5 Reasons Why Pain/Symptom Flares Occur (You NEED to know this!)

[@CruisingWithElena]

Best thing I ever heard on long time is u saying u have to slow down these symptoms make u slow down . Now I started slowing down I started healing

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so glad it was useful. Keep going!

[@thelaceygirl]

Thanks for bringing these resources to Canada 🇨🇦. We need more therapists like you 🩵

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so glad my content has been useful. I wish you the best in your healing!

[@tobik2627]

Oh man I was pain free for almost two weeks and suddenly it’s here again with no apparent reason. It instantly triggers fears that it won’t ever go away again. And when it’s gone I think, that’s it, now it’s gone forever. It’s getting better overall since one year, but those flare ups that usually last 5 days are so discouraging. At least the pain isn’t near what it once was. Thanks for your videos, they really bring back some sense of calm to me!

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear about your flares. I'm glad my videos have been helpful for you.

[@Daffodil729]

Tanner - this was a perfect day for me to see this clip. I'm a 74 yr old lady and CRPS set in my wrist after a fracture in 2009. Then 2 years ago after fracturing my other wrist and spine. The pain in my wrist lasted about 8 months then moved to my back / ribs - this has been ongoing for the past 2 years. Over time intensity faded to a manageable level - then . last week my marriage finally fell apart and literally with a few hours I was experiencing brutal sensations again. I'm only human, so initially fear and panic went through the roof - then I calmed down and 'connected the dots' . No-one likes pain, but it certainly helps to know what exactly is going on - and to understand how to go about getting back on track. I have watched many of your videos and they have helped me enormously - your calm demeanor , understanding and expertise is second to none. Thank you so much.

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear what you are going through. Please take care of yourself! I'm so glad my content has been helpful. I wish you the best in your healing.

[@Oske.images]

I have CRPS too ( 54 in UK.) pain in both feet, and then also burning. The burning was once constant in my legs, then spread to upper body. I managed to get it back to mainly in lower half, and sometimes ( like recently) get back to pain in feet alone.. But now in a flare & old symptoms are raising their heads again. It makes you feel so beaten down. CRPS is horrid. You have my sympathy. You will slowly improve, as will I. These flares will subside. Good luck & take care..

[@Daffodil729]

@@Oske.images Thank you so much for the good wishes. I'm a fellow Brit. - even though I've lived in the US these last 10 years. I empathize re the burning sensations - had those in my wrist once - horrible. Not that any of TMS sensations are pleasant ! - and it takes ridiculous amounts of inner strength to keep going. But we WILL keep going - and embrace feeling comfort in our bodies when that time arrives. Meanwhile - one step at a time. All good wishes.

[@kayladewaard4019]

This just pulled me up out of a really dark place....such a hard day..hard month, after doing so so much better... this reinspired hope for me❤

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear you are struggling. I'm so glad this video was helpful. I wish you the best in your healing!

[@sammiller2617]

Lovely clear helpful video Tanner. Thank you. I will be sharing this!

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so glad it was helpful! Keep going!

[@LisaMerriman-z6g]

So grateful for you Tanner. Major extinction burst yesterday after feeling good - so discouraging. This video was very helpful! 🙏🏻❤️

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear about your extinction burst. I hope my content can support your healing. Wish you the best!

[@CruisingWithElena]

I had three days of healing and three days of flare ups just one symptom out of two showed up. So I see it as one step forward one step back two forward one step back, I’m getting better overall so I still grateful

[@painpsychotherapy]

It is great to hear about your progress. I typically isn't linear. Keep going!

[@staceypollack808]

Thank you Tanner what a generous and kind channel

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so glad it is helpful. I wish you the best in your healing!

[@anamikajha7331]

Thank you so much for the work you do. Your videos have helped so much I can't even express in words 🙏

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so glad it was useful! Keep going!

[@JaneStanton]

Thank you , this information came to me at the perfect time. Yes are a lifesaver! 🙏🏻💚☺️

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@TheHolisticPaul]

What great reminders Tanner. Thank you for making this video. I have forwarded to some of my friends in recovery. 😊🙌

[@painpsychotherapy]

Thanks for sharing!

[@AnnaVallin-Hogland]

Such a great video, thanks for all your help!! 🌷

[@painpsychotherapy]

💚✨💚

[@jackiegroden416]

All of this! So many golden nuggets

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so happy it was useful!

[@mjoachim9554]

Fantastic. Makes so much sense.

[@painpsychotherapy]

💚✨💚

[@thejoshuababcock]

Great explanation man.

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so glad it was useful! Keep going!

[@thejoshuababcock]

@@painpsychotherapy I will. The doubt has crept back in, so the work begins.

