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Mindfulness - Physical and Mental Pain
Dear friends on the Path,
When you get physically injured, even in a small way, your body sends a message to your brain, so the sensation of pain is registered there. You react by treating the injury, so you heal as soon as possible. If the injury is severe enough, you have an illness, or your body isn’t functioning properly, you get medical advice and/or treatment. This is all well and as it should be.
However, even in the case of physical illnesses and painful conditions, Jon Kabat-Zinn states in his book Full Catastrophe Living that people suffering from very different kinds of chronic physical pain problems and receiving the appropriate medical treatment were able to use mindful meditation practices to achieve major reductions in their pain that endured over time.
What about when you are mentally injured? In this case, the injury is emotional or psychological and can't be directly observed. However, even though the mental injury may not be outwardly apparent, the brain's interconnectedness with the rest of the body means this injury can show up physically as pain in various parts of the body or actions and speech. For example, your reaction might be a clenched jaw, a headache, pain in your stomach or you may openly express anger by hitting or speaking angrily.
Through the practice of mindfulness and mindful meditation you gain the understanding that your awareness of the bodily and mental sensations is separate from the actual emotions and bodily sensations themselves. With this separation comes the insight that re-evaluation of each of these aspects of the pain experience is possible and appropriate. Yes, the physical or mental pain is there and you are responsible for taking the appropriate remedial action, but you may now decide to free your emotions from that painful experience and promote a sense of calm.
See some additional resources regarding the causes and treatment of physical and mental pain are below.
With recognition of pain through mindfulness,
David
notice notes:
As always, our wish is for you to find a refuge where you may safely meditate on the teachings we offer. You may share your thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding the benefits and difficulties of implementing those teachings into your daily lives by responding to this email, or texting/phoning (971) 218-6641. Your communication in response to the practice suggestions made above or your practice in general is very important and held in the strictest confidentiality. Since we aren't gathering together, your responses are the only way we are aware of your interest in these communications.
Our hope is that the practice we promote may, in some small way, help you begin to realize your potential for good as a human being and assist you in bringing more compassion, wisdom, and kindness to how you navigate the relationships that make up your everyday life. Also, it may further help you to transform the mechanisms of thought and perception that leave distorted perceptions seem like a viable strategy.
It is only with an open mind, an open heart, and expression of your thoughts and concerns that true happiness and harmony may be achieved and maintained in your life. Your continued curiosity about and enthusiasm for the Practice is of utmost importance.
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Mental Pain, What it is and what it effects
Mental pain, also known as emotional or psychological pain, is different from physical pain in a few ways:
- Cause
Mental pain is caused by thoughts, feelings, and experiences, while physical pain is usually caused by an injury, disease, or other environmental stress.
- Location
Physical pain is often localized, while mental pain can manifest as physical symptoms anywhere in the body, most commonly in the stomach.
- Tangibility
Physical pain is more tangible than mental pain, which is subjective and can't be directly observed.
- Treatment
Mental pain is often treated with therapy, lifestyle changes, and sometimes medication. Physical pain is often treated with pain medicines, physical therapies, and psychological therapies.
- Health effects
Mental pain can have serious health effects, including damaging self-esteem and long-term mental health. Physical pain usually leaves few echoes, unless the injury was emotionally traumatic.
While the brain processes physical pain and emotional pain in different parts, the two types of pain activate similar brain regions. The brain's interconnectedness with the rest of the body means that emotional pain can cause physical symptoms.
Mindfulness can be a powerful tool for managing mental pain
Mindfulness can be a powerful tool for managing mental pain by helping individuals become more aware of their thoughts and feelings in the present moment, allowing them to accept and observe them without judgment, which can ultimately reduce the intensity of negative emotions and promote a sense of calm, even when experiencing discomfort; essentially, it shifts the focus away from ruminating on pain and towards a more accepting perspective.
Key points about mindfulness and mental pain:
- Acceptance and observation:
Mindfulness encourages accepting painful emotions as they arise, rather than fighting against them, which can lessen their impact.
- Brain activity modulation:
Studies have shown that mindfulness practices can alter brain activity, reducing the connection between pain-processing regions and areas associated with self-referential thought, leading to a less intense pain experience.
- Reduced emotional reactivity:
By consciously observing thoughts and feelings, mindfulness can help individuals detach from negative emotions, reducing their reactive response to mental pain.
- Stress reduction:
Mindfulness techniques like deep breathing can trigger the relaxation response, which can alleviate stress and anxiety that often accompany mental pain.
