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Notes -
Is most chronic pain 'in our heads?'
I spent almost a decade dealing with chronic pain of various sorts. I had many diagnosis such as TMJ, Hypermobility, Repetitive strain injury, Carpal tunnel, Tennis elbow, Conversion disorder, etc. What finally ended my pain was close to 5 years of serious meditation, stretching, dance training, and most importantly yoga. Eventually I developed the ability to relax muscles at will even if they were tense from stress.
Right now 20.4 Americans experiences chronic pain(1), with more people in rural populations dealing with chronic pain than in urban populations. Early research shows that this rate has been rising over time. (2) My pet hypothesis is that over time Americans have become more stressed for a variety of factors, which has lead to an increase in chronic pain. This is also most likely linked to a lack of mobility and a sedentary lifestyle.
However, doctors are very wary of telling a patient something is 'in their head'. This isue has probably gotten worse due to the recent backlash against doctors for ignoring someone's personal experience or opinion. I'm afraid that with the current state of our culture this problem will not get better at any time soon.
The most common way to get chronic pain fixed is seems to be to look for non traditional sources of information, typically 'woo' stuff like crystal or energy healing. Unfortunately I have seen a number of chronic pain suffers fall to these types of outlooks, after 'getting in tune with the universe' seemingly healed their pain. In reality I believe that these people simply develop the ability to visualize and relax their muscles.
I think this is a highly neglected problem and something that many people do not realize because chronic pain is often not talked about, and if you do talk about it most of people will either ignore you, give trite and terrible advice, or stop wanting to listen to you. Perhaps most people innately have the ability to relax their muscles, or lose the skill over time for one or another reason.
Has anyone else experienced something similar or observed it among others?
Sources (Cant figure out how to link text from my mobile device)
1 - https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db390.htm#:~:text=Interview%20Survey%2C%202019.-,Summary,65%20and%20over%20(30.8%25).
2 -
https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article/58/2/711/168526/Pain-Trends-Among-American-Adults-2002-2018
Edit: fixed spelling/formatting errors.
The very existence of the placebo effect (and the nocebo effect) and the fact it works even if you tell people it is a placebo, suggests that our mind plays a larger role than we give it credit for. And if our mind can make us believe that pain is worse than it is (or that pain exists where it does not), then our mind can do the opposite and alleviate 'real' pain. I think a lot of people want their pain to be recognized and validated, and that turns them away from 'simple' solutions they can do themselves. In the past, you needed to get through pain in order to survive. Today pain can be used as an excuse to not work, and not working isn't going to impact your survival. So the motivation to be pain free, especially for the lower class, has evaporated. Good times create weak men.
I think masturbation is a great example of how powerful the mind is. If you're not aroused or comfortable, masturbating can be a futile exercise, no matter how much physical effort you put in. And yet a dream can be so powerful as to cause an orgasm, with absolutely no physical stimulation. For the most part, people prefer masturbating with a particular thought in their mind, or looking at certain materials. Typically people masturbate in a comfortable area where they feel safe (and private). Imagine if we began to ignore this mental state with regards to masturbation, and instead replaced it with a pill (and not specifically viagra, but something that would make you ejaculate/orgasm; or maybe not even feel the need to). This is basically how we treat pain today, with no concern given to the mental state. Mental health is treated like this more and more everyday, it seems.
Wow, you made some great connections in this comment. I've relatively recently changed my mind on the importance of mental frameworks or attitudes when it comes to physical/mental pain. I also lament the fact that so many mental health 'disorders' are now seen as impossible to fix, or a result of a way the brain is structured. I think it's mostly hogwash.
Your link to the placebo effect is also excellent. It is strange that people can study something like the placebo effect, know its real, and yet not truly make any effort to utilize it's effects. Seems like the proverbial $20 bill left on the ground with regards to modern medicine.
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