Thread by @disabilisaur

you know what's useless? "mindfulness" as pain treatment.

being "mindful", being aware of my body, my surroundings & myself, avoiding dissociation - those have always been things I struggled with.

you know when they got better?

the second I got meds that reduce my pain.

you know on which days they're worse? on the days I have pain flares.

it's almost like pain is the problem here and not the tools our brains use to deal with it

I mean, yes:

there was a time where I was always dissociating my pain and telling myself what I was feeling wasn't pain at all, because I 100% believed it was all psychological.

that was bad.

becoming aware of the fact that this was indeed PAIN was a huge step that, for the first time in over a decade, allowed me to feel my own body & feel present in myself.

but someone who asks for pain treatment has already made this step. they know where they're at.

and treating pain from a psychological axis would be the exact opposite - it encourages people to ignore their pain & tell themselves that it isn't real.

which removes them from their physical experience.

which is the exact opposite of what "mindfulness" pretends to be about.

when I realised I was in pain, and started to feel my pain, I could lower the level of constant dissociation.

but still, going without distraction for even a few minutes was excruciating, and not just because of the adhd.

now, for the first time in my adult life, I've had several episodes of a few minutes each where I could just... sit. and be. and be OK with that.

without starting to cry and wanting to tear my limbs off (which therapists told me was a PTSD symptom... no it's chronic pain)

I still can't do it every day, or for long.

and the few and short episodes I get are only because of pain treatment, management of my underlying condition (mast cell trigger avoidance), pacing, and because I get enough in-home support to actually be able to DO pacing.

"mindfulness" as pain treatment is another reversal of cause and effect -

- people who are more "mindful" have less pain!

because pain destroys your ability to be "mindful".
it's like saying a wheelchair causes walking disabilities.
which doctors say all the time 🙄

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