Dealing with physical pain.

ravkes

I have chronic canker sores. I've had them for the better part of the last 10 years of my life and recently I just got an outburst. It's really painful to eat, drink and talk. What are some mindfulness techniques I could use to approach the phenomena (canker sores) that arise. Pain is interesting, it's threefold. There's the pain, then the emotional feeling, then your thoughts with the dagger to reinforce both. Anyways, all responses are welcome. Thanks guys.

Jeffrey

I think I've heard that taking the actual pain as an object of meditation can actually make it seem worse. But that we CAN analyze our THOUGHTS about the pain. Thoughts about the pain as opposed to the pain itself. The thoughts that say I can't take it. Its just like an itch you cannot scratch. I have some experiences like that in my own weird body feelings from mental illness.

I think that easing up but at the same time realizing the difference between the sensations and the thoughts behind them. I think you are seeing this already you say you see three things right? At times its good to have a distraction of course, in my experience. And at times you just got to feel it.

ashighasifeel

This is something I have recently needed to get a handle on as well. I think much of the pain for me comes to my resistance to it or feeling that this is not "normal" me and thinking things could be better, comparing my pain to that of others. I'm trying a few things, one of which is by thinking the "normal" is the feeling of pain and when it subsides, it's a bonus. this way i'm not resisting that which is, now, normal-- the feeling of pain. i read somewhere a few years ago this concept, the author compared it to a kitchen appliance- when you go to toast something and the toaster is not working you get angry because you expect it to be working, but if you dont expect it to work then you wont be angry but pleasantly surprised if it is working. Also I have the tendency to focus the good part of my attention directly on the pain. I distract my mind away with my breath, and with physical activities. I'm not nearly close to the "rejoice in your pain" attitude, but with canker sores maybe you can take the time to appreciate that you cannot speak and have room for silence. I'm sure you appreciate it a lot more when you can eat and drink without pain. Thank you for posting.

Subjectivity9

Ravkes,

First of all, I believe that we must divide pain from suffering, and come to understand why they are not the same thing.

Pain is a natural bodily function that alerts us that something isn’t working improperly and perhaps needs to heal. Of course with chronic problems, this isn’t always possible to do completely. But, there is nothing wrong with trying to lessen the symptoms if we can do so in some small way.

Are you familiar with the septic pencil, (powdered alum)? It burns the canker when held right on it (stings like a son-of-a-gun), but makes the canker go away much quicker. Use the pencil as soon as you can, while it is still small for the best results, and it will hurt a whole lot worse.

Kanka is another product that you can use in conjunction with the pencil. It is a liquid that you apply directly, which acts like a topical anesthetic. If numbs it very well, and helps to a lesser extent than the pencil in healing. I believe there is Novocaine in it.

Suffering is a whole other ball of wax, and comes directly out of our attitude, perceptions, and reaction to that pain. Attitude not being tied directly to the physical has a little more freedom of movement, and we can train our minds not to exacerbate the pain by negative evaluations on top of the pain. Look very closely at what you are telling yourself. It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. What passes for an honest evaluation of your pain like, “This is horrible” (mind talk), can make it seem much worse, and self be defeating.

I have found that if you can see the pain as a process, and do not identify with it, by calling it “My Pain”, you can mentally step away from it and let it take place without you, like a river floating by you. You need not step into the river of pain. Meditation on this quality of detachment from pain can be learned like any skill. You come to see (have a clear sight) that any pain is a passing thought, a process.

This will naturally cause a number of measurable physical things to take place. You will begin to relax. Relaxation will cause you to be less tight, and things will hurt far less because of it.

Also, you will stop shooting yourself full of stress hormones, and equally stop the inflammation process from adding to that pain.

Warm Regards,
S9

ravkes

I see that all three of you have recommended mindfulness techniques. Today when I was eating, I was mindful of the pain and let the mind quiet down by itself. I was feeling the sensation of pain, but the 'suffering' lessened and I had the capacity to feel the pain and stay with it as it progressed. Sometimes it was a sharp pain, sometimes it was less sharp but more prolonged; regardless I noticed when my mind started spinning stories about how the pain was going to last forever and I was doing it all wrong. When I believed the thoughts the 'suffering' + the 'pain' surprisingly both increased, when I allowed the pain to arise and thoughts to arise the 'suffering' + the 'pain' was less and I was able to eat.

