Do you know how much stress is contributing to your chronic pain?

Stress effects everyone differently.  I want you to take a moment and think about where you feel stress in your body.  How does stress manifest itself in you?  Headaches, digestive issues, neck pain, shoulder, pain, back pain, high blood pressure?

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Stress can be environmental, physical, emotional, mental, but the thing is...your body doesn't know the difference.  "Stress" triggers the same biochemical pathway inside your body turning on your sympathetic nervous system (your fight or flight system).  This activation triggers the production of adrenaline and cortisol, which is very beneficial in giving you that burst of energy when you truly need to fight or flight.  But in reality, how often is that?  How often do you really need to defend yourself?

The thing about chronic pain is that this activation of the sympathetic nervous system becomes a constant.  It is always turned on.  I've talked a lot about this mechanism in prior newsletters, but if you're new here, or need a refresher then keep reading.

Cortisol is a nasty little hormone that triggers many things to happen inside your body.  It can cause depression, anxiety, insomnia, heart issues, gut issues, chronic inflammation, chronic illness, and chronic pain.  This process becomes very automatic and will turn on in a split second.  Stress can make you physically ill.  Our body's response to this is typically emotion based, negative in nature, and will inevitably continue the cycle of chronic pain.  

So, I ask you again...where do you feel stress in your body?

Do you have any health issues that are being triggered by stress?

What can you do about it?  Simply put, eliminate the stressor.  Let's be honest here, sometimes that can be a real challenge.  You never know what curve balls life is going to throw at you.  The trick is recognizing it for what it is, control how you respond to it, implement healthy strategies to manage stress, take time for your self care, and know how to turn off the sympathetic nervous system.

Sometimes you don't know how much stress is effecting your health, until it goes away.  I have an example for you.  If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll know that my father recently passed away.  This was expected.  He was 92 years old.  I was his Power of Attorney and in charge of his care.  But this journey started 15 years ago, when my mother was diagnosed with cancer.  I was her advocate too and guided my parents through the healthcare system.  A few years later my mother passed away and then the advocacy for my father began.  It has been 15 years of stress, anxiety, tension, anger, frustration, fear, sleepless nights, and worry.  I had this constant voice in my head asking "am I doing what's best for my dad? are all his needs being met? what am I missing? am I a good daughter?  what else can I do for him?"  These thoughts were a constant and did keep me awake at night.  (See all the negativity?)  How did this stress manifest in my body?  Tension headaches, neck, shoulder and back pain.  This constant state of stress triggered inflammation in these areas and over time triggered degeneration to occur.

My father passed on Saturday July 24, 2022.  My sister and I were both there with him.  What a blessing to be present for him and to hold his hand.  My father suffered from horrible pain due to a disabling back injury 35 years prior (story for another time).  His pain was finally over and he was at peace.  Almost immediately, I had this feeling of relief and the weight I carried on my shoulders had lifted away.  It was not a feeling of burden.  It was a feeling of being able to let my guard down.  For the first time in 15 years, I was able to go to sleep that night without worrying.  I could turn off my phone and just sleep.  Guess what else happened?  My tension headache, neck, shoulder and back pain has dissipated too.  I held a lot of tension in my soft tissues (fascia) and the pain I was feeling there has stopped, at least for now.  It doesn't negate the degeneration that has happened inside my body, but quite frankly, that doesn't hurt either.  

Interesting isn't it?  So I ask you again...where do you feel stress in your body and what are you doing about it?

Are you tired of hurting and not knowing where or how to proceed?  Are you looking for a better way that includes more natural solutions, less medications, less injections, and less procedures?  If you answered yes, then I invite you to register for Start Living Again! online course.  Get the right information in the right order to get on a path to pain-free living. 

I'm ready to MASTER my chronic pain!

Let's do this!

Nicole