Advice on dealing with physical pain mentally/spirtually?

Do any of you know any mental or spiritual exercises for dealing with physical pain? Either meditations, vsualizations, or prayers? Or psychological exercises, etc?

I'm in pain, and my ability to concentraite is low, but there must be SOMETHING mentally or spiritually, etc. I can do in my head to help matters. Its too easy to rely on pills for pain relief. I want to do it myself, because that's the kind of person I am.

Any links or suggestions would be most welcome.

I can't suggest anything along the lines of a meditation or visualisation process, but I do believe that Bromelain (derived from pineapple) is very good for pain. Are you at all interested in some of the herbal and homeopathic possibilities for coping with pain?

when i was young i had to deal with... lets just say, an overly discipinative father...

i learned early that pain is relative and mostly mental. i know that sounds cold, please bear with me.

pain is the body telling you that something is wrong and you need to pay attention to where it hurts and fix it. basically. pain medicine numbs the symptom (the pain) and not the cause. meditation also does this, and that is how i dealt with it and it is a neat trick that has helped me in life.

fisrt set down, and purposfully, and objectively AKNOWLEDGE the pain. as in set in a relaxed and comfy as possible spot, and close your eyes, and seriously try to focus on where it hurts, how it hurts, and the very details of the feeling, and once you haev done this, relax and breathe in normal regulated breaths, and try to visualise and feel the pain subside.

this has worked for me, and that doesnt necesarily mean it will for you, but it might.

also, try to find out what the cause of the pain is and get treatment for that, not just the pain. i am not 2 well informed of your condition, and i am not a doctor by any means, just my personal humble advice



good luck cause pain sucks

Originally posted by Pellevoisin
I can't suggest anything along the lines of a meditation or visualisation process, but I do believe that Bromelain (derived from pineapple) is very good for pain. Are you at all interested in some of the herbal and homeopathic possibilities for coping with pain?

Thanks for the info and yes, I'm interested.
I'm not going to get into the whole thing with my pain in detail buit let's just say its chronic and effects multiple internal organs. I alsp have deep leg troubles and can't walk without a cane, almost surrealistically higblood pressure, the usuall litany of sub-symptoms...Many have it worse in this world so I won't complain.

Two things pain teaches you:
1) Deep, deep compassion for all things that are also in pain. When I hear a baby crying, I almost start crying too. When I see withered flowers, I feel they are a part of me. I feel very close to human family this way, very patient and loving and understanding how difficult it is for everyone.

2) Simultaneously, pain brings unwelcome mental elements...depression, gloom n' doom, a pessimistic outlook on the world, "grumpy old man" syndrome, etc.

Looking back, I love my life and family and I realize in the grand scheme of things I'm very lucky. But I've spent most of my years dealing with many serious conditions...liver failiure, broken bones, a few exotic diseases from tramping around the Jungles of Asia like a complete idiot as a young man, etc...thus stuff starts to get to you after a while. One of the more frustrating things...people around me do not understand subjectively how hard it is for me to do simple stuff like "go out to dinner" or whatever: its a major freaking deal that wears me down to a pencil-nub of a human. Instead my family cracks jokes and nags me about being grouchy. I know they love me but I wish they could see the view from here...

Originally posted by wx4caster
when i was young i had to deal with... lets just say, an overly discipinative father...

i learned early that pain is relative and mostly mental. i know that sounds cold, please bear with me.

pain is the body telling you that something is wrong and you need to pay attention to where it hurts and fix it. basically. pain medicine numbs the symptom (the pain) and not the cause. meditation also does this, and that is how i dealt with it and it is a neat trick that has helped me in life.

fisrt set down, and purposfully, and objectively AKNOWLEDGE the pain. as in set in a relaxed and comfy as possible spot, and close your eyes, and seriously try to focus on where it hurts, how it hurts, and the very details of the feeling, and once you haev done this, relax and breathe in normal regulated breaths, and try to visualise and feel the pain subside.

this has worked for me, and that doesnt necesarily mean it will for you, but it might.

also, try to find out what the cause of the pain is and get treatment for that, not just the pain. i am not 2 well informed of your condition, and i am not a doctor by any means, just my personal humble advice

good luck cause pain sucks

I thank you for your advice. It seems consistant with the things that have always helped me the most. I was taught some years ago to "go into" the pain, rather than try to flee or ignore it, and this indeed works very, very well. But it also takes a lot of sustained concentration and sometimes I can only keep it up for so long.

