Anxiety Regulation to Reduce Chronic Pain - Pain Reprocessing Therapy with Alan Gordon, LCSW

This is a live demonstration of a new treatment to reverse chronic pain called Pain Reprocessing Therapy, which uses a form of guided mindfulness called "somatic tracking" to re-process danger signals.
PRT was recently demonstrated to cure chronic back pain for 66% percent of people who were randomly assigned to it in an NIH-funded trial. PRT retrains the brain to unlearn pain through neuroplastic changes and fear reduction.
More info about the film, the study, and the treatment at:
www.thismighth...
We were fortunate to film a live demonstration with one of the innovators of PRT, Alan Gordon, LCSW, founder of the Pain Psychology Center. He was presenting at a conference with Howard Schubiner, MD called “Breaking The Pain Cycle” - Beyond Pain Management, at Providence Hospital in Southfield, MI. Check out Gordon's book, The Way Out.
You can stream the full-length film, This Might Hurt at www.thismighth...

[@JMoolah79]

I'm a service-connected disabled veteran who has suffered with intense chronic pain for now more than half of my life. These techniques work. I have a shattered tailbone, a shortened femur head (bad hip) on my left side, ruptured S1/L5 and herniated 3 and 4. Shamefully, eventually I turned to fentanyl. I had been ready to depart this Earth a decade ago. Pain SUX. Neglecting myself is how I got here. Put everything else first. Distractions can be a great bandaid. So despite my injuries I'm either in bed or more likely on my feet most of the day. Granted much of that is exercise, yoga, PT. My point is, it works, it makes sense and I am grateful for your works. Without folks like you my kids would surely lose their dad and soon. Thankfully, I am able to focus on self and self heal, to the best of my ability. Very new to it but it is saving me as we speak, from addiction and ultimately an early death. THANK YOU!

[@ThisMightHurt]

Thanks for sharing your story. Best wishes to you and your recovery! - Kent

[@leandravannevel6661]

I listen to this a lot and it’s helping me, just wish there was more of this kind of videos from Alan that I could listen to. His voice is very soothing to me!

[@tishguerrero]

I know Alan has a few guided recordings posted on Curable app. Also he often posts comments on instagram site. I enjoyed his audiobook

[@phyllisboyle1162]

Please do more anxiety regulation videos.

[@darrend2035]

I actually watched that documentary last year it was incredible That one kid was 10 out of 10 pain and after working using emotional exercises and understanding about his past he was 100% out of pain Running and jumping playing basketball I’m always skeptical but this stuff is fucking real man

[@ThisMightHurt]

Thank you for sharing this! -Kent

[@annabennett6468]

This is so helpful to me - Alan is brilliant and somatic tracking works. I love that he says 'and now do... nothing' - the pressure is off.

[@ThisMightHurt]

Thanks for your comment! :)

[@bethg2071]

Please do more anxiety regulation videos. These are so helpful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge to help others. ❤

[@MistaTwitch]

amazing this worked for me, life changing

[@ThisMightHurt]

So glad you're feeling better!

[@leek1002]

Can I ask how it changed your life? What type of injury did you have? Really would appreciate any feedback! Ian.

[@manua779]

Love Alan Gordon 💓

[@ADD_ition]

Dude's about to make me cry...

[@kimgee9]

I have the Audio book This is life saving

[@shortsking8989]

What book is this

[@MidwestBen101]

@@shortsking8989the way out I can help you with it if you need

[@bjrnbrynemo9059]

So a good approach, if you have similar problems as this woman, is to just use the audio from this video and listen to (and follow the instructions) it 3 times a day?

[@reenasingh-id9zh]

Thank you

[@MrSantoshbjadhav14]

Excellent I tried it was relaxing looking forward to connect with you. Thanks

[@ThisMightHurt]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Transformed-You-Experience]

Lovely and so much value in all this ❤️

[@ThisMightHurt]

Thanks, Trevor!

[@theresacentrone9542]

I wish to apply this to white coat syndrome which I have had for many years. How can I further calm my anxiety for blood pressure checks and Dr visits? I have been using this video while taking my BP at home. Much better. Thanks!

