I had some pain in my shoulder last summer that I just couldn’t seem to get rid of. Nothing too terrible, but it kept me from doing some things I wanted to do – like swimming or picking up my kids. My schedule (and false hope that it would get better on its own) kept me from going to see a physical therapist for longer than I should have.
I finally went in to see someone. I found a knowledgeable and helpful ally in Keith Bandli, MS, ATC, CSCS, FAFS through Superior Physical Therapy. As we worked, we talked about PT and life in general. When he told me about his work, I was surprised at the number of parallels between the work that physical therapists do and the work I do as a mental health therapist.
Parallels in a Holistic Approach
I often use analogies between physical health and mental health when working with people. When we experience hurt or loss, it can be helpful to think of what the equivalent physical injury would be. This analogy can help establish some expectations around timelines for getting better, the loss of emotional tolerance (things like patience) and overall impact these emotional injuries can have on our life.
In physical therapy, Keith and I ultimately identified that some of the pain in my shoulder was actually coming from my legs! Tightness in my hamstrings caused tension in my back, all the way up to my shoulder. Being fairly familiar with anatomy and physiology this was a frustrating revelation for me. It highlighted a limit in my own knowledge as I was not able to make that connection on my own. I needed the help of a professional.
This is very similar to working with people on their emotional health. While many come in due to emotional pain in one area, we often end up working in other areas. For instance, trouble in a relationship with a parent or significant other might bring someone in for counseling but we end up working on self-image. Sometimes, especially in relationships, the greater issue can be how a person sees themselves. That self-view impacts how they react to others. These are complicated scenarios that require an outside perspective and special training and education to be able to fully investigate, understand, and resolve.
We Can’t Do It Alone
If you find yourself struggling with some emotional pain that you can’t quite figure out, give us a call. Perhaps it is a relationship that just keeps hurting. Just as in our physical bodies pain is an indicator that something is not right, in our emotional lives pain (through heartache, depression, or anxiety) often indicates that there is something we need to pay attention to! With our physical bodies, sometimes those signals are easy to figure out – I pull a muscle and I need to rest that part of my body. The same is true for our emotional lives – a breakup in a romantic relationship leads to heartache and sadness. When that pulled muscle just doesn’t get better, that’s when we seek professional help. If the heartache from a relationship or loss just isn’t getting better, maybe it’s time for a closer look at what is going on to help get things figured out. If you find yourself in that sort of situation, give us a call.
One other parallel – Keith said that many times people wait too long to get into physical therapy. By not addressing the root of their problem, our body compensates and we have to unlearn those coping strategies before we can fix the cause of our pain. People can also develop emotional coping skills to avoid pain that make figuring out the root of the problem more difficult. So don’t wait and needlessly extend your suffering as I did with the pain in my shoulder!