Pijnheling

The Painhealingmethod

This is a natural method for making pain more bearable.
Pain can diminish and even disappear by using this method.
Stress that can be the cause or result of pain also diminishes and disappears.
Many already use this natural way of healing. The website is made for giving you the chance to benefit from this simple, natural and perhaps already familiar method.
My own experience with the PHM
In the spring of 1995 I had a headache. Spontaneously I discovered a method, which made the pain more bearable and which after a short time caused the pain to completely disappear.
Since that day I have often used this method myself and have advised other people to do so. Pain of course means suffering and there is no reason to glorify that aspect of it. But pain can also heal, hence the name Pain Healing Method. Many people in pain have been helped by this method and many who have visited me in my practice have left with less pain and on some occasions even pain-free. Of course the pain will eventually come back, if the disease which causes the pain continues to exist. But even if that is the case the PHM is useful in supporting the actual healing-process.
Many methods seems similar…
People often thought they recognized this method. But in almost all cases it was, although similar, another method. There is a method that suggests you discover the meaning of the pain (“what does the pain want to tell you?”). Other methods suggest paying positive attention to the pain or enclosing the pain with the breath whilst inhaling. The PHM is not about finding the reason behind the pain, nor about giving positive or negative attention to the pain. When using the PHM you breath normally as always, and when used correctly, it will slow down your breathing. Other methods suggest imagining you have no pain at all or suggesting you relax. This is also not the case with the PHM, there is no need to imagine anything. The PHM in itself relieves the stress caused by pain. Finally Haptonomy proposes you should enter into the pain. Everyone who contacts my website can decide if his or her method gives the same natural state of relaxation as the PHM. Many methods resemble the PHM, and many methods are slightly different, but I’ve never heard or seen a description of the method resemble the one described here.

Does it work for everyone?
I am sorry to say it doesn’t. Some people have experienced relief with certain forms of pain (especially when there is muscle-contraction in and around the pain-area), but not with all forms of pain.
Not everyone has the patience to learn the method and stick to it. Some give up because they think that the solution to their pain can only come from outside factors. Some are inclined to think you have to empty yourselves first, which certainly isn’t true. Others are afraid of paying too much attention to themselves. Continuously thinking of your disease is not healthy of course. But surely the pain can be seen as a warning signal from the body that some attention and care is needed? If the pain becomes easier to bear as a result of the PHM or hopefully even disappears, you then have room to focus your attention outside of yourself. After all isn’t everything in life a matter of the right dosis?
Of course a bodily damage cannot just disappear, but the PHM can give relief and support to the healing process.

What makes the PHM work?
There is a healing force in our body (the vis medicatrix naturae). It can very often cure an acute disease, without the support of a doctor. The PHM helps to fulfill the conditions which are necessary in optimizing the healing force in ourselves.
In fact the PHM has a calming effect on the body. As western knowledge tells us: Psychical and somatical rest brings relief and benefits the healingprocess.
And according to eastern insights it works. One could say: attention is energy.
For example, there are people who can warm their cold feet by focusing their attention on the coldness. According to that way of thinking, by using the PHM more energy is sent in the direction of the body disorder.

Is the PHM a substitute for other pain controlling and pain alleviating methods?
Of course pain can point to a serious disease that needs treatment. A case has to be diagnosed and therefore a visit to a doctor is needed. Very severe pain also needs a strong and efficient pain control.
But even a lesser degree of pain which continues regardless of the PHM, warrants treatment. In other words the PHM cannot be considered as a substitute for all sorts of traditional and modern therapeutic health care. Pain- and disease controlling methods such as pain-killers ranging from paracetamol to morfine, operations, irradiations, etc. are often necessary. However therapeutic measures to improve the condition of the patient and which relieve the pain by supporting the natural healing forces of the body, remain important. For instance, when an incorrect diet increases the pain, the diet has to be changed. So the PHM can be used in addition to these methods. In other words, traditional healing methods will increase their functionality through the deep relaxation reached when using the PHM. A lot of suffering can be alleviated in this way. In the meantime enough experience has been made with the PHM to know that it can be beneficial to many.

How to practice the PHM?
It is best to sit for some minutes in a calm environment, relaxed and with the eyes closed, and with no distracting sounds around you. Then focus your attention on the pain feeling.
It is possible you are not experiencing pain at that particular moment, for example if the pain comes in fits or is only felt during motion. In that case the PHM cannot be used, because there is no pain feeling to focus your attention on.
Normally any distraction is welcome when we are suffering from pain, however when using the PHM you focus your attention on the pain, the pain feeling. In other words “you go to the pain with your feeling”, “you listen as it were to the pain”, ” you concentrate on the pain”, but certainly not in a way that is fanatical or forced! These words were used by my patients to describe their experiences.
During the PHM it is not the intention to think about the pain or about where the pain is coming from!
This could even increase the pain! It is important to think about the pain and its causes, but doing so during the PHM would only cause it to work in the wrong direction. During the PHM you focus your attention on the pain to calm your world of thinking!
If no relief is experienced during the PHM, the method has not been correctly used. In that case it is better to stop.
When you are focusing your attention on the pain feeling, after a while, distracting thoughts or images are likely to appear. This is a normal occurrence, it happens automatically. Just be aware of the fact that your attention is diverted for a few seconds, or in some cases even a few minutes.
Continue the method by once again focusing your attention on the pain the moment you become aware of the diversion.
Focusing your attention on the pain prevents you otherwise paying attention to thoughts, images and emotions. By doing so the psyche and the body transcend into a deeper state of rest!
Needless to say, this is only possible with pain that is bearable (with or without painkillers).
These instructions were at length, but when you fully understand, the method it is very easy and natural to use. Perhaps you have spontaneously used it before during your life but have forgotten the remedy.

Warning:
All healing methods have risks attached when used in the wrong way. Even eating and drinking has its risks. You can overeat or drink too much or even swallow something in the wrong way. Of course that is no reason to stop eating and drinking! In the same way risks are attached to the PHM when practiced incorrectly.
If the PHM leads tot stress or any other unpleasant experiences, you are not practicing it in the right way. In that case you should stop using the PHM.
Maybe the use of the method is forced.
Maybe your body posture isn’t correct.
Maybe there are other matters in your life with a higher priority.
Maybe there is too much fanatism.
Maybe the PHM has been continued too long.
Maybe there is not enough mental balance.
When in doubt, consult a doctor or therapist who is acquainted with the PHM.

P.H. Meuwese, Hilversum 15102002