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Your Emotions and Pain

Eric "Herbie" Watson

Eric "Herbie" Watson

Beloved Grand Eagle
The way your mind controls thoughts and attitudes affects the way your body controls pain.
Unwanted feelings -- such as frustration, resentment, and stress are contributors to pain. These feelings and emotions can worsen your pain.
Pain itself, and the fear of pain also cause further lack of functioning and more pain.
Pain, can cause you to avoid both physical and social activities. Over time this leads to less physical strength and weaker social relationships which contribute to pain.

Stress has both physical and emotional effects on our bodies. It can raise our blood pressure, increase our breathing rate and heart rate, and cause muscle tension which will cause pain. These things are hard on the body. They can lead to fatigue, sleeping problems, and changes in appetite.
These are all reasons to talk with your health care provider about the physical effects stress is having on your body.
Stress can also lead to the emotions of anxiety and depression and a dependence on others.
Depression is very common among people who have chronic pain. Pain can cause depression or make existing depression worse. Depression can also make any pain worse.
You should seek help at the first sign of depression. Even mild depression can affect how well you can manage your pain and stay active.

What to Do About Your Emotions
A common type of therapy for people with chronic pain is called cognitive behavioral therapy. Seeking help from a therapist can help you:
  • Learn how to have positive thoughts instead of negative ones
  • Reduce your fear of pain
  • Make important relationships stronger
  • Develop a sense of freedom from your pain

References

Henschke N, Ostelo RW, van Tulder MW, Vlaeyen JW, Morley S, Assendelft WJ, Main CJ. Behavioural treatment for chronic low-back pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010;(7).
Smeets RJ, Vlaeyen JW, Hidding A, et al. Chronic low back pain: physical training, graded activity with problem solving training, or both? The one-year post-treatment results of a randomized controlled trial. Pain. 2008;134:263-276.
Kroenke K, Bair MJ, Damush TM, Wu J, Hoke S, Sutherland J, Tu W. Optimized antidepressant therapy and pain self-management in primary care patients with depression and musculoskeletal pain: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2009;301(20):2099-2110.

Updated 10/21/2011

Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc.

So this means your thoughts can create your feelings which come from our emotions which also means if you control those thoughts -- Well You can indirectly control the pain.

There are lots of reasons for controlling your thinking. Perhaps one of the most important reasons is that your thoughts create your feelings. if you focus on the bright side of things or look to opportunity or how to make the most of whatever happens to you, then you can improve how you feel on a regular basis. Think of it as feeling good by design or skilled emotional intelligence. By mastering your thoughts you can master your feelings.
In Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Revised and Updated
ir
, David Burns teaches us that our thoughts create our feelings.
Key Take Aways
While it’s a simple concept, it has some pretty profound impact:
  • Your thoughts create your feelings. How you think about and interpret what happens to you influences your feelings.
  • You get what you focus on. If you focus on the negative side of a situation, your mood will reflect it.
  • How you interpret what happens in your life is important. The meaning you assign to events and experiences shapes your thoughts and your mood. There’s something to be said for rose colored glasses.
It’s another reminder that it’s not what’s on your plate, but how you eat it.
World, Thoughts and Mood
Events happen. You interpret and make meaning of the events. This creates your mood. Burns explains the relationship between the world, your thoughts and your mood:
  1. World – a series of positive, neutral and negative events.
  2. Thoughts – you interpret the events with a series of thoughts that continually flow through your mind. This is called your “internal
    dialogue.”
  3. Mood – Your feelings are created by your thoughts and not
    the actual events. All experiences must be processed through your brain and
    given a conscious meaning before you experience any emotional response.
It’s Not What Happens to You, It’s How You react When you’re anxious or depressed, your thoughts might be distorted. Burns writes:
“It is not the actual events but your perception that result in changes in mood. When you are sad, your thoughts will represent a realistic interpretation of negative events. When you are depressed or anxious, your thoughts will always be illogical, distorted, unrealistic, or just plain wrong.”
Radio Dial Example
Your thoughts can be distorted depending on how you’re feeling. You can tune in to the wrong things or blow them out of proportion. Burns illustrates the point with an example:
“Your blue moods can be compared to the scratchy music coming from a radio that is not properly tuned to the station. The problem is not that the tubes are blown out or defective, or that the signal from the radio station is distorted as a result of bad weather. You just simply have to adjust the dials. When you learn to bring about this mental tuning, the music will come through clearly again and your depression will lift.”