[@SangeethaFurkhan]

Thanks for this information right now iam witnessing pain in my leg bone imagined its a dreary pain due to some health condition and consulted an ortho. But physician examined and said everything is normal and gave some vitamin tablets. Happened to watch this video today and now iam very clear that this is continuation of my anxiety disorder firsly faced during corona times. Thanks a lot for this information now i can overcome my flares and tune my mind back to peace.

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear about your symptoms. I'm so glad my content is helpful. I wish you the best in your healing.

[@SangeethaFurkhan]

@@painpsychotherapy 🙏

[@bethanomeara9454]

I've just come across your channel in the UK and have watched a couple of videos. Which video would you recommend for me? I have "real" pain with longstanding back problems and new joint issues relating to perimenopause but I know I make the pain a lot worse by fearing my back "going" again which then causes all of my muscles to tense which just makes everything worse. I know I catastrophosise, obsess etc but how do I stop that?! I spend about 85% of my day worrying about symptoms. Thank you.

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear what you are dealing with. For an introduction to my content check out my playlist on "Introduction to neuroplastic pain". It is on my main KZbin page!

[@SangeethaFurkhan]

True after corona lock down is over I had a fear for driving the scooter my body will jerk when I hear the sound of the ambulance, couldn't go to gym fearing I might fall in the treadmill, couldn't climb or get down the esculator, but I challenged myself I can do it iam completely alright and i became normal. Again this is the second phase iam going through after two longs years break thankfully seeing your video it came into light iam going through the same pain but in a different form. The stratagies taught in the video is really helpful and thanks once again for helping us in healing.

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear about your symptoms. It sounds like you are doing great healing work. I'm so happy my channel is helpful.

[@SangeethaFurkhan]

🙏

[@casario2808]

Thanks. So would things like catastrophizing and hyper-attention to symptoms be a coping mechanism? So hard for me to dial those down.

[@painpsychotherapy]

Yes these can be maladaptive coping mechanisms. I wish you the best in your healing!

[@Thebetterkeepsgettingbetter]

That prediction state is a big one for me. It's an instant flash and I can't change it or it wakes me up out of the blue. Ughh this gives me hope

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so happy this video was helpful!

[@KathleenRenninger]

Thank you for this.

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so glad it was useful!

[@lindaelawson9415]

I can't slow down - I have to get my condo ready in a few days for photography! Then my agent tried to rush me even further. But I'm doing the somatic tracking and meditation daily, and slowing down in between bursts of activity. I was doing great until I found out my ex just died, in a horrible way. (We were together for 15 years, 13 good, 2 awful.) The grief added to the stress and pressure, and the symptoms got worse again. But I'm STILL improving in other ways, so thank you Tanner! This flare ain't random - there's a good reason for my Crocodile brain to want to slow me down and not feel too much grief right now. I can even thank it for trying to protect me.

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear what you are dealing with. Please take care of yourself!

[@Thebetterkeepsgettingbetter]

Ty ty bc it has been really up and down. I know why just need the primordial mush to get it 😅 love your vids

[@painpsychotherapy]

So glad they are helpful. Keep going!

[@teatimetraveller]

This is really useful Tanner, thanks. Do you think addictive behaviours can be associated with flareups? I ve been working with a professional pain therapist for the past few weeks and as we do some really deep work ive noticed some of my addictive behaviours are surficing, alongside a flareup. Would that be considered a maladaptive coping strategy?

[@painpsychotherapy]

Yes, addictive behaviours are maladaptive coping mechanisms. I have seen a correlation with addictive behaviours and pain/symptoms. I wish you the best in your healing.

[@zeusthegreek4664]

Thank you 🙏🏽

[@painpsychotherapy]

You're welcome!

[@username604error5]

WOWZERS Extinction burst 💥 just might have explained an aspect of addiction relapse

[@painpsychotherapy]

Yes, it is a useful concept to understand!

[@freddomptail1539]

Thanks for another insightful video Tanner. Can I ask you a slightly unrelated question? Where do you seem mindfulness meditation fitting in the recovery journey (part of nervous system regulation?)

[@painpsychotherapy]

Yes, I view this an a useful tool to create nervous system regulation!

[@kacialaine06]

Your videos have been so helpful to me as I started my healing journey 6 weeks ago. I've felt great improvements since then, but now it almost feels like I've plateaued as far as pain level and frequency of flair ups. I haven't noticed much change in the past couple weeks. Is this a normal part of the process? Do you any resources on this?

[@painpsychotherapy]

Thanks for sharing about your healing. It is very normal for healing not to be a linear pathway of symptoms continuously reducing. I will do a video on this in the future.

[@hasuwary]

Really hard to convince myself that my symptoms(chronic tight neck/back) are only neuroplastic, since I got them from bad habits (bad form in gym/desk-work/lack of movement)

[@painpsychotherapy]

I know it can be difficult to cultivate this belief. It can be important to start with gathering evidence!

[@lauriemtz8616]

Where did I mess up because I have a flare every day. Maybe it’s not called a flare if it’s every day. I sleep a few hours every night. This started when my mom died and I’d wake up early and lay in bed till noon for a year.

