Pain is something we all deal with. It is very subjective, meaning we all experience it differently.
I have stitched up large wounds in people who did not want anesthesia and did not flinch while I sewed them up. Others don’t do as well. Gender, age, level of education, socioeconomic status and many other cultural differences influence our perception and, therefore, presentation of pain. Pain is very cultural.
I have had the opportunity to work with several people from different cultures and backgrounds. Culture is such a powerful influence on pain that I and a few doctors I know of ask cultural background questions while treating painful conditions. It is vital to understand the perception of pain that culture has influenced. It is also vital to understand that what often affects quality of life is not the pain itself, but the emotional suffering and frustration that come with it.
American culture, avoiding details — pain is bad, you should not have it, and where is the pill bottle? More and more, however, our culture also expresses the importance of alternative methods of pain control. One I have been very impressed with was recently reviewed in the medical journal, Pain. It demonstrated that mindful meditation changes the way your brain interprets pain. As the lead researcher Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D, stated, “One of the central tenets of mindfulness is the principle that you are not your experiences.”
This is key to lessening pain via thought and process (not drugs that eventually don’t work). If one can separate the pain from the influence of pain on quality of life, improvement will be seen. Mindful meditation appears to do this. For those in chronic pain or with more acute pain, this has major implications.
There are plenty of resources available to learn mindful meditation (and other non-opioid pain control options) and I encourage those who deal with pain to investigate them.
Dr. Warren Willey is a Pocatello physician. Visit his website at drwilley.com.