Relax! This Will Hurt!

When my chiropractor tells me to relax, I brace myself for pain.  It’s about to hurt, but I will be thankful after the adjustment when the pain I came in with is released.  

She counts down, “relax in 3, 2 ,1…” but before “1” is fully formed into word, the adjustment has already happened.  She tricked me again!  She knows that when it hurts, it is almost impossible to relax.  

It’s the same with emotional pain.  When it hurts, we tense up.  Just like on the chiropractor’s table, a protective reflex kicks in to keep it from hurting more.  But this reflex is the very tension that holds on to the pain both when it is physical and when it is emotional.   

It is difficult to relax when it hurts.  

Psychotherapy gives us the ability to relax with emotional pain so that we can hear its complaint, adjust appropriately, and release the pain.