How Do You Deal With Physical (emotional) Pain?

[theshadowoftheliving]

As long as I'm working and in that part of myself, I can't feel pain. At all. Not hunger or tiredness or even getting injured.

But once I stop working, the pain is incredible. Shooting, stabbing, electrical. It's so overwhelming - and physical, although I definitley wonder if it is psychological in origins. It's also not just a headache. It's deeper than that, radiates out from my core, makes noise impossible, sun harder, touch painful.

How do I deal with this? I know the concept of "not avoiding feelings" but this is just too much. If I don't do something drastic to make it disappear (like cutting) I'll eventually just dissociate completely. And I've done all the DBT "skills" and they don't work - I don't want tolerate it, I need it to either go away or at least go away a little bit and not be so present. I'm at a loss of what to do.

 

[Jenny0h]

As long as I'm working and in that part of myself, I can't feel pain. At all. Not hunger...

I used to cut, and a lot. It was a vice for me, and once I didn't want people judging or seeing me with my slashes I filled it with another self sabotaging practice. Pills, food, and most recently alcohol. There is something inside of you that seems it has to be released which is causing you extreme discomfort. For me when I'm feeling self distructive I do tedious things. Painting trim work in a room, coloring, cleaning my closet, super cleaning the kitchen, color coding things or re organizing. It doesn't help for longevity but it helps work me through that moment of vulnerability that may lead to self distructive behaviors.

 

[theshadowoftheliving]

I don't think the destructive behaviors are actually the problem here. It's just a symptom of the larger issue - which is that I have unbearable pain that I will dissociate from. The dissociation is actually scarier for me than he cutting, so my choice is to just end the pain and and move on.

I guess it's that, as long as I'm dissociated, I don't feel pain. I can dissociate unwillingly, or I can facilitate it myself.

Grounded and in my body? It's so painful. My mind can't handle the pain. I just want to be able to reduce it at least a little, so I don't need to resort to anything drastic.

 

[Flying Radish]

As long as I'm working and in that part of myself, I can't feel pain. At all. Not hunger...

HI, I 'm not exactly sure, but the way you write about your pain sounds similar (and different) to some of my long-time experience. It sounds to me like what I understand as somatized emotion. I believe (in my case) that it's a result of suppressing feelings for a long time so they eventually are felt as bodily (visceral) sensations rather than as emotions. That's how I first got in touch with my emotions by speaking what it felt like in my body. I hope this is of some help.

 

[Fadeaway]

I always feel confused when people say they don't feel emotions as bodily sensations. What are emotions if not that. My husband says they are thoughts, but my thoughts and emotions are often on conflict.

I do tedious things. Painting trim work in a room, coloring, cleaning my closet, super cleaning the kitchen, color coding things or re organizing.

Those are dangerous things for me to do as they allow my thoughts to run amok without noticing. I have to listen to music or be multitasking to do tedious work.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Well, I learn something new and learn it well. I research until I can't anymore (and get lost in that), I get lost in art/music/poetry and other arts, I get lost in a craft. I recently learned how to pick locks and that kept me busy a while learning harder and harder locks. My new one is paracord knotting. I haven't started but have all my stuff I need.

I don't have a solution of helping the pain but time, however, if my mind is lost in something, I don't even feel the pain. But the trick is to become completely lost in it where hours go by like that. A good book, a show or movie. Find something or somethings that you can completely get lost in and pick it up at that moment.

I have some games on my phone that i can loose myself for the "on the go" pains.

 

[Fadeaway]

Research is a big one for me, I forgot about that. I can get completely lost in a topic that gets my attention.