Hi all. I am 36 with RA, was diagnosed with JRA at 9 years old, but I had some symptoms from as early as I can remember. It was not a conscious pain management strategy - but at some point in childhood, I started separating my mind from my body. I look at my body as an "other" and disconnect myself from the pain/experiences. I am sure many others do this. As an adaptive strategy I have been doing unconsciously for 17 years. I am pretty good at it.

For reasons other than pain management I have been considering starting mindfulness. Since this puts you inside your body and experiences, I am concerned that this will not be great for my pain management.

At the same time I see some pain management strategies include mindfulness (I think Curable includes this). I think the thinking is to put you in the moment to combat the negative cycle of "I am I going to be like this forever?", "will I be a cripple?" thoughts. I don't struggle with these thoughts as much.

Have any of you tried mindfulness? Did you find a net positive? What are your experiences when it comes to some positive aspects of mindfulness (improved mental health, reduced stress etc.) vs. your pain management strategy.