Break the vicious circle of stress and pain!

Veröffentlicht am: October 29, 2024
Irina Fink
Irina Fink

Naturopath

Chronic stress and chronic pain are much more closely linked than you might think. Stress causes pain and pain causes stress. And if you do nothing, you can get stuck in this cycle. 

But what actually stresses us out? And how do we get into the cycle?

Everyday life challenges us

There are many factors that have a major impact on our mental health and our body. There are also so-called stressors that can put our body into a state of fight or flight. These include, for example, past accidents, bad relationships, negative work situations, anxiety or social isolation. 

When we are confronted with a stressor, the body automatically prepares itself. This means that the body's resources are directed to those areas that we need either to fight or to flee. Everything else is largely paralyzed.

 

➤ 1 in 4 people suffer from chronic pain!

 

The vicious circle begins

Basically, stress and pain serve as an early warning system that something is wrong. However, if they persist for a long time, this can lead to us falling into a cycle of stress and pain that is difficult to get out of. This is because the body is not designed to deal with such a situation for any length of time.

1. stress leads to overload and pain in the body

Chronic stress, triggered by stressors, leads to an overproduction of the stress hormone cortisol. Blood pressure rises, the muscles remain in a permanent state of tension, the nervous system is overstimulated and the heart beats faster. This leads to pain throughout the body. Hyperventilation, dizziness, headaches and severe exhaustion are further symptoms. 

In order to support vital functions, resources have to be diverted elsewhere, such as from the digestive system and the immune system. This in turn leads to problems such as constipation, heartburn and indigestion, as well as greater susceptibility to infections and colds.

2. pain causes us to worry, which causes us additional stress

The fear of having pain and avoiding pain alone can cause great stress. This so-called "catastrophizing" of pain means that you worry even before the pain has occurred and imagine what it might be like.

This can lead to completely avoiding certain situations which, in the patient's opinion, could make the pain worse. At first, this may seem like a way of protecting yourself, but in reality you are helping to keep yourself in this cycle of pain and stress.  

Over time, the brain and central nervous system learn to continue to put the body in the painful state. The pain cycle repeats itself. And if that weren't enough, chronic pain becomes increasingly complex over time. 

 

➤ More than half of those who are stressed also suffer from inner tension, back pain and exhaustion!

 

Break the cycle!

The good news is that you can still do something today!

With the right measures, the body can relax again and the brain can unlearn pain in order to achieve long-term pain relief.

  • Educate yourself and replace avoidance with action: understand what is causing your pain and why you need to change your behavior. Avoiding certain situations because you are worried about the impact on chronic pain will make the situation worse rather than better. Face the stressors at your own pace.
  • Exercise: Chronic pain patients tend to avoid exercise because they think they can't do it. However, regular exercise is very important to escape the cycle. Start with gentle exercises such as walking, swimming or physiotherapy.
  • Eat a balanced diet: Give your body what it needs to function well. 
  • Stay in contact and distract yourself: If you only focus on the pain, this can sometimes intensify it because your stress level increases at the same time. Therefore, actively distract yourself with other things so that you are not constantly preoccupied with the fear of pain. Create a routine, for example. Studies have also shown that good relationships help to reduce pain.
  • Get enough sleep: Good sleep helps to reduce stress.

 

Our top 4 natural remedies for stress and pain

1) MSM for pain: acts as a natural analgesic that blocks the transport of pain impulses through the nerve fibers and is used, for example, to relieve muscle and joint pain. 

2) Ashwagandha for stress: as an adaptogen, it is used to provide support in stressful situations. On the one hand, it provides new energy, and on the other, it gives the body a sense of calm. 

3) CBD for pain: is often used to relieve chronic pain and inflammation in a natural way. CBD inhibits the production and release of pro-inflammatory substances. 

4) Rose root for stress: is mainly used to alleviate symptoms of stress and exhaustion and is also considered an adaptogen.

Conclusion

Both chronic stress and chronic pain are ways of letting our body know that something is wrong. They alert us that it's time to make a change. So we are left with two options, either we change what we do or we change how we deal with what is stressing us out.

It is only natural that we constantly try to protect ourselves and react accordingly. But if you learn to understand the cause behind the pain, you can manage to gain the upper hand in the fight against it. Try not to worry before something has even happened. Stop and ask yourself whether these thoughts are appropriate and right right now. Try to change your thoughts step by step in a positive way.

 

Sources (in English)

Nerurkar, A., Bitton, A., Davis, R. B., Phillips, R. S., & Yeh, G. (2013). When physicians counsel about stress: results of a national study. JAMA internal medicine, 173(1), 76–77. doi: 10.1001/2013.jamainternmed.480

Abdallah, C. G., & Geha, P. (2017). Chronic Pain and Chronic Stress: Two Sides of the Same Coin?. Chronic stress (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), 1, 2470547017704763. doi: 10.1177/2470547017704763

Montoya, P., Larbig, W., Braun, C., Preissl, H. and Birbaumer, N. (2004), Influence of social support and emotional context on pain processing and magnetic brain responses in fibromyalgia. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 50: 4035-4044. doi:10.1002/art.20660

Kara E. Hannibal, Mark D. Bishop, Chronic Stress, Cortisol Dysfunction, and Pain: A Psychoneuroendocrine Rationale for Stress Management in Pain Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy, Volume 94, Issue 12, 1 December 2014, Pages 1816–1825, doi: 10.2522/ptj.20130597

Sullivan, M. J. L., Bishop, S. R., & Pivik, J. (1995). The Pain Catastrophizing Scale: Development and validation. Psychological Assessment, 7(4), 524–532. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.7.4.524