Question: I’ve tried every treatment and therapy there is. I try to maintain a positive outlook and focus on relief by meditating, stretching, and low impact exercise. Why am I still in pain?
You may think that you have tried everything but I bet there is something you have tried yet: doing nothing!
The problem could be that you’re trying too hard.
The more you do to get pain relief, the more you tell your unconscious that there is a problem.
Don’t say pain—call it a sensation instead.
The words we use affect how we feel.
If you start calling it a sensation, it will end up being a sensation in the end.
Everyone can handle a few sensations here and there! 🙄
(I didn’t mean that! What a filthy mind! hehe)
With love, Angelos
One of the reasons for your chronic pain is that you may not have learned to accept or express your emotions.
As with all new skills, this can take time.
Question: I was taught not to cry or be emotionally expressive as a child. My parents (and their parents too) put a high value on not showing emotion. Now, there are a lot of times where I feel like a good cry would be really cathartic, but I can’t cry. I’ve talked to my therapist—we agree that it’s ok for me to cry but I can’t get it to happen. I’m also not emotionally expressive in happy situations and it drives my husband nuts! What should I do?
There is no rush to do what you haven’t been taught or allowed to do for years.
Seeing it is already HUGE progress for you.
Sharing this concern is a big step on its own.
Why not allow it to happen naturally—the same way you learn to do something new?
Techniques for chronic pain don’t work. OK, to be precise, only one works—the one that I call “the subtle art of not giving a f*** about pain”.
Question: I’m using this technique for chronic pain that I found in a famous book but it’s not working for me.
How do I train my brain to do all these things that I could do before? I can’t walk, sit down, stand in one place, have sex. You see my predicament—I’m very limited!
What’s the deal here? How do I make this work for me? Am I just not getting the hang of it or am I missing something?
True healing is NOT getting rid of the pain forever.
True healing is NOT killing your fears and anxiety.
True healing is NOT mastering your emotions.
True healing is letting go of ANY EFFORT to control your pain, anxiety or emotions.
True healing is surrendering to pain—being OK with the pain coming back.
To truly heal you don’t have to do much.
Actually, you don’t have to do anything.
True healing is not winning the war—it’s making peace.
True healing is easier than healing.
— Angelos Georgakis
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I’m against KILLING anxiety.
I see all these titles, “BEAT your anxiety, KILL your anxiety, GET RID OF your anxiety” on well-respected websites.
This is exactly why anxiety is still there.
Because we’re at war with it.
We’re trying to fight it, run away from it, terminate it!
If you’re tired of fighting it and seeing it grow stronger as a Lernaean Hydra, why don’t you change your strategy?
Do the opposite.
I often get asked: “Do I have to make drastic changes in my life to get rid of my chronic pain?”.
The answer is no.
You don’t have to turn your life upside down to get relief from chronic pain.
You don’t have to:
The necessary changes are often minimal.
This is my complete guide to Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) which may be the reason for your chronic pain, fibromyalgia and other conditions.
Do you have recurring back pain, sciatica, or some pain in other areas of your body that can last for months?
Is pain always at the back of your mind stopping you from living your life to the fullest?
Do you also experience other symptoms such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), headaches, heartburns, hiatus hernia, or skin conditions?
Do you often feel anxious or depressed?
If you answered yes to some or all the questions above, you may be suffering from Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)—and you don’t have to live with that forever.
Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), also known as Tension Myoneural Syndrome or Mindbody Syndrome, is a name given by John E. Sarno MD to describe pain, not caused by an injury or a structural problem with your spine, but that is rooted deeply in your psyche.
That’s why it’s called Mindbody Syndrome—the symptoms are physical and manifested in the body but their origins are in the mind.
A question that I often get asked is, “How do I take my mind off the pain? I know I should ignore the pain—but I have a hard time not thinking about the pain”.
I always say, “What a horrible and impossible thing to ask of yourself! You shouldn’t do that”. 😊
Here’s why…
If you say to yourself,
All you’re saying is: You love chocolate, right? 🙂
Similarly, if you say to yourself,
All you’re saying is, “I just can’t stop thinking about you, Mr Pain”, am I right?
Your attention goes to “THE PAIN” rather than “DON’T THINK ABOUT”.
What should I do then?
Why does my pain get worse on the weekend?
Why did my pain start just before my trip to Barcelona?
Shouldn’t I experience more pain when I’m stressed and less pain when I’m relaxed?
A university student recently mentioned to me, “When the pain started I was a carefree first year, loving living with my mates and celebrating everything in my life!”
I can’t answer this question for everyone but I can share my own experience.
I used to have more pain AFTER stressful periods but not during stressful periods.
When I was anxious about a million things, when I strived for getting top jobs in the City, I didn’t have time to think about my pain!
But when I was ready to relax and enjoy my weekend or holidays…
“Oops! Hello, my wonderful pain! I missed you!”.