Strengthening the Brain's Message That YOU ARE OK

How do you want to feel? You want to be alright, be fine, be ok. The thing is with chronic pain or chronic health symptoms, we don't feel that way. We know from the science a lot of chronic health issues have a big brain component to them. One of the areas of the brain that has been highly implicated in chronic pain is the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex has shown to be weak and smaller in size in those with chronic pain. Here's a link to my blog post about the prefrontal cortex.
www.thepainpt.com/news/the-ro...
We need to strengthen the prefrontal cortex and the message it sends to the other parts of the brain that are implicated in pain and chronic health conditions. The message needs to be that what's happening IS OK. This message sends whats called 'descending inhibition' to these other parts of the brain. We need to let the emotional and limbic brain areas know that what its doing is not a problem. This counters the other parts of the brain that are essentially running wild and overpowering the cortex.
To learn more and get help in healing from chronic pain and other chronic health complaints, reach out to me at www.thepainpt.com

[@baileystark7629]

I believe that that the more you do this the more you rewire the deeper subconscious part of the brain as well. The subconscious will less frequently transmit those signals of worry, pain etc.

[@rebeccahereshegoes]

Oh please make more. Sipped coffee and listened. Working through all of this. I love your voice saying there is no problem. Don't fight thoughts. It's OK. Again...make more. People can really benefit from your experience and wisdom.

[@FreshAgenda]

I need to watch this every day. I have suspected CFS. It is an endless loop of... symptoms... anxiety.... symptoms over and over.

[@Char333]

That’s a really good explanation and I’ve been trapped in this for years. ❤

[@thewaterprophet6880]

Me also it’s too much

[@Char333]

@@thewaterprophet6880 you are going to be ok though. We all are. The body is constantly healing and working for us. If WE get out of the way (with all our worrying and anxiety and thinking and solving) it’ll do it. Without our constant need for control over it.

[@andybreedlove]

How are you doing now?

[@FreshAgenda]

@@andybreedlove much better. Nearly 100%. Once you see the role and cycle that anxiety plays, there is nothing to fear. Your body will calm down and heal. It took me over 2 years, but it didn't have to.

[@TheMLMGold]

It's amazing how hidden and subtle the resistance is and the desire to fix or push away the anxiety pain loop. It pervades into every thought and behaviour which is living hell! This is a perfect antidote to it, first to see all the reactivity to the brain activity, and secondly to let the pre- frontal cortex take over and become stronger in regulating that monster, the limbic brain. I feel much more aware and grounded as I break this loop of reactivity and settle into relaxed okayness and surrender. Thank you.

[@thepainpt]

Yes great you got it what you said is perfect

[@user-tr5gw4ky8e]

No Danger..No danger…no threat!

[@g.siporin4000]

Don’t see yourself as sick Thanks Jim.

[@Ana-cb2wb]

This video is everything!!!! Your explanation about our reaction to symptoms/ emotions/ thoughts is a game changer🙌❤️

[@zoemilinkovic]

This explanation is EVERYTHING. Thank you Jim for everything you do !

[@lolakitty777]

So glad this came up on my algorithm ❤❤❤

[@joaniemiller4362]

I’m really working on this. Acceptance of the flare up. Letting it flow sending a message back that I’m good.

[@rambomambo]

i like the idea that it is a muscle to develop, thanks!

[@TinyTinaTeaParty]

My mom sent this to me and what you said gave me a rush of relief and brought me to tears.

[@marieberglund149]

I am so scared al day of al my symptoms it’s so hard not to be afraid of mussel cramps in the body. It’s so hard not to get in panic 💔💔💔

[@melissamiller2696]

Hard, but possible.

[@fifiearthwanderer]

Wow! Great video. I needed this. I found myself spiraling the past few days and I lost my footing , when typically I am going against the current of the emotions I have been doing good but sometimes it can be consuming because I'm just annoyed and frustrated with it and it becomes a snowball effect and vicious cycle. This really helped me feel grounded.

[@thepainpt]

Yes try accepting and allowing everything that flow through you and see it all is okay. It’s just emotions!!

[@eacampbell4603]

@@thepainpt what are your thoughts on a rotated pelvis? I am absolutely certain I have TMS, Sarno’s book changed my life. It’s taking time though. I assume a crooked pelvis is like anything else…just normal.

[@Jasc5017]

This is one of the most uncomfortable thing I’ve experienced in my life constantly worrying feeling like something is going to happen to me the one that makes me the most uncomfortable is anything that makes my chest hurt I tend to worry about that the most I pray to god to get me through this

[@deniserouthierledoux8133]

You will be okay--listen to the advice he gives-and re-listen because our mind wanders allot when we are in this state. You are no different from the rest of us-with time you will succeed!

