2589: The Five F’s That Keep You Stuck in Chronic Pain and Symptoms by Melani Schweder of A Brighter Wild

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[00:01:35] This is Optimal Health Daily, episode 2589.

[00:01:38] The 5 Fs that keep you stuck in chronic pain and symptoms

[00:01:42] by Melanie Schroeder of abrighterwild.com.

[00:01:46] And I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator.

[00:01:49] Hey there, happy Saturday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or OHD

[00:01:54] where I act as your narrator of popular health and fitness blogs

[00:01:57] and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:02:00] Now don't forget we have a bunch of shows covering different topics.

[00:02:04] Just search for Optimal Living Daily in any podcast app to find all of them.

[00:02:09] But with that, let's get right to it and start optimizing your life.

[00:02:17] The 5 Fs that keep you stuck in chronic pain and symptoms

[00:02:21] by Melanie Schroeder of abrighterwild.com.

[00:02:26] Living with chronic pain, fatigue or other persistent symptoms

[00:02:30] can feel like an endless battle, consuming every aspect of your life

[00:02:34] and leaving you feeling powerless and exhausted.

[00:02:36] I would know.

[00:02:37] I spent nearly 14 years stuck in this cycle before slowly winding my way out

[00:02:43] thanks to brain retraining and mindful practices.

[00:02:47] It's estimated that over 20% of US adults experience chronic pain,

[00:02:51] nearly half to the degree that it severely impacts their ability to work,

[00:02:56] attend school or participate in normal aspects of life.

[00:03:00] Then there's the nearly 5 million Americans diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome

[00:03:05] or myalgic encephalomyelitis,

[00:03:08] which in turn leaves them shut out on the sidelines of life

[00:03:11] thanks to a myriad of debilitating symptoms.

[00:03:14] Dysautonomia, an umbrella term for conditions affecting the autonomic nervous system,

[00:03:19] particularly postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome,

[00:03:23] has been diagnosed in 70 million people worldwide,

[00:03:26] although I suspect the actual number is much higher.

[00:03:29] I share these three main conditions,

[00:03:31] chronic pain, chronic fatigue and dysautonomia,

[00:03:34] not only because of my own personal experience with them

[00:03:37] but also the fact that, despite affecting such a huge portion of the population,

[00:03:42] our modern medical approach to treatment is woefully misguided

[00:03:46] and lets far too many of us fall through the cracks.

[00:03:49] While most healthcare practitioners who work with these patients are well-meaning,

[00:03:53] I think the underlying brain and nervous system aspect

[00:03:56] is typically ignored or not understood yet.

[00:03:59] Again, it wasn't medication or diet or IV therapies or supplements

[00:04:03] that made the difference for me.

[00:04:05] It was a whole branch of science that I had to discover on my own

[00:04:08] and is still considered fringe.

[00:04:10] When it comes to these neuroplastic conditions,

[00:04:13] there are several patterns of belief and behavior

[00:04:16] that can keep the symptoms around for a long time

[00:04:18] and can make them quite severe.

[00:04:20] Working with what Dr. Howard Schubner calls the 5 F's

[00:04:24] can empower you on your journey toward healing and reclaiming your life.

[00:04:29] Personally, I had to do and still do some deeper work

[00:04:33] and get real with myself on how I engaged with these five patterns.

[00:04:37] For any of us with likely neuroplastic conditions like

[00:04:41] chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis,

[00:04:45] fibromyalgia or chronic pain or

[00:04:47] postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome,

[00:04:50] long COVID and so on,

[00:04:52] I guarantee that there are at least one to two of these at play

[00:04:56] and probably all of them.

[00:04:57] So let's just dive in now and explore the 5 F's

[00:05:00] that keep you stuck in chronic pain and symptoms.

[00:05:04] 1. Fear

[00:05:06] Fear is a natural response to uncomfortable sensations like pain,

[00:05:10] brain fog, dizziness, and intense fatigue

[00:05:13] but it's also the main thing that fuels them.

