Pain: Writing Meditation for Pain-Relief
By award-winning author and stress-relief expert Susie Mantell
Q: Dear Susie, I suffer from vague muscle aches and tender points diagnosed as "Fibromyalgia Syndrome." How can I use mind-body techniques to ease the pain?
A: Once your physician has thoroughly assessed any chronic pain, an interesting next step might be to ask your body what it is trying to say. A skilled therapist familiar with the discomfort, and the constellation of symptoms that present as Fibromyalgia, can best facilitate this process safely with you. One woman who lives with Fibromyalgia (FMS) found that journaling conversations with her own body over time confirmed her intuitive sense that her FMS Tender Points seemed to be palpable, representational symbols for emotional wounds of a deeply painful childhood. Now grown, the old psychic injuries were "surfacing," looking for a way out. They no longer served the adult, healthy Self she was reclaiming, so she began to visualize her healing process. The image that came to her through her writing meditation was one of hard, steel balls, pushing outward from her core at each diagnosed Tender Point. Over time she experienced exhilarating relief through writing meditation answering the questions:
1. "How do your aches look?"
2. "How do they smell?"
3. "What kind of sounds do they make?"
Over several sessions, as she "popped" the images of the steel balls out, with each release her pain diminished, and her sense of personal power grew. For each person, the process will be different. Insights we glean from writing symbolically about chronic pain may facilitate the journey toward relief. Discussing intuitive insights with a counselor familiar with FMS may help you both toward the more healthy, joyful life that awaits you. (Find more tips on relieving the stress of Fibromyalgia on my website at www.relaxintuit.com )
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Award-winning stress-relief expert Susie Mantell ...is the author of the deeply soothing relaxation CD, "Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace,” clinically approved for symptoms associated with stress and sleeplessness, depression and grief, anxiety, P.T.S.D., Fibromyalgia, caregiver stress, cancer, pain, divorce and addiction recovery. Featured in The Los Angeles Times, NBC, ABC, CBS-TV, Town & Country, The American Pain Society, Hazelden and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, listeners include The Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, The Betty Ford Center, V.A. Hospitals,and Canyon Ranch (#1 Spa.) Customizing stress-reduction for Fortune 500 companies, distinguished hospitals and spas, Mantell has facilitated thousands in relieving health-related, work-related, chronic or traumatic stress. Her multi-sensory, mind-body techniques appear in national media, medical and corporate publications. Susie Mantell's Stress-Relief & Wellness Tips are intended as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, professional health care. Order “Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace” and find more of Mantell’s stress-relief tips at www.relaxintuit.com