Blog
How could pigs help your chronic pain?
In previous blogs I have explained how we create self-induced stress by the way we speak to ourselves. Whether or not there are external issues causing problems in our lives, we are so often 'in our heads' that we create considerable stress by the inner turmoil resulting from how we talk to ourselves. Unfortunately as we now know, this can result in real physical pain.
Are you talking yourself into pain? 2/4
Identifying Patterns
If you watched the first video of this series you will have already begun to develop an awareness of how you speak to yourself and how this is creating self-induced stress. Unfortunately this can result in inner turmoil which then 'fuels', or can even trigger, pain.
Add a commentAre you talking yourself into pain? 4/4
Some Simple Strategies
Welcome back for the last of the 4 videos about how to develop more health-enhancing self talk. So far you have developed an awareness of how you cause yourself stress due to your inner chatter, which is an important start of you want to do something about it.
In the 2nd video you will have identified any patterns of thoughts that do create inner turmoil for you, as when and where these are most likely to happen. Hopefully you will also have identified some benefits of making some changes because this will help with your motivation to persist if you're tired or things get tough.
Add a commentAre you talking yourself into pain? 3/4
Recognising the benefits
Welcome back for the 3rd video in the series about how to develop more health-enhancing self talk. This is where we look at how the way we speak to ourselves can create self-induced stress, which can result in the perpetuation of chronic pain.
In the first two videos you will have developed an awareness of how you cause yourself stress as a result of the way you speak to yourself and you have probably been able to identify some patterns.
Add a commentAre you talking yourself into pain? 1/4
It is now recognised that pain is often stress-induced and if the nerve pathways become learned, chronic pain can result. The emphasis when helping patients recover from chronic pain is to educate them about this concept and to help them identify the psychosocial links and triggers involved in the pain patterns.
Add a commentHow stress puts your health at risk
If you are reading this blog you will probably already know that unresolved stress and emotional turmoil can result in very real physical symptoms, such as pain. There are more and more studies supporting this but a recent one is the first one to actually measure the effect stressful thoughts have on the body.
Add a commentPreventing the onset of chronic pain
For over 30 years ex-professional boxer, Keith Tate of Cleckheaton, has run a boxing gym to motivate kids and get them off the street, while also fostering young children on remand. Until 1 week ago Keith had been struggling to deal with all his responsibilities due to severe debilitating pain, despite spending about £700 on treatment in the previous 3 weeks. However, within days of having an assessment at Georgie Oldfield’s pioneering Pain Clinic Keith was pain free and back in the gym.
Add a commentThe good, the bad or the ugly - where's your focus?
Where do you find your thoughts are focussed most of the time? Because we live in such a blame society where we often don’t take responsibility for our own actions, most people’s thoughts tend to focus on the things we don’t like or want, rather than what we do like or want.
Add a commentPain in the Brain
The Brain’s involvement in pain is becoming better understood – but the mind is often still sidelined. I am writing this on the train coming back from London where I was attending a conference, titled. ‘Pain in the Brain’. I was quite excited about what new research might be mentioned and because it was jointly organized between the Psychiatry team and the Pain/Rheumatology/Rehabilitation sections of the Royal Society of Medicine, I was hoping that there would be a significant emphasis on the mind’s involvement in the pain cycle.
Add a commentThe relationship between stress, pain and breathing
When we feel stressed and anxious we tend to breathe faster and more shallowly and we tend to use our upper chest muscles more than using our diaphragm, which is the main muscle of respiration. We might sigh a lot, or yawn, and maybe find it difficult to take a deep breath. These are all signs of hyperventilation and if it is isn’t recognized it can lead on to panic attacks at times of heightened anxiety and also an increase in pain.
Add a commentNew Year, New You
I saw a quote on Facebook this week, which said “What is a New Year resolution? It’s a list of goals for the first week of January!” It made me chuckle, but it’s true that most people set goals without realising that it takes more than just vocalising their desire to change and making a start.
Add a commentStressed with Christmas? - Put a pen in your mouth!
Christmas can be a time of joy and fun, but it can also be a time when there are a lot of responsibilities and you end up; doing things you don’t really want to do, being with people you don’t want to be with or being places you don’t really want to be! It ‘s said that stress is just 10% of what happens to us and 90% how we deal with it, so understanding how your posture can affect your mood might even help you cope better this Christmas, and maybe even enjoy yourself, despite what’s happening.
