{"id":30405,"date":"2016-02-09T06:00:03","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T14:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=30405"},"modified":"2018-05-30T15:00:46","modified_gmt":"2018-05-30T22:00:46","slug":"a-healing-response-to-pain-mindfulness-and-self-compassion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/healing-response-to-pain-mindfulness-self-compassion-0209164","title":{"rendered":"A Healing Response to Pain: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Young<\/a>How do you react when you\u2019re in pain? Do you resist it, ignore it, or push it away? Do you get consumed by it? Would you like to learn a more healing and compassionate way to respond?<\/p>\n

To be alive means we feel happiness, joy, sorrow, and pain. Most of us want to feel happiness<\/a>\u00a0and all the other positive feelings, but pain? Not so much. Pain, though, is a natural part of life. It shows up physically, such as when we\u2019re injured, sick, or aging, or as the emotional pain of frustration, sadness<\/a>, loss, or sorrow. It also arises when we\u2019re consumed by some mind state, such as anxiety<\/a> or depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How Resistance to Pain Creates Suffering<\/h2>\n

\u201cResistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is. The only problem in your life is your mind’s resistance to life as it unfolds.\u201d <\/em>\u2014Dan Millman, author and personal development lecturer<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s physical, emotional, or mental, staying open and present to pain is challenging. What makes it so isn\u2019t the actual sensation of pain; it\u2019s the way we react to it. We catastrophize, worry<\/a>, or ruminate about what happened, what it means, and how it will affect our future. Sometimes we go into mental gymnastics, trying to figure out how to make it go away. We use our energy in ways that are exhausting and don\u2019t help. This only fuels the pain, morphing what might have been a temporary period of pain into a longer one.<\/p>\n

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These reactions stop us from seeing when we\u2019re caught in some belief or story about how life needs to be in order for us to be happy. If I\u2019m always wanting to please others and neglect myself in the process, I can\u2019t possibly be happy. Fearing rejection<\/a> or the loss of a loving connection can keep me engaged in behaviors and patterns that are unhealthy and hurtful.<\/p>\n

They can also show up as addictions<\/a>, distractions, or unhealthy mind states, including:<\/p>\n