Pain Points to a Problem

By Dr. Evan Parks—I daily work with people who are in pain. Our gut-level response to pain is to think of pain as a problem.  We want to get rid of our pain.  This misconception of pain is based on the belief that pain is bad and needs to be out of our life, especially if we want to be happy. However, nothing could be further from the truth.  Pain is not the enemy; pain is one part of our very effective warning system that directs us to act.

Understanding pain starts with recognizing that pain is based on how our brain recognizes the input it receives and how the brain evaluates that input as a threat.  Some people see a nurse walking toward them with a syringe and think, “Good. The nurse’s shot will help.”  As a result, the shot might hurt a little, but not too much.  Another person will evaluate the same input differently and say, “The last time I had a shot it hurt terribly and I almost passed out.  Oh no!  What is going to happen now?”  Big, strong football players who can endure a lot more pain than most people could pass out at the mere sight of a nurse with a needle.  Our fear always makes pain worse.

Recognizing that pain is an output of the brain helps us see that there is a message in pain to which we need to pay attention.  If you sprain your ankle walking across a busy highway, your brain will not send out a pain message because at that moment because the pain message is not going to be useful to your wellbeing.  You need to get across the highway safely.  When you cross the highway and are out of danger, your brain will change the message, and you will “hear it.” The message to pay attention to your ankle will be loud and clear.

How The Message Gets Delivered

There are multiple messages that brain can send out indicating something is out of balance in our life – pain is just one of many options.  The brain might create a physiological response like hives. A who has a physical problem but is also avoiding strong emotions like anger or sadness may break out in a terrible rash. The rash is simply a message that tells us we need to pay attention.  In a similar way, we can have physical problems like stomach aches, constipation, and diarrhea that should get our attention that something is not right in our life.  We might have an emotional symptom, such a depression or anxiety.  Emotional symptoms tell us that something is out of balance and we need to pay attention.  When a child’s brain sends a message that something is wrong and needing a remedy, the message comes out in the form of out of control behavior that is repetitive, aggressive, anxious, withdrawn, or disorganized.  Children act out their brain’s warning message that something important needs to be addressed for them to be secure and in control.   Adults engage in addictive and self-destructive behaviors that serve as a message that a core problem exists within their life.

Far too often, we are tempted to treat the message of pain – and all the other messages designed to get our attention – as the problem. Pain is not the problem.  Pain is the message that the brain uses to get our attention to focus on emotional, spiritual, and physical problems.

Given that pain is a message, we need to understand that pain is just an alarm that is going off.  The alarm might be related to something physical, like a sprained ankle.  It is also possible that pain in your ankle might be a great way for a problem in some other area of your life to be expressed to get your attention, making the pain even more intense.  We are spiritual, ethical, social, emotional, and physical beings.  We can experience physical pain, emotional pain, physical symptoms, and disrupted behavior related to any one of these areas that are out of balance and need attention.  The next time you experience pain, learn to appreciate it and listen to the message it is sending you.