You’re living during a particularly scary and uncertain time, and your body has reacted accordingly, to let you know that you are under some sort of threat. If you can identify what that threat really is for you, and believe that your chronic symptoms are simply warning signs, and not threatening in themselves, you may already find relief.
As we’re approaching the end of another year, I cannot help looking back at life two years ago and remembering how different things were. As an ex-linguist, I also cannot help thinking how much our vocabulary has changed: the words ‘vaccine’, ‘virus’, ‘swab test’, ‘social distancing’, ‘quarantine’ and a host of other Covid-related words are on everyone’s tongues - whereas before, they were used much more sparingly or not at all.
Our “new normal” (admittedly, I loathe the term!) involves limiting Covid infection, and trying to make ourselves immune to it. Nothing wrong about that, at first glance.
But just like every event that affects a large segment of the population, the pandemic has hit all sorts of vulnerable groups the hardest. Sadly, chronic pain sufferers and those susceptible to developing chronic or psychosomatic conditions are one of those groups that have been and continue to be impacted the most.
In this rather long post, my intention is to explain that Covid-19 has had and is still having a significant impact on chronic pain sufferers. Not only that - in some cases the trauma of the pandemic alone has led to the onset of psychosomatic symptoms in individuals who were previously pain-free.
Covid-19 and increased pain perception
The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on chronic pain still has to be extensively studied. Preliminary studies as well as various case studies, however, show that the impact is significant. According to recent research published in August 2021, and conducted on a group of 101 pain sufferers in Greece:
“Higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, neuroticism, openness to experience and general satisfaction with life seemed to be important determinant factors in how patients experienced their level, intensity and duration of pain, quality of life and response to medication […] The effects of the lockdown had a more severe impact on patients than the pandemic itself”. (Journal of Pain Research, Volume 14)
These results come as no surprise to me as a Chronic Pain Coach. A few months into the pandemic, I’ve had clients come to me in agonising pain, all of which started either when the pandemic hit or during one of the lockdowns. Not only did this global event increase pain levels among those who already had chronic pain - in some cases, it has also led to the onset of mindbody (TMS) pain.
For most people, it was obvious why they were in pain: some of them ran a business that had been significantly impacted; others had found themselves working all on their own at home, while others were terrified that Covid would claim their lives or that of their family. I’ve even had a client whose symptoms disappeared right after he took the second dose of the vaccine - because he finally felt safer!
Fear and insecurity breed pain
In case you haven’t guessed, fear and lack of security are some of the principal causes of mindbody pain. This is because non-acute pain is a danger signal, and so it’s more likely to be fired when we feel under threat.
Covid-19 came at us out of the blue. Suddenly, we were being told to stay home, to avoid meeting other people, and the consequences were very bluntly hammered at us: we might be responsible for our deaths and that of our loved ones. We wouldn’t even be able to be near our loved ones if they were dying from Covid-19. If that isn’t a threat to the human psyche, I don’t know what is!
To make things even worse, our businesses or jobs were threatened. That leads to financial insecurity, which is another emotional factor that can lead to physical pain. Not to mention the various relationship problems that ensued and the rise in divorce and separation rates during lockdowns!
This isn’t to say that the virus was to be taken lightly. But what governments and experts might have underestimated was the damage that long-term fear can pose to the individual. It was all fine to be told to do our part and be responsible, but let’s admit it - the way the media has been tackling Covid isn’t very reassuring. Some people became obsessed with checking the numbers of infections (we all have a friend or aunt that falls in this category). These people have been living in a state fight or flight (chronic stress) for months on end!
Tragic Covid-19 stories became a sort of addiction, leading to the belief that these kind of stories are the norm, and not the exception (whereas we know that the estimated fatality rate was around 2.2% as of December 31, 2020 and has been on the decline since May 2020 (ASTMH). With the vaccine rollout, it’s declined even further.
Today, the Omicron variant is causing fewer deaths, and there is hope that Covid-19 will become far milder than it originally started out - which is the normal course that many new viruses take.