[@KateStrongHealer]

I had white coat syndrome for many years, and I got rid of it, through accepting if my bp was high, or that if im nervous at the doctors, i stopped trying to control my bp. i stopped trying to lower my bp meds. I gave up on fixating on what it all meant. Its always a paradox. and now it stays in normal range when I visit.

[@theresacentrone9542]

@@KateStrongHealer thanks so much. It's kinda what I have been doing. So far not working but at home my BP is fantastic.

[@KateStrongHealer]

@@theresacentrone9542 for years I emailed my doctor my bp results because she knew how much it would go up in her office. After learning about acceptance and how it works (I use EFT - tapping), and I was resisting it being high so much that it stayed high. When I truly accepted it being high, it lowered. I wasnt pressuring myself to be perfect.

[@J1mmyMack]

It's interesting, he's using affirmation and flattery to calm her down and thus cure the anxiety.

[@ThisMightHurt]

Thanks for sharing your perspective!

[@reinab8168]

This is very helpful

[@siriquispe1143]

I do understand that migraines triggered by stress can go away by these techniques, but when my migraine is triggered by hormones it feels like the medicine is the only way to stop it. Or is there hope that I can somehow trick my brain into interpreting the hormonal fluctuations as something different than migraine and depressed thoughts?

[@ThisMightHurt]

We're not doctors, so it's a good idea to consult doctors about questions like this. From what we've heard, mind-body physicians tend to find that hormone-related migraines can also be unlearned in a similar process. That's assuming there's been a rule-out out of major medical causes of migraines like tumors. Mind-body work affects the nervous system and can make changes to hormones, bloodflow, biomarkers, neural pathways, etc. Wishing you luck.

[@PropheticCoachTheresa]

Amazing. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@ThisMightHurt]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@RK-qk7ow]

What if my brain associates danger with food therefore when I eat I get symptoms. Where my focus has to be? With the symptoms as they arise? Pay attention to them with reassurance of my adult self?

[@ThisMightHurt]

Hello, Great question! Your ideas seem good! Some more thoughts... food intolerance (with the exception of Celiac disease and lactose intolerance) can often stem from a deep-seated fear response in the brain that triggers symptoms. The brain believes that certain foods cause pain or digestive dysfunction (rather than just triggering those symptoms). One thing you could add to the mix is "provocative testing," which is where you imagine eating foods that trigger pain, and see if the symptoms arise. That helps bring awareness to the brain-gut-symptom connection and can bring clarity to the way the brain has learned a fear-food association, and can gently unlearn it over time. The other steps to unlearning may also be helpful. You can read about those here: www.thismighthurtfilm.com/unlearningpain Also, the podcast Tell Me About Your Pain details several other strategies to deactivate fear, symptoms, and triggers, and to unlearn food intolerances. Wishing you luck.

[@RK-qk7ow]

@@ThisMightHurt I so appreciate your care. Last year I began doing brain rewiring program (DNRS) and seen amazing results on different levels. Once my autonomic nervous system got chance to calm down, I experienced shifts and could add more foods to my list; but more than that - for the first in my life chronic fear which I never new existed within me had dimished to great extent and in turn allowed me to sense myself in a profound and unknown to me ways. The issue though is that I (which part is that?) became fearful of fear whenever I'd get triggered (through stress response). That meant I have to live stress free life which is impossible:)) I am trying to learn more ways how to help my brain to rewire and live from the heart that is wise and courageous.

[@ThisMightHurt]

@@RK-qk7ow So happy for you that you've experienced these shifts and insights and are able to eat more foods without symptoms. And I know what you mean about how stress-free life is impossible. :) There's lots of great resources for working directly with fear, and fear of fear. 😨🙏 Sometimes it can feel like a slow process, but these stresses have accumulated over many years; it can take time. Wishing you luck on your journey!

[@RK-qk7ow]

@@ThisMightHurt Thank you 🙏 If you know any resources how to deal with fear of fear, I'd be glad to explore. Blessings.

