chronic pain It can be debilitating and irritating, especially for older people.
While physical treatments and treatments can provide some relief, experts have found that changing the way you think, or how your brain approaches pain, can actually ease the discomfort.
Dr. Daniel Amen, a California-based psychiatrist and founder of the Amen Clinic, has researched how changing the brain can help overcome chronic pain, as shared in his new book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain.
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In an on-camera interview with Fox News Digital, Amen pointed out that many people don’t know that chronic pain doesn’t just exist in the joints, knees, and back.
“If it’s been there for more than three weeks, it’s living in your brain now,” he said. “In fact, there are pain sensing circuits in the brain. They feel both physical pain and pain. mental pain. ”
Some drugs are treat depression According to Amen, it is FDA-approved for the treatment of chronic pain and treats both emotional and physical imbalances.
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“That’s because they work in the same circuits in the brain,” he says. “The healthier your brain is, the less physical and mental pain you will experience.”
But that doesn’t mean someone is “fabricating” the discomfort in their head, the psychiatrist stressed.
When the brain, like any other organ, becomes overworked or underworked in certain areas, finding ways to balance it can relieve pain and calm the entire body, Amen said.
In his book, he introduces the “loop of fate”. Chronic pain activates suffering circuits in the brain, which cause negative thoughts and muscle tension, followed by bad habits.
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“It sends you into a spiral…your brain goes out of control,” Amen said. “So if you have; back painThe muscles surrounding the inflamed area tighten, further increasing the pain. ”
“That doesn’t mean I won’t. surgery is required — It means you’ll be more effective if your back and brain work together. ”
For those suffering from chronic pain, Amen recommends checking the following first: brain health.
“Ask yourself, ‘What does pain mean to you?'” he suggests, adding that the biggest worry about pain is often the fear of losing freedom.
Dr. Amen quoted John Sarno, a rehabilitation physician and author of Chronic Pain, who said that pain is often a symptom of repressed anger.
“Repressed emotions have to go somewhere, and they can actually go to the pain circuits in your brain and cause back pain, knee pain, neck pain,” he said.
The doctor proposed a practice he called “emotional freedom.” This involves keeping a diary about every five years of your life and writing down what happened during that period. This includes: positive experienceor moments of sadness or suffering.
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“You can really see where the suppressed emotions are,” he says.
Maintaining a positive attitude and optimistic outlook can also reduce anger and ease pain, the doctor added.
