Reframing is a technique where we look at a problem from a different angle and find another, less painful or even useful meaning in it.
In the case of phantom pain, people often find themselves in a vicious circle: “I am crippled” or “I am doomed to suffer.”
Reframing helps to:
– Shift these thoughts in a different direction.
– Instead of “My leg has been amputated — my life is over,” you can say, “I lost my leg, but I am alive. I am strong, I have gone through this, and I can build a new life.”
– Instead of “My body has betrayed me,” you can say, “My body is fighting and recovering as much as it can.”
The result: When your perception of the situation changes, your emotional state changes, stress decreases, and, as a result, the intensity of phantom pain decreases.