Reference- David Burns -- Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Revised and Updated
ir
​
 
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Eric, Great post!!!! I absolutely do believe thoughts combined with feelings are the blueprints of our lives.
With our thoughts we not only influence the world around us; especially the physical functions
of our bodies and emotions. I do believe thoughts can reprogram our physical bodies
to health; especially with TMS.

Can our thoughts influence the outcome of our lives, our bodies, our circumstances? I like to believe
we can program our world and influence the outcome of our lives. It really takes consistently and
capturing every negative thought before it mushrooms into an avalanche of depression and despair.
That is hard work but it can be done. This is why positive affirmations definitely help in the
recovery of TMS for me. I do find when I find myself getting in despair, I do come on the TMS wiki
and ask for encouragement. That has truly been a lifesaver!!!!

I do know sometimes when one is consumed with pain and symptoms; it is very difficult to think
positively. I like Dr. Schrubiner, Unlearn Your Pain program where he emphasizes to believe
you are getting better and to practice talking to your brain with firmness, very positively. He has
several scripts in his book that has helped me very much keep positive and on the road to recovery.

I be very interested in how others keep their thoughts positive when experiencing symptoms.
I have learned so much from everyone.
G.R>
 
I have so far managed to get more of an understanding of TMS and have no doubt that TMS plays a major part in my regularly disabling pain levels and has done probably most of my life.
I have made no progress when it comes to trying to stay calm in my daily environment... especially when the small dirty town where I live gets more crowded.. and neighbours become more noisy at times.. making relaxation almost impossible.
My fears of pain have reduced a little... but outside influences that I cant shut out are difficult to deal with.
Regards..Leo
 
Leo, Your environment sounds like it is very difficult. Are there some things you can do that would really
bring some soothing factors in your life like meditation or listening to music. I know it is difficult when
we cannot control our external environment.

It is wonderful though that with all the noise and factors you do not like in your town, your fears of
pain have reduced. That is just awesome. Maybe you could build on that. That is such an accomplishment.
Sometimes, I think we forget our accomplishments. I try to go through the list everyday of what I have
accomplished and be so thankful for them. That really helps me when I feel like I am just standing
still and not moving forward.

Leo, thanks for sharing.
 
Hello GR
I have been trying the meditation off and on for quite a few weeks but its a totally new thing for me and initially I found I was actually more tense whilst listening and trying it.
Partly because of the various noises around me and partly because I find that when I stop and look for peace of mind..I actually feel more aware of how cluttered and edgy I actually am... so its a technique that isnt quite helping much at the moment..... so I just keep doing things and occupying my mind... but it gets a little tiring.... zzzz
Thanks for your input....... regards..Leo
 
Meditation takes practice, so don't get discouraged. When you do quiet yourself try not to fear your awareness
of how cluttered and edgy you feel. In fact, try to feel those feelings and sit with them. I have worked with
a great TMS coach by phone if you would like to speak with him. He has taught me to sit with these feelings
and not to be afraid of them. At first it was very scary to sit with my anxiety but as I practiced it over and over
again, to my surprise the anxiety has left and has not come back. Hope this helps. Please, keep posting.
 
Hi.... I havent been active here for a while except for posting a couple songs....... I really need to get back into doing the right thing... and The Dr Sarno video that I watched here the other day gave me some new inspiration.
I will keep posting..... and thanks for the words..... appreciated.
Best wishes... oh and a happy new year... Leo
 
Leonardo, I definitely understand that the frustration and anger of a noisy environment can cause pain.
I lived in a very noisy suburb of Chicago... sirens night and day from police cars, hospital ambulances, bull horns from
an elevated station and fire station... car alarms going off... screaming kids at play in a tot park... all close to my house which should have been in a quiet zone but was very noisy.
And I am a person who likes QUIET.

