You have the solution

It’s exactly what you think

My cast after it was cut off my arm. I went to the emergency room to have it cut off ahead of schedule because I thought I was losing my mind. Turns out, I was finding it. (Cast art by various friends and me.)

Three months ago to the day I broke two bones in my wrist. They healed well but complications ensued, resulting in “complex regional pain syndrome” or CRPS.

I’m not sharing this to garner sympathy. (I’m okay! I’ve been getting great support). Nor do I want to frighten you with the details of this poorly understood syndrome. I’m sharing it because the healing process closely mimics Industrial Healing — from the surprising value of looking in the mirror, to the power of thinking, not believing.

Teaching ourselves how to think

Although the pain is in my wrist, it comes from my brain. Which is why a trained clinician in CRPS will not proceed with movement therapy — movements that might help to, say, use a fork — until the brain-shifting motor image therapy is complete.

Motor image therapy? Huh?

It’s simple: I sit beside a mirror, behind which my left (healing) arm rests out of sight while I make movements only with my right arm. My brain perceives my “left hand” in the mirror. Rinse, repeat, ten minutes at a time, three times a day unless the pain is prohibitive. (Yes, the pain in my left hand, that is doing nothing.)