Mastering Pain

an introduction to the subtle art of relieving physical suffering without chemical enhancement

The unfinished man and his pain.
W.B. Yeats

Americans have been spoiled. Accustomed to taking a pill or "magic bullet" for every minor ache or pain, it is all too easy to forget that the first line of defense against discomfort is simply to endure. Where then is the toughness of a past era, the strength and resilience, the raw courage that enabled ordinary people to have medical procedures done, to have teeth pulled and limbs amputated, even to have their body cut open long before William Morton discovered the anesthetic qualities of ether in 1842?
Pain is a natural phenomenon, a part of life. It is unavoidable. Pain serves the purpose of conveying a danger message from the nerves, a message that physical damage to the body is imminent. "Run! Remove yourself from peril!" The instinctual reaction is to escape the source of pain, to flee from it. It is normally a matter of self-preservation, but sometimes it cripples us and works against survival.

If you cannot come to terms with pain, then it will inevitably dominate your life.
Training yourself to a high pain tolerance is a matter of desensitization, of exposing yourself to increasing levels of discomfort, and discovering that it is not all that difficult to endure, that it is not terrifying, that it is, in fact, rather commonplace. Start by gradually discontinuing pain medications, aspirin and other such nostrums. Then, begin a program of regular exercise and good nutrition. This will raise your body's level of well-being, and, incidentally, pain threshold. Finally, and perhaps most important, fortify your mind. Confront that old demon, fear. The ultimate key to conquering paing is breaking the pain <--> fear cycle.
There is a limit to how much pain the body can sense. Past that point, there is a rush of numbness, relief. This means that lowering your pain threshold can actually be more effective than raising it.
Pain comes and goes in waves. Ride with the waves, let yourself float, be borne upward. Let the ocean of pain uphold you. Relaxation. Acceptance. This is a variant of self-hypnosis, and its effect is to voluntarily place yourself in a trance state. You are drawing upon your mind's reserves of power, the power to channel and control your body state.

Emotional pain is quite another matter. It is much more difficult to bear than the physical kind. The anguish of being abandoned by a loved one, of betrayal by a trusted friend or associate, of making a poor judgment that results in major damage to your life plans... there is no anodyne for this, only the healing that time, understanding, and self-acceptance can bring.

Future installments (if any) will no doubt deal with such matters as self-hypnosis, imaging, and surviving visits to the dentist with dignity intact. There may also be elaboration of topics previously mentioned.