I do thank you for your input. Like you, I had a dad who was a bit on the strict side as well. May your life be full of pleasure and painlessness.

I live in pain and am allergic to all opiates. I goto the dentist and have a true ladicane allergy. I have my work done with NOTHING. Does it hurt , yes. But I can handle it.
What I do is relax my entire body. I start with my toes up, and imagine I can not move them. Practice this. Work your way up your body. I can do my whole body in 30 seconds or less. Then I blank out my mind. I think of nothing.
Doing this I can get through a root canal,lol

When you learn how to blank your mind, you know something hurts but you are not connected to it.

reply to post by silent thunder


Concentrate on your breathing. Learn to become aware of every breath. Try to breathe into an area of your abdomen right below your bellybutton rather than expanding your chest, but do not do this all the time at first or ever use force. After a while, train yourself to be aware of every breath at every moment. Become aware of breath as your link to all that is alive, not just yourself. Those pain medications are just switching off pain receptors: you can learn to do this by yourself without the chemical aids.
When you have learned to become aware of every breath, then learn to regulate your breathing. Try to even stop from time to time, with the goal of only taking a breath once or twice a minute. Of course, sometimes you will need more, like after exercising or eating. Never push yourself too hard with these techniques, but learn them bit by bit. You will never eliminate pain, but the results may surprise you.

My Drill used to say, "Pain is only weekness leaving your body!"

We just had to suck it up.

I dont mean to sound like I'm making light of your position but having another thought might get you by each episode?

reply to post by TreadUpon


Action is better than thought. Actually I agree partly with that drill instructor stuff about pain being weakness leaving your body...no pain no gain...What, son, your NERVES? Get back to the front! It can make good soldiers, but there are other ways, less harsh, for the rest of us.

I feel for you Silent thunder. I'm dealing with chronic pain too and for about a year I had to "suck it up". All well and fine except I couldn't just suck it up. I ended up losing 25 lbs which sounds great to some but when you only wiegh 150lbs to being with and have no fat that is a lot to lose.
I admire your idea of trying to get by without meds but my life got so much better when they finally decided to give me real pain meds. I hate the idea of being so dependant but at least I can go out and do things like go to dinner. Finding a doctor that will actually write you scripts for pain meds is very difficult especially when you have internal problems that cause the pain. I hope you can find relief. I was writing just ot say that I hope you can get the help you need, I know how rough it can be.

I doubt there is anything real you can do. Maybe some people in this world can do things about it, but this may be naturally in them, and that skill may of been there all there lifes. For the rest of us, if we are in pain, we just do what everyone else does.

My advice though is do not take meds, unless you have too, like do not take for occasional head ache etc... If you are in real pain, then sure, but just a slight head ache or something stay away from meds.

Disclaimer: I'm a theist but not of the Abrahamic faiths. I have minor biblical scholar and scriptural skills. Also I am not a scientific/legal or medical expert in any field. Beware of my Contagious Memes! & watch out that you don't get cut on my Occams razor.All of this is my personal conjecture and should not be considered the absolute or most definitive state of things as they really are. Use this information at your own risk! I accept no liability if your ideology comes crashing down around you with accompanying consequences.

Explanation: S&F!

What I'm about to suggest is a complete turning upon its own head of what has been VALIDLY suggested by other members to this thread. I use both the methods as described above and occassionally I employ this method when and where appropriate!

