Releasing Tension Around Pain
“When we sense pain, we tense pain.”
It is in our primal brain functioning to resist and push against physical and emotional pain. Our
bodies instinctively tense muscles around pain/discomfort to protect ourselves. When we have
painful life experiences, it is also common for us to mentally push against painful emotions.
While this reaction can be useful in an acute moment of pain, it perpetuates the chronic pain
cycle by showing the nervous system that the painful feelings are not safe. Symptoms increase
or are maintained when the nervous system senses danger from this form of resistance to pain.
Resistance tells the brain: “This feeling is not okay and needs to go away.”
Releasing is the answer.
Taking moments to notice what the body is experiencing throughout the day allows you to sense
tension and release it.
Here’s a simple practice to help:
- Focus on the area of tension.
- Take a deep breath in through the nose.
- Relax the body on a slow exhale out of the mouth—imagine the exhale is the “escape
route” for the tension. - Repeat as many times as feels supportive.
The same applies to mental tension:
- Notice the experience of resisting a hard feeling.
- Breathe in.
- Imagine the resistance flowing away out of the mouth.
- Repeat as many times as feels supportive.
Pushing pain away does not work in resolving or healing it. The act of gently releasing is a way
to acknowledge and let go of the pain, while signaling to your nervous system that you are not
afraid of hard feelings.
This practice can help parents during difficult parts of the healing process, and can be a useful
skill for your child to learn and practice when working on breaking the chronic pain cycle.
