- Chronic pain: any pain lasting for more than twelve weeks
- Meditation: a variety of mindfulness, personal focus, and introspection techniques
- It’s important to note that, since there is such a variety in meditation as a whole, that one definition really doesn’t encapsulate much BUT some types of meditation involve:
- Deep breathing
- Guided imagery
- Walking
- Yoga
- Vocalizations or chanting
- Scanning the body
- It’s important to note that, since there is such a variety in meditation as a whole, that one definition really doesn’t encapsulate much BUT some types of meditation involve:
- Increase in gray matter
- Decrease activity in the amygdala (emotional stimuli center in the brain, especially known in Post Traumatic Stress)
- More focus
- Increase happiness
- Lower stress
- Lower anxiety
- Including social anxiety
- Lower depression
- Better sleep
- Improve self-awareness
- Improve fibromyalgia symptoms
- Improve empathy, compassion, and interpersonal caring
- Improve sex life
- Lower blood pressure
- Lower addiction tendencies
- Improve emotional intelligence
- Improve memory retention
- Lower sensitivity to pain
Lower sensitivity to pain? What?
“Meditation teaches patients how to react to the pain,” Zeiden said. “People are less inclined to have the ‘Ouch’ reaction, then they are able to control the emotional reaction to pain.” He explained that the meditator learns while sitting on the cushion that pain is fleeting and doesn’t deserve such a strong emotional reaction. (source)
Mindfulness also shows me that even the hardest pain of the most difficult emotion is just a temporary thing. Noticing that change has made a massive difference. The pain is still there but now I can even be grateful for it. I now have the self-awareness to notice any discomfort and itching before it becomes full-blown pain. That’s quite a change from when all I could do was be angry and resentful.
Mindfulness has really helped improve my relationships which previous had been quite difficult. I guess that working on being compassionate to myself means that I’m able to be more compassionate to others. That’s also how I see all the blogging I do. Sharing my own story and struggles with others through blogging and other social media is an expression of my compassion. It’s part of my practice. (122)
I’ve met a lot of mindfulness experts in my time. But as she is someone who has lived with pain for the majority of her life, I’ve never heard as clear or as real an articulation of how mindfulness helps us transform our experience of the difficult as the one Kirsten shared with me. (122)
