Mindfulness as a Tool for Pain and Chronic Illness
Dec 01, 2024
Guest Blog by Deborah Bircham of Live Well With Chronic Illness
(DipCNM, UKIHCA-RHC, Dip.Hyp, mNCIP, mANP) https://livewellwithchronicillness.co.uk/
When I first became sick with Lyme Disease and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome in 2018 the suffering was widespread and extreme. In that dreadful situation, it would have been very easy to spiral into panic and fear about what was happening to me. I was obviously worried about what was wrong with me, worried about the future, and what would happen if I didn’t get better. This is a totally normal and understandable response to the situation of becoming so unwell so suddenly, and anyone who experiences becoming unwell like this will recognize the fears and worries that engulfed me. Because this is entirely normal – it’s normal to be upset when difficult things happen to us.
However, I was fortunate that I had trained in hypnotherapy and psychotherapy prior to becoming ill, and so I knew that if I allowed myself to become trapped in a state of flight or fight, it would release stress hormones which, whatever was wrong with me, could only make my physical symptoms worse and reduce any chance of my body being able to recover and heal.
So, I worked incredibly hard to keep myself calm and to live in the present moment, and keep myself away from the thoughts of ‘what if’ and ‘why me’. I’m not saying that never happened – of course it did. But when it did, I spotted it, and steered my mind away from it. Because I knew that those thoughts would only make things worse for me.
My mantra became ‘This too, shall pass’, and I focused on staying present; I just lived to get through each minute, and I found solace in focusing my mind on small things. Looking back now, it was Mindfulness that saved me during those difficult days.
Since qualifying to teach Mindfulness, I have discovered that there are many research studies that explore the physiological mechanisms at work in Mindfulness practice, and these studies help to explain why I found it so helpful, and why so many of my clients find it helps them too.
Chronic conditions, whether autoimmune disorders, pain, or inflammatory diseases, frequently place the body in a state of constant stress. The chemical imbalances that come with illness, such as inflammation and hormonal imbalance, also affect the nervous system and can leave it severely dysregulated. Exposure to environmental toxins such as mold and chemicals found in cleaning products and toiletries place an additional burden on the nervous system, which the body perceives as stress too. This stress activates the sympathetic nervous system—our "fight or flight" mode—causing tension, anxiety, and exhaustion. Over time, this can disrupt healing processes and worsen symptoms. The nervous system controls every aspect of our bodily functions, and living with a dysregulated nervous system can lead to even more symptoms.
When we are stuck in the fight or flight state, the ‘rest, digest and repair’ functions are ‘downregulated’, as well as our immune system. This means we can’t sleep well, we can’t digest and absorb nutrients from our food very well, we can’t carry out cellular repair and regeneration, and we can’t fight off pathogens like viral infections. If we are already living with illness, this only makes the situation worse.
However, when we trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, all of this is reversed. We increase our deep, restorative sleep that helps our body to repair. We digest and absorb nutrients which are needed for optimal function. We are able to experience cellular regeneration, and our immune system is able to fight off invaders. This supports our body to be as well as we can be with whatever illness we have.
This is how stress and nervous system dysregulation affects our physical health, and our ability to heal from any illness.
In my practice, I use mindfulness to help my clients to reset their nervous systems, allowing their body to experience periods of parasympathetic activity, which can promote healing.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing focused attention to the present moment, often through breathing exercises, meditation, or simply observing thoughts and emotions without judgment. Research shows that regular mindfulness practice helps regulate the nervous system by shifting the body from the sympathetic dominant state to a more relaxed, parasympathetic state.
Below, I am going to explore just 5 of the ways in which mindfulness can support nervous system regulation when we live with chronic illness.
- Reducing Stress and Anxiety Mindfulness. It’s only natural when we live with pain and illness that we feel stressed and anxious sometimes. Anyone would experience these emotions when living with such difficult experiences. We can use Mindfulness tools to reduce the psychological and physiological stress that keeps the sympathetic nervous system activated. By practicing mindfulness, individuals learn to observe stressful thoughts without becoming consumed by them, reducing the brain’s perceived threat level and calming the body.
- Breathing Techniques. Mindful breathing exercises are particularly effective at stimulating the vagus nerve, which plays a key role in parasympathetic activation. Slow, deep breaths signal to the brain that the body is safe, helping to lower heart rate, decrease blood pressure, and shift the nervous system into a parasympathetic response.
- Promoting Emotional Regulation. Mindfulness helps us to cope with difficult emotions that arise with chronic illness, such as frustration, fear, and sadness. Instead of reacting to these emotions in ways that might exacerbate stress, mindfulness teaches acceptance and detachment, helping to lower emotional reactivity and calm the nervous system.
- Pain Management and Symptom Reduction. Brain scans have shown that Mindfulness practice can reduce the perception of pain in a number of areas of the brain. This is crucial because pain itself can perpetuate sympathetic activation. By reducing the perception of pain, the body can more easily shift into parasympathetic rest, improving overall well-being.
- Self-compassion. Ultimately, Mindfulness is an inherently self-compassionate practice. It teaches us how to care for ourselves, and how to recognise and listen to our own needs. So often, we internalize ableist societal judgements that we are ‘less than’ because we are sick. We can sometimes beat ourselves up and feel guilt, shame and disappointment because we can’t do all the things that society expects, and this can lead to us having a poor relationship with ourselves, and with our bodies. With Mindfulness practice, we can begin to counter some of that negative self-talk, and learn to offer ourselves compassion and kindness, even love. This can feel uncomfortable at first, but many of my clients find it transformative, and sometimes they even find that it can actually reduce their pain and their symptoms in the moment, so things don’t feel quite so hard.
Ultimately, Mindfulness is a gentle tool that has so many beneficial effects for us, mentally and physically, it has become a cornerstone of my own chronic illness journey, and is now a fundamental part of how I support my clients with their health and wellbeing. I still have symptoms, I still have difficult days, and I still practice mindfulness to guide me and support me through those times.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31877376/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30343833/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542195/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3679190/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X15000676
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6137615/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X15000974
