Discovering Neuroplasticity

 A few months ago, I began reading about something I had never really understood before—the connection between the brain, the nervous system, and pain.

They call it neuroplasticity.

The idea that the brain and nervous system can create and maintain both emotional and physical pain was new to me.

There are tests you can take that can help you explore whether neuroplastic pain might be part of your story. I passed every one of them.

But more than the tests, I began looking at my own life.

And suddenly, things started to make sense.

Fibromyalgia was part of my story for many years.

So was chronic fatigue.

Both eventually disappeared as mysteriously as they arrived.

Then there was the knee pain.

I woke up one day with chronic pain in both knees.

There had been no injury.

Not one knee was worse than the other.

They simply hurt.

For years, I went from doctor to doctor looking for an explanation. I heard different possibilities, but never got a clear answer.

And then came the bladder pain.

The more I learned about neuroplasticity, the more I began wondering if there was a connection.

I’ve spent so much time trying to understand what was happening to my body.

Now I’m beginning to ask a different question:

What if my nervous system has learned to create pain as a way of protecting me?

It sounds strange.

And I don’t pretend to have all the answers.

But when I look at my history, I can’t ignore the possibility.

Maybe my body isn’t betraying me.

Maybe it has been trying to protect me even though I do t understand what that means.

And perhaps understanding that is the beginning of something new.

Instead of being afraid of my body,

maybe I can begin to listen to it.