I made my house as soundproof as I could. And I wired the house so I could listen to my kind of music, relaxing andor classical, and found it also helpful to listen to the music on headphones that shut out most of the outside noise.

A friend said let the noise go in one ear and out the other, but that didn't work for me. It came in and stayed.

I hope you will try playing music with headphones.
 
Leonardo, have you tried the presence process. I love the wisdom G.R. Told you. To set with your anxiety. Thats the key brother. Listen to her she knows something special that most don't know and don't want to do , but if you take your time and just set with your anxiety a little at a time and then build on that you will see a huge difference. Thats Claire Weekes right G.R or is this Peter Levines work. Very Special.
Leonardo - you really got some good info and thanks GR you're an angel and thank you Walt for your awesome headphones and music advice.
All I can try to add is to learn to do Somatic Experiencing (Peter Levine) and focusing ( Eugene Gendlin) then Claire Weekes - you'll be happy you did.
G.R knows the way.
Bless You guys
 
G.R. said:
Eric, Great post!!!! I absolutely do believe thoughts combined with feelings are the blueprints of our lives.
With our thoughts we not only influence the world around us; especially the physical functions
of our bodies and emotions. I do believe thoughts can reprogram our physical bodies
to health; especially with TMS.
Click to expand...

Eric)- This is so Awesome GR you have it. This is basically what Sarno and Abraham Low have been saying. Also I have went back to MD doctors that have been saying this for over 170 years. Its really been told since the beginning of time ya know. I mean we've been told by all the great thinkers back to thousands of years ago that our minds are to be controlled and respected -- loved and led. Its like without knowing how to control our thoughts were just leaving it all to chance ya know. I feel more of that power to control my physical body and my future than ever now. I see where my decisions in the past caused hardship and I see now how I can direct more positive things and needs into my life by not pressuring myself and worrying about what i don't want ya know. Yes capture every imagination that tries to exalt itself against you.

The Affirmations I often use -- I'm calm, relaxed, patient and confident, has been great -- I try to live this affirmation. This way when your beaten tired and defeated you can still whisper these affirmations and bring yourself right back to feeling good -- of course with the emotion attached to it. Thats Good Sense.:) Compassion has been a true blessing you have here too my friend. You have a special gift in your words.
Thanks GR -- Bless you
 
Hello Walt
Thanks for the reply and I appreciate the helpful words. Yes for me the noise and music does stay in my head too.... I did resort to actually sleeping with headphones on and some quiet blues some years back... but sleeping with them on did make me feel really bad after a few months.... but for a general noise barrier when awake ...yes they work great.
I will get down to some more serious efforts again... and take on board all the words of help.

Thanks for all the information and best wishes to all for the New Year.. Leo
 
Hello Eric... thank you for the posts and helpful information.
I will follow your words hopefully get a little more deeper into the methods of easing this condition.
Best wishes for the New Year.... Leoooooo
 
leonardo, I have a clock radio beside my bed and it has about six different soothing sounds... waves lapping
against a shore, breezes blowing in trees, gentle computerized music. I can listen to one of them and set a timer so
the sounds go off after about an hour. I usually fall asleep before that. It can be more restful than listening to
music.

I also cover the front of the clock radio with a towel so I can hear the sounds but not see the time.
If I see the time and it's midnight or 3 am I can't get back to sleep. Seeing the time is as bad as watching
tv news before bedtime. It keeps me awake.

Keep deep breathing and laughing. They're my two favorite ways to calm down.
 