But fear is contagious and debilitating. Not only that, but it interferes with healing should you really contact Covid-19 or any other illness (since for healing to take place, the nervous system should ideally be calmed down to promote a state of repair). The fear factor is huge, and we may not even be fully conscious of it until we fall ill ourselves.
Loneliness also breeds pain
Due to the pandemic, some people have found themselves cut off from their families, as countries closed their borders, and lockdowns kept being extended with no end in sight. That’s a threat to social connection - which is vital for us to thrive as human beings. Some people living in different countries to their family had no idea when they’d be with their loved ones again. Some still have no idea.
What’s more, working or staying at home for prolonged periods of time makes you more prone to negative rumination and boredom: if you get pain or feel sick, you are more likely to worry about the pain and get hypervigilant if you’re at home alone. This is because social interaction ‘dampens’ our stress levels, even if it involves just small talk. Without small talk, without passing a joke here and there, our thoughts get more ‘intense’. We are less able to relax. And those who know something about mindbody pain know what this leads to.
Helplessness breeds pain
Finally, one other factor involved in the link between the pandemic and chronic pain is helplessness. Initially, we were told that we would eventually ‘squash’ the virus, and that gave us a sense of hope and control. Nowadays, only those living an illusion believe that the virus will be gone.
As time goes by, we are seeing that it’s not really about ‘fighting’ the virus; it’s about being prepared for it. It’s about preventing the most serious consequences. Unfortunately, the stronger your need for control is, the easier it is for you to be affected by the situation. This is because you the idea that you can never totally avoid catching the virus will make you feel helpless and constantly frustrated. You can do your best - but experience has shown that even the most cautious of people have caught it.
Helplessness is almost equivalent to insecurity. It breeds frustration and rage, and these breed pain. If you’ve already got certain personality traits that make you prone to anxiety and controlling tendencies, you’ll be more affected by these feelings (and again, you may not even be fully conscious of how frustrated you really are!).
Sadly, we are living in a world where we have cultivated the illusion of control. We can control so many things by planning ahead and taking reasonable precautions. But this makes us more prone to be affected when we realize that sometimes, we do not have control - and the pandemic is one such example.
Sometimes, we just have to trust that things will work out, and bring ourselves back to the present moment. It sounds simplistic - but grounding yourself in the present and cultivating a state of appreciation for all the things you have right now is really the best thing to aim for when things are uncertain.
Sniffles, coughs and unexplained respiratory symptoms - a new trend in chronic symptoms
An interesting trend that I’ve personally observed during the pandemic is also an increase in unexplained flu-like symptoms as a substitute for (or addition to) chronic pain. This should come as no surprise to someone who is familiar with the concept of suggestibility and the mindbody connection.
Suggestibility means that we are more likely to develop certain symptoms after hearing about their possibility - even though in reality, we are not sick. This is more likely to happen to the most fearful and sensitive among us.
There have been individuals who’ve had flu-like symptoms for months, and who’ve never tested positive for Covid. Others developed breathing problems, some of them severe, even though all the tests came out clear, while others developed chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) after an episode of the flu.
Those who are familiar with the MindBody Syndrome will know that a conditioning process can take place, whereby our brains and bodies may continue to generate symptoms due to our fear and expectations. This is what eventually makes psychosomatic symptoms chronic.
To make matters worse, the possibility of long Covid may have led people to develop chronic symptoms, especially those who were at some point Covid-positive. Unfortunately, when there is no evidence of physical damage from the virus, it is very hard to distinguish between actual long-Covid and such psychosomatic symptoms.
Just like in the case of acute pain that transitions into chronic pain due to the conditioning process, there may have been cases of Covid symptoms transitioning into chronic symptoms due to a mindbody process.
As a Coach in this field, I fear that this possibility will not be given much attention by the medical field, although it will be extremely relevant to hundreds of thousands of people. Several post-Covid symptoms are similar to TMS equivalents like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, myositis and joint pain (See here).