Thanks Subjectivity for the tips, I'll check those out. However, I have had the most success with regularly eating B12 tablets, swabbing aloe vera gel on my sores and I think I may have pinpointed my allergen to barbecue sauce. Once again thanks guys. Oh just an addition lol because I feel like typing: In my practice, I have noticed facts. Facts that the body heals by itself, the mind acquires facts to help it heal. That it's all self-sustaining automatically by itself. It's just sort of what happens, and when you abide in what happens (in nature) instead of interfering with it, nature rewards you tenfold. The human body is a brilliant organism.

kenny

Pain is only a sensation, just like any other we experience. But, due to our attachment towards us wanting our bodies to feel what we define as good all the time, when we experience pain we begin to suffer. It takes much mindfulness and practice to separate the suffering from the pain as most of us are not in great pain most of the time. I have found simple things such as walking on my stone driveway barefooted have help with this practice. Over time it becomes easier to deal with larger pains as they arrive and eventually hopefully we can finally separate the two once and for all.

Fran45

I like Jon Kabat Zinn's CDs and books. Like you Ravkes I have chronic pain and health issues. I've got as far as acceptance (for the most part) and it also helps me to think about others in far worse pain. I sometimes use the technique of taking in the pain of others and feeling it for others - take in their pain on the inbreath, breathe out the intention that all beings be free from suffering on the outbreath. I also try and be grateful for moments of comfort and for those things that help and think about those who who never had those blessings.

Hope these help you too - if you don't already use them.

ravkes

Thank you guys.

Just an aside, I am partial to 'Zen' Buddhism. This is based on three practices:

"Great faith means that at all times you keep the mind which decided to practice, no matter what. It is like a hen sitting on her eggs. She sits on them constantly, caring for them and giving them warmth, so that they will hatch. If she becomes careless or negligent the eggs will not hatch and will not become chicks. So Zen mind means always and everywhere believing in yourself.

Great courage means bringing all your energy to one point. It is like a cat hunting a mouse. The mouse has retreated into its hole, but the cat waits outside the hole for hours on end without the slightest movement. It is totally concentrated on the mouse hole. This is Zen mind – cutting off all thinking and directing all your energy to one point.

Great question is like a person who has not eaten in three days, who only thinks of food. Or is is like a child whose mother is far away: this child wants his mother, and his mind thinks only of her. It is called one mind. If you question with great sincerity, there will only be don’t know mind."

-- Plymouth Zen Group

For me questioning phenomena that arises like physical pain is especially helpful. Because really I don't know what pain is. It just arises, from this the mind stops interpreting by itself and I can feel things just as they are. This practice helps me because it helps me realize that I really don't know anything about anything. I just wanted to point it out just in case it helps others as well.

Fran45

Hi Ravkes,

Thank you for your post. I don't know anything at all about Zen! I'm going to think about the practices that you mention.

The difficulty that I have with the approach of focussing on the pain and trying to pin it down is that it intensifies my experience of pain. When I focus on the pain I can locate it with great precision and it feels overwhelming. Perhaps I don't have enough experience or a strong enough practice yet - for me acceptance works, as do the other practices that I mentioned.