[00:05:16] Constantly reacting to the symptoms with fear

[00:05:18] will without a doubt intensify your suffering.

[00:05:22] Also, the anticipation of discomfort

[00:05:24] may lead you to avoid certain activities or movements

[00:05:27] perpetuating the cycle of pain and anxiety.

[00:05:31] I've lived so many years in avoidance that my world just got smaller and smaller

[00:05:35] and became terrified of every little thing from

[00:05:38] taking a new vitamin or

[00:05:40] moving my head the wrong way to

[00:05:42] certain foods and having to walk too far from the car to the grocery store.

[00:05:47] A key piece of the recovery process is confronting these fears

[00:05:51] head-on through education,

[00:05:52] reassurance,

[00:05:54] and creating safety and gradual exposure

[00:05:56] to previously avoided activities.

[00:05:59] By challenging irrational beliefs and perceptions surrounding symptoms,

[00:06:03] you can reclaim your sense of agency

[00:06:05] and reduce the grip that fear has on your life.

[00:06:08] 2. Fixing

[00:06:11] The instinct to seek medical fixes for physical ailments

[00:06:14] is deeply ingrained in our society,

[00:06:16] echoing our deeper human resistance to feeling any discomfort in the body.

[00:06:20] This is amplified in any of us with the

[00:06:22] tension myositis syndrome personality

[00:06:25] who are perfectionists and doers.

[00:06:28] However, it's important to reconsider this pattern.

[00:06:31] While medical interventions have their place,

[00:06:33] they often fail to address the underlying emotional and neurological factors

[00:06:37] contributing to chronic illness.

[00:06:39] Instead of endlessly searching for external solutions,

[00:06:42] consider exploring the internal landscape of your emotions,

[00:06:46] limiting beliefs and behavior patterns.

[00:06:49] And understand that you cannot force your symptoms to go away.

[00:06:52] Stop seeing your discomfort as an urgent problem to be solved.

[00:06:56] Disclaimer!

[00:06:57] I am not telling you to never see a doctor or take a medication.

[00:07:01] Be smart about your self-care.

[00:07:04] 3. Focus

[00:07:06] You've probably heard the saying,

[00:07:08] quote,

[00:07:08] where attention goes, energy flows,

[00:07:11] end quote.

[00:07:12] Where you focus your attention matters.

[00:07:14] All that mental energy can strengthen the neural pathways

[00:07:17] you may be trying to dismantle.

[00:07:19] When you hyper-focus on your symptoms,

[00:07:21] you reinforce the pathways associated with discomfort

[00:07:25] and perpetuate the cycle of suffering.

[00:07:27] My approach to this is twofold.

[00:07:30] First, learn to redirect your focus away from pain

[00:07:33] and toward things that bring you joy

[00:07:35] or that put you in a flow state.

[00:07:38] Second, when you're ready,

[00:07:39] use that powerful focus of yours to do somatic tracking,

[00:07:43] where you can practice attending to the sensations

[00:07:46] while reducing the fear.

[00:07:48] 4. Frustration

[00:07:51] Living with chronic pain, fatigue

[00:07:53] and other misunderstood conditions

[00:07:55] often breeds feelings of frustration and hopelessness,

[00:07:58] particularly when you're putting in so much time,

[00:08:01] money and effort into healing.

[00:08:03] Despite your best efforts,

[00:08:05] you may find yourself unable to escape

[00:08:07] the relentless cycle of suffering,

[00:08:09] pushing, trying too hard and sinking into victimhood.

[00:08:12] This is very common,

[00:08:13] even along the brain retraining journey.

[00:08:16] Please be patient with yourself

[00:08:18] and accept where you are on your path to recovery.

[00:08:21] Rather than focusing on finding quick fixes

[00:08:23] or making hasty changes

[00:08:25] when you're not seeing results fast enough,

[00:08:27] I'm totally guilty of this one,

[00:08:29] try embracing the process

[00:08:31] as a gradual and non-linear journey.

