Let's talk about the connection between your mind and your body and how mental and emotional states can directly affect bodily functions.
I hope you've been well and your 2025 is off to a smashing start. We’re three months in, and I can say with confidence that this is going to be one of my best years yet. The future looks so bright! I’ve spent much of the last several months doing some deep inner work, exploring my emotional landscape and excavating some old, unprocessed emotions. And it was through this process of exploration and excavating, I uncovered some deeper knowledge and wisdom about myself. As I brought it into the light, I’ve been able to bring some much needed healing into my life.
Let me back up and give you some history and context. Some of you know that I’ve been dealing with chronic lower back pain for the last few years. I endeavored to do all the things to “fix” myself: x-rays and MRI’s, physical therapy, chiropractic care, decompression therapy, dry needling. I did exercises to strengthen my core and glutes. I added yoga to my workout regimen. I cut out sugar. I adjusted my sitting and standing positions. I can be relentless, and I was on a mission. But nothing worked. And I mean nothing. In fact, the pain was getting worse.
As luck would have it, I was working with a health coach through my functional medicine practice who recommended a book that changed everything, Healing Back Pain by Dr. John Sarno. This book introduced me to the mind-body connection which refers to the bidirectional relationship between a person’s thoughts, emotions and attitudes, and their physical health. It’s the concept that mental and emotional states can directly affect bodily functions. While we know and accept that pain or illness can cause stress and anxiety, it’s less commonly known that stress and anxiety can cause pain or illness. I voraciously consumed everything on this topic I could get my hands on, from books to podcasts and everything the internet had to offer. I also worked with therapists and coaches (did I mention I’m relentless?).
What I discovered is that while pain and other conditions such as IBS, migraines and chronic fatigue can obviously have identifiable structural origins in the body, they can also be caused by repressed emotions, stressful life events, and past traumas. While I knew of the mind-body connection, it never occurred to me to explore it as it relates to my back pain. Here are the four main things that helped me understand my chronic pain.
1. First, it’s important to understand how pain works. Acute pain is a sudden, sharp sensation that typically results from an injury or illness and lasts for a short duration, usually resolving as the underlying cause heals. It serves as a warning signal from the body, prompting immediate attention and treatment. In contrast, pain caused by repressed emotions does not stem from physical injury but rather from unresolved psychological distress. Emotional pain can activate the same neural pathways as physical pain, creating real sensations of discomfort even in the absence of tissue damage. The brain may use this mechanism to express emotional conflicts or stress in a physical form, such as chronic headaches, back pain, and stomach issues. While both types of pain are real and can be debilitating, their underlying causes differ, requiring different approaches for effective treatment.
Modern neuroscience and psychology suggest that the brain and nervous system play a crucial role in the perception and regulation of pain. The brain processes pain signals through a complex network of pathways, and psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression can amplify or even generate pain sensations. Studies have shown that emotions such as anxiety and anger cause increased tension in the back muscles of people with chronic pain, and there is typically no conscious awareness of the emotions causing the pain.
I had lived with anxiety and occasional short bouts of depression much of my life. I tried therapy a few times when I was younger, but I never really found relief. If I’m honest, I didn’t stick it out long enough. I started taking anxiety medication in my 30’s, and while it helped dull the anxiety, it didn’t help me to process what was going on inside me or address the root cause of my anxiety.
2. Certain personality types are more susceptible to mind-body conditions due to their emotional and psychological tendencies. These include:
Check, check, and check! Once I read this, I was sold on continuing down this path of healing.
3. Individuals experiencing one mind-body symptom often report multiple related symptoms. For example, someone with chronic migraines may also struggle with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue, or fibromyalgia. This overlap occurs because the same neural pathways and stress responses that contribute to one condition frequently affect others. The body's heightened sensitivity to stress, inflammation, and nervous system dysregulation can manifest in various symptoms simultaneously, making treatment more complex.
Upon learning this, I immediately got out my notebook to make a list. I thought of all the symptoms I’d had over the years that seemed to come out of nowhere (and disappear out of nowhere) and for which a root cause was never established. Here are a few: neck pain, knee pain, severe forearm itch, heartburn, urgent and frequent urination, heart palpitations, TMJ, acne, sciatic pain. I have been to specialists and often therapy for many of these conditions, and some of them still rear their ugly heads from time to time. I had simply accepted that I am one of those people who develops weird and seemingly unrelated conditions. To say this newfound knowledge was a balm for my nervous system is an understatement.
4. Fear of chronic pain and other conditions can create a vicious cycle that worsens the symptoms. Anxiety and stress heighten the body's sensitivity to pain by amplifying neural pathways involved in pain perception, leading to increased discomfort and tension. This fear can also result in hypervigilance, where individuals constantly scan their bodies for the symptoms, making them more aware of and distressed by even minor sensations. Avoidance behaviors, such as limiting movement or skipping activities to prevent pain serve to reinforce the condition by signaling to the brain that there’s a physical problem.
Boy, could I relate to this. I spent a lot of time thinking about my back pain. In fact, much of my time was spent catastrophizing my situation. “What if the pain never goes away? What if it progresses until I can’t even walk in my later years?” I was working out at Orange Theory at the time, and I kept adjusting my workouts to see if I could lessen the pain. Walking instead of running on the treadmill. Lowering the incline. Biking instead of running. Modifying exercises on the weight floor. Eventually, I gave up Orange Theory for SolidCore, hoping that strengthening my core would help. All of these actions served as confirmation to my brain that there was a problem with my back.
I’d like to stress the importance of ruling out any structural or physical issues before exploring the possibility of a mind-body connection as the root cause of pain. Undiagnosed injuries, infections, nerve damage, or musculoskeletal disorders can lead to serious complications if left untreated. A thorough medical evaluation, including imaging and diagnostic tests if necessary, ensures that no underlying condition is overlooked. Ignoring potential structural causes in favor of a purely psychological explanation could delay necessary treatment and exacerbate the problem. Only after medical conditions have been ruled out should the role of stress, emotions, and psychological factors in pain be seriously considered.
If you know someone who my story might resonate with, feel free to share. I want to stress the very important fact that the pain was not “in my head”. Unfortunately, that’s what many people hear when they learn of the mind-body connection. The pain is absolutely real and no different than pain caused by an injury. Neuroscience proves this. It also was not “my fault”, another common misconception. I have done and am still doing the work to heal, and I’ve come so far. My back pain has improved by about 90%. This work is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart. But I can tell you with absolute certainty that it’s worth it. Not just for healing the physical pain but for the emotional pain I didn’t even fully know I had.
