Mindfulness for Sickness and Pain

Sensations of pain and illness in our bodies naturally take our attention. Noticing a pain in the neck or back can remind us that it is time to get up from the computer and stretch or readjust our position so as not to injure ourselves. The awareness that our throat is itchy or that we have a headache can remind us to rest, nourish, and hydrate our bodies in hopes of avoiding a serious cold.

This attention to pain and illness also naturally evokes emotional responses. We may fear a sensation of pain, or worry that some physical experience indicates that something seriously is wrong with us. We may feel sad that we are not able to do something physically or cognitively that we used to do, or angry about the circumstances that led us to this state. These emotional responses are also natural and we can notice and allow them, learn whatever information they have to offer, and refocus on what matters to us in order to live a better life. value based life.

And yet, while paying attention to these physical experiences serves an important function, that attention can also easily lead to a process that intensifies and worsens our physical and emotional suffering. We may notice a headache and become convinced that it is a sign of a brain tumor, and then slide into an avalanche of thoughts related to this dreaded outcome. We can get caught up in wishing things were different than they are and therefore spend energy fighting the way things are in ways that amplify our suffering.

Over Memorial Day weekend, in a 24-hour period, I spilled boiling tea on myself and caused a massive first degree burn on my foot and ankle, and also tested positive for covid for the first time since it started the pandemic. In some ways, this was a fitting end to an academic year that began with an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis in August and has been set against the backdrop of surgery, radiation, and learning to tolerate the side effects of prophylaxis. endocrine therapy that will (theoretically) reduce the chances of my body developing another tumor.

These experiences (along with the realities of getting older) have given me the opportunity to practice directly with an awareness of illness and pain and notice how easily my mind can get carried away. Ultimately, I think there’s value in noticing these things and starting to work my mind around them, though of course I also wish I didn’t have to.

I followed psychology today blogger Tony Bernard since he posted how to be sick It’s been over a decade and I’m grateful to her and others who work in this area for the guidance they give each of us as we navigate these experiences in our own lives. Here I share some ideas for working with pain and illness that are based on that intelligent work and my own experiences.

1. Expand Gentle Consciousness. When I initially burned my foot, all my attention was focused on the pain and my fear about what was going on and what the consequence would be (I was wondering if amputation would be necessary). Over time (and with the help of a cold bath, silver sufladiazine, aloe, and lots of support from my partner), I was able to expand my awareness so that I could notice the sensations in my foot while also noticing the rest of my body, the sounds outside my my window, the taste of food, etc. It can be easy to habitually push painful sensations away or focus exclusively on them. Either extreme can increase our difficulties. Instead, we can work with our attention so that pain and illness are part of our experience, but not all or all of us.
2. practice self compassion. When we feel bad or hurt, we naturally crave the care and compassion of others. While we can and should ask for what we need from others, we can also offer this care to ourselves, gently, over and over again. When I spilled my tea on myself (due to a problematic decision I made to put a very hot cup of tea on the arm of a chair I was sitting in, instead of safely placing it on the table), many thoughts naturally arose. critical to me. When I was able to notice this and bring compassion to my experience, I stopped spreading my anguish and was able to focus on the situation at hand, and in doing so I found the physical pain more manageable.
3. Choose an effective action. The reason our bodily sensations hold our attention so strongly is that sometimes there is something we can do in response to them. When my foot was in excruciating pain, a cool bath, consultation with a medically trained friend, and an urgent care call helped me respond in ways that limited the damage to my foot. When I felt like I had a fever, I took an antigen test and then put myself on Paxlovid and self-isolate to avoid infecting others and minimize my symptoms. When I was exhausted from radiation, I revised my schedule so that it was less strenuous and I could do what I needed to do, but without wasting energy on things that weren’t so necessary. Our kind and compassionate conscience can help us discern the best course of action (along with consultation with experts, including coaches and therapists).
4. tolerate uncertainty. Often we cannot and do not know with absolute certainty what the best action will be, so we have to learn to tolerate this and make our best guesses, evaluate and try something different as necessary. When I noticed significant initial changes in mood due to endocrine therapy, my oncologist suggested that I could start antidepressants to address this. For one thing, I wanted to address the effects of mood. On the other hand, he was already dealing with the side effects of the new medications and was hesitant to add another one. medicine with possible side effects to the mixture. I tried to find the “correct” answer, but had to accept that there was no clear correct answer. I decided to wait a month to see if the mood effects subsided, and they did. My oncologist often asks me if a side effect is “tolerable” or if I want to stop current endocrine therapy and try a different medication. Again, there is no way of knowing the correct answer to this, and no objective way of determining how much I can or should tolerate. I try to practice compassion for myself in those situations, remind myself that there is nothing right or wrong, and then use my best judgment and continue to monitor the impact on my life.
5. Recognize that physical sensations matter but do not define you. How we work with storms or chronic disease and pain, it’s easy to get entangled in our feelings, our fears about our feelings, and our worries about the future. Once again, we can work towards some kind of balance here. The experiences we are having naturally impact us and it is okay for them to take up some of our attention and energy. At the same time, we can remember that there are other things in our lives and in the world beyond this pain or illness. A recent study by Fadel Zeidan and colleagues found that four 20-minute sessions of consciousness reduction in pain intensity by disrupting communication between the area of ​​the brain associated with pain sensation and the network involved in self-referential processing. In other words, practices that facilitate the separation of the sense of self from pain sensations can decrease the intensity and discomfort of pain.

With practice and intention, we can use our awareness to help us identify pain or illness that requires action, cultivate compassion for ourselves and the difficulty of our experiences in our bodies, recognize that we are more than these sensations and experiences, and live fully. lives even in the midst of sickness and pain. And perhaps we can secure hot liquids more effectively in the future.