From Chronic Pain to Passion

Notes from a chronic pain recovery therapist

I’m going to say something controversial. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.

Not controversial, you say? Consider this:

Have you noticed that publications about mental health are obsessed with showing us scientific proof of physical changes in the brain in order to validate the felt experience of emotional trauma?

In my opinion, this need to see physical “proof” of felt experience is in itself a trauma response to an authoritarian culture that systematically invalidates our felt experience.

Your feelings matter just because you feel them. The fact that this even needs to be said tells us something about the belief system that’s been fed to us.⁠ ⁠

We’ve been indoctrinated into a set of beliefs that tells us our feelings don’t matter, that our individual felt experience doesn’t matter.⁠ ⁠

No wonder so many of us transmute our emotional pain into physical symptoms — those have a slightly better chance of being taken seriously within this emotion-negative belief system.⁠ ⁠

And even then, how seriously our physical pain is taken depends on how much power and privilege we are afforded by a belief system that values hierarchy over humanity.⁠ ⁠

My mission: Advocating for an emotion-positive culture! 💜

What does that mean?⁠

A culture that values emotions as important indicators of whether or not our core needs are being met.⁠ ⁠

A culture that recognizes each individual as the expert on their own emotional experience.⁠ ⁠

A culture in which feelings matter and are respected.⁠ ⁠

What beliefs do you hold about emotions? Where did you learn those beliefs from? And are there any beliefs about emotions that you would like to shift?

With love and care for all of your feelings,

💖⁠ Anna

➡️ If you need support with chronic pain and anxiety, take my FREE QUIZ called “Why the *bleep* am I still in pain?!” so I can help you get some clarity.

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