I'm sure many of you are thinking: "Heck no!"
But just think about this for a second. If we didn't have symptoms or signals that something is wrong, then how would we know that something is wrong?
Anytime we 'suffer' from symptoms, we should think about how our body may be trying to heal itself and this is how it's showing up.
So why the hell do we so often interrupt this mechanism and don't allow nature to take its course?
When we have a cough, our body is trying to expel whatever is not serving it (germs) and heal itself. So why do we take cough suppressants?
When our nose is runny, our body is also trying to release what's not serving us through our mucus. So why do we take Sudafed or other mucus-drying medicines?
So what is the purpose of pain?
Before I get to that, why don't we also ask ourselves this: "What are we doing exactly when take a pain medication (Tylenol, Advil, etc.) to 'cease' the pain?
You're probably wondering what we should do when we're suffering from pain?
How about we 'LISTEN' in and figure out what our body is trying to tell us and what it's trying to do.
Usually, pain is our body's way of telling us something is wrong (in our lives) and we need to do something about it.
There are multiple reasons why we suffer from pain.
Either our body:
1. Is physically tense due to muscular or fascial (soft tissue) restrictions and needs to be manually released and our structural alignment needs to be restored.
2. Needs some rest from overuse (exercise and such).
3. Needs some movement and hydration from underuse (working at a computer and such).
4. Is crying for help because we're suppressing your emotions of anger or anxiety (Google TMS and Dr. Sarno.)
5. Is having totally normal reactions to a fever, cold, flu, or other virus.
6. Is having totally normal effects (a.k.a. "side effects") to some sort of medication or drug.
So what should we do next time we're in pain?
How can we change the way we view our 'symptoms' and TREAT THE CAUSE of the issue?
Simply trying to get rid of the pain 'signal' by temporarily popping a pill or getting a massage is a waste of our time and it most likely won't last. In fact, it only makes things worse because it's just another way of COMPLETELY IGNORING your body's messages which may cause you to continue causing more damage!
So what do I suggest?
Well, first off, I think you should change the way you see pain. It's NOT THE PROBLEM!
And is NOT something that needs to be 'fixed'!
Pain isn’t normally an isolated incident but is connected to other life circumstances. Fixing the pain and restoring ourself to the way we were before may feel like a safe option, but if nothing else changes in our life then the pain is more likely to return again and again.
What if the pain or symptom has a good purpose?
What if it is asking us to stop, take an inventory of our life, and look at what needs to be done differently to achieve the life we really want?
The next time we're in pain, let's take a moment and take a deep breath in.
And then maybe we can ask ourselves the following questions:
- "What is my body trying to tell me?"
- "How can I take better care of myself?"
- "Where am I holding onto tension and where is this tension coming from?"
- "Where in my life am I not in alignment with my purpose?"
Then we should listen for the answer within. What's our intuition telling us?
And is what the doctor telling us completely accurate? Is it possible that the root cause of our situation is being overlooked?
Still can't figure it out?
Maybe I can help.
E-mail me at edan@kineticbodytherapy.com and let's get a conversation started!
- That's what I'm here for!