How To Heal Chronic Pain
As a past athlete, I cringe every time I hear the phrase, “no pain, no gain”.
And have you noticed what happens to the connection and trust you have with your body when you “push through”?
Do you catch yourself in thoughts like…
💪“C’mon, be strong, push through, you gotta get to Friday.”
💪“Why aren’t you strong enough?”
💪“Nope, block it out, this is not happening today.”
💪“You need to be tough in order to be strong, successful, and resilient.”
I am here to tell you friends that pushing through pain or fatigue will NOT make you stronger, nor is it a sign of resiliency.
Here is why this approach backfires, especially if you want to heal chronic pain and migraines…
Pushing through pain or fatigue ONLY creates further disconnect with your body. And life sure as hell doesn’t feel very fulfilling when we are disconnected.
Our body then responds by talking louder by increasing your pain levels to get your attention.
As pain levels increase, stress levels increase creating a storm within your nervous system as they feed off each other.
When we bypass how we feel, and push through the pain, this limits our ability to listen and learn the language of our body.
Bringing your body into the conversation is the foundation to resilience.
In full transparency, in my early years, I drank the Cool-Aid on this nonsense of “no pain, no gain, just gotta push through”…especially being a woman in a male dominated sport on the racetrack.
As a jockey and athlete, I was taught that in order to prove how strong I was, I had to push through pain, fatigue, and even injury. Boy, did I master it well and wore it as a badge of honor.
I had convinced myself that this must be what resilience looks like.
Through my success, I was rewarded for this mindset and belief pattern which told my brain this is the pathway to a rewarding career as a jockey.
But then one day, I went flying through the air head first entangled with a racehorse as I suffered a brain injury, fractured my jaw, and broke my back.
Of course, I approached my “recovery” with what I knew. Push through, be strong, disregard my pain and what my body was trying to communicate with me to reach my goals.
And I battled my body.
For many years, I found myself frustrated by migraines, back and neck pain, and confused as to how to get back to being me. It was a very heavy load to carry physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally and I was exhausted and depleted.
My wellness journey over the decades had many ups and downs as I navigated chronic pain and migraines to understand my body, find peace, and regain my zest for life.
I have been there, walked through it, and this fuels my passion for helping others no matter where they are along their healing journey.
Discover how to decrease your stress and pain, without battling your body, so that you can create ease and freedom in your body and life.