[@ThisMightHurt]

@@RK-qk7ow similar to the kind of gentle, allowing awareness that Alan Gordon talks about in this episode: open.spotify.com/episode/0kluwKfkcnqvqqhwFqfEoU?si=bbb9fe02b92a4ff3

[@1bibiche]

Can it help with phantom pain?

[@ThisMightHurt]

Do you mean like phantom limb pain? I have heard that it can, yes.

[@1bibiche]

I mean phantom pain in my leg and in my foot. my leg is amputeted @@ThisMightHurt

[@mouseddd]

Ive had lower back pain for 9 months or more and 7 months from mri, disc bulges and some stenosis. I also have back pain;when i cough is this a sign of structural over mindbody pain? Or can coughing hurt even in mindbody connection?

[@leek1002]

I want to believe but I am finding it difficult... I have nerve damage and get severe inflammation after any sitting, standing, bending etc... My pain doesn't fluctuate with any stress levels or triggers...

[@ThisMightHurt]

@ian614 We're not doctors but we can hopefully point you in a direction to get good medical assessment. We can recommend John Stracks, MD who sees people in all 50 states (if you're US-based). Another option for mind-body informed medical assessment is Lin Health. You can find links to to both on our Unlearning Pain page on our site : www.thismighthurtfilm.com/unlearningpain It's worth mentioning that a good chunk of people with neuroplastic pain do no notice any fluctuation with stress levels, or triggers. Being inconsistent/triggered is best thought of as a sufficient but *not necessary* factor when ruling in a mind-body diagnosis. Many, many people with mind-body syndromes do not notice fluctuations or being triggered, and yet they can still recovery. A mind-body informed doctor can help you assess your symptoms and come up with a plan for treatment based on whether it's structural, neuroplsatic, or a combination of the two. Wishing you luck.

[@leek1002]

@@ThisMightHurt God Bless you for reply...thank you ...I will keep an open mind and look into your info you sent. You are a treasure putting such great content on the Web... Thanks...

[@ThisMightHurt]

@@leek1002 Thank you, that's very kind!

[@tominnc315]

I too have nerve something?? My feet went numbish day 3 of covid Jan 2022. Now my wife had aortic valve replacement & my dad died 12/31. My symptoms are now to my thighs. Numb burns etc. im 70 fit. 5’10 160 perfect bloodwork on no meds. It ramps up as day progresses. Goes away at night. I lift weights cycle walk etc

[@leek1002]

@tominnc315 i ain't a doctor but research 'restless leg syndrome'. I have heard Lyrica works really well for it. I am sure a good pain specialist would be able to help. Nerve pain is horrible. I hope you get well soon.

[@deadlypalms]

Really good - especially for demonstration. In practice, you would need a little less instruction, more space and pauses in between the guidance to give the client time to attend to what they are feeling. Easy to see cross-over with EMDR here.

[@fifiearthwanderer]

I have full body spasms. And i recognize my brain is doing anything it can to not feel the emotions but how do i begin undoing the habitual patterns of bracing and freezing up my muscles? I am working on feeling the emotions now slowly. Bot with CPTSD i have triggers all day with things i dont even recognize. So my body was always bracing to not feel. But now i am learning to feel but i have this intense need to brace. Not sure how to undo it. 😢

[@ThisMightHurt]

@fifiearthwanderer Sorry about your pain and spasms. My suggestion is to try working with a mind-body therapist or other practitioner. In order to work through intense symptoms like this, it can be really helpful to have a guide who can help you gently approach your history with stress and trauma and begin to rewire the brain to have less anxiety and fear, which may be responsible for triggering spasms (the spasms need to be assessed by a practitioner-it is impossible to say for any individual what they are caused by without an assessment). More details here, including a directory of people you can talk to: www.thismighthurtfilm.com/unlearningpain I can also recommend the following coaches: Michelle Wiegers Rebecca Tolin Lilia Graue Jim Prussack Good luck! Kent www.mindbodyinsight.net

[@charlessoukup1111]

Wish I could identify any anxiety...or feel like I HAVE any anxieties! Then I could work on it! But nope! Only pain. I have both acute & chronic & can identify them...but they both HURT!! : (

[@leek1002]

Charles, can I ask what your injuries are? My back has inflammation (when over do things - too much sittin, bending etc)...I (like you) don't become sore when I am stressed...

