It’s hard to describe, but I’ll try to list a few details and hopefully that narrows things down:
I can only do it eyes closed.
It’s wordless.
It feels like an inward, mental smile.
I let go of tensions in parts of my body.
The feeling itself still has some kind of tension, concentrated around the eyes and forehead.
These are just some characteristics, not what I’ve optimized for. My intent is just “manufacture some pleasure” and that’s what my brain comes up with.
Hope that helps. If you have more specific questions I can try to answer those!
Thanks for the write-up—I hadn’t looked into neuroplastic pain before, but it rang a bell.
A year ago, I messed up my leg (probably sciatic nerve, not diagnosed), and the pain stuck around way longer than it should have. I couldn’t walk for more than five minutes without it flaring up, even weeks after the initial strain. It clearly should’ve healed by then—nothing was torn, broken, or visibly inflamed—but the pain stayed.
What finally worked wasn’t rest, it was more walking. Slow, deliberate, painful-but-not-too-painful walking, plus stretching. It hurt, but it got better. And once I saw that, something flipped—now whenever that sensation comes back, I’m not worried. I just think, “yeah, I know this one,” and it fades. That sounds a lot like the “engage with the pain while reframing it as safe” strategy you described, and it tracks well with my experience.
I’ll be experimenting to see if the same approach works on other kinds of pain, too.