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body part to go numb For me it is usually so bad that end up pulling my body part out of the
water or times before go numb The discomfort is so intense that practically involuntarily
retract my limb With paced breathing however the pain is tolerable and have no inclination
to pull it out of the ice When we allow pain to control our breathing rate we also allow it to
control our behavior
Pain signals from nerve endings in tense muscles bombard our brains throughout the day
Those signals are relayed to brain areas involved in fear and grief such as the insula the
anterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala These brain centers integrate pain input from
anatomical landmarks all around the body to help compute the appropriate level of pained
reactions stifling agitation rage dread submission and distressed breathing Thus
we become tense breathe shallowly then respond to the ensuing discomfort with more
tension This cycle is depicted relative to other concepts we have addressed thus far in the
diagram below
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
RESPIRATORY BEHAVIORAL MUSCULAR
Muscular iti
Distressed Breathing Bracing Resting Contraction Repetitive
Partial Contraction
Shallow Short Rough Tension Suboptimal Posture ae Muscle Shortening Ischemia
Unassertive Tense Submissive Displays Fain Trigger Points Scar Tissue
Gasping Sighing Persistent Muscle Tension Hypertonia Hypotonia
Stiff Diaphragm Rigid On Guard Closed Off Postural Misalignment
Disuse Atrophy Dormancy
sian THE DISTRESSED Psa
BREATHING CYCLE
Anger Anxiety Depression
eae Sympathetic Upregulation
eens Worldview Emotional Aging Advancing Morbidity
gorse ompetitiveness Rapid Heart Rate Catabolism
Negative uman Interactions Pain Detrimental Developmental Plasticity
Submissiveness Dominating
Frustration Pessimism
Chronic Defeat Negative Affect
Adrenaline Cortisol Startling
Raised Blood Pressure Inflammation
Amygdala Sensitization
Figure Distressed Breathing Cycle
We feel like the emotional pain we experience originates from the content of our
thoughts But this is backward Negative thinking is driven by the inability to take a full breath
and by preexisting pain in our muscles and related tissues These are the ultimate causes of our
persistent background unease Our thinking becomes oppositional only when it is imbued with
pain Tense muscles are leeches latched on to our souls believe that trigger points in our
faces spines and internal organs are the physical embodiment of melancholy world
weariness ennui and angst
Dont Let Your PainBody Control You
Spiritual author Eckhart Tolle has elaborated on a concept he calls the painbody According
to Tolle the painbody is the accumulation of negative life experiences that create affective
pain and discomfort Tolle discusses how it is intrinsically tied to the ego and how
environmental circumstances that assault our pride amplify the painbody and its negative
effects on our behavior He advises that people live in the present moment so that they can
recognize when the painbody shifts from being dormant to being active When it becomes
active it makes us act in desperation distorting our interpretations and judgments and causing
us to do things that we later regret believe that his assessment is correct and that a
considerable proportion of the painbody corresponds to deep somatic pain from the
cumulative effects of muscular bracing also believe that the painbody becomes active when
latent trigger points become active
Specialists traditionally categorize trigger points as either active or latent An active trigger
point is painful whereas a latent trigger point is not Latent trigger points which are far more
numerous generally cannot be felt unless deep pressure is applied Latent trigger points can be
activated by muscular strain especially after an abusive workout a sudden shock or a long car
ride Alternatively they can be activated by shallow breathing which is why facial tension
Chapter Recognize Muscular Tension Dormancy
headaches and back pain coincide with stress Consider the unpleasantness of public speaking
for example As we stand in front of a room of people with our eyebrows raised our eyes
squinting our neck tense our shoulders elevated our stomach in knots our vocal musculature
taut and our back stiff latent trigger points in all those muscle groups become active
The resulting pain derails us undermining our presentation and diluting our message
When latent trigger points become active we become an inferior version of ourselves
The pain can also provoke us to lash out Even rats exhibit paininduced aggression If you
place two rats on a metal grid through which they receive an electric shock they will attack
each other ferociously when the shock is delivered Hundreds of similar studies suggest that
mammals have a tendency to displace aggression reallocating blame for their physical pain
toward other nearby animals
This is consistent with Tolles account He explains that the painbody is born of and
enticed by pain In his words it is a psychic parasite that wants to provoke pain in others
and then feed on the ensuing drama He says that peoples painbodies possess them
causing them to do bad things that they would never otherwise do and that they react to
the painbodies of others with either revulsion or aggression
believe that we constantly provoke one anothers painbodies and latent trigger points
to establish social hierarchy by determining who has been debilitated more by chronic stress
Do we all do this constantly Yes Are we evil for doing it No Remember competing for social
dominance is an innate system for determining which animal has priority over resources It is a
highly preferable alternative to actual violence and represents the mammalian brains
imperfect attempt at creating order A considerable step toward becoming free of this
evolutionary design flaw is to unburden yourself from the cyclic relationship between
distressed breathing bracing and pain Use Exercise to start breaking the cycle
Relaxation Exercise Desensitize Yourself to Pain
The next time you feel angry anxious lonely sad or any negative emotion try to find the
root cause of it in the form of your bodily pain Once you localize it in your body take its
power away by recognizing it for what it is Use the following concepts to help you
To overcome our painbodies we must change our relationship with pain Our aversion and
oversensitivity to discomfort are exactly what drive it When pain makes us brace or breathe
shallowly we are fighting against it and making it worse The way we bear our suffering
should be dignified Accept it with courage and grit The unease we manufacture when we
wallow in pain braces trigger points that keep us tense Instead like a warrior we need to be
tolerant and nonreactive in response to internal discomfort
The pain you feel is not you It is just an annoying buzzer going off in the background
reminding you that you have been going too hard on your body This should cause you to
ease up on your body rather than go harder Recognize the limited validity of the discomfort
and develop the ability to tune it out of your experience Disidentify from it Dont allow it to