People who experience chronic pain such as Fibromyalgia (FM), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), back pain and other chronic conditions, seek all kinds of treatments in the hope of finding relief for their physical symptoms. The primary focus is on treating the physical aspects of the condition in the hope of being free from pain and revitalised with energy. 
Naturally, it is important to pay attention to treating the physical symptoms, but it is equally important to treat other factors that may be also contributing to the illness. I am referring here to the psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects that are likely to be factors influencing how we feel. We may be completely unaware of the non-physical contributions to our physical symptoms and so we may overlook healing some essential components of our illness. We are missing a significant part of the story of our condition when we concentrate only on the physical aspects of ourselves for healing. There is a psychological component of all pain in that the pain has been either caused or exacerbated by experiences in our lives and our emotional responses. It is essential to address the non-physical aspects of the pain as well as the physical aspects if there is to be sustained relief and healing.We know that we are affected emotionally by our illness: we can be frustrated, disappointed, angry, upset, depressed, but we may fail to recognise the impact that our emotions have on our energy and pain levels.
Negative emotions are draining and contribute to our overall condition of fatigue and pain. Negative emotions are also linked to unpleasant or traumatic past experiences and in this regard, are likely to have significant impact on our illness. If we wish to achieve the greatest healing with chronic illness conditions, treating our negative emotions is vital. This does not mean that the condition we may experience as physical debilitation and pain is all in the head, or that it’s not a physical illness at all. It is simply the recognition and acknowledgement that we are more than the physical aspects of ourselves: we are physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual beings in one body, and we cannot isolate one part of ourselves without the whole person being affected.
Our health is dependent on all aspects of our lives. Our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, memories and experiences are carried within us, as are our muscles, tendons, blood, nerves and other body parts. Physical and psychological health (inclusive of emotional and the spiritual dimensions) are therefore intertwined: when one is affected, so is the other, and in the same vein, when one improves, so does the other. It is just as important to spend time healing the beliefs, feelings and experiences that have caused us, and continue to cause us emotional pain, as it is to treat the physical symptoms of our bodily pain, and it is likely to be the case that when emotional healing takes place, our physical condition improves.
If we overlook healing and treatments for the non-physical aspects of our lives whilst we focus only on the physical symptoms, we are missing treating significant components of our condition and and denying ourselves the best opportunity for healing and living with greater relief and freedom.
About Margaret Lambert
Hi Margaret,
In Chinese medicine, certain physical ailments are indicative of psychosomatic causes and it will be interesting to know if you have come across a few in your experience. Thank you.
Yes, I have experienced this often, both personally and with people I work with. When physical symptoms present, such as IBS, body aches, migraines or other symptoms, relief has been found in so many cases when the psychological issues have been healed with energy therapy techniques. One lady’s IBS disappeared completely when we worked at healing traumatic memories related to the violent death of a sibling.