Strategies For Dealing With Physical Pain

Science has proven that the way a person perceives physical pain is subjective. For this reason, training the mind is an effective method of dealing with physical pain.

Pain is a common part of many health problems. Physical pain creates suffering and can become a very heavy burden. It is important to know that, in addition to painkillers, there are other strategies you can use to tolerate it. Sooner or later, they may even replace medication completely.

Harvard Medical School has shown that physical pain is closely linked to your mental state. Studies have shown that the way you experience pain depends a lot on your personality, lifestyle, emotions and past experiences. 

Researchers have a case where a person experiences physical pain for some time and  then gets better. However, they may still feel pain even if they were “cured”. This is because the brain gets used to certain sensations and reproduces them automatically. It is, in many ways, similar to the “phantom limbs” effect.

The mental perception of physical pain

The error of treating the mind as if it were separate from the body is not uncommon. Human beings are not just biological. We have a brain that interprets and gives meaning to everything it experiences. As a result, all physical pain involves the mind.

Every person has a basic drawing in mind when it comes to pain. When they occur, you give them meaning and create expectations around them. You also respond to the pain in a specific way. This practice conditions the intensity of the pain and the threshold of tolerance.

A pain threshold is a concept that refers to your ability to deal with physical pain. It varies from person to person. For some, the painful feeling is intense, even with minimal stimulation. Others may tolerate very intense stimuli. The individual differences vary depending on the physiological composition of each person.

Strategies for dealing with physical pain

A number of strategies have been shown to be effective in dealing with physical pain. The first is related to relaxation exercises. It helps the body and mind to achieve a calmer state, making the pain more manageable.

The primary strategies are the following:

• Exercise deeply. It is the most fundamental strategy, and also the most simple. You simply have to breathe in and out. Experts recommend that you accompany it with a positive message and exhale with a phrase to help relieve the physical pain.
• Exercise full attention. This consists of focusing on the pains and examining the way they manifest. Do not try to decipher or reject them. You just have to observe them.
• Basic meditation. You need to focus your attention on the rhythm of your breathing and follow it with your mind. Think of a quiet place and keep that in mind. If a distraction occurs, go back to this image.

• Relax. When there is pain that generates stress, perform basic meditation. The goal is to lower your heart rate and make your muscles relaxed.

Other important exercises

To increase the degree of control over the feeling of physical pain, it is also important to do other exercises. Unlike the aforementioned, these are related to external, rather than internal, factors. It is always a good idea to develop some kind of relaxing and distracting hobby. Take a walk, take care of the planet, paint. It is among the things that are perfectly suited to the task.

Reading is also recommended as it helps increase your ability to concentrate. It is very useful in dealing with physical pain and it also helps in reducing stress. Poetry is also an excellent means in these cases.

It’s not good to be alone for too long. Moreover, contact with others is a positive stimulus. However, you should not only use these relationships to talk about your physical problems.

If you think this is something you need to talk about constantly, then the best alternative is to resort to therapy. That way, you will not overwhelm your loved ones and you will get the professional help you need.