[@stevietalk1]

Whoa … 😮 I wouldn’t wish for something negative .. even in jest. 🫣.

[@anndurheim]

Is this part of Somatic Experiencing, or is PRT a different modality?

[@ThisMightHurt]

hello, thanks for the question, PRT is different from somatic experiencing, but they may share some characteristics.

[@ruthfeiertag]

I don’t understand. The patient/subject says she feels the same after the exercise, so how has she been helped? How has this proven she can get rid of the anxiety if she feels the same?

[@Epsylonify]

It's one step of the process towards lowering anxiety levels. At this point, any attempt of trying to get rid of the anxiety is ironically most likely to increase the anxiety rather than getting rid of it. So the exercise is focusing on changing the way she views her symptoms of anxiety. From a perspective of fear and wanting to escape the anxiety, towards a perspective of being present with the anxiety, accepting of it. When she changes her perspective from one of fear around the anxiety to one of feeling safe, its a massive step towards becoming less anxious. The therapy is built on the notion of fear being a reinforcing factor for chronic pain, so by practicing generating feelings of safety this cycle of fear and pain can begin to dissolve.

[@ruthfeiertag]

Thank you for responding. But it still seems to me that that is not how the subject described her experience, but how it got framed for her.

[@Nutty_commenter]

I think she says she feels safe, not the same, at 5:55. (Hard to decipher tho'.)

[@DS-fi4hf]

This is a bit of CBT and EMDR combined.

[@mortenle]

"All you need to do..." These cognitive psychs are so optimistic, but this is still a very new science.

[@pedrom8831]

The problem is, attending to oneself can become intense and obsessive. Then there’s the delightful additional fear that by not attending you’ll be further abandoning yourself. So the obsession grows. This really messed me up, unfortunately.

[@ThisMightHurt]

Hi Pedro, I'm sorry to hear this. If paying attention to the body makes obsession worse, sometimes working with another person such as a coach or therapist can be helpful. There are many other tools besides meditation to use to work with mind-body symptoms, and meditation (aka somatic tracking) can be dropped if it's not helpful. We have some suggestions on how to find people to work with here: www.thismighthurtfilm.com/unlearningpain Wishing you luck and sorry that you're not doing so well right now.

[@pedrom8831]

@@ThisMightHurt thank you for this. I have worked with a few practitioners trained extensively in somatic experiencing and other modalities. Unfortunately I ended up getting worse. I wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from trying somatic tracking - the prevalence of this sort of practice across therapeutic and meditative practices is surely evidence of its effectiveness for many, if not most. But you do get people like me! The chronic master doubters. I’m very aware that my default mode of attention is very intense, which Alan Gordon does present as a potential pitfall elsewhere. I’ve ingrained a deep habit of observing my sensations, and it’s proving quite tricky to unlearn due to the prevalence of voices who encourage it; people who often don’t take the time to delineate between helpful and unhelpful ways of attending. Anyway! Ramble over. At present I’m attempting to drop all my efforts, hoping to feed some ease back into the system, without worrying too much about whether I’m abandoning myself by dropping the intense focus.

[@pedrom8831]

I don’t suppose you have any videos which touch on this, the different ways of attending - fear and intensity vs lightness and curiosity? It’s a big piece of the puzzle for me.

[@ThisMightHurt]

@@pedrom8831 Yes, you can access a somatic tracking that guides people to drop their expectations and lean in with curiosity and lightness here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5-2m4poe5h9gNk at 16:20 the actual guided somatic tracking happens. But the whole webinar is helpful for wrapping your head around that practice and the other practices. Thanks!

[@ThisMightHurt]

It's worth mentioning again, sometimes people recover without doing any somatic tracking, but rather using tools like emotional journaling, graded exposure to feared movements/activities, "talking to their brain," and so on. So if even gentle, curious somatic tracking doesn't work out, worry not. There's lots of other tools. Wishing you luck.