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through. I hope my content can be helpful. I wish you the best in your healing.

[@gloriaradivojevic9221]

I was just on your website and was wondering if you offer any group sessions? I do believe that one on one therapy is ideal, but the cost is often significant, especially without benefits. A smaller group may be more beneficial. I’ve been in larger group settings where people are very emotional (understandably), but can detour from focusing on solutions and strategies for recovery. Regardless, the free KZbin videos are helpful.

[@painpsychotherapy]

Unfortunately at this time we do not offer group, however are hoping to in the future. This summer I will be offering a polyvagal informed Qigong group!

[@genevievehudec3009]

My flares mostly are weather and moon phase related. Very nasty month now with all the weather fluctuations. I really don’t see how I can be helped. Any thought?

[@painpsychotherapy]

Sorry to hear this. I will do a video on this soon!

[@IAmHealed01]

Do we need to get rid of fear and doubt before doing any emotional work? Does the doubt keep symptoms going?

[@painpsychotherapy]

Fear and doubt are really normal to have while healing. Personally I didn't fully believe my symptoms were neuroplastic until this approach reduced them greatly. We of course what to work on reducing fear and doubt, but we often can't force this to happen quickly. I wish you the best in your healing!

[@anamikajha7331]

Can the extinction burst also happen in the form of nerve pain, heaviness, brain fog & pain in my neck, & shoulders? But I have noticed as soon as there is regulation & safety in my system the symptoms reduce. Since I have candida overgrowth I get really scared & hence it leads to further dysregulation.

[@painpsychotherapy]

Yes, extinction bursts can be in the form of any symptom. I hope my content can be useful for you.

[@anamikajha7331]

@@painpsychotherapy super useful Tanner. I am so grateful to you 🙏

[@briechilli4496]

I cannot see the link for the video you mentioned on how to regulate your nervous system.

[@painpsychotherapy]

Sorry must be glitch. Here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHLcc6qMZbh5nrc

[@conorclancy6291]

Hi Tanner! I want to ask you a question about triggers and conditioned responses; I'm working with a condition called erythromelalgia which I've been told by several TMS experts including Howard Schubiner and Dave Clarks can be a manifestation of TMS, or that they believe it to be in my case. It basically means your hands, feet, or ears go bright red and feel very hot when your body warms up. So my triggers are very predictable and repetitive. I have trouble dealing with spikes of fear that come alongside flares; and often times, after the initial panic fades, I worry that the way I reacted to the flare has sent the wrong message to my mindbody. Do you have advice on how to respond in that moment when you're doing an activity and a flare is triggered? Should we desist the activity, and maybe do something like guided breathing and messages of safety? Or should we continue the activity WHILE sending messages of safety, so that the brain doesn't believe we need to run away the moment a flare begins...? or is there something else I should do instead? Thank you in advance for answering!

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear what you are dealing with. The key to breaking conditioned responses is a combination of nervous system regulation and brain retraining. I have several nervous system regulation practices on my main page. You can also check out my video on conditioned responses: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYmWkJKVqbOIkLM

[@DaniEla-of4eo]

Hi Tanner. I have a question: I have symptoms of varying severity every day. Does this mean that every worse day is a flare up or is it just a normal fluctuation of symptoms? Overall i'm not getting better...

[@painpsychotherapy]

So sorry to hear what is going on for you. Flares are generally when symptoms become really high, however this can be hard to notice when are symptoms are often high. I hope my content can be helpful for you.

[@champyandmorris]

Really not sure how to tell the difference between ongoing symptoms and an extinction burst. I’ve also developed a new symptom that’s been getting worse, is that extinction burst or symptom imperative? Or emotional stress? It’s all too confusing at times.

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so sorry to hear about your new symptom. I know from experience it can be confusing to figure out. Sometimes it can also be a combination. I hope my content can be helpful for you.

[@mjoachim9554]

Is chronic a pain that lasts more than four or five months?

[@painpsychotherapy]

Yes typically 3-6 months of persistent pain is considered chronic. So sorry to hear what you are dealing with. I hope my content can be helpful.

[@TSW.healing]

❤❤❤🙏 thank you 🙏 💛

[@painpsychotherapy]

I'm so happy it was helpful!

[@Mandance]

The big question…could all auto immune be mind body as well?

[@painpsychotherapy]

Auto-immune from my understanding would likely not be fully neuroplastic, but a portion of the symptoms can potentially be neuroplastic. I have seen symptoms reduce in my experience.

[@josieramirez9483]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@painpsychotherapy]

💚✨💚

[@theresamitchell9577]

Food reactions trigger pain.

[@painpsychotherapy]

Yes this can be a common conditioned response!

[@swgeek4310]

Guilty of all of these..lol

[@painpsychotherapy]

Keep going. I hope my content can be helpful!