How to practice mindfulness for mental pain:
- Meditation:
Focused breathing exercises, body scans, and guided meditations are common mindfulness practices that can be adapted to address mental pain.
- Journaling:
Writing down your thoughts and emotions can help you gain insight into your experiences and identify patterns of mental pain.
- Mindful movement:
Engaging in activities like yoga or walking while paying attention to bodily sensations can be a form of mindfulness practice.
- Self-compassion:
Treating yourself with kindness and understanding during difficult times can enhance the benefits of mindfulness.
Important considerations:
- Professional guidance:
If you are experiencing significant mental pain, it is crucial to seek professional support from a therapist who can guide you in using mindfulness techniques effectively.
- Consistency is key:
Regular practice is essential to reap the full benefits of mindfulness for managing mental pain.
5 Ways Emotional Pain Is Worse Than Physical Pain
By Guy Winch
Why emotional pain causes longer-lasting damage to our lives.
Posted on the Psychology Today website July 20, 2014 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
We tend to monitor our bodies and our physical health far more than we do our emotional health. For example, we get yearly physical check-ups but the idea of getting a ‘psychological check-up’ is completely foreign to us.
We know that if a small physical injury like a cut becomes more painful over time it is a sign of a more serious infection. But if failing to get a promotion at work is still emotionally painful after several weeks we are unaware that we might be getting depressed.
We tend to react to physical pain much more proactively than we do to emotional pain. Yet, short of catastrophic injuries or illnesses, emotional pain often impacts our lives far more than physical pain does. Here are five reasons emotional pain is worse than physical pain:
- Memories Trigger Emotional Pain But Not Physical Pain: Recalling the time you broke your leg will not make your leg hurt but recalling the time you felt rejected by your high-school crush will cause you substantial emotional pain. Our ability to evoke emotional pain by merely remembering distressing events is profound and stands in stark contrast to our total inability (thankfully) to re-experience physical pain.
- We Use Physical Pain as Distraction from Emotional Pain Not Vice Versa: Some teens and adults practice ‘cutting’ (slicing their flesh superficially with a blade) because the physical pain it evokes distracts them from their emotional pain, thus offering them relief. But the same does not work in reverse, which is why we rarely see a woman choosing to manage the pain of natural childbirth by rereading the rejection letter from her college of choice. Unfortunately, although wemight prefer physical to emotional pain, others see our pain differently.
- Physical Pain Garners Far More Empathy from Others Than Emotional Pain: When we see a stranger get hit by a car we wince, gasp, or even scream and run to see if they’re OK. But when we see a stranger get bullied or taunted we are unlikely to do any of those things. Studies found we consistently underestimate others’ emotional pain but not their physical pain. Further, these empathy gapsfor emotional pain are reduced only if we’ve experienced a similar emotional pain very recently ourselves.
- Emotional Pain Echoes in Ways Physical Pain Does Not: If you got a call about your parent dying while you were having a romantic lobster meal with your partner on Valentine’s Day, it will probably be a few years before you can enjoy lobster or Valentine’s Day without becoming extremely sad. But if you broke your foot playing softball in an amateur league you will likely be back on the field as soon as you’re fully healed. Physical pain usually leaves few echoes (unless the circumstance of the injury was emotionally traumatic) while emotional pain leaves numerous reminders, associations, and triggers that reactivate our pain when we encounter them.
- Emotional Pain but Not Physical Pain Can Damage Our Self-Esteemand Long-Term Mental Health: Physical pain has to be quite extreme to affect our personalities and damage our mental health (again, unless the circumstances are emotionally traumatic as well) but even single episodes of emotional pain can damage our emotional health. For example, failing an exam in college can create anxietyand a fear of failure, a single painful rejection can lead to years of avoidance and loneliness, bullying in middle school can make us shy and introverted as adults, and a critical boss can damage our self-esteem for years to come.
All these are reasons we should give our emotional health just as much (if not more) attention and care as we do our physical health. Alas, we rarely do. While we take action at the first sight of a sniffle or muscle sprain we do little to ‘treat’ common emotional injuries such as rejection, failure, guilt, brooding, or loneliness when we sustain them. While we apply antibacterial ointment to a cut or scrape right away, we do little to boost or protect our self-esteem when it is low.
True, we might not know what actions we can take in such situations, but the good news is that this kind of information is readily available. All we have to do is seek it out (for example, by using the search function on this website).
About the Author
I also suggest reading chapter 22, Working with Physical Pain: Your Pain Is Not You and chapter 23, More on Working with Pain from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book Full Catastrophe Living.