There are two general categories of psychology that goes into a person’s experience of pain. The first being personality and the second the person’s relationship with fear, uncertainty, and worry. For this post, I will refer to those three emotions as anxiety.
Did you know that there is a personality type for persistent pain? It has been dubbed this the “Type T” personality. T stands for tension. These personality traits tend to generate inner tension, and are formed in childhood, usually in response to trauma. They include:
Perfectionism
Do you have high standards for yourself? Are you self-critical if you do not meet those standards? People who are perfectionists, strive to achieve goals at the expense of their own well-being. They tend to be highly organized and detail oriented.
Stoic
Do you regularly hide your feelings? Do you, “go along to get along?” Do you smile and laugh, but on the inside you feel like crying or screaming?
People who have stoic traits have a tendency to repress or hide their emotions. They may have learned this in life. When they shared their feelings in the past, they may have been met with criticism and subsequently learned that it wasn’t safe to share their feelings. This resulted in discomfort in showing any signs of emotion.
Tendency Towards Anxiety and Fear
Do you worry excessively about a situation and imagine the worst possible outcome? Do you have worrisome thoughts that loop through your mind? Are you shy or socially withdrawn around new people?
People with anxious and fearful traits tend to worry excessively about future events or things that may or may not happen. They often fixate on medical issues as well.
Low Self-Esteem
Do you ever feel inadequate, inferior, and unworthy? Do you ever doubt your ability to perform tasks?People with low self-esteem tend to not speak up and make their feelings heard resulting in higher nervous system activation and inner tension.
Hostility and Aggression
Do you over-react to minor situations? Are you easily agitated?
People who tend to lash out easily and react strongly to minor events are said to be angry at deeper issues that they refuse to deal with. This over reaction aids them in hiding their true feelings about another situation. This too drives immense inner tension.
Care-giver Type
Do you have a strong need to either be taken care of or take care of others? Controlling others’ every move and emotional reaction? Do you often experience anger or frustration over those you care for? Did you choose a career that offers stability but lacks fulfillment?
People who are the care-giver type, or desire to be taken care of often have an inability to set personal boundaries and take care of their own needs.
So What If I Have These Traits?
If you’re the worrier type, you may be thinking, “OMG! I have a lot of these personality traits! I’m doomed to a life of chronic pain!” Please stop right there. In the next post, I will get into the solution, but for now, you are learning all about pain so that you are ready to do something about it!
What About Anxiety?
What about anxiety? How does that play into the experience of pain?
Remember that pain is a danger signal. It’s an opinion of your brain about whether or not a certain body part needs protecting. It’s the way we react to the sensations that keep the pain going or allows the brain to switch it off. When we react to it with fear or preoccupation, it reinforces danger to the brain and the symptoms persist.
Fear is fuel for persistent pain.
What if you don’t react in fear? What if it’s more frustration or despair? Fear is a feeling of impending danger and gives us the desire to escape. Frustration and despair give us the same desire, so they also fall under the same category as fear.
To overcome fear, we need to include frustration, despair, anguish, irritation, annoyance, and anything else that communicates the message, “This is bad and I need it to stop.” What’s the best way to overcome a fear? Face it! If you fear public speaking, give lots of speeches. Fear the water? Learn to swim. When it comes to pain, how do we face the fear of it?
What’s Next?
Now that you have a clear picture of what pain is, and how your psychology plays into it, what the heck do you do about it? In the next and final post, I will lay out a very basic framework on how to approach your own treatment. The great thing is, that because pain is so multi-faceted, there are many ways to relieve it. We’ll explore ways to calm your nervous system, convey messages of safety to your brain, explore ways to move your body, and address the psychological factors that could be contributing to your unique experience of pain.