I actively promote and enhance the pain so much that it overwhelms my mind whilst I actively brainwash myself that I actually enjoy this feeling...eventually the bodies natural mechanism kick in and the massive adrenalin dump [I feel it as an explosion of lightheadedness but through out my whole body starting just above each kidney] and it takes just seconds to effectively numb any residual pain that exists below the recalibrated threshold of physical sensation! Caution this can lead to sado-masochistic tendencies so one must be carefull and aware of the negetive consequences of taking on such drastic mind/body rewrites.

Personal Disclosure: Seriously not recommended for anybody who may be squeemish with such extreme attitudes or actions being employed for/agaisnt oneself by oneself!

P.S. Its like chi gung [kung fu body hardening techniques] but for the mind!

I read your posts and yeah, and I am convinced you are in pain. I have been dealing with it for 15 years, had back surgery (really helped) (tried acupuncture - and chiropractors - and traction tables - and was not impressed )...

Try to find a compassionate doctor in which there is mutual trust, the DEA has scared the piss out of most doctors, and I believe it is because the Feds themselves are the ones trafficking narcotics to fund black budget projects and no other reason.

There was a one time Texas Ranger who told this story about how they had been tracking an 18 wheeler across mexico to the US border. They were about to bust them at the border but orders came down from "the top" to let it pass...he quit the Texas Rangers...and now has a bad attitude too.

You can destroy some of your pain receptors by taking large doses of capsicain..as in hot peppers. This works a little bit...

The Monroe Institute has a PAIN meditation tape that also works to some degree..

SAM-e 400 mg a day, reduces inflammation without the side effects (in my case, bleeding) of NSAIDS but it is expensive.

A bit of prednisone can sometimes work wonders...after a few days you will be whistling while you work...BUT only If your immune system can tolerate it, I can't.

Eric Hoffer, in his book True Believer said that altruistic individuals were often in chronic pain. I found this to be absolutely true.

You may want to turn the pain to advantage, and use it for shamanic transformation.. I mean that is why there were those long painful rituals for shamanic initiation.

The nazis developed methadone after the allies cut off their supplies of opiates for their hospitals..

nice world eh?

I believe that G-d created poppys so that grandparents could bounce their grandkids on their knees without wincing.

Best of luck to you..sorry I can not fix it, I am still dealing with my own.

I've had full-body RSD for the last five years. Before it started I used to practice taichi and meditation, but find it almost impossible to do now. Honestly the only things that help me are sex and drugs. The sex is for the endorphins (simply the nicest way of generating them!) and the drugs are codeine, pregabalin and cannabis. Cannabis is the most useful of the lot, but I'm addicted to the codeine (the only opiate I could tolerate) and the pregabalin at least cuts out the bone pain aspect of it and helps with the alodynia (skin sensitivity). What the cannabis does is to help cope with the pain, without necessarily reducing it dramatically.

I am saving up the thirty thousand pounds I need to travel to switzerland for ketamine coma treatment. For years I've discounted it because the success rate is less than fifty percent and the possibility of complications is significant (not waking up from the coma, or having lasting hallucinations). I really am getting to the stage where I can't really cope, since an electric shock made my condition much worse, and if the ketamine coma doesn't work I'll be going back to switzerland to have a word with dignitas.

re endorphins, I ask my mate to beat my feet with a ruler occasionaly.. that actually provides some relief..

Acupuncture's "effectiveness" may be due to in part to the released endorphins.

You might also supplement your diet with appropriate endorphin precursors like phenylalanine but this has not seemed to do much for me, some folks swear it works.

And perhaps also endorphin related - there is one great thing about the blinding pain of a migraine - I no longer feel the back pain.

And a tip for anyone taking opiates.. that path always leads to more opiates, unless you only treat pain and do NOT try to eradicate all the pain. When I first started pain meds, I tried to get rid of all the pain and found the dosages increasing every few months. Now I do two things.. I just take enough to take the edge off my pain, so i can think about other things... writing this post, doing laundry, working... and if I ever reach for a pain med because of craving rather than pain, and you do know the difference, I take a bit of lithium orotate. see beyond-a-century.com - I have found that a wee bit of lithium stops craving in its tracks... only reach for your pain meds when you are having trouble functioning or concentrating in daily activities, e.g. when the pain gets too loud to think.



