Celeste’s Saturday Salutes to Chronic Pain, 2nd Issue

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Celeste’s Saturday Salutes to Chronic Pain honors the collaborative spirit of fellow bloggers, advocates, and the many friends who share this journey. Your encouragement is an inspiration to me.

In healing,,Celeste

SATURDAY SALUTES

Healthline: America Is Losing the War on Chronic Pain

Comment: Fair and balanced reality

Pain Network News: Senators Pressed DEA to Cut Rx Opioid Supply

Comment: Decisions at the top are being made by special interest. Make no mistake.

IndyStar: They live with chronic pain. They're treated like addicts.

Comment: "We are relief Seekers."

Fibro Warrior Living Life: That was Then…This is Now Life with Fibromyalgia

Comment:  An honest account is necessary to turn trials into triumph.

CELESTE’S TOP TRENDING PUBLICATIONS

ProHealth - Pitfalls and Pleasures of Therapeutic Massage for Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

*Celeste on Health Central

*Fibromyalgia at ProHealth

PREVIOUS SATURDAY SALUTES

Celeste’s Saturday Salutes to Chronic Pain – Maiden Issue

Thank you guests and fellow pain survivors

October 2017 blog visits - 13,269   website visits – 14,820

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"Adversity is only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."

Celeste Cooper, RN

Author—Patient—Freelance Writer at Health Central & ProHealth —Advocate

Celeste’s Website: http://CelesteCooper.com

Learn more about Celeste’s books at her website or find links here on Celeste's  blog. Subscribe to posts by using the information in the upper right hand corner or use the share buttons to share with others.

All blogs and comments are based on the author's opinions and are not meant to replace medical advice.  

The Brain in Pain: Garbage or Dessert? by Celeste Cooper, RN

Neuroscience suggests that the conversation we have with our pain affects how our brain reacts to it. Of course, we can't get a grip on positive thinking when in the throes of intractable migraine, nor can we expect to have the where-with-all when we are having a significant flare of any chronic pain condition. However, we might want to reconsider the unnecessary garbage we throw at our brain when our pain is treated sufficiently.

In all the cerebral glory it can muster, the brain tries to tend to pain in the usual ways. Whether pain is acute or chronic, the brain is affected by our judgments and feelings. There is a structure in the brain called the limbic system, which is in charge of this phenomenon. As an emergency room nurse, I have witnessed the differences in patient's reactions to injuries. Those who do not catastrophize their wound tend to do better. When we personally experience an injury, we resist the temptation to look because once we do; we know we will actualize the pain associated with it.

What choice do you think our brain would make if it had the option of communicating with Debbie or Dog Downer compared to Mahatma Gandhi, Maya Angelou, or Helen Keller? Already bombarded by pain messages, the last thing our brain wants to hear is a negative dialogue about how awful something has become. We have the opportunity to reprogram our feelings and our brain. It's as simple, and as complicated, as that.

Great care must be extended to the patient in pain. Pain is very real to those of us experiencing it and there are times when pain is the boss, no matter how much we wish otherwise. Sometimes, healthcare providers become part of the emotional conundrum so many patients in pain experience. It is a legitimate expectation to have our pain validated; it is just as important as our own personal experience and reactions to living with chronic pain. When we feel that we are mistrusted or that we can think away the problem that is causing our pain in the first place, then the negative dialogue begins. We must not let that happen; explore new relationships. We all deserve to be treated with the same kindness I am suggesting we give our body.

I will embrace a considerate dialogue with my body because "it can't hurt." What a metaphor. Watch out brain, here comes dessert.

Updated Post Script

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"Adversity is only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."  

Celeste Cooper, RN

Author—Patient—Health Central Chronic Pain Pro —Advocate

NEW Website: http://CelesteCooper.com

Learn more about what you can do to help your body function to its potential in the books you can find here on Celeste's  blog. 

All answers and blogs are based on the author's opinions and writing and are not meant to replace medical advice.