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I've been posting mainly on LJ, since most of my posts go along with my weekly menu. However, this is something I need to remember, so I'm posting it here.
So, for me, IBS is mainly pain and having my intestines swell up like crazy. It, obviously, sucks. I've read before - and Joel read recently - that IBS pain is at least partly based on pain sensitization, like brain receptors for pain start firing and keep firing even though they don't need to be. So, it seems to mean that a lot of my pain is an illusion. I know that I tense up when I'm in horrible pain, which makes the pain worse too. Now, swelling happens when there is damage often. Could it be that the swelling is related to the illusory pain?
I've tried ignoring the pain, which doesn't really work. However, focusing really intently on the pain and asking, "Does this really hurt?" makes the pain go away instantly. Five seconds later it appears elsewhere, but if I focus on it and ask if it really hurts, it goes away again. This takes a lot of concentration. However, it seems to work better for me than nearly anything else (except perhaps sedatives, which I was given without my knowledge and which worked well, but which I will not take again). So, anyway, I need to remember this for next time it comes up. I have zero idea if it will work for anyone else.
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Only partially related to that, I've been thinking about neo-Confucianism. The article says, "Whereas Buddhism insisted on the unreality of things, Neo-Confucianism stressed their reality." I've heard people claim that if you can focus on the unreality of things, you won't get burned by fire. Real or not, it seems that this isn't reasonable for regular people. However, there are plenty of things that cause pain (like my stomach pain illusion) that aren't real. Perhaps wisdom is being able to discover what is real and what is not.
So, for me, IBS is mainly pain and having my intestines swell up like crazy. It, obviously, sucks. I've read before - and Joel read recently - that IBS pain is at least partly based on pain sensitization, like brain receptors for pain start firing and keep firing even though they don't need to be. So, it seems to mean that a lot of my pain is an illusion. I know that I tense up when I'm in horrible pain, which makes the pain worse too. Now, swelling happens when there is damage often. Could it be that the swelling is related to the illusory pain?
I've tried ignoring the pain, which doesn't really work. However, focusing really intently on the pain and asking, "Does this really hurt?" makes the pain go away instantly. Five seconds later it appears elsewhere, but if I focus on it and ask if it really hurts, it goes away again. This takes a lot of concentration. However, it seems to work better for me than nearly anything else (except perhaps sedatives, which I was given without my knowledge and which worked well, but which I will not take again). So, anyway, I need to remember this for next time it comes up. I have zero idea if it will work for anyone else.
------
Only partially related to that, I've been thinking about neo-Confucianism. The article says, "Whereas Buddhism insisted on the unreality of things, Neo-Confucianism stressed their reality." I've heard people claim that if you can focus on the unreality of things, you won't get burned by fire. Real or not, it seems that this isn't reasonable for regular people. However, there are plenty of things that cause pain (like my stomach pain illusion) that aren't real. Perhaps wisdom is being able to discover what is real and what is not.
