Pain is a funny thing, not haha – funny, at least not most of the time. However, I have definitely laughed in response to things that hurt and also scare the shit out of me.
Pain is a funny thing, because we don’t really understand it.
Occurrence of pain has increased in the USA from 2002 to 2018 despite better diagnostic tools and stronger medications. So if more interventions and better imaging of the physical body doesn’t improve our pain experience, what are we missing?
In many ways, too much to cover in this short email, but I’ll highlight a few things.
1) The sensation of pain is entirely mediated by our brain. That doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real, it absolutely can hurt like hell. But what’s important to understand is that it isn’t because of “damage” to tissue. It’s due to a real or perceived threat to tissue and our brain creates pain in an attempt to protect us and our bodies. (So sometimes there is damage)
2) This protection can be helpful – think acute pain scenarios, like when you break a bone, sprain and ankle, get a cut.
3) It can also be harmful – think chronic pain conditions. Which is what I love to help people with. We get in a state of constant over protection, without realizing it. The original threat is gone, but we keep believing a threat is present and our body responds accordingly. Please know, there is nothing wrong about you if this is your experience. It was my experience for quite a long time, even with all the knowledge of being a PT.
Why do we stay in a state of threat?
There are so many theories and associated methodologies for each.
I like to keep it simple.
I found this quote the other day and believed it spoke to a truth about my own experience of chronic pain.
“If you are resisting something, you are feeding it.
Any energy you fight, you are feeding.
If you are pushing it away, you are inviting it to stay.”
– Michael Singer
At it’s simplest level, the harder I tried to get rid of my pain, the more pain I felt. We have plenty of research to support this in the science of pain. It goes against everything we’ve been told about pain, and I get it if you don’t agree.
If you are even a little bit curious if there can be some truth to this, I want to invite you to join me for A Spiritual Guide to Pain.
First one – starts mid October 2026.
"If you are resisting something, you are feeding it.
Any energy you fight, you are feeding.
If you are pushing it away, you are inviting it to stay."