I'm no doctor...

I'm no doctor but I was thinking about pain today and wondering whether emotional pain is the same as physical pain. I actually don't know much about physical pain except for personal experiences and massage school. With muscles most pain has its root cause in an inflammation. Could that be what causes emotional pain also? Just wondering.

With muscle inflammation we often use RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation. I also add to that some big dose of anti-inflammatory. Usually that takes care of things. Based on my own experience I have adopted the idea that the rest part is extremely important. I hate to see injured people pulling repeating the gesture that injured them or stretching the hurt muscle more. Doing so has to make matters worse. It only makes sense.

So, is it a long stretch to think that we need some comparable successful program for emotional pain, that is if my comparison can hold water? If the physical or emotional pain is too much, we can often buy time by going into shock.  Then, how can we control the emotional inflammation? How can we cool our jets without going into a deadened state?  I know that, for me, I need to eat and rest and carry on (often with the help of friends). When my friend's baby died, back when we were young parents, her mother came and went about producing meals and sending people to bathe and rest. This was a huge lesson for me. You keep putting one foot in front of the other and do the most basic chores.

Another thing I know helps is to drink water or tea. There is something magic that happens when someone hands you a glass of water when you are emotionally distraught. It might have to do with the next thing that occurs to me. Breathe. The breath is the main place you can stabilize yourself. I know that there are myriad fabulous therapies starting with simple ones like Rescue Remedy and going through acupuncture all the way to psychotherapy. But I am working on the small immediate steps that can reduce the emotional inflammation and not make things any worse.

Now comes my big question. Is this the time to talk about the causes of the pain? Or is that going to create more inflammation and therefore more pain. I don't know. Eat, Rest,Drink Water, Breathe and Focus on something else for a few minutes? I am not only not sure about this, but I can't make any kind of a decent anagram from these steps.

I think I need my readers to come aboard with your thoughts on this subject. You are doctors and therapists and most you have experienced some emotional pain. Help!