Meditation for Chronic Pain: Does it really work?
Meditation can be an exceptional tool in one’s journey to overcoming chronic pain, if used correctly. Plenty of people ask me what is the best meditation for chronic pain and anxiety, and although I believe that it depends on the individual, there are a few pointers I’d like to share so you can meditate more effectively and progress towards pain relief - or even better - towards pain free!
Embarking on meditation for pain relief with the correct state of mind
By incorporating meditation as part of your toolset to overcoming chronic pain, you are first and foremost acknowledging that there is a Mindbody connection - that you have the power to decrease or even eliminate pain by cultivating an altered state of mind. This is of fundamental importance, because truly believing in this possibility can make the difference between being stuck with pain and gradually overcoming it.
Essentially, meditation can help the brain process painful and uncomfortable sensations differently, without the usual judgements and catastrophic patterns of thinking that are usually part and parcel of our response to the pain. So in a sense, meditation is an exercise of acceptance - and not a tool to directly eliminate chronic pain through sheer force.
In fact, the state of mind and intention with which you meditate is more important than the meditation itself: the best way to meditate for pain relief and anxiety is to approach the practise with an open, curious mind - simply as an exercise that will help filter out those thoughts that usually cause your pain and anxiety to escalate.
Meditation should NOT be approached as a ‘strategy’ to get rid of pain instantly, because this attitude in itself can put you in a state of ‘fight’ and resistance towards the painful sensations, which is exactly the kind of mental state that you want to shift away from.
Which is the best meditation for chronic pain?
As discussed, the intention with which you approach pain relief meditation is more important than the actual meditation. That said, there are specific meditations that are targeted for chronic pain, which can be more helpful for those who are stuck in this predicament.
I personally believe that the best meditation for chronic pain consists of a mix of relaxing techniques combined with observation of the painful area in question. By taking a few deep breaths initially, you can calm yourself and prepare yourself to be in a better state of mind for the exercise. This is why most meditations start by prompting you to take a few deep breaths.
Following the initial breathing or grounding, the individual will feel safer tuning in to any painful sensations - or even to any uncomfortable feelings like anxiety, rage and sadness (which often can also be felt as sensations in the body). This is when the real ‘work’ takes place: the individual will practice a different way of feeling and processing these sensations, which in many cases is very different to the usual reactive behaviour that accompanies such sensations.
Often, when we feel a hint of pain, or feel our old pain returning, we react with a sort of fierce defensiveness. We absolutely do not want this pain, and immediately try to find ways of avoiding it - sometimes by refraining from doing something, at other times by taking painkillers or other treatments. This is a response of resistance (please note - there is nothing wrong with taking meds for pain relief, but in the case of chronic mindbody pain, treating just the symptom will often lead to temporary or dissatisfying results).
Many of us are also prone to indulging in catastrophic thoughts, anticipating a bad flare-up before it even hits us. Given the way that our brain works through memory and expectation, the more we anticipate pain, the more we are likely to experience it - because the brain will recall a past painful episode and reproduce it.
But meditation for chronic pain will help you refrain from this kind of hostile reaction to your pain. Instead, it will prompt you towards acceptance first. This is why it’s important to view meditation as a technique that will help you achieve a mindset shift - and not as a weapon to eliminate pain directly.
Below, I will describe some of the best forms of meditations for pain and anxiety, which are more likely to benefit those with chronic pain (especially mindbody /neuroplastic pain).
Mindfulness meditation for chronic pain
The idea behind mindfulness meditation is to get you to observe your environment, your thoughts or your body, from a more objective lens. Most often, the individual will be prompted to focus on the breath, and when the usual thoughts and ruminations occur, he or she would acknowledge such thoughts and then bring back one’s attention to the steady rhythm of the breath.
This trains you to observe your thoughts as if they were separate from you, and to consciously redirect your focus to something more neutral (the breath), instead of spiralling down with these thoughts or worries.
Sometimes, you will also be prompted to scan your entire body, noticing each area without judging it (including painful area or parts of the body that you are not happy with).
