical activities that I most enjoyed. The word ‘chronic’ is thrown in very sparingly in the field of pain these days, as most practitioners end up confused when a patient does not experience the desired results following conventional treatment.
And so, if pain lasts longer than 4 or 6 months, the word ‘chronic’ seems to justify the fact that treatment didn’t work. Sadly, what this does is deplete sufferers of all hope, urging them to ‘accept’ the bleak reality that their bodies will no longer serve them as it used to. But in 90% of cases, chronic pain is reversible. Your body can heal ‒ and fast! The language that paves the way for a bleak reality
We often hear individuals complain using phrases such as ‘my bad back’, or ‘ my shattered neck’. Unfortunately, the use of such language has a permanent, catastrophic and personal ring to it. Without knowing it, the individual is identifying with his or her condition, and telling him or herself that it’s likely going to persist. As Marisa Peer is famous for saying: “Words shape your reality. If you pick better words, you have a better reality." This couldn’t be more true regarding our own physical health. In several of her teachings, Marisa herself explains that when you call something ‘mine’, you are owning it, and your brain will therefore be less willing to let it go [1].
If you were to detach from your physical problem instead, and focus on its temporary nature without resorting to catastrophic adjectives (words like ‘burning’, ‘terrible’, ‘agonizing’, and so on…), you will be sending your brain a completely different message. And since all pain is actually registered in the brain, you might experience either a significant reduction in pain levels, or even complete recovery.
The way we use language to describe our health is therefore crucial, and can determine the difference between a lifetime of chronic pain, and a temporary or only slightly bothersome condition. Countering the Nocebo Effect
And yet, it takes a good dose of conscious awareness to overcome ingrained beliefs about our health and physical bodies. From a very young age, we are taught that our bodies are easily prone to damage. Most of us have known someone or other with a bad back or chronic migraine, and we are often made to think of physical damage as a very likely possibility, especially as we age. Sadly, even well-intentioned ‘campaigns’ and advice can induce what we call ‘the Nocebo Effect’, which is the opposite of the Placebo. When we are introduced to the possibility of injury or damage, our brains are primed to expect such a possibility, and this can have a devastating effect on the most suggestible among us.
For example, a huge emphasis is often put on posture, especially at the workplace, and we are made to think that a bad posture or a slightly uncomfortable chair may pave the way for permanent damage.
In reality, while I cannot negate the benefits of good posture, as a Pain Coach and MindBody Practitioner I often warn against buying into the belief that your chair or your screen is causing those intense pain flare-ups. Very often, there is a missing part to the equation.
Whereas a placebo treatment unleashes the brain’s power to trigger a healing effect (e.g. you take a placebo pill and your pain goes away, despite the lack of medicinal effect within the pill), the Nocebo effect ‒ often triggered by dire warnings and bleak, permanent-sounding diagnoses or language ‒ can actually trigger real, physical symptoms and lead to what we call the conditioning process; a process whereby the body actually learns to generate pain or symptoms in certain areas following specific triggers.
The American Doctor of Rehabilitation Medicine Dr John Sarno correctly pointed out that previous generations were exposed to much tougher lifestyles than ourselves [2]. Our ancestors undertook very heavy work in the fields or construction, and yet, chronic back and neck pain is much more prevalent today than it was in the past, including among people who work comfortably within an office setting. Sarno links this increase in chronic pain to individuals’ repressed emotions, stressors and false beliefs in their bodies. Understanding the role of the Nocebo effect when it comes to your own persistent symptoms is therefore crucial if you want to change the whole story: What kind of beliefs do you hold about your body’s capabilities? Do you believe that normal day-to-day activities are re-injuring or somewhat damaging your body? Do you constantly tell yourself or others the story of how broken your body actually is, and that you can’t ever do this or that? The body has an immense capability to heal ‒ and fast! If we only knew how efficient our body actually is at healing, we would be able to deny such limiting and discouraging beliefs. The femur ‒ the largest bone in the body ‒ takes only 6 weeks to heal if it’s broken. Why is it then, that an injury that you’ve had years ago still is causing you pain? Why would a simple movement or activity have triggered such an intense flare-up?
