How Do You Cope With Pain?

In practice, doctors are continually on alert for passive people, as they never seem to get positive results from the usual therapies, and generally become increasingly disabled. We call indicators of passive attitudes "yellow flags". When we see these yellow flags we tend to look for opportunities to refer these people to psychotherapists for counseling.

Passive pain coping strategies are maladaptive in nature and tend to stand in the way of an individual's maturation process. These people tend to become dependent on others, including their doctors. They are difficult people to befriend as they take more from others than they give. They seem to be on the lookout for a listening ear so that they can unload their myriad of woes. Listening to them is OK, if some purpose is achieved. Sadly, more often than not, the entire scene has been played out so often by them that talking about their troubles merely reinforces their role of the victim.

Coping behaviors can be a strong indicator of the overall function of the individual. Passive individuals tend to develop victim mentalities, often have weaker immune systems and "catch" everything going. None of us likes to be around passive, negative people for long. Unfortunately, this subtle message leaves the passive person with a self-fulfilling prophecy that nothing good ever comes their way and that they are doomed to suffer, both physical pain and social rejection.

The good news is that it is possible to alter one's attitude and change to become an active coping person. The key is self-awareness. If you recognize in yourself any of the passive coping behaviors that we touched on in this article, you can then take steps to change the way you deal with life's stresses. I believe that the ultimate healing power lies within the individual. Doctors and therapists merely act as catalysts to set healing in motion, or to release interference that may be holding your healing powers back, but the real power to positively affect the outcome is right inside you. As with most other things in life, "If it's meant to be, it's up to me".

The inspiration for this article came from the commentary section of the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association Vol 46, No. 3 September 2002.

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