No, we’re not talking about Cher from Clueless (did I date myself?). We’re talking about Alfred Adler, who was an early psychoanalyst, and whose work has contributed to the development of current psychotherapeutic techniques, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. CBT, it turns out, has been incredibly helpful for people living with chronic pain and illness. One of the many techniques Adler developed was acting “as if” which got me wondering, can this help with chronic illness and pain? I’m going to start off by saying, there is not a lot of research in this area, so we don’t really know, but I’m going to do a bit of theorizing today, with the research that I did manage to find on the subject.
Image from: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2015/07/90743/best-clueless-quotes-movie
First, let’s maybe determine what acting “as if” means. This technique has the client make up a new story about themselves, their lives, their ability, or whatever else, for themselves and behave in the way that they would need to in order for this story to be true on a daily basis. (If you’re familiar with CBT you might recognize the cognitive and behavioural components here). Initially it was used for things like giving empathic responses, and being more assertive, or making decisions. The idea is, that by acting differently, and getting different responses from other people in your life because of it, your brain changes so that you can be more like this “new” person. I kind of thinking it as a mindset change.
Image from: http://famouspsychologists.net/alfred-adler/
Okay, I have a story before we move on. I was always a very shy person. To the point where I had some social anxiety as a child (literally would never answer questions in class, and was terrified of doing presentations, though I always had friends). That continued right into my twenties. In my twenties (and early thirties) I worked in retail, so naturally some of that social anxiety went away, but to be honest, a good portion stayed. That is, until I was in my early thirties. Then I decided I didn’t want to be so shy anymore. I set myself down a path where I would either be in situations where I couldn’t be as shy, or I would force myself to just talk more in situations I normally wouldn’t. I was essentially acting “as if” I was outgoing. Guess what? At 36, I can say that while I do get some butterflies in new situations, I definitely would not be considered “shy” or “awkward” or “socially anxious” anymore.
But can this apply to chronic illness? And if it does, how exactly does that work? When we’re looking at chronic illness treatment, it’s always best to take a holistic, biopsychosocial approach. Typically, you’ll have a doctor (or team of doctors) that focuses on the biological aspects. Having a mental health care professional can assist with the psychosocial parts. There is a known association between self-efficacy, which is our beliefs about our ability to handle life’s challenges, and chronic illness and chronic pain disability. In other words, if we believe we can’t handle our illness or pain, then we won’t be able to and our illness and pain will actually be worse. This is where I think acting “as if” applies to us. We need to shift our mindset and starting acting “as if” we can handle the pain, we can handle the illness and the symptoms that go along with it. We replace self-pity with self-compassion. We are mindful of what we are doing and saying, and we start to take control of treatment (as holistically as possible). By doing so, our self-efficacy grows, and our pain lessens, and our illness has less control over our lives.
2 years after diagnosis. Toronto -> Los Angeles. Solo Trip.
Okay, full stop. I know this might be a lot to take in, and you can’t even necessarily do this work on your own (though depending where you’re at with that self-efficacy thing, maybe you can). This is where having a support team, including a mental health professional might be helpful. At the very least, working on growing that mindfulness muscle and noticing what we’re doing is free to do (here’s the link to my meditation page which can help with that), until you can find (or afford) to have a professional help you. I truly believe in our abilities to live great lives, even with pain and illness. And, so, keep making the most of it.
New season of my podcast, Chronically Living and how to make the most of it, coming June 28, 2021.
Chronically Living 