[@sandrachisholm2310]

You are awesome! Thank you!

[@remkomooij]

this is gold

[@kathleenwharton2139]

So Helpful. Thank You!

[@14by48]

So good. Thanks for your videos

[@blythedoroja8225]

Thank you it helps me a lot...

[@user-od1mu6mr8n]

Excellent video. Thank you

[@Gosia-zv5fi]

I'm very thankful for all your videos ❤

[@pppeanuttt]

Thank you! This is so well explained and simple.

[@Lemoncare]

Thank you. No fires in my head!

[@ginalyn7834]

Thank you so much been watching all your videos. It’s helping me a lot. Appreciate you.❤

[@brigittet6854]

This video is so helpful!! The way you worded it hit me just right. Thank you.

[@eileenlocke7877]

Hi Jim thank u for helping I’m practicing

[@bethechangebath7663]

Really helpful. Looking forward to next video with more practical advice on strengthening pfc. Thank you.

[@jacklangley861]

This is a great video of what is going on in the TMS brain. Your hand gestures representing the fear signals we are telling ourselves are awesome and make this easier to understand. Thank you Good Sir! 🙏

[@casario2808]

Like your content a lot, quite practical and helpful for someone who understands what the mind-body connections are but still a bit lost in terms of the practical aspects of "what to do?". One suggestion I have is to record at a bit higher volume if possible...

[@privateperson5769]

I love this video...found it yesterday. I have had chronic pain and fatigue for 20 years ,...do I have to practice this stuff everyday to see long term results or get to the place of being completely pain free? Is that going to happen ? Sometimes when its real bad I just think "this stuff doesn't work" and I give up but u say in another video not to stop , pause, bit do not stop...do u mean do not stop doing the 'work' - the thinking and responding etc u talk about ? TY 🙏

[@COLOFIDUTI]

respond with no tension, no running away or ritual.Relax and even smile if you can.Any reaction that resemble danger will reinforce the alarm and keep you in the cycle.For a rule of thumb , what i do is trying to do the oposite of what my body is "telling" me: if it want to run, i stay;if it want me to speed up the respiration i slow it down;if it want me to rise my hands and tense my muscles i just relax and keep my hands down.its not easy but is a way

[@catherinekelly2919]

Thanks Jim. I like your scientific approach to TMS education 👍 Would you recommend these TMS modalities for healing throat pain with trouble speaking and swallowing? I'm classic 'they can't find anything wrong' but may need a speech therapist 😁

[@thepainpt]

Yes use your brain to heal!

[@KYDUH]

How do you recommend dealing with something like stomach ulcer or anxiety about wondering what something is? Or something that needs a diet change to heal?

[@aliveandwell3958]

Can you do some videos on anxiety?

[@HeyJudeHi]

Hello Jim. I am just starting out trying to resolve my chronic pain with the help of a SIRPA practitioner, who has recommended you. I am working my way through your excellent videos, which all make terrific sense. One thing, though: the pain I am experiencing is, at times, intense and pretty much impossible to ignore/let go. Can you offer any advice, please, on how to cope when the pain is just so bad that I can't think of anything else?

[@216karmadog]

Help I was completely pain-free after watching Dr sarno's and other videos but now I had an injury.. it's been 2 months since I tore my cartilage in my knee that hardly had any meniscus left from prior surgeries. now I have severe arthritis however that cartilage tear is not healed that I know of After 2 months should I still be in pain? Now I'm starting physical therapy next week to build up other muscles around the knees.. and yes the other knee is killing me but that's the knee that has the worst arthritis in it and actually that is the one prior to me getting this injury in my right knee that was aching I'm trying to do all the work again but it's not working on my knees. But it has helped my neck knots that started up again because that started because once I heard that word knee replacement. I went into all kinds of worry about that kind of surgery cuz I know it's extremely painful and I cannot do it.. I was so frightened of having a TKR not the rest of my body started nodding up everywhere I've been able to work with that with that some but not the knees 😔

[@suzannemartin6817]

@healingchronicpain-thepainpt my big issue is PPPD and vestibular migraine with visual symptoms…how can I think what my brain is doing is OK. What does that even look like? I’ve been telling my brain things like “ok, we are going to sit up now. Sitting up is a safe and normal activity. You can disregard and signals the body might send you to the contrary. It’s safe to sit up.” And sometimes I can accept (rather than fight) symptoms so that I can have a calm system. But chronic dizziness is not ok, neither is sensitivity to screens. I cannot work, sometimes I cannot drive or do the grocery store. I fear driving long distances because of them. How do I make them ok?

[@janiceince1965]

Sounds so much like Clare Weeks.. She says First response no control over its the second response the what ifs that you can change...