Hello Walt
Im impressed.. you have a lot of plans in place.
Im a planner too in many ways and yes laughing is great. I used to laugh all the time.. but in recent years, very little.
I no longer watch the news as Im a firm believer now that with corporate power firmly in place and corporate ownership of many mainline news rooms... I feel sure that we only hear what they want us to hear and then its possible to mould and shape the listeners as they see fit... with fear. (thats another story )

Im really in the mood to work harder with the TMS thing... so thanks again Walt....
Best regards..Leo
 
Leonardo, I wouldn't get too hung up on one aspect of your environment that you dislike, such as noise. That still is one of my major problems, the tendency to justify my bad moods and negative thoughts by attaching them to something I don't like (at the moment) in my environment. This is just a big mind trap because we can endlessly find things in the environment to blame for our unhealthy mental states. I believe we need to take ownership of these negative thoughts and moods, independent of the state of the environment, and realize that our minds would manufacture them even if our environment was suddenly close to perfect. For example, I live in what most people would consider a fabulous environment: I am retired, live in Panama on the beach, it is very quiet here, laid back life style, etc. And yet, I have had worse TMS than I have ever had before. But I have learned why this is so, BECAUSE OUR EXPERIENCE IS OF WHO WE ARE, NOT WHERE WE ARE! We can never run away from ourselves, we have to face our own sick minds sooner or later and do the work to change our thinking from negative to positive. Hard as I try, I am the type of person who falls into tremendously negative patterns of thoughts. About 25 years ago, I realized this about myself following the death of my first husband when I fell into a deep depression, I thought I must be dying. With the help of Dr. David Burns "Feeling Good", I was able to gradually lift myself from this quagmire. However, upon a forced retirement, with not enough constructive things to do, I fell hard back into the cycle of negative thinking and depression. This time it has been much more difficult to deal with because I am much older and don't have things like work to help. I am having the struggle of my life with it.

So you might want to try to focus on dealing with your own mental state rather the what you think you like or don't like. Like Clare Weekes says, when it comes to your sensitized nerves, "FACE, ACCEPT, FLOAT and LET TIME PASS". That is, face your own unhealthy mental states, accept them as yours. Let negative thoughts float by, don't resist or try to control them as they will just get stronger if you engage them, and letting time pass because, in time, we will heal. No one ever said this is easy.
 
Leonardo, I believe you have it right that corporations strongly influence tv news and the media in general.
I was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune for seven years, back when there were four daily newspapers in the city. Now there are only two and they're failing fast. News used to be unbiased, but now it is manipulated. TV news has become another form of mass entertainment and not to be relied upon as accurate or true.

I've been happier and more relaxed since I stopped watching tv news.

We need to find happier things to put into our heads.

Chickenbone, a forced retirement can be a bummer. Unless you can fill the void of work with hobbies or
other activities that give you a morale boost.
 
Hello Chickenbone
Thanks for you post and appreciate your time.
Firstly Im sorry about your tough times.. past and present.

For sure I'd be the first one to agree that " no matter where I go or who Im with.. I struggle... because Im there and I am there everywhere I go..so thats my first problem.
A beautiful place to live would ease my mind a little but I again know for sure that my pain levels would be more noticeable... and thats why most of my days are spent writing songs/music and continually distracting myself out of the rest phase.

I had to move home twice because of long term noise.. the first time only able to sleep between 4am - 8am over 18 months and that drove me close to a breakdown..my partner also. That was the time I began to notice weird pains and the start of often disabling pelvic problems.

I have always been nervy and avoiding the crowds.... regular patient on the shrinks couch and the osteopath too who tried hard to stop me collapsing on the floors with chronic spinal pain.... (now sure most of that was TMS)

The noise thing and increased pain levels drove me very close to.... ending things... but 15 years later and Im still here and really trying to deal with severe disruption of the pelvic area all parts... for want of a better word...... :*( and the spinal thing.

After finding this site during the summer and discovering TMS my ideas have changed and Im determined to float away from the problems.... I know I need to calm more and make some more changes in my thoughts..... I am very happy to have discovered TMS though as a lifeline.

Thanks again for the post...... best wishes for the new year... Leo
 
Leonardo, it sounds like you have a good grasp on your issues and you will do well.

Walt, I agree what you said about the state of the media today - it is part of the "state".
I know I sound so cynical, but it almost seems like there is very little honesty in the world anymore.
 
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