Body-memory pain is often helped by actions that signal safety to the nervous system. Trying to ignore or push through this type of pain can sometimes make it worse, because pressure and effort may increase the nervous system’s sense of threat.

Increasing safety might involve orienting to where and when you are now, reminding your system that the injury is not happening again, or reducing situations that feel threatening.

As the system begins to recognize present safety, body-memory pain often eases, even if it does not disappear completely.

This page is part of the Somatic and Body-Based Symptoms in DID section of the CommuniDID site, which explains why dissociation can affect the body, including pain, sensory changes, or neurological-like symptoms, even when medical tests are normal.

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