Stress, Pain and Feeling better

So, it’s April, and especially in SA it’s filled with holidays and a little more spaciousness, but that doesn’t necessarily mean less stress. I had been travelling at the start of April, so I expected my stress levels to be low. But often, that’s exactly when life shows up… and stress comes with it.

That response in my own system inspired this blog, because I want you to understand how to work with this in yours. Of course, my door is always open to you, but empowerment is the key mission here, so let’s see if this information is helpful.

Stress and Chronic Pain: What’s Really Going On in Your Body

If you live with chronic and ongoing pain, you’ve probably heard it before: “Stress makes it worse. "And perhaps you’ve noticed it yourself.

But what’s often missing is the why does stress affect pain? And just how deeply connected are they?

The link isn’t superficial or flimsy. Stress affects your nervous system, your hormones, your immune function, and ultimately how your brain interprets pain. This month is Stress Awareness Month. I want to walk you through what’s happening inside your body when you face excessive stress, in a step wise fashion. Understanding this can change how you relate to pain and to stress.

What is stress, really?

We use the word stress all the time but rarely pause to define it. It even sometimes feels like it earns you a badge of honour to be stressed. In a warped way, it can feel like it gives your life meaning and value.

A helpful way to think about it is this: stress is your body’s response to anything that knocks you out of balance.

That “something” could be:

• A physical injury

• A difficult conversation

• Conflict

• Overwhelm or a deadline

• Financial pressure

• Or even your own thoughts about pain or illness

  
  

Here’s the important part: your body doesn’t always distinguish between a physical threat and a psychological one.

If something feels threatening or overwhelming, your body responds as if that is real. The response that follows is powerful and biological.

Your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do

When stress kicks in, your body shifts into protection mode:

• Heart rate increases

• Breathing becomes quicker

• Muscles prepare for action

• Focus sharpens

This is a brilliant system. It’s designed to help you survive or fight off threat.

The challenge is that it evolved for short-term, physical dangers, not for the ongoing, invisible pressures of modern life… and certainly not for persistent pain.

When stress doesn’t switch off

Your stress response is meant to be temporary.

But when it stays switched on for days, weeks, or months, your body starts to pay a price.

It begins to prioritise “survival” over:

• Tissue repair

• Digestion

• Immune balance

• Deep recovery

  
  

Over time, this can lead to:

• Fatigue

• Poor sleep

• Increased inflammation

• Heightened pain sensitivity

This is one of the reasons stress and chronic pain are so closely linked.

Why stress and pain feed each other

In the short term, stress can actually reduce pain. This is very helpful in emergencies.

But when stress becomes ongoing, the opposite tends to happen.

A key player here is your body’s stress system (the HPA axis), which regulates cortisol (a stress hormone that influences almost every system in your body).

When this system becomes dysregulated:

• Inflammation can increase

• Pain sensitivity can rise

• The body becomes less effective at calming pain signals

  
  

Over time, stress and pain can create a loop:

Stress increases pain → pain increases stress → and the cycle continues.

Add to this, difficulty sleeping that is also associated with stress and the inflammation and stress that produces and an upward spiral sets in.

What makes the cycle harder to break?

Certain experiences amplify the stress response, especially when you’re in pain:

• Unpredictability (“I don’t know when this will flare” “I don’t know if I’ll be able to do what I need to do”)

• Loss of control

• Feeling alone or unsupported

• Fear that things are getting worse

• Helplessness or loss of hope.

These are not just emotional experiences, they have real, measurable effects in the body.

So, what can you do?

There’s no single switch to turn this off, and stress itself isn’t the enemy.

In fact, in the right amounts, stress helps us grow, learn, and adapt. Stress is essential and useful, except when it is excessive and unrelenting.

What matters is how your body responds to it, and how well your body can return to balance.

Here’s where small, consistent shifts that you can easily engage in, can make a difference:

• Connection is critical

  Spend time with people who feel safe and supportive.

  
  

• Create pockets of predictability

  Even small routines can calm the nervous system. This can be your mealtimes, your bedtime, your bedtime or waking up routine etc.

  
  

• Move in ways that feel manageable and good.

  Movement is magic! So don’t do what feels punishing or too hard. Don’t take on what feels overwhelming. Move, just enough.

  
  

• Allow recovery time

  Rest is not a luxury; It’s part of healing. It’s integral to health and it's essential for reducing inflammation. The amount of rest you require will depend on how much load you have placed on yourself either mentally, emotionally or physically.

  
  

• Approach uncertainty gently

  When you’re ready, explore the unknown and uncontrollable in small, safe ways. Don’t deny or avoid that which feels scary or unknown but titrate the dose you accept of it. Don’t binge on the news but allow yourself to know what’s going on for example.

  
  

An extra note on life-giving vital sleep

Sleep deserves special attention (I know you already know this).

Poor sleep increases inflammation and reduces your ability to handle stress, which in turn affects pain.

But here’s the nuance: Being told “just sleep better” can feel frustrating (and even stressful in itself).

Instead, think of:

• Slightly earlier to bed

• More quiet time

• Slowing your system down regularly

  
  

Even if sleep isn’t perfect, these still help your nervous system reset and that will in turn improve your ability to sleep more restfully.

If someone has tried to help you by suggesting help that does not help. Please let it go

A final thought

Stress isn’t the enemy.

It’s your body, your brain and your nervous system trying to respond, protect, and adapt.

In chronic pain, stress is rarely the whole story, but it is often one of the most important and overlooked pieces.

When you begin to understand what your body is doing, and why, possibilities open up.

It doesn’t necessarily mean the pain reduces immediately. But your relationship to the pain may change and that is a BIG start.

That’s often where recovery begins.

At Body Brilliance, we are here to help you. Our shop is full of items (and many more are being added day by day), which can reduce the load you experience. Our courses are designed to empower you with tools and insight which have been scientifically proven to increase your window of tolerance and reduce your stress and therefore improve your health and reduce your pain.

The coaching and physiotherapy we offer, are all designed to bring support to the neuro-immuno-endocrine-system and overall wellbeing of your brain and body. There is always a solution to every problem, and we are here to help you get to your solution, even if it's through referral to someone in our vast network of healthcare and other service providers.