Pain is a Signal, Not a Symptom
Most of us treat pain as the enemy.
Like it’s something to get rid of as fast as possible.
That response makes sense. But it can also work against you.
Pain as Information, not injury
There's a model in pain research called the fear-avoidance model. It found that after an initial injury, it's often not the pain itself that predicts long-term disability. It's how the pain gets interpreted.
Pain read as dangerous triggers fear, avoidance, and catastrophizing. That reaction, not the pain itself, is what tends to drag recovery out.
The flip side matters too. Treatment that focuses on how someone interprets their pain, including cognitive restructuring (a core CBT technique), reduces both the catastrophizing and the disability that follows.
None of this means pain isn't real, or that you should push through injuries without medical evaluation. If something is new, worsening, or unexplained, get it looked at first by a physician or physiotherapist. This is about your relationship to pain you've already had assessed by a medical professional.
Why pain hijacks your attention (and why that backfires)
Pain is motivating. It's built to grab your attention and hold it.
The problem is what that fixation does next.
Where attention goes, energy flows, and the sensation often intensifies. And it isn't just in your head.
Chronic stress runs through the same alarm system as pain: the HPA axis, which regulates cortisol. Research on HPA axis dysregulation shows that when this system stays activated too long, it starts affecting immune function, gut health, and reproductive hormones, not just mood.
That's often the mechanism behind getting sick, dealing with stomach issues, or noticing low libido during high-stress periods. It's not random.
Where real change happens
The desire to escape pain fast rarely produces lasting relief. Numbing, avoiding, or rushing past it tends to leave the underlying cause intact mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Pain shows up for a lot of reasons: injury, chronic imbalances, stress, grief, heartbreak, loneliness, life transitions. All of these are normal, not signs that something is wrong with you.
The work isn't just getting out of pain. It's building the habits and adaptations that move you from surviving to actually functioning well, so the relief holds.
If you're stuck in this pattern
If pain, physical or emotional, has become something you're just trying to outrun, that's worth a real conversation, not another workaround.
I work with clients managing pain using CBT and trauma-informed approaches. Book a free consultation to talk about what that could look like. Virtual across BC, or in-person walk-and-talk in Greater Victoria.
I hope this helps. Let me know if it resonates!
With gratitude,
Mike Shaw
Do you know someone who needs support?
If so, please share this post or connect with me directly at mike.s@gratushealth.com.
And please grab a copy of Never Part of The Plan if you haven’t already!
Thanks for being part of my community. I’m thankful for the meaningful changes I’m helping people make with GratusHealth.com.
Sources:
Gutierrez Nunez, S., Peixoto Rabelo, S., Subotic, N., Caruso, J. W., & Knezevic, N. N. (2025). Chronic stress and autoimmunity: The role of HPA axis and cortisol dysregulation. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(20), 9994. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26209994
Ryum, T., & Stiles, T. C. (2023). Changes in pain catastrophizing, fear-avoidance beliefs, and pain self-efficacy mediate changes in pain intensity on disability in the treatment of chronic low back pain. PAIN Reports, 8(5), e1092. https://doi.org/10.1097/PR9.0000000000001092
Vlaeyen, J. W. S., & Linton, S. J. (2000). Fear-avoidance and its consequences in chronic musculoskeletal pain: A state of the art. Pain, 85(3), 317–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3959(99)00242-0
