When rehab makes you hypervigilant

I think our culture emphasizes individualized and self-isolating forms of healing to our detriment. Engaging in any form of therapeutic process allows the responsibility or burden of change to be shared and held and dispersed. This alone can create positive change, as we’ve seen research in rehab fields prove that the therapeutic alliance may be the single most important thing that helps people move towards their goals. That being said, especially when it comes to chronic pain or other chronic conditions, I’ve been wondering how consistently engaging in the therapeutic process primes our attention, and thus potentially our pain levels.

I have been attending hand occupational therapy, and I got to a point where I thought, okay, pain levels are manageable, but I can tell the more I think about my hands, the more they hurt. How do I balance care for them while also living my life and moving towards my goals? Especially for nervous systems that lead more towards hypervigilance, it can be challenging to work towards a goal without it being overly consuming. How do we find balance then? I think the key is mindfulness and action. When I say mindfulness, I mean observing your thoughts neutrally and non-judgmentally, and allowing them to come and go as they please, without engaging them further. When I say action, I mean moving towards the goals and intentions that are meaningful to you, that will continue building your confidence.

I think these positively feed into each other, and as we become more confident that we can engage in the tasks that are meaningful to us, our nervous systems and cognitions can also evolve. How do you balance your attention when it comes to your chronic pain goals? How do you balance letting go with goal oriented behavior?  #pelvicflooroccupationaltherapy #pelvicfloorphysicaltherapy #painscience