Why does pain go away when eating?

I am wondering if anyone else also has noticed that their pain just disappears when they're eating? Mine seems to significantly reduce whenever I eat. Does eating affect the autonomic nervous system indirectly or help calm us down in anyway? i.e. send a message to the brain of safety? Wondering if anyone else has noticed this

 

Yes and the funniest thing is that one my primary pain region is... teeth and surrounding area! I have constant 24h teeth pain, that subside whenever I eat. That's really strange

 

Yes!

 

Maybe because eating causes so much sensory inputs...the brain can't compete?

 

Because you're feeling safe and attended to, nourished, supported?

 

this is a really good theory. i also notice that my pain isn't as bad when I'm listening to music. This would back your theory (i.e., auditory senses overpowering pain signals maybe?)

 

that makes sense! if only I could eat 24/7 haha

 

hmm, very interesting! Glad to know I'm not the only one who has noticed this. I feel that this gives me hope to get rid of the pain completely

 

It is just something I thought because it happens with me...and there is so much that goes on when we eat...taste...smell temperature texture swallowing

 

I have been dealing with some nerve pain in my teeth and eating, brushing my teeth etc...makes it better. So does gardening, being asleep, being alone...
Working is the challenge because my mind thinks being at work is dangerous. Its not. But I have some issues around self confidence, fear, anxiety etc...that I am am focusing on.

 

I am the exact same way with respect to self-confidence, fear, anxiety, etc. I only experienced pain when typing without wrist braces because my brain was convinced i needed them. trying to re-condition myself to type without braces

 

Yes this is true for me too. Don't know why

 

My guess would be the stimulation is overriding the pain pathway superimposed on a change in balance from sympathetic activity (overactivity of) to parasympathetic activity.

 

Do you think that if this is evidence that the pain is psychological / TMS, or do you think that any kind of pain might respond this way?

 

Yep! Same here!

 

I'm not too sure, but it leads me to believe the pain is psychologically-induced.

 

For all who have noticed changes like this, in symptoms related to external stimulation, starting with Sarah:
In doing TMS work, these experiences are powerful, and should be recognized as evidence of TMS. Many folks would be very happy to see interesting patterns like this in their own symptoms, because it is an important part of finding your way out of this. The questions you ask, the observations of patterns, the changes over time ----all undermine the believably that a symptom is physically caused. My hope is that you all will use these experiences to convince yourselves deeply that you don't have anything physically wrong with you. Or deepen this understanding.

 

Hi Andy,

Thank you for your encouraging words! I have definitely developed 100% confidence in TMS because of observations like this. I believe eating may calm the nervous system. The absence of pain when eating is further proof it cannot be physical. I appreciate your constant engagement and hope you have a fantastic night!

 

Thank you, and you're welcome Sarah~! Glad you're finding encouragement here.