That's a great article, good post Shawn.
The same parts of the brain that deal with addiction handle pain. I wondered early on if pain could somehow be an addiction like with cocaine or heroin or even food since the Type T were almost always compulsive people. Could they unknowingly be addicted to their pain?
I contacted Robert Sapolsky and read Paul MaClean's work and it was clear there was a connection. The symptom imperative can be extended to include food and drugs and activities. For ex., in Appendix A, I inserted the example of Oprah Winfrey that Bob Greene had witnessed. Greene is her personal trainer who noted that whenever she was tensed out she would head for the refrigerator to calm herself. As her trainer he got her to stop doing that. When she stopped, she immediately began having headaches, muscle spasms and back pain. Her addiction had shifted from one focus to another--from food to body.
The same is true for activities. When people have finished a goal or strenuous activity they often begin having physical symptoms.
So the mind needs a focus. If that focus is taken away it often shifts back to the body, as one addiction replaces another.
This is why it's so important to obsess on something good and healthy in life. Satisfy that part of the brain that needs satisfied. I'm sure that cocaine or any strong opiate would shift the pain away from the body but is unhealthy to do so.
If there is no goal, or healthy focus then TMS settles in to satisfy a compulsive part of the brain. The more compulsive the individual the more intense the symptom. The percentage of runners in this forum alone is surprisingly high.
So the concept is to direct the thoughts to a worthy goal, a healthy addiction to satisfy a part of the brain that simply "needs."
Steve |
Chronic pain may stem from pain addiction
Posted - 07/04/2012 : 18:39:26
