The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back

Injuries always affect the entire mind/body system.

An injured back is not just an injured back. An injured shoulder isn’t just an injured shoulder. We aren’t model skeletons.

We are a complex nervous/endocrine/skeletal system made up of the conscious and unconscious. It’s important to approach rehabilitation with the mind that all factors are important.

When we get injured, it’s because we didn’t see things clearly. Nobody truly means to hurt themselves. We missed an important piece of information or didn’t have the skill-set to keep safe.

In whatever situation we are in, there is a cycle at play.

Mental states affecting perceptions
Perceptions affecting beliefs
Beliefs affecting actions
Actions affecting environments
Environments affecting mental states

The injury is the result of a string of effects and influences leading to that one final straw. If we don’t address the final straw within the context with everything else that came before, we are being deluded.

We have to develop deeper understanding of whole system and upgrade the parts regularly. It takes energy to change any of these things, but it’s worth the investment. If we try to change one thing in isolation without a supporting context, we’ll usually repeat old cycles.

The way in is to observe each of these factors closely, from a calm, aware state. By really taking note of the lesson to be learned and regularly reflecting and evaluating, we can avoid wasting energy which would be better used for healing. The result is a situation in which the good things tend to snowball and the bad tend to things fizzle out.