We tend to regard pain as a purely physical experience.
Something hurts only because you’re injured or due to some underlying health condition occurring in your body. It doesn’t always have to be like that. Pain and its intensity also have a lot to do with your emotional state.
What’s more, a broad range of health conditions and diseases are also linked to your emotions. This post lists 11 types of pain that are strongly related to a person’s emotional health and wellbeing.
1. Upper back pain
Ancient cultures promoted the idea that our entire being is connected. Your physical pain can be a manifestation of emotional problems, and upper back pain belongs to the group of problems that could be a result of some deeper issues.
In this case, it is the lack of emotional support and feeling unloved that contribute to the pressure on the upper back area and pain that comes with it. The idea of the emotional cause of back pain is also supported by many scientists who believe that your personality, feelings, and unconscious issues play a major role.
2. Headache
Okay, you’ve probably dealt with a headache when you’re stressed out, sad, mad, or frustrated. It is one of the most common pains and aches associated with your emotional state. Studies show that pain involves both sensory and an effective component.
Negative emotions like anxiety, anger, and depression influence the course and impact of a headache, i.e., they contribute to the pain and make it more intense. Pain in the head usually indicates you are overwhelmed by something.
3. Hand pain
Millions of people deal with arthritis and joint pain which can occur due to some factors ranging from genetics to lifestyle. Did you know your emotional state also plays a role? For instance, one study found that rheumatoid arthritis, one of the most common types of arthritis, and depression can develop together in a patient, one influences the other.
Rheumatoid arthritis can affect joints in your hands (and many others). Hands reach out to others, help you fix things, and allow you to make a living. Pain in your hands may symbolize the broken connection with someone you cared for.
4. Hip pain
Hips allow you to move from one side to another; their flexibility is important for every move you make and step you take. That’s why pain in this particular area can be a result of fear you feel due to reluctance or inability to move in a certain way figuratively speaking.
For example, you can be afraid of making some big life decision due to risks that come with it. Indecisiveness also plays a role here.
5. Pain in your arms
You use arms to embrace others, carry things, so pain in this area is connected to your relationship with other people. For example, you might be carrying an emotional burden that was caused by a person close to you, and you don’t know how to deal with it the right way. The burden becomes heavier each time you fail to resolve this problem with the other person.
6. Ankle pain
We tend to attribute ankle pain to injuries or when you place your foot uncomfortably when getting out of the bed, car, shower, among other things. In terms of emotional state, ankle pain could indicate you’re overly critical of yourself.
Do you tend to walk over your own needs to make sure others are happy? While making others happy is a good thing, you should be kind to yourself as well and indulge in something that makes you feel happy and relaxed.
7. Neck pain
The expression pain in the neck could be connected with the exact reason behind pain in this particular area. If you experience persistent or chronic neck pain, the underlying cause is associated with difficulty forgiving someone or yourself for something that happened in the past. Only when you let go of the past events will you be able to focus on the future and look straight ahead rather than turning around and looking behind you all the time.
8. Lower back pain
The lower back area supports your weight and, as you already know, pain in this area is very common. Your pain is a result of concern or stress regarding your financial situation.
Just like your lower back area supports the weight, your salary supports the entire household. When you look at it this way, it becomes obvious that money concern is linked to pain in the low back area.
9. Knee pain
Knee pain affects millions of people, and most types of arthritis affect joints in this area because they move constantly. Whenever you walk, your muscles and joints in knees activate which is why wear and tear injuries arise.
Intake of vitamins for joint pain, regular exercise, and weight management are essential for prevention of knee pain, but how is it associated with the emotional state? Well, knee pain is associated with different emotional factors including stubbornness to accept someone else’s opinion, or you’re unwilling to give up of something that’s not right for you. Basically, you struggle to accept things as they are.
10. Shoulder pain
Shoulder pain is similar to arm pain. The underlying cause of this problem is heavy emotional load or burden you can’t get rid of. This emotional burden can occur due to different reasons such as keeping all your problems bottled inside or taking on too much for other people.
11. Stomach pain
Stomach pain is associated with digestion problems both literally and figuratively. Pain in your stomach can occur when you simply cannot digest something negative. For example, someone is disrespecting you, and you feel hurt, sad, and angry at the same time. Grief can also contribute to this type of pain.
Conclusion
For centuries philosophers and other scientists supported the idea that our mind and body are connected. When your emotions suffer, it also affects your body. As seen throughout this post, pain in different areas of your body is deeply related to the emotional state and your response to different situations. To ease the pain, it is important to solve emotional problems too.
Author Bio:
Ella James is an independent researcher and writer. She has contributed to many online websites related to general health and fitness. Her interests include reading and writing about day-to-day health, fitness, and skin care problems. Connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
