Have You Heard People Say Pain is "An Illusion"?

Have you ever heard people say that pain is "an illusion"?  It took me a long time to understand what was meant by that phrase.  It's not that pain isn't real, it's that you can lessen the impact of pain with practice. 

Let me explain further...I used to dread going to the dentist when I was a kid.  He didn't seem like a nice man to me. I had cavities in almost every one of my back teeth and he told me that I would be a baby if I wanted to use Novocain to have the drilling done. When I went in, the fillings most of the time were very, very deep and hit a nerve but I wanted to prove that I wasn't a baby so I didn't ask for Novocain.

For many years, I hated going to the dentist.  My dread was about pain in some capacity, but mostly about trauma that my mind attached to the actual act of going to the dentist, not necessarily getting my teeth drilled.  I had fear attached to going to the dentist regardless of whether not he is going to use the drill. It was just the sound of him using the drill on someone else as I was getting my teeth cleaned by the hygienist that would bring up anxiety in my body. It was the fear of pain based on previous negative experiences at the dentist.

Also, whenever I thought about the pain, it increased my physical pain because I tensed my body muscles in anticipation of the first touch of that drill. The feelings of dread used to build up as my appointment got closer.  My new dentist always numbs my mouth so there's little if any pain involved in drilling.

So when we talk about emotions being "an illusion", it's the illusion based on previous painful experiences and what we believe about an issue versus what will actually happen today for us.  Bringing to the table the physical and mental belief that pain will be difficult to bear will make any situation today more painful than it needs to be.  Meditation, breathing and other mind-body activities can reduce the physical and mental dread of pain which will impact how we feel in situations involving pain.

I still have a small bit of anxiety going to the dentist.  It used to be a "10" and now it's a "1".  I'm working on releasing the last little bit.  If you have activities in your life you avoid because you dread them, try to piece together your underlying negative beliefs and memories for that activity.  You can change the way you feel about it with practice.

Have a great day!!

Xo

Conni