Just when I thought my pain had gone...........
So often I hear people say that they had recovered from their pain and then a few weeks, months or even years later their pain returned and then they can find it a struggle to resolve it again.
Add a comment10 Tips for a healthy Christmas
We all know how stressful Christmas, and the lead up to it, can be as we try to organize the ‘perfect’ day. The list of things to do usually includes deciding on the ‘perfect’ presents, guests, food and drinks and buying them, parties, planning what to do, when and who with etc
Not only do we try to fit all this in, but in the meantime we usually carry on with our normal activities, often trying to stretch our finances because we haven’t saved enough to cover the additional expense Christmas causes. All this creates even more stress and emotional turmoil.
Add a commentThe inextricable link between emotions and pain
Anyone who has suffered with persistent pain will know how much pain can affect your emotions and therefore your mood. This has been widely demonstrated through clinical studies, but the opposite has also shown to occur, with emotions affecting your perception of pain.
Add a commentThe underlying cause of sciatica
If you have ever had full blown sciatica, you will know just how painful it can be. I remember a particular episode I had soon after leaving the NHS and setting up my own private practice. I hadn’t done anything particularly physical, yet I woke up in agony and for 2 weeks had to ask my family to put on my shoes and socks because I couldn’t bend over without being in agony.
Add a commentChanging beliefs about chronic pain
I’m writing this in New York’s JFK airport while waiting for my flight back home after the PPDA conference. This is the third conference organized by health professionals who, like me, are passionate about raising awareness of the fact that many people with chronic pain can actually recover.
Add a commentFrom conventional to pioneering Physiotherapist
My journey as a Physiotherapist began in 1983, although I have to say that the past 5 years have been the most rewarding. The main reason for this is that now I see so many life-changing results with people whose lives have been severely affected by chronic pain. So how did a Physiotherapist like me come to specialise in a non-hands on approach that caused a 360⁰ turnaround in my understanding and treatment of chronic pain?
Add a commentThe Reason for non-traumatic pain
Thankfully these days there is more and more evidence showing that chronic pain is often not actually due to trauma, or damage to cells in the body, but to psychosocial stresses.
Add a commentStopping to 'smell the roses'
Do you find that you are usually so busy 'doing' that life passes you by without you really noticing it? How often do you actually stop to 'smell the roses'?
Add a commentDefragging your Brain
Do you sometimes struggle to sleep because your brain is going nineteen to the dozen? Or are you finding it difficult to meditate, even though you know it could help you, because you just can’t stop thinking?
Add a commentMindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is an excellent way to cope with the information overload we experience these days as well as the constant mind chatter we all experience. So many of my patients tell me they don’t know how to meditate, or say they just ‘can’t do it’, so this blog explains how meditation can be so helpful, while also providing you off with a ‘quick start’ guide to mindfulness meditation.
Add a commentChronic Severe Low Back Pain Attributed to Spinal Degeneration
Since the 1970’s MRI research has shown that spinal degeneration is just as common in people without pain. This case study demonstrates the truth in this.
Add a commentBeing courageous, looking for the positive and asking for help
Being courageous, looking for the positive and asking for help when necessary are all very helpful things to remember when recovering from Stress Illness. Full story here….
Add a commentWatch where your focus is!
“When one door of happiness closes another opens, but we often look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us” Helen Keller
Add a commentDavid Walliams is reported to have suffered a ‘slipped disc’
David Walliams is reported to have suffered a ‘slipped disc’ while swimming theThamesfor charity recently. Could someone please tell me how anyone can ‘slip’ a disc while doing something as benign as swimming?
Add a commentInformation Overload
It is widely recognised that tension headaches are caused feeling overwhelmed by the pressure we find ourselves under, yet we now recognise that stress causes significantly more chronic health problems than just the odd headache.
Add a commentSign Up
|
Sign up to Georgie's newsletter today and receive regular suggestions and updates, plus receive her 'Top 7 Tips for Journaling' NOW.
|
Georgie's Blog
-
How could pigs help your chronic pain?
In previous blogs I have explained how we create self-induced stress by the way we speak to ourselves. Whether or not there are external issues causin...
Read More... -
Are you talking yourself into pain? 4/4
Some Simple Strategies Welcome back for the last of the 4 videos about how to develop more health-enhancing self talk. So far you have developed an a...
Read More... - Read all news stories...
What others say ...
|
|
Professional Endorsements
Loading...
