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Attention

Chronic pain can be like a crying baby. Something is wrong but you don't know what it is. Need it attentionto giveor just ignore and seek distraction?

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"What you give attention grows". But pain demands attention, which is a logical consequence of the pain system being your protection system. Attention is zooming in, is amplifying.

But there are different forms of attention:

  • alarming attention

  • accepting attention: mindfulness

Practical tips and links:

  • Don't focus on reducing stress but on more moments of "letting things go".

  • If you can't get from tension to relaxation through breathing exercises or meditation, there may just be too much stress hormone in your body. Then first choose a suitable form of discharge

Attention exercise for pain:

If you feel pain, go to the pain with your full attention, try to perceive what you are experiencing as objectively as possible. Realize that experiencing pain does not mean that something is broken. Accept what you are experiencing. So consider what you feel and how you feel when you are paying attention to the pain. Then move your attention to a part of your body where you don't feel pain. That can be a bit difficult in the beginning. You can do it easier, for example, by moving your foot, then you feel it better, or by stroking that part of the body with your hand. Focus on what you feel then and also how you feel now. Has something changed? You can train yourself to increasingly shift your attention away from the point where you experience pain to a part of your body that feels good. A child is the class which is annoying and requires a lot of attention. The teacher's attention will also easily go to that child. But that is not entirely fair, the quiet children also deserve attention.

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