When we feel pain, the mind can become engrossed on focusing on the pain. It could be a stomach ache, a hurt part of the body, a lingering injury or on-going health issue. Just a couple of weeks ago, Jen had the flu. The prescription caused a bad reaction resulting in ongoing stomach pain.
How do we deal with pain in a mindful way?
Step 1: Scan the body to notices where you are feeling the pain. Beyond feeling the pain, bring a mental awareness to the pain. You might say to yourself “I am feeling pain in xxxx”. This is a way to allow the mind to accept you have pain in the body.
Step 2: Can you allow the thoughts about your pain to pass through your body and not overtake your mind? Notice your thoughts about the pain, name them and see if you can have a more neutral manner in how your mind describes the pain in your body. It might be changing the narrative from “This is so horrible” to “I am feeling pain in my stomach”.
Step 3: Focus on redirecting the mind. The mind is powerful. When we allow ourselves to fully focus on the pain or issue top of mind….that is all it wants to do. So try distracting the mind with a peaceful image or focusing on your breath (feeling your breath move through your body).
Step 4: Distract your mind with a hobby, a phone call or some type of activity.
These are some of the many ways you can utilize mindfulness to help with pain. If you are feeling pain, we hope you find something that works for you.