Being Human: Pain
It is finally accepted in my part of the world that acupuncture is effective and necessary for pain relief after they deem it part of essential services in the current social pandemic arena. Acupuncture definitely treats more than just pain conditions but that is not what we are going into today.
What is pain?
The International Association for the Study of Pain's widely used definition defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".
Nobody likes pain. Because it is unpleasant and can be debilitating at times. But pain is just a signal to the body that there are underlying issues within us. Yet in our current medical environment, we have adopted the protocol of just numbing out the pain, with substance, with drugs, with various forms of escape. Yet no one likes to take the time to be with the body, listen to it and address the root of the issue. This is the total opposite to Traditional Chinese Medicine pain management.
Quick fixes
We are in the world where speed and accomplishments define us.
Our self worth today is measured by how much money we have, what status we have achieved, the number of businesses we own and many more materialistic rulers.
Hence we rush through our day just to get things done, we are always in the “go-mode”, as if the more we do, the more we find our worth and usefulness on earth. We are always looking externally for that one more appointment to settle, that one more deal to close. Anything with regards to our body, our mind, our feelings are deemed economically useless and hence not worth our time. We work our body to the extreme, to the point of abuse, and we still justify our actions by mere ignorance. Therefore when the body starts to signal to us it needs our attention through pain and discomfort, we display the attitude of just silencing it with quick fixes like painkillers, chemical drugs, alcohol and any other ways just to not feel and demanding the body to just ‘get on with it’. Hence the disparity in the popularity and widespread use of western medicine and pharmaceutical drugs as compared to traditional medicines like acupuncture, energy medicine. We have forgotten that our very existence on earth relies on this body and that pain signals underlying problems that require patience and time to address.
No pain no gain?
Some people hold the pledge of living their lives by pushing and forcing everything to go in their way, hence upholding the mantra of ‘no pain no gain’ throughout their lives. Even as they embark on treatments that are addressing their health problems, they still demand the body to get things right in the fastest easiest way. Therefore turning towards surgery, extreme procedures like replacements in order for the body to go back into working condition as soon as possible.
The whole human mentality has swayed to believe that without pain means nothing gets moving, which is an extreme and unkind way to deal with ourselves and our body. Hence we put ourselves into fast physical exercises that push our heart rate to beyond normal within short period of time just so to make ourselves feel we have taken care of the body already. We drive ourselves to beyond maximum just so we feel that we have dominated the body and push it beyond its limit, much to our stupidity that we are merely doing more damage than help to our body and our mind.
Patience, Kindness, Gentleness is the way to go far
My practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine and various other ancient tradition lineages practices have taught me otherwise. Numbing out the sensations and alarms for underlying problems and rejection to come face to face with what lies beneath can definitely make things appear all prim, proper and healthy on the surface. But the problems will only suppress and continue to grow, to the point when they emerge and maybe explode one day right in our face. We may still believe that even if we are damaged to the point beyond repair, with technology we can still replace those parts and life can return to usual immediately. In fact that is an utmost superficial way to look at our body and life, to think that everything exists only on the physical plane.
In my years of practice, pain signals a body part or organs that need to be addressed. But the development of the imbalance comes from way beyond just flesh and blood within a short span of time. Physical problems always arise from lifestyle habits, postural adoptions, mental and emotional well being that could have accumulated for years.
Casting unpleasantness aside and brushing issues under the rug never work.
Pain is the screams of the body yearning for your attention, patience, kindness and gentleness.
So take time off, walk the longer path to heal and eventually you may realise the change need to come from you in all other aspects of your life.