Chronic Pain Changes Life!
Being in pain impacts self-image,relationships,and interrupts life plans. It constricts physical and emotional abilities. Pain is not understood or accepted by many individuals,and the person can be judged harshly. Many report feeling angry that the pain hinders them from the things they love to do. Since pain tends to ebb and flow,depending on the day,family members and friends sometimes struggle with understanding how their loved one can be so impaired one day and are able to do things the next day. They may say,“I thought you were better!” All of this becomes the mystery of living in a “strange and new” world. Understanding the issue of how chronic pain impacts your life will go a long way in managing your chronic pain condition better. Management pain is the key word. This is hard when we live in a world that is surrounded by the “latest”cure for this or that. We can’t believe that health care providers are not able to “figure out”how to fix pain. Medical science has come a long way in understanding how the body and brain processes pain,but there is still a long way to go to find cures for many common disorders;Failed Back Surgery Syndrome,Fibromyalgia Disorder,Auto-Immune Disorders,Lyme Disease,Myofascial Disorder,Migraines,RSD/ Complex Regional Pain Disorder, Neuropathy,and many more.
“Just as my pain belongs in a unique way only to me,so I am utterly alone with it. I cannot share it. I have no doubt about the reality of the pain experience,but I cannot tell anybody about that experience. I surmise that others have their own pain experience,even though I cannot perceive what they mean when they tell me about it. I am certain about the existence of their pain only in the sense that I am certain of my compassion for them. And yet,the deeper my compassion,the deeper is my certitude about the person’s utter loneliness in relation to his experience.” (Illich,1976).
Don’t be alone with your pain. When one has an injury,it is conventional wisdom that,with time,everything will return to normal. While this is usually the case,the patient with a chronic condition starts to find that the hopes of being “normal” may never return. As with all grief and loss reactions,we all go through stages of grieving and loss identified by Kubler-Ross:1. Denial;2. Anger;3. Bargaining;4. Depression;5. Acceptance. We can help with the acceptance process and get you back to your life. We help provide support,a listening ear,and problem-solving. We can teach skills to manage physical and emotional symptoms,along with learning to pace activities appropriately. Being in pain can be very stressful and lonely, and understanding and treating the anxiety or depression that chronic pain creates is important. There is hope! Psychologists are an important piece of the puzzle with managing chronic pain. Therapy can also go above and beyond learning pain management skills and can include traditional talk therapy,if you desire. Your first appointment will clarify your wants,needs,desires,and goals.