[edit on 11-10-2009 by seataka]

Originally posted by OmegaLogos
I actively promote and enhance the pain so much that it overwhelms my mind whilst I actively brainwash myself that I actually enjoy this feeling...eventually the bodies natural mechanism kick in and the massive adrenalin dump [I feel it as an explosion of lightheadedness but through out my whole body starting just above each kidney] and it takes just seconds to effectively numb any residual pain that exists below the recalibrated threshold of physical sensation!

I used to do that when i was raving(dancing all night long), i would just dance as hard as i could for around 8-9 hours, very physical, and sometimes the pain was so bad in my legs, i would get enormous cramps. But after words, your body just flows with the music, and there is no pain.

It is hard to get as it takes around 6 hours of non stop dancing,a nd i must of stank.

But i know where your coming from. Dancing at raves, is like jogging, so if you jog for 6-9 hours its very hard on you as you would expect, but the lights and the music drove me on, and i would not care if i dropped.

Boy the pain like i said in my legs sometimes, nearly made me scream,a nd my body literally would stop sometimes, and i could not move with the pain. But after wards, your body, gets all loose, and it moves alot easier, and in all directions, and it felt amazing sometimes, and the feelings i would get at end of 8-9 hours of dancing, was amazing, never like it ever have i felt.

But disclaimer, obviously that is dangerous, and you have to be young and pretty strong to withstand that battering to the human body, but man the feeling was amazing, i got at the end of the night.

No feelings on earth could touch what i would feel.

[edit on 10/11/2009 by andy1033]

Originally posted by seataka
And a tip for anyone taking opiates.. that path always leads to more opiates, unless you only treat pain and do NOT try to eradicate all the pain. When I first started pain meds, I tried to get rid of all the pain and found the dosages increasing every few months. Now I do two things.. I just take enough to take the edge off my pain, so i can think about other things... writing this post, doing laundry, working... and if I ever reach for a pain med because of craving rather than pain, and you do know the difference, I take a bit of lithium orotate. see beyond-a-century.com - I have found that a wee bit of lithium stops craving in its tracks... only reach for your pain meds when you are having trouble functioning or concentrating in daily activities, e.g. when the pain gets too loud to think.
[edit on 11-10-2009 by seataka]

I do the same. I won't take more than a set limit, no matter what, and that only ever takes the edge off. It is a slippery slope. Whenb things were getting a little better I cut down alot. Another point is that opiates stop you producing as many endorphins, which play an important role in pain tolerance. Also absolutely DO NOT take any tranqs (diazepam, lorazepam, etc.) as they can stop endorphin production completely.

Take a look at this site: link
Its specifically for CRPS/RSD, but there is alot of info applicable to anyone with chronic pain.

Thank you, everyone, for your posts. I appreciate the input and advice enormously. To those of you also in pain I hope you find your way out of it as soon as possible. Buddha teaches "Life is Suffering" as the First Noble Truth, doesn't he?

reply to post by silent thunder


check your U2U.
when u get on

[edit on 11-10-2009 by clever024]

Don't know if it will work for you, but it does give a little relief for me, at least for a time.

First the pain you are feeling is just a bunch of electonic pulses going to the brain cells.

I kind of go into a meditative state, and I don't deny the pain, but rather accept it, it's real, neither bad nor good, it's just is just the cells way of saying, hey there's something wrong. I know there is something wrong, got that message, so. well....
Each signal is really many signals, if you focus on it enough, your will be able to distinguish this. I then proceed to track the path of each one, or well, visualize that I am, and reach it source. Then well, I imagine there's a switch in my head that I can flick and turn off that one signal.
Many times, I don't have to though. Just separating them into their own individual existance seems to help.
Sometimes this just doesn't help, either.