When it comes to chronic pain recovery, the answer is: A lot.
Let’s talk about self-love and chronic pain. And if the phrase “self-love” makes you cringe a little, this is especially for you!
You know who gets inside your head more than anyone else? YOU.
Your relationship with your self is the most impactful relationship you’ll ever have — after all, the cumulative time that you spend with yourself outweighs any other relationship by a long shot.
Think of the way your other relationships affect you: How does it affect your wellbeing when you’re in a kind and loving relationship with another person? How about a degrading or bullying one? Now multiply that impact by a bajillion and you’ll have some sense of the degree to which your own self-talk has an impact on your wellbeing.
The way we talk to ourselves affects our stress levels. And stress makes the nervous system feel unsafe — which can trigger pain.
Unfortunately, negative self-talk is a widespread habit that gets ingrained in us by cultural patterns that are designed to train us into obeying authority rather than loving ourselves.
BUT, just like those cultural patterns have trained our brains through authority and repetition, repetition, repetition…
You can decide to become your own authority and retrain your brain into loving self-talk through repetition, repetition, repetition.
You are worth it, and your well-being is worth it! To help you remember this, here’s a handy little flip-through graphic all about the relationship between negative self-talk and chronic pain — and how self-love factors into chronic pain recovery.
Chronic Pain Recovery Exercise
Want to start a self-love practice today? Here’s a two-part journaling exercise you can try:
1️⃣ With pen and paper, write down these words: “I love and accept myself.” Then notice how that statement makes you feel. Whatever you feel, write about it. Honestly.
2️⃣ Now, project yourself five years into the future. And from the mind of your future self, with pen and paper, complete this sentence: “Ever since I embraced self-acceptance truly and deeply, this is what life’s been like …”
And see what flows onto the page! 📄
If you’re wondering, “Why the *bleep* am I still in pain?!” — take this FREE QUIZ to help you get some clarity.
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From Chronic Pain to Passion 
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