The question that almost nobody asks is, are these symptoms being emotionally induced due to the trauma of having had Covid and the fear of developing permanent damage, or are they really side-effects of the virus? Sadly, the latter is almost always the chosen assumption, even when all imaging tests come out clear.
Final tips for chronic pain sufferers in light of the ongoing Covid-19 saga
Do you feel that your pain levels have worsened since Covid-19? Or perhaps that’s when you developed your first chronic symptoms? I’d like to let you know that you’re not alone - and that there’s help out there.
The links between chronic pain, anxiety and depression have long been established. Depression, loneliness, fear, helplessness and frustration are among those emotions that fuel pain, especially if you these creep up on a regular basis and become your habitual modes of feeling. You don’t have to be severely depressed to experience psychosomatic pain - the pain is a normal physical reaction to a negative or uncertain emotional state.
Don’t beat yourself up, and don’t downplay the magnitude of what you’ve gone through emotionally. You’re living during a particularly scary and uncertain time, and your body has reacted accordingly, to let you know that you are under some sort of threat. If you can identify what that threat really is for you, and believe that your chronic symptoms are simply warning signs, and not threatening in themselves, you may already find relief.
I think it’s time to start lowering that threat level, if we are to lead happier and more fulfilling lives. You can start by reframing things and calming down your nervous system. Here are a few tips from me:
- seek out others’ company: you NEED social interaction, and if it can be face to face, it’s going to be much more beneficial than online. If you live in a high-risk area, consider meeting up with a few friends out in the open, for walks or picnics in the countryside.
- stick to a fulfilling routine: if you still work from home, try and plan your schedule ahead, and to fit in short breaks outside. Call your friends and make sure you have regular meetings with colleagues, and be disciplined with your timetable. Make sure you give your day some structure (ticking a few things off your to do list can make you feel happier at the end of the day too!)
- limit your exposure to the media: if you feel like you’re getting addicted to reading the news, be strict with yourself, and limit this activity. Consider asking your friends to update you if anything major comes up - and take a media break! You don’t need to know the exact number of infections every day - the numbers are not accurate anyway!
- recognize your emotions: if you suffer from chronic symptoms that are medically unexplained, consider treating them psychologically by following the TMS approach or getting coached for chronic pain. Reflect on the stressors and emotions that could have led to the pain. Focus on gaining deeper awareness of your emotional state or worries, instead of focusing on the pain itself. As Dr Sarno always said, ‘think psychologically!’.
- establish connections between pain levels and stressors: reflect about the onset or worsening of your pain. Did it occur when stress and fear levels were high? What was happening in your life back then? How did the pandemic or other stressors affect your symptoms? If you notice a correlation, you may have TMS - take the TMS self-test here.
- let go of that strong need for control: take some time to meditate, to bring yourself to the present moment, and to teach yourself to be ok with the fact that life can be uncertain. If you are particularly fearful of catching the virus, and find yourself continuously envisioning yourself getting severely ill or dying from it, consider seeing a psychotherapist.
Mental health and pain go hand in hand. And we know what the pandemic has done to our mental health…
In conclusion, what I wanted to stress the most with this long article is the fact that real physical pain and other unexplained chronic symptoms can occur due to intense emotional experiences - such as the Covid-19 pandemic. If doctors could find nothing wrong with you physically, or have blamed your symptoms on an ‘incurable’ condition like fibromyalgia or CFS, then there’s a huge chance that you can address your symptoms from a mindbody perspective.
If you’d like to embark on such a journey, I invite you to check out the resources on my website, and to contact me for a Consultation if this new knowledge resonates with you.
My Pain Recovery Program can also help you pursue this path on your own if you’re convinced that your symptoms are stress-related and due to TMS.
May the year ahead bring us closer to normality, and may love, connection and joy become our dominant emotional states. We were never meant to live in fear for prolonged periods of time, and almost two years in, it’s time we took individual action to avoid serious repercussions on our mental and physical health.