Pain can be a frightening reminder that we’re not invincible. So, how do you cope with it? Does your pain feel more manageable when you sideline it or when you confront it?

Massage therapist and co-founder of SunSpace Massage in Seattle, Kellie is no stranger to bodies in discomfort, but when she started experiencing intense pain of her own, her journey to pinpoint causes and find solutions took her through a gauntlet of considerations. She speaks candidly about the intimate realities of her biochemistry, hormones, healthcare costs, and grieving connected with her pain experience.

Dr. Beebe Dericks, a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist at Dericks Family Medicine, also delves more deeply into the science and impacts of hormonal and mitochondrial disruptors.

When pain becomes too much to ignore, do you distract yourself from it or immerse yourself in it on the path to healing?

Note: This episode contains some adult language.

Key Points from this Episode:

• Ernest Becker’s philosophy that an unconscious fear of death drives and motivates all human actions
• Pain can have its roots in nonmechanical, internal biological factors
• When trying to pinpoint the cause(s) of pain, proximal activities may correlate, may be coincidental, or may be triggers of an already existing issue
• Correlations between pain, inflammation, ligament laxity, hormone fluctuations, and menstrual cycles
• Tracking body chemistry through menstruation, diet, sleep, stress
• Healthcare challenges: costs can dictate care
• Hormone/endocrine disruptors’ (e.g., copper IUDs) and mitochondrial disruptors’ impact on the body and natural processes
• Supporting optimal elimination (urine, stool, and sweat) to maintain balanced systems through detoxification
• Discomfort and inflammation radiating through nerves beyond the point of pain origin
• Psychological differences between knowing the source of pain versus not knowing
• Giving in fully to pain to control the experience versus distracting from pain
• The necessity of emotional and hands-on support in successfully handling both physical and psychological pain
• The physicality of expressing grief
• The line between being present in pain and obsessing over pain
• Wild animals’ physical expressions of trauma versus humans’ suppression of trauma

Links Related to this Episode:

• Ernest Becker Foundation –  http://ernestbecker.org/
• Ernest Becker, Denial of Death https://www.amazon.com/Denial-Death-Ernest-Becker/dp/0684832402
• Robert Sapolsky –  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sapolsky
• Robert Sapolsky, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers https://www.amazon.com/Why-Zebras-Dont-Ulcers-Third/dp/0805073698
• Bowel Endometriosis –  http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0104-42302009000500029&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en
• Pain and Emotions – Brain research: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn1704
• Tammy Kent MSPT Holistic Pelvic Care™: http://www.wildfeminine.com/faq/

Featured Businesses:

• https://www.sunspace.life/
• https://www.dericksfamilymedicine.com/
• https://www.weeditpodcasts.com/
• Radiolab podcast: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538884/radiolab

Music from this Episode:

• Eric and Magill – https://ericandmagill.bandcamp.com/
• Samuel Vas-Y – https://samyel.bandcamp.com
• Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club – http://www.juniorscienceclub.com/loganarchive/
• Mr. and Mrs. Smith “Pain in the ..” from Uncertain Gravity – http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mr__Mrs_Smith/Uncertain_Gravity_1947/