In this exercise, you will create your own recipe for pain. “What are you talking about, Louis?”, you ask me. Let me explain. I invite you to write down all the ingredients and steps that you need to experience your pain. Fret not, I'm going to give you my example later to illustrate this idea.
But first, why would you do that? Well, there are several reasons to write down your very own “recipe for pain”. The main idea behind this exercise is to make you think about the things you should better avoid in your daily routine if you want to stay away from pain. This will give a contrasting outlook of what is not good for you. You will get surprising (I hope!) insights after revising your habits in an alternative, humorous way.
It is, therefore, completely fine that the recipe is a bit exaggerated, or maybe even a bit silly! The more you can look at pain with humour, the less the pain pathways get activated.
Caution: the intention of this blog is not to follow your recipe, but to become aware of what explicitly does not work for you.
Below you will find my recipe for pain. I’ve had back pain for a long time and noticed that it recured almost instantly if I didn’t stick to a healthy routine, or if there were certain tensions in my life. Hope you don’t mind my awkward humour and exaggerations.
Louis' recipe for low back pain
Welcome to Louis' recipe for low back pain. With over 15 years of experience, Louis' has found the best recipe for the perfect back pain.
Ingredients:
- An uncomfortable office chair
- One car
- Daily enhanced one sagging posture
- 300 grams of worries
- One kilo of cancelled sports activities
- 5 nights of poor sleep - preferably several nights in a row
- 500 grams of disagreement
- 1 Google browser
In the run-up to back pain, try to sleep as badly as possible for a few nights in a row. An overly soft mattress is a bonus. If you don't succeed in sleeping poorly, try to go to bed as late as possible and get out as early as possible, midnight video games and late coffee can ensure brokenness in the morning. In the morning, skip the exercises and perch on your highly uncomfortable, not a proper office chair. Perch on it the whole day staring at the computer screen, avoiding standing up as much as possible.
Cancel as many sports and social appointments as you can. Now start complaining about all the things that pop in your mind, the more the merrier. If you have done this correctly, the first back pain will already begin to occur. Now it’s time to sprinkle your day with some worries: Is everything in my back all right? Isn’t something broken? Google your syndromes, that should add some flavour of hopelessness to your pain. Think back to moments when you hurt your back, this will boost the back pain a bit more. If you have the feeling that the back pain is progressing well, you are right on track, but don’t stop just yet!
Go to Praxis, slumped in the car, buy paint rollers and wall paint. Back home, do a proper 4-hour non-stop wall-painting marathon(or any other physical activity for too long), until you are completely broken. Finish off by arguing with someone you love, and you're done!
Now your turn
That's my recipe. As I warned you, I like to exaggerate and make a bit of a mockery of myself, but everyone has their own style and preference, so be yourself by all means and don’t limit your imagination.
Now it's your turn! What does your recipe for pain look like? Let your creativity out and exaggerate to the fullest. You can share your recipe with us at supoport@reducept.com, and also indicate if we can share it with our community.
Let’s cook up something cool together!
Exercise: let’s cook your perfect pain
