Does Pain Control You? (And How to Overcome It)

Does pain control you?

Do you experience chronic pain?

Has this pain hindered you from achieving your goals and aspirations? Oftentimes, the pain hurts, but being unable to take action in your life can hurt much more.

Let's dive into some information about chronic pain, how it is caused, and how you can overcome it.

It is possible to gain the upper hand over your pain.

Types of Pain

There are two main types of pain: acute and chronic.

Acute pain is caused by a fresh injury. This can last up to about 6 months.
Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than 6 months. We refer to this as "persistent" pain because "chronic" has a frightening connotation.

Why does this matter?

Acute pain is often an injury from falls, accidents, "things that come out of nowhere," etc. These usually resolve on their own with light movement, proper sleep, and clean eating. Tissue heals within a few months, and the pain dissipates.

Persistent pain often arises neurologically and psychologically. Persistent pain used to be acute, but since tissue usually heals within a few months, pain that lasts longer than 6 months has become TRAINED by your nervous system through a process called pain sensitization. The pain isn't caused by a mechanical problem anymore. You spent months focusing on the area of pain, anticipating it, and fearing it. Essentially, this puts your body's "alarm system" on high alert. Any time a small squirrel crosses the street, your alarm system goes off, letting you know there is a problem (even though there isn't one!). Your nervous system has been turned on high alert - any slight sensation is now interpreted as pain.

Persistent pain is often accompanied by other life stressors - a job you hate, an unhealthy relationship, lack of sleep, poor eating habits, lack of exercise, a death in the family, financial struggle, etc.

If you have improved your exercise, sleep, and diet, and are still in pain, then maybe it is time to consider eliminating one of the more significant stressors in your life.

Pain is Inevitable

Pain will come and go throughout our life. How we react to pain will determine how it impacts us. You can respond with fear, anger, and frustration, or you can react with curiosity, optimism, and patience. Usually, you get angry and frustrated after an injury, which is okay; however, we don't want to stay that way for long.

Many of our new members come to us afraid of their pain. They go through our program to improve movement, diet, mindset, pain education, lifestyle, and support structure. They reduce or eliminate their pain as a result.

However, at some point, I get a message from a past member that says:

"Well, my back locked up yesterday for the first time in years since I joined your program. All from carrying in groceries! This time I know why. Current job is in turmoil, looking for a new job, trying to get my side hustles set up for extra revenue and financial freedom, and my process of the Air Force has been met with denials So, lots on my mind and stressed out. It's amazing though because I know what caused it, I know I need to let it run its course, and I know how to fix it myself because of you. So empowering!!!! I know now that I'll always be okay and I can get through anything." - Brantley 10/24/22 - Former member of the Limitless Program.

How this person is reacting to their fresh injury is going to allow them to overcome it much faster than they did previously. They aren't giving it any power over them! You will never be pain-free. However, you can be free of the constraints of pain like this person.

When it comes to pain overcoming persistent pain, it is important to understand that pain is simply a messenger and a guide. At certain points in our life we will experience injury and subsequent pains that accompany it. Pain starts to control us when we try to fight it rather than let it guide us.

The pain we experience could tell us we need to strengthen. It could also be telling us that we need to rest. Or, maybe your life is filled with tremendous stress or unresolved trauma that could result in your pain. Everyone learns something different from each injury they experience.

We can't always know for certain WHY we are experiencing pain; however, we can approach the pain with an open and curious mind willing to try various techniques to solve the issue.

What causes our pain?

Pain is complicated. The process of overcoming it is relatively simple, however.

Pain can be caused by physical trauma, which is what most people think about.
Pain can also be caused, increased or influenced by faulty movement patterns, lack of sleep, poor diet (processed foods), work issues, political stress, financial stress, family feuds, broken relationships, project deadlines, lack of rest, how we were raised, the generation we were born in, and even our ethnicity and sex. Collectively, all of these contributors to pain are called the "Biopsychosocial Model of Pain." You see, the reason you experience pain isn't a simple black-and-white answer - there is A LOT of gray areas.

What is the process to overcoming it?

Control what you can control.

You can't control the pain itself. You can't control the weather. You can't control the personalities of your boss, parents, friends, or kids. You can't control the political or economic climate. You can't control time.

What are things that you can control? Whether or not you move and exercise (a short 1- minute walk counts!!!!!!). The food you put in your mouth (processed or whole). The amount of sleep you get. The social circle that you surround yourself with (people that uplift your goals or pull you down). The thoughts that you have. Whether you learn new things and grow or avoid knowledge and stay stagnant.

By improving multiple areas of your life at once, you will decrease your pain and improve your overall quality of life. This is what we would teach you how to do in our online programs over several months. The process is straightforward - you make tiny improvements in multiple areas of your life each day. Over time, this adds up to huge gains.

What are the requirements to overcome your pain? Practicing patience and consistency and keeping an open mind. Anyone has the capacity for this.

If you are stuck in a pain cycle that doesn't seem to end, it's time to dive into our Limitless program or Hypermobility program (for hypermobile folk) and get a head start on becoming the new you.

Until next week,

"Andrew the.shirtlessdude Dettelbach"

Our programs help you overcome pain. See what our members say about Whealth.