Why we often get stuck in our pain

We often get stuck in our pain simply because we are stubborn. In general people find difficult to forget, forgive and to let it go. Either you pain is emotional or physical it activates similar brain regions. The pain itself is a physical and an emotional experience at the same time.

People can also feel the pain due the social rejection from their peers, end of relationship, job loss or loss of the loved ones.

Recently I red an interesting article on Psychology today written by Alan Fogel, Ph.D., a Professor of Psychology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.  He stated in his article that: ”For emotional pain, an analgesic will help us temporarily but it won’t take away the unresolved feelings that never got seen or expressed or really felt. In order to get over grief, resolve anger, and even embrace happiness, we have to really feel those things in the body. We are quick to access the body locations of pleasurable feelings (food, drink, sex, warmth, touch) so why not also let ourselves go to the places of emotional pain? Yes, it hurts for a while, but then—miraculously—there can be relief and the emergence of a new perspective on ourselves and others.”

Even though it is not easy to forget, forgive and to let it go we must realize that the forgiveness in general isn’t a sign of weakness. In order to forgive ourselves and others we need to be able to accept it and to see the things from a different angle. I know it is hard to face it and to let it go sometimes, but is even more difficult to suffer in pain continuously.

Think about it a bit, there is no benefit in suffering for anything or anybody. Suffering in pain and beating  yourself because of events in our lives, circumstances or other peoples actions and reactions. It is harmful for your body and for your mental health. Please don’t do that to yourself.

Accept it and let it go. Instead of concentrating on things that hurts you, do your best to guide your attention on things that makes you happy.

According to Dr. Vernon Williams, sports neurologist, any kind of pain that a person feels literally lives in our head. The pain is not just an electrical signal transmitted to the brain from an area of injury or damage. Pain is actually the emotional experience associated with the signal.

So, it is scientifically proven that the pain lives in our brain. Our brain can turn up or turn down the electrical signals to modulate the pain. It doesn’t mean that the pain is the product of our imagination though. It means that the pain can be managed by focusing on something else instead of focusing on pain itself.

If we focus on feelings that hurts most of the time, there is not much space left for positive thoughts in our consciousness. It doesn’t mean that your feelings are not important, it means that you are able to chose how to feel. It is that simple. Why it is so hard to understand?

I had also experienced pain so many times in my life. I never let the pain to define me. Instead of letting my pain to take over me, I chose to be an active participant in my own life. I don’t want to be one more hopeless victim. Instead of blaming myself or others, and self-sabotaging I chose to move on and to let it go whatever hurts me at the time.

You have the power to do the same. What you do, what you chose to feel and how you handle yourself while sailing through any kind of pain is more important than the pain itself. It is up to you to decide if you want to live with the pain for the rest of your life or to simply let it go and carry on, by concentrating on positive things.

If you are dealing with chronic pain, and you chose to do nothing about it and continue with suffering, it can only became worse over time. If you are not able to deal with it alone, visit a therapist, ask for advice, set realistic goals for the future, and be aware of your brain’s contribution to the pain. Your body is a self-healing organism, with the built-in ability to automatically repair damage to themselves. The natural self-repair mechanisms are under the influence of thoughts, feelings and beliefs that comes from your mind.

It is scientifically proven that the pain lives in our brain

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