New BBC article about prostatitis cured by meditation

[tmsandrew]

hello all!

Saw this on the BBC today:

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-44910438 ('How I meditated away chronic pelvic pain')

Prostatitis: 'How I meditated away chronic pelvic pain'

Last December, I had my first pain-free days in 18 months. Soon they became the norm.

Admittedly, there is no proof that a switch in mindset cured me. No-one has done a rigorous study on meditation as a treatment for CPPS. It is possible that I would have got better anyway. And it might not work for others.

But my path to healing is consistent with an emerging medical consensus about the link between mental stress and pain. Any form of chronic pain, Dr Rees points out, involves "central sensitisation", where the brain becomes overly receptive to signals sent by nerves. The more you fear pain, the more you feel it.

Conversely, he says, being relaxed makes you less responsive to pain signals: "The mind is such a big factor in the way we respond to pain."

Dr Rees finds it entirely possible that my mind went into overdrive following a prostate inflammation - as suggested by my PSA count - and that meditation slowly broke that vicious circle.

Leaving aside any therapeutic effects from meditation, I found it to be its own reward. Whenever a twinge comes, in the pelvic area or elsewhere, I now take a deep breath and regard it as something else to rise above.

The condition, in a strange way, has been a blessing. As I approach my 60s I feel better prepared for the inevitable bodily challenges of the years ahead.

The whole article is worth a read.

Hope everyone is well

Andrew

 

[sheltered]

I was cured from Pelvic Pain by meditation. I had started Jon Kabat Zinn's Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course. I didn't immediately notice any difference in symptoms but I stuck with it. About 6 weeks into dedicated daily meditation, I had an awakening. I was in a bad way. Throwing everything I could muster at the symptoms. Physiotherapy. Acupuncture. Special stretches. Standing desk. Diet. Medications, etc. I was losing the battle mentally. I broke down and asked the universe for help. The next day, there was an article in my local paper about this doctor in New York that had recently died. He had a unique approach to chronic pain issues. I just started to cry. It was immediately obvious. Took me a while to fully recover but it just took Dr. Sarno's theory to return my faith. I doubt I would have seen this connection without mediation to loosen the gears in my head. Since then, I have continued to meditate and see the world (and myself) in a completely different way. TMS was a blessing in disguise. Similar thought as mentioned in the article.

The article is good though I think it still leans too much on both physical and mental in recovery. No. CPPS is mental!!! Baths, swimming, stretches. All harmless placebos, but not universal treatments. I started roller blading, playing hockey and listening to AC/DC exclusively. If you like warm baths and swimming, go for it. They are all just placebos anyway.

Faith. Faith in the program. Faith in yourself. Faith in the Universe. That is the cure. At least in my humble opinion.