[00:08:34] Recovering from neuroplastic conditions

[00:08:36] takes many months or even years

[00:08:38] and it's never a straightforward process.

[00:08:41] Start practicing acceptance and non-attachment,

[00:08:44] taking a day at a time.

[00:08:46] 5. Fighting

[00:08:49] The instinct to fight against pain, fatigue

[00:08:51] and other symptoms is understandable,

[00:08:53] but it can also exacerbate your suffering.

[00:08:56] Remember, what you resist persists.

[00:09:00] Fighting or resisting symptoms

[00:09:02] only tells your brain that they are a priority threat

[00:09:05] and to keep pumping out the stress chemistry.

[00:09:08] Recovery is a process of surrendering to what is,

[00:09:11] practicing acceptance

[00:09:13] and embracing your moment-to-moment reality

[00:09:15] without judgment.

[00:09:16] Instead of viewing the symptoms as an enemy to be defeated,

[00:09:20] consider approaching them with compassion and understanding.

[00:09:23] By acknowledging your pain,

[00:09:25] mental and emotional pain too

[00:09:27] and allowing yourself to experience it fully,

[00:09:30] you can shift into greater ease

[00:09:31] and make space for healing to happen.

[00:09:38] You just listened to the post titled

[00:09:40] The 5 Fs That Keep You Stuck

[00:09:42] In Chronic Pain And Symptoms

[00:09:44] by Melanie Schwader of abrighterwild.com

[00:09:47] and I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:11:00] Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:11:02] Remember, Melanie said in her post today

[00:11:05] that she's not saying you should never see a doctor.

[00:11:08] And in fact, the conditions that can lead to chronic pain,

[00:11:12] the type that again, today's author Melanie described

[00:11:15] are sometimes referred to

[00:11:16] as idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

[00:11:19] Basically, this is a fancy way of saying

[00:11:21] that these are conditions that affect our muscles

[00:11:24] and it's somewhat of a mystery

[00:11:26] what happened to us in the first place.

[00:11:27] For example, if we were to get strep throat,

[00:11:30] we clearly know that our symptoms of sore throat,

[00:11:33] fever, headache, fatigue and so on

[00:11:36] were caused by a specific bacterium.

[00:11:39] That's why a doctor will prescribe antibiotics

[00:11:42] to kill that bacterium that's causing the symptoms.

[00:11:45] But when something is idiopathic,

[00:11:47] it means we don't really know what's causing the problem.

[00:11:50] So when it comes to the causes of muscular pain,

[00:11:53] we don't always know what's causing it.

[00:11:56] A published article on this very idea

[00:11:59] mentioned that diagnosing the kinds of conditions

[00:12:01] Melanie described in today's article

[00:12:04] often leads to diagnostic confusion among doctors.

[00:12:08] And it's not the doctor's fault,

[00:12:10] it's just that these conditions

[00:12:11] are notoriously tricky to pin down.

[00:12:14] So the authors of this article suggest that

[00:12:16] if you suspect you're experiencing chronic pain,

[00:12:19] definitely start with your primary care doctor.

[00:12:22] But then ask if they can refer you to others

[00:12:25] that specialize in these types of conditions,

[00:12:27] like rheumatologists, neurologists, internists,

[00:12:32] pulmonologists and pathologists.

[00:12:34] Then they can put their heads together

[00:12:36] to hopefully find the best treatment for you.

[00:12:39] They may not have a final diagnosis

[00:12:41] and know exactly what's causing the chronic pain,

[00:12:44] but they will hopefully be able to relieve

[00:12:46] most of the symptoms.

[00:12:48] All right, that'll do it for today.

[00:12:50] I hope you have a great weekend

[00:12:51] if you're listening in real time,

[00:12:53] and I'll see you back here tomorrow

[00:12:54] where your optimal life awaits.