chronic pain

gracelee

Hello all

how would you approach dealing with chronic pain?

would love to hear your ideas on this

cheers

taiyaki

You could go see a tibetian doctor.

They would deconstruct it from a holistic vantage point.

I had chronic pain on my back and have been doing purification breaths to loosen the prana into space.

Has been working so far.

minimayhen88

Hi gracelee (^_^) :wave:

Hello all

how would you approach dealing with chronic pain?

would love to hear your ideas on this

cheers

♥ .... I personally would take a more holistic approach.

♥ ..... Look at what the problem is, for instance the back. Read scholarly articles about the specific complaint ... don't rely on websites, as they are more subjective than objective, unlike scholarly articles (you can find some good articles through google, by selecting 'Google Scholar' (http://scholar.google.co.uk/schhp?hl=en). Scholars / academics are encouraged to be objective. I would then do a 1 day fast, to cleanse the body and feel a sense of a fresh start. Also cleansing enhances the bodies capacity to absorb .... a new herb / supplement for example. A good cleanse is one that involves eating only grapes (organic) and drinking mineral water. If you are concerned this is too minimal, or maybe harmful .... eat oats (porridge) with hot water and a little honey. May I emphasise ... just for one day .... no longer, you do not want to deprive the body.

♥ .... I would then attend a good & qualified clinic / Chinese doctor and get some acupuncture or maybee cupping.

♥ .....I would start taking herbs / supplements appropriate, for the particular affliction. Herbs are wonderfully effective. My dear friend had a kidney infection .... she went to the doctors and got antibiotics .... they made her immune system weak and she then got thrush, which made her even more agitated and uncomfortable. She then attended a Chinese doctor and got both acupuncture and cupping .... she started to take a concentration of cranberry juice and boiling up the herb and taking a supplement .. Uva Ursi ... and within a month, I'd say she had virtually healed her body. This a fortunate example, but it illustrates the possibility of a more holistic approach.

♥ .... Also, happiness and self belief is a great wellness inducer ... maybe take St. Johns Wort and do some walking meditation. Exercise helps the body eliminate toxins, and boosts serotonin, the natural happiness chemical in the body.

Good luck, love and I hope this gives you some idea's. Just practice ahimsa, and treat your body with as much compassion, as you possibly can. Your body is your temple ^_^

Claudia x

federica

The Blessed One said, "When touched with a feeling of pain, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical & mental. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, were to shoot him with another one, so that he would feel the pains of two arrows; in the same way, when touched with a feeling of pain, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical & mental.

read the remainder here.

Understand you are in pain, feel the pain, accept the physical discomfort of the pain.
But do not lament the pain, and become distressed that you have the pain.

Pain is mandatory.
Suffering is optional.

federica

I found these quotations, which also, might help put things into some perspective:

I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.

D.H.Lawrence

Master Chief John Urgayle: Pain is your friend, your ally, it will tell you when you are seriously injured, it will keep you awake and angry, and remind you to finish the job and get the hell home. But you know the best thing about pain?
Lt. Jordan O'Neil: Don't know!
Master Chief John Urgayle: It lets you know you're not dead yet!

G.I.Jane, 1997

etherea

I have serious problems with my knees, the left one in particular. Various surgeries have not really helped probably because I'm a bit gungho in my attitude. I know my limitations and just ignore them. The pain is just a bi-product of injuries. It is a constant reminder that I should be behaving in a certain way and also a constant reminder tht I'm not doing so. It's like a friend whispering in my ear (with a sledgehammer ) One thing is for sure though I do not let it be me. It is part of me and goes with me cycling, swimming, walking and now very infrequently boogie boarding! It's like Federica said understand it, accept it but don't suffer because of it.

ThailandTom

Chronic pain should be dealt with by going to see a doctor or seeing someone in a hospital. The dharma can only provide you a mindset to deal with it, not to heal it or make it go away. It may be something serious which coulf cause death. Meditation will most likely do nothing at all, meditation is great for practice, but it is like a pen. A pen is great for writing and drawing, but that pen cannot take you to a foreign country or fill you up when you are hungry.

etherea

You are so right Tom; but most people with chronic pain know the reason for it, have been diagnosed and treated and then it's up to them how they deal with it. I got so sick of anti-inflamatories and stopped taking them except when I'm in dire straits (self inflicted naturally). It's very very important to have the right mental attitude though. As I said above do not become the pain!

ThailandTom

If you kow the reason, have seen a professional about it and still have pain either due to not having the right mindset, you are very unlikely to randomly gain an insight to deal with it. SO go and buy some pain releiving drugs for the time being, that seems like a logical thing to do if you ask me..