Mindfulness for Chronic Health Conditions
Living with a chronic health condition can be overwhelming and exhausting. Persistent pain, fatigue and illness can lead to feelings of frustration, helplessness, and a decreased quality of life.
With mindfulness, we recognise two types of pain; primary and secondary. Primary pain refers to the physical sensation that arises from illness or injury. In contrast, secondary pain encompasses the thoughts and emotions that accompany primary pain. For example, the physical experience of fatigue or a migraine would be considered primary pain, while the related thoughts and feelings around it such as “How am I going to get through the day” “What if this never gets better” or “How am I going to cope?” represent secondary pain. While we may not be able to get rid of the primary pain, mindfulness can help us to drastically reduce the secondary mental and emotional pain by changing our relationship to our symptoms.
Different approach
By cultivating mindfulness, kindness, and self-compassion, we can learn to gently observe discomfort (primary pain) without immediate judgment or resistance (secondary pain). This approach may initially seem counterintuitive, as it encourages us to turn towards our sensations instead of pushing them away. However, accepting that pain, fatigue, and discomfort are here — without reacting — requires less energy than fighting against them, and research shows that this can actually reduce the amount of primary pain we perceive. This shift in perspective allows for greater acceptance of unpleasant sensations without letting them define who we are. When pain or fatigue is approached with curiosity instead of fear, it can lose some of its power and intensity, leading to a reduction in overall suffering. Experiencing these sensations as they are, without resistance, requires courage and practice, but ultimately it can transform our relationship with them, lessening their impact on us and on our lives.
This course is an 8-week course and consists of
Weekly sessions including guided meditations practice, and group sharing with other participants
Guided home practices to do on your own at home with daily meditations of 10 - 20 mins and ’mindfulness in daily life’ exercises
Short learning materials to read in your own time each week