[@judithwhitelaw2684]

Hi Jim do you have a link to your video about strengthening the prefrontal cortex? Thank you

[@thepainpt]

I am not exactly sure which one but you can scroll through the video says there’s a few on that

[@1STBUCKLEY]

Dr Sarno's TMS

[@jossjekraayvanger7131]

Hello Jim. When I succeed in "catching" the pain when it comes up, and prevent it from becoming a "wildfire"... when I would become really good at this, would that, eventually also make the painflares come on less often? And: when the pain flaires every time after like, let's say, being physically active for more than 1 houre at a time, would it be sensible to limit my activities to less then 1 houre at a time, to prevent the pain from coming on too strong??

[@MsAnchovey]

That is actually my question. Do you workout while you're in pain. Do get a flare up after a certain intensity or time working out?

[@vitamind6355]

Thank you. Very useful. I’ll put it into practice . You know, I just wonder why, after a lifetime of my (unknown) programming presenting me with life’s ups and downs which I managed as best I could, the brain decides to turn on this ‘protective mode’ in this way - chronic, painful, debilitating body dis-ease. Yes, I can see there were stressors at the time my back pain turned on and started to ramp up but it’s not like it was my first ever stressful events. Is there an explanation of the why?

[@vikvegas8593]

Traumas build up over time and the body remembers them even if you forget so sometimes the one that made you snap is actually a culmination of everything.

[@vitamind6355]

@@vikvegas8593 Thank you. I think that’s exactly what it was. And it has really stopped me in my tracks - literally. A blessing really. It’s forced me to take a good hard look at myself.

[@briechilli4496]

What about DPDR ?

[@hew195050]

Either I do think I’m being ok with my emotions and feeling them or I’m so on fire from head to toe in pain and virtually exhausted that I just cannot let go. All the anger comes up, why me, why is my sister such a jerk and she has no issues etc. Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing this right or just stoking the fire.

[@thepainpt]

Why me try to stop that it’s a reaction. What you want to do is acknowledge the emotion with the intention of letting it go. why me is a type of shame putting it back on yourself

[@Lucyculucy]

Do you have more videos about the prefrontal cortex and activating it?

[@thepainpt]

I have some scattered but can do more

[@briechilli4496]

@@thepainptcan you post the link please ?

[@renee3461]

I wish this was more detailed about how exactly to do this. I can tell myself that I'm fine and it's not a problem, but I don't think my brain would believe that. My brain sees that I'm struggling to work even part time, etc, so how do I convince myself that it's fine even when there's evidence that the pain is causing real world problems at the moment? For me I also feel like it's helpful to listen to the pain and adjust things accordingly, like if I've used my body too much and that's causing increased pain, resting helps. If I try to think that everything is OK, maybe I wouldn't slow down, which would cause increased pain in my experience.

[@thepainpt]

Yes acute pain or pain from injury should Be heeded and listened to until it heals. Chronic pain that has gone past the normal healing timeframe is more likely to be an issue in the brain. So that is why we focus on changing the brain instead of the body and we don’t have to stop doing things if they are considered normal and not excessive.

[@jossjekraayvanger7131]

@@thepainpt I can't agree on this. For the moment my pain only comes up after fysical activity, and the more I do, the more pain I get. Which more then once leads to days of being completely couch-bound. This again ramps up my nervous system with fear and frustration!!

[@MsAnchovey]

@@jossjekraayvanger7131 Me too. The only time my pain level goes up is when I over do it and then I'm going to be in pain for 3 to ? days while trying to do all the talking calm to the brain, journaling, meditating. I guess if we over do it then we have pay consequences? Often I just workout anyway bc it makes me feel better, ( I guess from the endorphins and dopamine serotonin etc) then I break down and take a NSAIDS. Do we need to write in a journal? Some pros say yes, some say no. 😒🤔

[@Jasc5017]

@@jossjekraayvanger7131that’s why don’t over due it take step by step u gotta remind yourself again that u r capable of doing more and more

[@johannaking315]

Hi there Jim - I dont know how to tell my brain that i'm okay, or that this pain isnt a danger - its easy to think that you can just say the words "I'm okay, this isnt dangerous" - but I dont think I actually believe those words - how do you do this? thank you

[@hannahknight4311]

So when I get pain, and I immediately go to a thought ‘Oh, no, I’ve got a bad pain. It’s only going to get worse. I’m frightened...’ that’s okay? As long as I don’t react to the original thought with further anxious thoughts? So I’m not desperately trying to stop those anxious thoughts occurring in the first place, because that’s probably just not possible, it’s rather a matter of not giving those thoughts more power by fretting about them?