Namaste

Yeatoitall

Hellooooo?! I see the last post here was in April, 2010. I suppose, the worst-scenario is that instead of putting this out to a community and perhaps receiving some shared experience and/or answers, I would simply be journaling; this seems like the right place. Pain is the difficulty that brought me to this site. The pain that I'm experiencing has been checked medically, with "no findings". So many thoughts about the pain and its chronicity and intensity. I was knocked unconscious about 15 years ago from a punch to the face and once I began receiving Cranio-Sacral therapy, an abscess formed in one of my front teeth. Pragmatism having been challenged by this whole idea of mindfulness, I lay upon the couch, "embracing the pain", and, as I was instructed, using it as the focus of my mindfulness meditation when it steals me from the breath or stomach. Well, 4-days later, I had a sore in my mouth which was puss-filled. The doctor told me that if I have pain in my face/head, always get it checked out. Pragmatic, yes? Well, my meditation practice has included all kinds of strange and bizarre somatic ongoings, along with the identification of energy blocks in the body that seem to encompass more of the body than the unblocked parts. Insight meditation has been painful and most of what I wind up "witnessing", more often, are the negative qualities in myself, leading me to think myself "horrible" and thus projecting this yin/yang (with the unfortunate judgment) to all others. It scares me that there is so much of myself that I'm out of touch with. It scares me that the same processes, hopefully for others to somewhat lesser degree is at work. I am preoccupied by my awareness of my lack of groundedness. The pain has become such that it feels as if something is going to crack so I try to simply "allow" this. I have been quite depressed and have witnessed thoughts such as, "why go on" all the way to an inner voice that said,"I'll meet you in your pain" which I found to be reassuring. I have read far too much (although enough to make meditation seem imperative and open up the idea of "being on a journey") in the field of psychology, spirituality and am fascinated by the mind-body connection and the stupidity of the million and one reductionisms. I feel like, as I read above, the body will heal itself. But this is a similar self to the one that allowed an abscess to continue for 4 days. I know this is long-winded. I suppose a Zen master would pop me with his stick. One of my concerns and I understand that this is ego-stuff (it kills me to keep seeing this insanity-this monkey-mind) is that area in pain has become a twitch-like thing that creates, for me, much self-consciousness. Especially this is so because I attribute it to anger/rage as it feels as if my jaw is creating the tension. I cannot relax it and I cannot contract it because it feels so deep within the sinus-area next to my nose. I feel it is part of my body armor as I experienced, during a vision-quest, the release of my lower stomach (also very tight) and jaw, following the most intensely tightening feelings in those areas and I cried and raged like an infant. One of guides said it seemed pre-verbal. I do take a pain-killer every couple of days when it's excrutiatingly painful. Is this Kundalini awakening (tension in the third eye area as well)? My early life was a spiritual vacuum (in my awareness). I am in my early 40's now and it feels like this meditation has created more trouble for me than I can handle. But I know too much ,have experienced too much to "forget about it". I was thinking about going to an ashram or some extensive living facility where I can find a way to be with this whole process and regain an active lifestyle in an engaged and mindful way.
Any thoughts are appreciated. Specifically, meditation techniques, books (While I read,"Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart", but i'm looking for a title such as, "Once you've fallen apart, how to reassemble yourself". Thank you for your attention and reading this lengthy writing.

Namaste

Dakini

Rav, are any of the herpes medications out there effective for canker sores? (also a herpes virus). Call your MD or your pharmacist to ask.

A good acupuncturist, as pzudie mentions, can work wonders. If acupuncture helps your canker sores, let us know. Oh, and I think eliminating stress helps. Do they tend to flare up when you're stressed?

PietroPumokin

sip marijuana tea

pzudie

Also check out falun gong exercises also known as falun dafa, these are on u tube, they help to eliminate stress. Breathing exersises and hydrate are key in helping to the body and mind to heal. U tube has a lot of great stuff on it and is worth checking out. I deal with chronic neck pain as well as lower back pain and I don't feel like getting sliced and diced, whacked and hacked by a neurosurgeon so I practice the things that I have suggested to you. I partake in basic pilates almost every day to strengthen my core; it is vital to exersise, motion creates emotion. It clears the mind and feeds the body with more oxygen; which in turn creates a better psychological out look for the individual. Google the six human needs and that will give you a better understanding of yourself. Look for the one done by Tony Robbins. Once again you can find most in not all of this on U tube.

zombiegirl

Thanks Subjectivity for the tips, I'll check those out. However, I have had the most success with regularly eating B12 tablets, swabbing aloe vera gel on my sores and I think I may have pinpointed my allergen to barbecue sauce. Once again thanks guys. Oh just an addition lol because I feel like typing: In my practice, I have noticed facts. Facts that the body heals by itself, the mind acquires facts to help it heal. That it's all self-sustaining automatically by itself. It's just sort of what happens, and when you abide in what happens (in nature) instead of interfering with it, nature rewards you tenfold. The human body is a brilliant organism.

i was going to ask you if you had any known allergy. i've known two friends who have had similar reactions to an allergy. in both cases, it was actually fruits that caused the breakouts although one of my friends specifically had to stay away from tomatoes. i'm quite certain that most bbq sauces have tomatoes in them as well. something to think about, anyways...

CoffeeBean

I have chronic canker sores. I've had them for the better part of the last 10 years of my life and recently I just got an outburst. It's really painful to eat, drink and talk. What are some mindfulness techniques I could use to approach the phenomena (canker sores) that arise. Pain is interesting, it's threefold. There's the pain, then the emotional feeling, then your thoughts with the dagger to reinforce both. Anyways, all responses are
welcome. Thanks guys.

Sounds like your present approach is solid enough. Other than the use of meds, continue on addressing the episodes as practice. Perhaps any suffering caused by the pain will lessen with further insight into the experience.