In 2015, Lesley Paterson broke her shoulder during a practice run the day before the Costa Rica XTERRA triathlon that caused her to lose the ability to use her arm. Not only did Paterson compete in the race, but she also won. Furthermore, the now five-time world champion triathlete, battles with debilitating, chronic Lyme disease. She attributes her ability to persevere, despite experiencing mental and physical pain, to the power of her mind.
“It’s a mindset you develop across years and years,” says Paterson, now 43 years old, living in Los Angeles, California, and working as an Oscar-nominated screenwriter. “It’s something both you’re born with and you develop and cultivate. I’ve dealt with pain my whole life, or rather sought it out.”
Paterson’s ability to navigate pain by leveraging her thoughts is also backed by research. For decades, scientists, doctors and health professionals have been researching the mind-body connection, or the way that our thoughts and emotions affect our physical health.
[See: Mind-Blowing Benefits of Exercise.]
The Mind-Body Connection
Ellen Langer is a professor of psychology at Harvard University and author of “The Mindful Body, Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health.” Langer published the landmark “counterclockwise” study in 1979, in which elderly men were put in a retreat and lived as if they were 20 years younger. As a result, the men grew “younger” in health-related measurements.
“We had elderly men live there a week as if they were their younger selves,” Langer says. “For example, they spoke of the past in the present tense. In a period of time, less than a week, what happened was, their vision improved, their hearing improved, their memory, their strength and they looked noticeably younger, without any medical intervention.”
This study is part of a larger body of research that illustrates what Langer calls “mind body unity.” Other studies have demonstrated that how participants perceive time can speed healing and alleviate symptoms of fatigue. These findings show that the mind and body operate in unison.
[READ: Tips for Overcoming Mental Exhaustion.]
Mindful Decision Making for Pain Management
When Paterson broke her shoulder, she went through a mental, stepwise approach to continue her race, despite the pain she was experiencing.
“I had broken a shoulder. Of course I’m going to feel pain, but it’s something that you’ve trained your mindset to deal with,” Paterson says. “You break it down into small sections. You say, ‘I’m going to do the swim with one arm. If I get through that, and it’s ok, then we move onto the bike. If I manage to make it a mile on the bike, great.’ And you break it down into small sections.”
Langer says that being mindful about making decisions leads to less pain and stress and, therefore, better overall health. Studies have shown that instead of telling someone to “try” something, you tell them to “do” the task, and the doers always outperform those who try.
“Instead of wasting your time trying to make the right decision, make the decision right,” Langer says. “The stress from making decisions comes from the fear of not making the right decision. You can’t know what the right decision is because things are always changing. They look different from different perspectives. Make it work.”
Langer believes that being decisive in the language we use for terms like cancer remission also has a profound effect on the outcome. She says that remission has the built-in expectation that the patient is going to continue to be sick, or the disease will eventually return. This can be stressful. Instead, she suggests it’s reasonable for those in remission to see themselves as cured for potentially better results.
“In some sense, you get what you expect,” Langer says. “Every thought has an effect on our bodies. Every movement has an effect on our thoughts. It’s all very subtle.”
[Read: Meditation for Pain Relief.]
Symptom Attention and Chronic Pain
Paterson first noticed symptoms of chronic Lyme disease in 2011, and since then she’s experienced ongoing stomach problems, depression, anxiety and fatigue that range in severity. She had to take off a full season from competing and began to work with functional medicine doctors.
“I’ve been through massive highs, massive lows and everything in between,” Paterson says. “It’s always believing that you can be better. That you can find something to progress. Just always having hope, I think, has been the big one.”
Langer says that research on Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and other chronic pain conditions shows that people find great relief by becoming aware that their pain is on a spectrum. Once someone realizes their pain doesn’t only get worse but feels better at times, it is crucial to consider why it improves. This is an exercise in mindfulness and helps those who are suffering to stay hopeful and seek out solutions.
Relationship Between Emotions and Physical Pain
Paterson’s symptoms of Lyme disease manifest both mentally and physically, and the two are always interconnected.
According to Tom Walters, a physical therapist and author of “Rehab Science: How to Overcome Pain and Heal from Injury,” navigating pain is both an exercise in therapy and physical movements.
“Often there’s a fear-avoidance scenario, where you have pain and you get scared to do certain movements because you’re worried it’s going to injure you,” Walters says. “Not being able to do those causes depression. Then you move less, and you create more pain. A lot of people get caught in that cycle with both anxiety and depression.”
Walters says that your mental health can negatively affect the pain you experience and that everyone has unique experiences with pain. He suggests that if someone is experiencing pain longer than three to six months, they may want to consider how their thoughts and emotions are having an effect.
“There’s some research citing that depression is a stronger predictor of chronic back pain versus any physical characteristic,” Walters says. “The mental side is definitely tied to physical pain and injuries.”
Empowering Approach to Pain
Paterson still pursues her passions as a triathlete and a screenwriter. Both keep her motivated and help her enjoy life when it’s good. Her passions also help her traverse the painful moments and seek out challenges to overcome.
“I truly believe that mind work is the essence of success in life,” Paterson says. “I just put myself in difficult situations, and I embrace any kind of failures as a way to grow and learn about myself and get better.”
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Pain and the Mind-Body Connection originally appeared on usnews.com
