Chronic Pain & the Mind: First Steps — Understand the State Before You Act

When suffering drags on and wears you down, it's natural to want to "do something" right away — prevention, training, searching for a method. But Dr. Saulitis insists on a simple order: first understand what is actually happening, and only then act. Otherwise all the theories and techniques turn into intellectualization around the problem.

Diagnosis first, everything else after

The doctor compares it to a fracture: prevention and training are good, but if the leg is broken — you first need a cast. In the same way, the first step is to establish the fact about the state of your body and your neurons. Without understanding what state the brain is in, any treatment turns out "useless." A diagnosis is made by a specialist physician — that is the base from which the path begins.

Why the state matters, not just the symptom

From the outside, different conditions can look the same, while the causes differ completely: burnout, attention deficit, age, stress. You must act on the cause itself. The doctor compares the brain to a computer's "hardware": if you can't see what state it is in, you have no idea what you are doing to it — "should it be warmed or cooled."

What working with the mind gives, and its limits

A psychologist and psychotherapist work with behavior, influence thinking. But it's important to be honest with yourself: an informational phenomenon triggers changes in the neuron and synapse, and this affects neuroplasticity — how the brain develops and works. So the meaning of any approach lies in what happens at the level of neurons, and that can't be grasped without understanding how the brain works.

What shapes a person's state

The doctor lists the factors that form how a person manifests and copes with load: genetics (how neurons work), epigenetics (how the environment acts on them), learning and neuroplasticity — whether there was psychotraumatization in childhood or, on the contrary, a supportive environment, what skills are built, and what environment the person lives in. "You become like those you keep company with."

When the brain is overloaded

Sometimes a state arises because the brain is under stress and tired: too many different stimuli in too short a time, and it cannot process them. This is not "character" or "weakness" — it is overload, which is also important to see and name before doing anything about it.

Practice: first steps

1. Don't rush to "treat" with techniques — first fix the fact: what is happening to you, how long, and against what background.
2. Go to a specialist physician for a diagnosis — this is the base for all further steps.
3. Ask yourself honestly about load: how many different stimuli, over what time, are hitting you; are you sleeping and resting enough.
4. Assess your environment: who is around you, which relationships support you and which drain you.
5. Test any chosen approach with the question: does it act on the cause, not only on the outward picture.