Somatic tracking for chronic pain
Somatic tracking is a form of body scan meditation that gets you to observe any painful sensations in an objective manner. This was developed specifically for chronic pain patients who suffer from psychosomatic pain and other mindbody symptoms also known as TMS. If you are quick to dismiss the possibility of Mindbody symptoms in yourself due to the ‘physical’ nature of your symptoms, I encourage you not to just yet - read up on TMS here, because it’s much more common than you think!
Somatic tracking will teach you to look at these sensations from a different perspective. Usually, you will be prompted to focus on a part of the body that hurts, and to tune into the area, getting very curious about it as if you were actaully studying this area and want to know more about it.
The idea behind somatic tracking is to get you to be more familiar and more ok with painful sensations, so that your brain will stop interpreting these sensations as threatening. When the brain interprets a sensations as a threat, the pain response is more likely to be fired, because pain is a danger signal.
In that way, people may get stuck in a loop of fear and pain - at the first hint of pain, your brain goes on high alert, and as a result, more pain follows as a response to this state of mind. Essentially, pain flare-ups can often be a self-fulfilling prophecy, due to our expectations and the negative emotions that often accompany the first hint of pain.
Muscle relaxation exercises for chronic pain
Some of my own chronic pain meditations combine somatic tracking with relaxation techniques that will help reduce tension in your body. This is because I am aware that many chronic pain issues result from a build-up of tension and tightness in the muscles (the most common being back and neck pain, but also sciatica and leg pain). If you have generalized aches, stiffness, limited range of motion, or even cramp-like sensations, then very likely your body is unable to let go of that tension.
Meditation for muscle relaxation often incorporates an element of vizualisation, getting you to somehow vizualise a process that will bring relief and relaxation to your entire body. Different visions work for different people; some find it effective to vizualize a white light that is slowly scanning their bodies, bringing with it increased relaxation. Others vizualize their muscles as tight knots, gradually getting undone, while others assign a colour to their painful areas, and vizualise it turning into a different, more relaxing colour that they associate with pain relief.
The most important thing in this case is to ‘trick’ the brain, by getting it to believe that the body is releasing and relaxing. It’s as if you are directing your brain to initiate the relaxation process - and you might find that it will do just that!
Meditating for anxiety
I find that a technique similar to somatic tracking can also be employed successfully to diffuse feelings of anxiety. After all, chronic pain and anxiety are deeply interlinked. Since anxiety is often felt as an unwanted sensation in the body (often in the chest or throat area), we can also allow ourselves to fully observe it.
Think about it, how often do you actually allow yourself to truly let in your anxiety? Most probably, at the first hint of it, you start wishing it away, or you distract yourself with something that will help keep it in check. Yet doing so will only cause a build-up of anxiety in the long run.
If you actually sat and observed those uncomfortable feelings in their fullness by engaging in somatic tracking for anxiety, you might find that you can actually handle them - and that by acknowledging them, they will mellow down.
It can be overwhelming initially to let those anxious feelings to flood in, which is why our first instinctual reaction is to try and run away from them. However, if you find a safe space where to do this at your own pace, you might just find that walking right into the storm of your emotions will help you get through that storm quicker.
Stop giving meaning to your pain!
When you learn to observe pain for the sensation that it is - no matter how painful it is - you will also learn to process it as a simple sensation, and will take away the added labels and weight that you usually assign to your pain. We usually give so much meaning to our pain - often as something that is threatening to ruin our entire lives or rob us of our happiness - and this very meaning and intensity is often the reason why pain persists.
But what if you train yourself to interpret it as a present-moment sensation instead? What if you train yourself to feel more ok despite the pain?
That’s what meditation for chronic pain is about.
Once you have mastered this, the pain is much more likely to dissipate or disappear altogether. And you will have become a master of your pain.
Want to kickstart your own chronic pain recovery journey? Check out my videos below to start practising, OR for more targeted meditations and additional techniques, consider purchasing my Pain Recovery Program here.