In our quest to find the reasons why we might be in pain, we tend to focus on questions that ask WHAT.
What is the reason? What is the diagnosis? What did I do? Did I move the wrong way? Did I sleep funny? Maybe it was something I ate?
When I ask practice members to observe themselves when they’re experiencing pain, I’m trying to help them identify the what. What might be contributing to the pain? Is it how you move, or perhaps the lack of movement? Is it your posture? What were you thinking about before the pain started? What are you thinking about while you’re in pain?
Once we identify the what’s, or the problems, we naturally try to make them better. But having identified what might be contributing to your pain, have you ever considered the HOW? How are you adding to the what?
What I mean is that the how can be another layer of stress, creating an even greater challenge for your body to adapt to.It’s the emotional stress we place on ourselves while doing the what’s that can eventually push us over the edge.
Feeling obligated to help family or friends move can add another layer of tension to the physical labour. Going through the belongings of a dearly departed loved one is complicated by grief and loss. Trying to do things perfectly, and judging ourselves when we fall short, can create not only physical tension but anxiety and eventually depression.
These emotional loads we pick up and carry add to our physical tension. Sometimes, they can handcuff the body to the point where it can no longer manage the combined load.
Maybe your muscles need strengthening. Maybe they don’t. Maybe what your body needs is for you to put down the load of obligation, perfection, or loss and allow yourself to rest.
Maybe you’re like me and you’ve learned to push through. And when things get harder, you push even harder. Sometimes that’s necessary. But other times, it’s worth considering whether there’s a different, more benevolent way to approach things. Benevolent to yourself, that is.
The stress response is powerful, and it’s necessary sometimes. It helps us meet challenges and get through difficult situations. But it isn’t meant to be switched on all the time. Perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back wasn’t particularly heavy on its own. Perhaps it was everything the camel had already been carrying.
And perhaps the question isn’t always what you need to fix, strengthen, or change. Perhaps it’s also worth asking yourself:
How much are you carrying, and what might you be ready to put down?