How to Challenge the Substance of Emotional Pain—and Defeat It

So I found both the title and premise of this article to be immensely interesting. Mainly because I feel that pain, even emotional pain, is an innate and unavoidable part of our existence. But even though emotional (and physical) pain are unavoidable aspects of our lives, it doesn’t mean that we don’t have various ways that we can cope with both.

In my experience, physical and emotional pain are tied together. This is backed up by research that says that both of these kinds of pain share similar neural signatures in the nervous system. So, basically, the brain views pain as pain, no matter what. But it’s how we carry (deal with) the pain that can really make the difference.

Again, from my own experience, I have found that trying to avoid pain (or avoid dealing with it) is not ideal. In contrast, using methods such as mindfulness meditation, or the MIRROR (Motivation, Intention, Relentlessness, Reliability, Opportunity, and Restoration) method can help give us a sense of mitigation and control (in the context of our reaction) over the pain.

There have been many times, when, through meditation, I have gained additional endurance and clarity for physical and emotional pain. Moreover, I can attest to the very real effect of slowing the heart rate through diaphragmatic breathing. This, in turn, allows us to specifically modify the experience of emotional pain.

You can read the full article here.

Since we all have had experiences with emotional pain in our lives, what ways have you found yourself able to cope, and maybe even sometimes able to defeat the substance of your emotional pain?

#Challenge #Pain #Emotions #Mindfulness