[@thepainpt]

Exactly you got it. You can’t stop that initial reaction from the deeper brain but you can stop yourself from growing it into a more exaggerated response

[@aav_n]

and I'm just watching winx club and they had to accept their nemesis in order to defeat them thank you for the valuable information I'm excited to change my mind for the better! ∆°✨❕

[@safiarosetta]

Does this help with full body pain aches and nerve pain that constantly changes

[@thepainpt]

Yes it does!

[@treefrank1376]

How do I get a muscle under my ribs on the left side to stop twitching? It’s been doing it for months and no doctors know what to do. I’ve been checked for a hernia and I’ve had my heart checked. I’ve been to PT and a GI doctor and a chiropractor. I’ve tried cold laser and the BEMER and nothing seems help. It comes and goes. Today it is awful. It’s twitching so hard it’s making me nauseous. There are certain positions and foods that make it worse. Sometimes I just wake up like that, maybe from laying on my left side for too long. It started after sitting around for extended periods due to health issues. I have to wear really loose pants too or it gets worse.

[@thepainpt]

Yeah challenge it. It sounds like anxiety. Especially if nothing found physically.

[@RMacEwan]

Consider taking magnesium glycinate or citrate. Magnesium deficiency (which most of us are) can lead to muscle twitching. Poor gut health reduces absorption, so anxiety, or diet, could play a role, but simply taking a supplement might help -- it did for me.

[@kimholcomb8276]

So are you saying even if I have negative thoughts and feelings around the symptoms..I just accept the negative thoughts and feelings and not fight the thoughts...or try to flip the thoughts ...? I just respond to it in kindness and safety..?

[@thepainpt]

Yes essentially let it all go. You can respond with different conscious messages or self talk but The big thing is you don’try to fight feelings or thoughts. You can’t stop em you just don’t not need to believe them.

[@kimholcomb8276]

@@thepainpt I tried this last night...just let my body express pain ...the symptom moved and got worse..I went into fear over it...fear and despair

[@MsAnchovey]

I've been REALLY trying to do this, and it's not working. I don't get all worked up at all, I meditate or carry on with my day, having positive thoughts, even visualizing, being indifferent, talking to my brain on and on but after 6 mo it's not changing or improving. Please help!

[@thepainpt]

You are missing one big piece that could be the most important one of all. This is looking at and observing and processing emotions and thoughts around stressors in your life now when the time your pain started and also from childhood. All these things can live in the brain and body now even if they’ve happened years ago. Remember Dr. Sarno says move from the physical to the psychological. In talking to you remember there was always stress associated with your physical symptoms at the time of onset so those things need to be explored in more detail. Add in that piece to what you are doing. This can be journaling, contemplation, talking and processing with another like with a practitioner. Take care!

[@1STBUCKLEY]

Read Dr Sarno's book. Or Dan Buglio on KZbin

[@gloriamancillafaithrun]

Do you accept the sensation, emotion, feeling thought or the trigger? (Eg: dog barking you say, “It’s ok; I’m ok…signaling safety to the body?”

[@dalebarlow6231]

This idea of allowing it to be does not help when you wake up in the middle of the night from pain... The pain is too intense to sleep...and saying to my brain...it's ok. Does not work

[@cdracos1]

What's your story ? Are you symptom free with your techniques ?

[@thepainpt]

Yes I am now. But tomorrow could bring some stress or emotion thats hard to handle and I could have symptoms. This is being human. The key is to keep at it and realize that unless you hurt yourself it's all ok. I've overcome many pains, recurrent sinus infections, and pretty bad anxiety.

[@MM-pt9oz]

Play on 2x speed. You’re welcome

[@dommccaffry3802]

Does this apply to other symptoms too apart from pain?

[@thepainpt]

Yes applies to anything you can feel

[@gmsinding1766]

sounds like the completely opposite to what all the CFS programmes do, so they are wrong to break these negative thought loops?

[@paulojustinianookubo]

Does this work for ibs and pelvic pain? I have been suffering abdomina burningsl pelvic and muscle pain all over. No dr can find what is wrong. This has lead to depression anxiety, panic and disespiar emotions. I used to be normal now I cant even function due to this pains.

[@thepainpt]

If there are no structural causes then yes you can use this to get better

[@joe2825]

Subscribe to this and search for a podcast called tell me about your pain. They are on fb too

[@kimholcomb8276]

Do you have a book?

[@thepainpt]

No book haven’t had time!

[@kimholcomb8276]

@@thepainpt Thank you for taking the time to reply to me.

[@swyllie30]

I like to this content but the camera angle is unnerving. Feels like your standing over me.

[@suzannemartin6817]

So basically you are ignoring it like you might a child who is having a tantrum in the grocery store because you won’t give them candy.

[@darekxxx5008]