Sometimes you need to replace the batteries, and sometimes there is an actual fire. Emotional pain may be an indicator that there is a larger problem going on in your life that needs to be dealt with.
Emotional pain
For many of the patients we see, there are topics or touch points that are very difficult and painful for them. It may be their family life, a trauma or a past history, their job, work-life balance, or even politics. They have painful thoughts around this subjects that are very difficult and increase their suffering around the issue.
Typically, when we work with patients during ketamine treatment, we discuss with them techniques of changing their perspective and working with their thoughts — such as finding thoughts that are equally true but less painful, or thoughts that are equally true but also helpful, or thoughts that allow them to accept their situation.
However, for some patients, these techniques are not helpful. These patients tell us that this thought work is not effective because their situation is too painful and unacceptable.
In these moments, pain — the emotional pain surrounding a difficult topic — can act as a fire alarm, telling us that there is a larger issue that can not be ignored.
What pain tells us
This reality can be easier to notice with physical pain. For example, if a patient comes into the emergency room with horrible stomach pain, the first response should not be to immediately diagnosis them with depression, anxiety, and functional abdominal pain, while telling them that it is a chronic pain that they will have to live with forever. Instead, the response should be to examine them and make sure there is not something more severe going on, like appendicitis or a perforated bowel or gallbladder disease.
Similarly, if someone comes in to our clinic with very traumatic, sharp, and painful emotional pain, we do not want to immediately tell them that they’re simply experiencing depression or anxiety and that they will need to live with that condition for the rest of their life. Asking them to find ways to change their perspective may not be an effective solution.
Emotional pain can be an indicator that there is a larger problem in your life. This can be a work-life balance situation, an abusive relationship, alcohol and drug problem, dealing with the grief of losing a loved one, or grief of losing a future you had planned, or grief of finally accepting someone for who they are and not who you want them to be.
Any of these examples are very difficult, very painful things to experience, and you may not always be ready to face them.
Responding to the fire alarm
When a fire alarm is going off, we can take out the batteries to get the alarm to stop.
Sometimes, emotional pain can be a chemical problem that can be fixed with medication, or a problem that can be fixed with the perspective change that ketamine brings, or a problem that can be fixed with a decrease in the sympathetic nervous system brought on by a stellate ganglion block.
However, sometimes there is actually a fire. Emotional pain may be a result of an incredibly painful experience in life that you need to do something about.
Consider whether now is a time when it is more appropriate to remove the batteries — changing medications, adding ketamine, or TMS, or a stellate ganglion block — or whether now is a time when you need to go and put out the fire.
About Us
Wells Medicine is a Houston-based practice designed to provide meaningful care for mental health. Providing targeted interventional treatments for Depression, Anxiety, OCD, PTSD and other conditions, with Ketamine Treatments, Stellate Ganglion Blocks, TMS, and Nitrous-Oxide Treatments. Focused on comprehensive care and integration with Psychiatry, Psychology, and Support Services. We are evidence-based, patient-focused and mission-driven.
The content here is for informational purposes and should not be relied upon for medical decisions. For the details of your specific medical conditions and treatments consult your doctors or other qualified healthcare professionals.
