Imagine being on a hockey team. You show up to the game and roughly half of your teammates are absent due to injury or personal matters. The remaining players are feeling sore and low-energy. The team that you play against today is top in the league. You don't really see much chance of anything going well here.
As a result, everyone who showed up does their part, fulfills their role, and goes through the motions, but no one's heart is really in it. They may not be trying all that hard. Everyone is suspecting a loss. And that's what eventually happens. The heart wasn't there.
Now imagine that you are that team of hockey players and that your opponent is your pain. You've shown up at the rehab clinic for treatment, but the pain has been so great, so persistent, and been bothering you for so long that you don't see much possibility of success. But you're there anyway.
It's very common for individuals who are seeking treatment for pain to mentally defeat themselves before the appointment even begins. It's not for a lack of conscious effort; you may be desperate and and craving pain relief, but past success has now just subconsciously instilled an expectation of failure. And unfortunately, having those low expectations will often create a similar reality.
Now, I'm not saying that everyone should just chin up, suck it up, and try harder. As I always say, "Just do it," is probably the lamest advice that any shoe company could possibly put out.
The message that I want to relay instead is that you, as the client, should try to be open and transparent with your experiences when you see the next therapist. Explain your experience with pain and with past practitioners. Help your therapist understand your goals, your expectations, and your hesitations. It's our job to not only treat with our hands, but to help create as positive of an expected outcome in your mind as possible in order to propel your recovery forward. And through careful education and goal setting, trust us, it is possible.
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