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When it is the mind that causes pain, it is the mind that must combat it” I made this quote up a couple of years ago. It is the essence of what I am trying to communicate to whoever reads what I have to say. This quote has quite grown on me, as it makes more and more sense for every person that comments on it and give it their own interpretation. The main value of the quote is that it is opening the eyes of the reader to look for a solution in the right place, not only that solves the problem, but that also prevents a future problem and a mindset that is essential for anyone dealing with different kinds of physical health problems.
I’m not saying that every problem should be solved through the mind-body connection, but that it shouldn’t be excluded from the analysis, and that investing in knowledge about it could save you both time and effort in your search of finding the right way to combat any type of pain and physical health problems.
Should you analyze the problem and evaluate the source of the pain?
Yes! You don’t know where the pain is coming from, or you think you know where the pain is coming from. Let’s conclude that it is WAY easier to find a solution than it is to reflect over the impact of the solution on the problem.
It all depends on what kind of advice you would want to have. Some people don’t want to admit to themselves that they might need surgery, so they don’t go to the doctor. Some people don’t believe in any kind of healing that is not a part of the western approach, so they don’t invest knowledge in it.
To say that every problem could be sold by a mindset or by an alternative solution is silly. The times we stumble upon this issue is when we think the problem can be solved a certain way without understanding the source of the pain.
Also, to say that this is a magic cure or a “quick healing” guide that could fix a broken leg, the pain that is in focus here is, as mentioned, the pain that you think you know the cause of, but have no success. If you break your leg in a car accident – it’s not that hard to be certain what caused the pain.
Being in the present moment and being willing to explore with curiosity and understanding will ease the pain in the back, neck, shoulder and many other ailments. It’s also a big difference between easing the pain, localizing the pain, analyzing the pain and combating the pain.
I once had a person that I trained as a rehabilitation Personal Trainer. I talked to him about this subject as I was just going into it. He was all about it and loved the approach. He had neck and upper-back problems from a lot of car-driving. He used a neck massager for travel but stopped using it because he knew that it wasn’t the solution to his pain. I then told him that any invested knowledge should not exclude any type of approach that is beneficial for the long-term goal. If he liked the neck massager, he should use it, a neck massager can have a lot of benefits and can be used for many different things – but know that there is another measure that should be taken once the analysis of the pain has been done.
Less well-known causes of back pain are the effects of thoughts, feelings, emotions what the correlation is between those causes and the pain. When taking into consideration these more subjective qualities, the science does a shift from the definitive to the abstract. The most common area of generalized pain is the back; from there, the pain can radiate upward toward the neck and shoulder regions. Of course, one cannot completely ignore other factors to like getting a proper back pain diagnosis and one should not exclude the other. The most important thing is to find a cause for the pain.
Buddhism has always considered the difference between mind, brain and consciousness. It is a philosophy of life – rather than a religion – that has been practiced for roughly 2.5 millennia, (cit, f.n). Though this approach may seem a bit unclear and abstract, the answer of those will lay the groundwork for a higher and more acceptable understanding of the mind-body relation.
The mind can cause both feelings of happiness AND dis-ease (notice: we do not speak of disease as in sickness) but it is also a muscle of sorts that must be exercised and trained to increase happiness and ease.
Our thoughts create our version of reality; one person may not interpret the same situation exactly like another. These thoughts play a role in shaping our emotions and based on how we act, or react, in any number of ways.
One of my main discoveries when analyzing and looking into the mind-body connection is that the reason the mind can cause pain is to distract. As a defense mechanism, the body may signal a source of pain to keep one’s mind away from difficult thoughts, feelings or emotions. Even more of a reason to be aware of one’s body.
When the thoughts and feelings of the mind dictate how the body feels, and to some degree what the body does, pain occurs when the mind and body are out of balance. It is the body’s way of telling the mind that something needs attention and that awareness needs to be brought to the suffering itself as well as its cause.
Depression and stress both known to cause physical pain and for many, this pain can appear in the back, neck, and shoulders. It may be difficult to pinpoint the exact area of the pain; back, neck and shoulder ailments like these tend to be generalized – or encompassing the entire back. It’s not unusual to be unaware of the cause of a depression or anxiety attack, in these situations back pain may be the result of unattended emotions or even triggers we didn’t know about.
How can the mind help with back pain? If you’re still not sure…what do you have to lose by trying? At the very least you’ll feel energized by all the oxygen your blood is getting and sending around your body!
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