Why is it so hard to start brain retraining?
Opinion: Kelly
It took me the best part of a year to seriously consider brain retraining for chronic migraine symptoms. I have many friends and colleagues in the migraine space and life in general that are interested but are not able to give it a genuine go. If this is you, I get it. What are the barriers to try this strategy? I think there are a lot of reasons and they all are relevant.
Brain retraining means we have to rethink the very basis of how we perceive and deal with chronic pain and other symptoms.
Some in the medical and advocacy community reinforce the concept that pain including chronic pain is beyond our control or that there is a ‘medical’ basis for our symptoms - something mechanical is not working properly or there is some unknown underlying medical condition; this kind of messaging is powerful. Some also believe that discussing brain retraining minimizes or delegitimizes migraine and other types of chronic pain and for that reason, are not supportive.
We have already tried so many strategies and treatments; it exhausted me to even think of putting energy into another ‘cure’ to only feel the heavy weight of it not working. I was very skeptical and it took a lot of time and research to reach a point where I was willing to seriously consider brain retraining.
When I first heard about brain training (TMS at that time) the concept made me angry. I felt my experience with pain was being dismissed or that they were saying ‘it was all in my head’. It may have worked for others but my pain experience was obviously different and worse.
Even though I understood that thoughts, emotions and feelings are tied to physical responses, I did not believe that ‘my pain’ was this category and would be influenced by brain retraining.
It was challenging to understand how the brain was influencing my attacks especially when they often started in the middle of the night.
I did not want to see my symptoms differently. I was angry at my brain and the notion of ‘accepting’ or learning to live with my symptoms seemed like giving up. or giving in.
Brain retraining requires an investment of time, energy and willingness to make substantial changes. All three can be hard to come by especially with all the other responsibilities, jobs, expectations we are dealing with.
All my mental, physical and emotional resources were already exhausted just getting through the day and dealing with the symptoms.
It just seems wacky - how can the way we think, feel, or our beliefs be a major factor in chronic symptoms like pain, dizziness, nausea, fatigue. It just didn’t fit with what I had learned to date.
I understand all the resistance to trying brain retraining … but the research clearly shows the impact thought, emtions and beliefs can have on pain and other sensations of discomfort. Many, myself included, see significant improvement in their symptoms using brain retraining strategies.