STAGE 2: UNDERSTANDING

THE PAIN TRUTH JOURNEY GUIDE

STAGE 2 – UNDERSTANDING – PRINT GUIDE SHEET

Your pain finally begins to make sense.

THE TRUTH

Pain is not your enemy… it is your body’s attempt to protect you.

Your nervous system may have become overprotective if…

(This type of pain is called Primary Pain.)

(Check all that apply)

Pain has lasted longer than expected.

Pain is triggered by stress or anticipation.

Pain is triggered by relatively light activities.

Medical tests don’t fully explain your pain.

Many treatments have provided only temporary relief.

Pain has gradually affected more of your life.

Which fears are affecting you most?

Fear of not recovering… “When will this pain go away?”

Fear of worsening pain… “I must avoid certain activities in order to protect myself.”

Fear of pain itself… “Pain must mean that my body is damaged.”

Fear of aging… “If I’m this bad now, what’s going to happen when I’m older?”

YOUR LIFE SCORE

To what extent are you living the life you want to live?

0    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10

0 = Not at all                                                   10 = Completely

WHAT’S ONE THING I CAN DO TODAY?

(A small step that will get you closer to one of your activity goals)

___________________________________________________________

WHAT’S ONE THING I CAN DO THIS WEEK?

(A small step that will get you closer to one of your activity goals)

___________________________________________________________

REMEMBER

Primary pain is a prediction by your brain that protection is necessary… changing the prediction, changes the need for protection.

UNDERSTANDING PAIN

Pain is not your enemy.

Pain is your body’s attempt to protect you.

Sometimes protection is needed because the body has been injured.

This is called Secondary Pain.

Sometimes the body heals, but the nervous system continues to predict that protection is needed.

This is called Primary Pain.

Both types of pain are 100% real.

Since secondary pain is driven by an injury or disease affecting the body, treatment is often directed toward helping the body heal.

Since primary pain is driven by an overprotective nervous system, it often requires more than treating the body alone.

Recovery from primary pain requires helping the nervous system feel safe again.

One of the ways we begin doing this is by taking one small step toward one of the three goals you chose in Stage 1… every day.

That is exactly what the rest of The Pain Truth Journey is designed to help you do.

Every meaningful step teaches your brain something important:

“I’m capable of moving forward.”

Before moving to Stage 3…

I understand the difference between Primary and Secondary Pain.

I have taken one small step toward the life I want.

I’m ready for stage 3.