The answer is: unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, it’s not the past injury, and not the specific activity that is the source of your pain. It’s not even the fact that you may be getting older. It’s the beliefs you hold regarding these incidents or events.
It’s your tendency to constantly doubt your body’s strength that can lead to what we call Neuroplastic or MindBody Pain ‒ pain or other symptoms that the brain actually learns to keep on generating, and that can intensify due to the way we perceive and interpret it. Pain Reprocessing Therapy ‒ the most successful treatment for back pain?
The field of Pain Reprocessing Therapy is now proving that we can rewire our brains to eliminate numerous chronic symptoms that our bodies have learnt to keep on generating. First and foremost, this is done by reframing the way we perceive our pain, and by sending messages of safety to ourselves.
When we stop reacting to pain as a destructive, dreaded enemy, we also stop firing those danger signals that contribute to the ongoing generation of pain. And that’s when the magic happens. A recent randomized clinical trial on patients with chronic back pain has found that 66% of patients undergoing Pain Reprocessing Therapy were pain-free or nearly pain-free following the treatment. This was in stark contrast to 20% who received just Placebo treatment and 10% who received usual care [3].
Could you be suffering from Neuroplastic pain?
Neuroplastic (mindbody) pain is fueled by our fears, negative emotions and low levels of trust in our bodies. It is also fed by higher stress levels and by other conditions like anxiety and depression. It is real, and very prevalent in the Western world.
And yet, most people never realize that they have it. They keep on looking for a fixed, physical cause to their pain, but very often, there is none. Sadly, it is very easy to blame an imperfection in the body for causing pain ‒ let’s say a flat foot or a minor herniation ‒ which is where most people get stuck in the belief that they’re irreparable. But what if there was another reason?
With our increasing reliance on imaging techniques, it is very easy to locate a physical imperfection and put all the blame on it. But in reality, we are all ‘imperfect’. As Dr Sarno liked to say, most physical imperfections are incidental, and just like white hair, are not really to blame for causing pain (especially pain that moves around, flares-up and behaves in the oddest of ways!) As a Pain Coach, I encourage individuals to keep asking the right questions, and to determine whether any physical ‘damage’ is really to blame for their pain levels. Then, we focus on the way the individual is reacting and behaving in relation to painful sensations, especially the negative emotions ‒ like fear and helplessness and dread ‒ that one has been replaying at the first hint of pain. Very often, a couple of mindset shifts are all that’s needed to start changing the underlying program. For the majority of people, it all starts with educating themselves about mindbody pain, and allowing themselves to consider the possibility that there may be more than just a structural element involved in their plight. The truth will emerge soon enough if this is indeed the case. Ultimately, those who are lucky to stumble upon the mindbody connection and identify its relevance to their situation are in for a mind-blowing experience. Because healing is something our body knows very well how to do.
All you need is to have some faith and let your body do its work.
Miriam Gauci Bongiovanni, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Miriam is a certified Holistic Life Coach and MindBody Practitioner specializing in chronic pain recovery. After having overcome debilitating symptoms herself by working with the mindbody connection, she continued to study the psychology of chronic pain and pain neuroscience. Miriam founded her coaching and educational venture, PainOutsidetheBox, as part of her vision to educate people on the connection between chronic pain and the brain. Miriam now coaches clients internationally, empowering them to eliminate pain, resume physical activity and reclaim their lives. She is also the author of an internationally-accredited MindBody Syndrome Practitioner Course delivered by the MindBodyFood Institute, and runs a self-paced Pain Recovery Program for chronic pain sufferers on her website, www.painoutsidethebox.com.
References:
[1] Marisa Peer, ‘Change the Way You Think About Pain’
[2] Dr John E. Sarno, Healing Back Pain: The MindBody Connection.
[3] Yoni K. Ashar, PhD1,2,3; Alan Gordon, LCSW4; Howard Schubiner, MD5,6; et al, ‘Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain A Randomized Clinical Trial’, JAMA Psychiatry. 2022;79(1):13-23
