What a great way to visualise the situation! I am in a similar position to you- ATN, unrelenting continuous moderate pain. Both sides of face. “Distraction” by involvement in an engaging pass time… works well but it can be hard to develop the energy to overcome the inertia brought about by the pain & coping mechanisms you’ve developed. In my case veging out listening to the radio & dozing. So here I am, back again on this website. And yes it’s working as a distraction! All the best.
Sounds like your PT is a better than mine. The place I went to didn’t do much at all, same couple exercises every time that didn’t help for pain. I’m sure they helped me build a stronger neck and traps but wasn’t worth the money to continue, I can do the exercises at home. I do her massages twice a month and they help with the tender scalp I get, not the burning though. Glad you are finding ways to cope, I’m struggling. At 33, the idea of living with this forever terrifies me.
Wow. This makes so much sense about pain and memory. It just clicked when I was reading your reply. Thank you so much for stating this! I really needed to hear it.