Frome Valley Osteopaths

How we relate to our own pain and discomfort is important, it has a massive impact on how well we move through life when our bodies, or minds, aren’t feeling great.

When I was in my teens and early twenties I struggled with Anorexia and Bulimia. A part of my recovery was in being able to see my eating disorder as separate from my true self, as with many other people who struggle, I decided to call this unhealthy voice in my head Ed. It gave me some distance, a tiny smidge of choice around whether I listened to Ed or not…

This is something I have found useful many times since, creating some distance between myself, the core of me, and my thoughts or my pain. I was diagnosed with a Uterine Fibroid in early 2022, until this point I was unsure what the cause was of this chronic, cyclical pain was, the uncertainty was difficult.

A diagnosis, a label to define symptoms, can be extremely helpful in understanding what’s happening and how we can move forward. It is rarely the end of a journey, but it is a helpful step towards context and finding our way through.

After this diagnosis and discussion of management options, it became clear that nothing was going to resolve quickly, I was likely going to experience pain for a while yet. Of course, this is pretty shit, the symptoms can often get in the way of my life.

However, on the road to resolution I can manage my feelings about my pain by creating some distance, a different way of relating, this means I don’t get into a pattern of disliking, admonishing, hating self. I can keep some perspective. This pain means nothing about me, It means Florence is a pain in the butt (uterus, bladder and back). It doesn’t mean anything personal about my worth, my ageing, my body failing etc…

Now I’m not suggesting that everyone needs to start calling their back pain Bruce or their Neck pain Natalie, but when you understand what your pain and/or discomfort is, have a look at how you’re relating to it, has it become something that means something negative about you, your age, your health, your worth. Or Maybe Bruce just needs a stretch and Natalie needs less time at the computer, less stress.

Our discomfort can be our bodies asking for something we aren’t giving, can we listen to what it might be? If we are too comfortable nothing changes, pain and struggle can be a chance to expand our capacity, to stretch how widely we can meet ourselves and the world.

Good luck with your Florences, Bruce and Natalies, we are really happy to help support you and them.

Lauren Manning BSc Hons Ost