Trending
Everyone knows that pain is a signal that there is something wrong with their body. It may be the result of some type of injury, an illness, or it may accompany a surgical procedure. The pain is supposed to go away as the body heals. On occasion, the pain may last longer than expected, longer than it should after the body was supposed to have healed. Instead of serving a useful purpose,such as signalling an injury, and telling you where the injury is located, it becomes a disruptive burden that impacts a person's quality of life. The anxiety, fear and depression that accompanies pain that won’t go away can spoil a person’s sense of well-being, mood, work, daily activities, sleep, and relationships. Body and mind are impacted. Even worse, the amount of pain may exceed the severity of the injury. The pain no longer protects you because it has become something to endure.
It has been suggested that two out of ten people will experience some type of persistent pain in their life. A very common source of chronic pain is low back pain. Other triggers can be arthritis, cancer, shingles, fibromyalgia, cuts, burns, fractures, some type of nerve damage, or an accident. These are just a few among many other sources of pain.
How does pain work? Simply put there are nerve cells at the site of the injury named nociceptors. These cells turn the physical damage into electrical signals, and send the news of the injury to the spinal cord, to alert the brain. There are several areas in the brain that process the news of the injury. Of note, is the limbic system, as well as the cortex thalamus, hippocampus,and the amygdala. If you are a victim of prolonged or chronic pain you might want to read a real article on the pain pathway. It is an interesting read that you might find useful.
Psychologists have studied how we may be able to cope with and even modify the pain experience. One of the earlier insights into coping with pain is called the Gate Control theory of pain. Basically it says that there is a mechanism in the spinal cord that can limit how much pain-related information will reach the brain. It further said that your emotions and thinking are very important in determining how much or how little pain-related information can reach the brain. This was one of the initial theories about how psychological and emotional factors interact with the body to affect the pain experience. Since then there has been a lot of research on how your thoughts and feelings can moderate the pain experience, or make it worse. A person's emotions, such as anxiety, fear, or depression, can influence the impact or severity of the pain experience.
How other people react to your pain is another factor that can have an impact on the pain experience. There are what psychologists call social contingencies. Are people concerned, caring, and sympathetic when you express your pain in words or gestures? Are there lots of doctor visits, and maybe disability payments? Does the pain interfere with work, or social things you might prefer to avoid? Psychologists have found that there are psychological factors that can affect pain severity and disability. One of the strongest psychological factors is called catastrophizing. Catastrophizing, in everyday language, is blowing a situation out of proportion.
Another factor about pain is that it is invisible to everyone.The pain is only real to the sufferer. If you are bleeding, cut, have a broken bone, or have bumps on your head, that can make it somewhat real to observers. Even then, they cannot feel what you feel. As a consequence, you may not get the sympathy or caring attention that you may need or want.
Psychologists have a variety of therapies to help cope with pain, whether the pain is brief or even chronic. Probably the simplest treatment approach is basic relaxation training.This involves identifying areas of tension in both mind and body. Tension and anxiety can make the pain sensation more acute. Actually, the pain itself can trigger anxiety, fear, and tension. Hypnotherapy can be useful for developing self-regulation and management of chronic pain. Operant therapy involves teaching friends and/or family to not unknowingly reward the pain related behavior that may weaken the desire and effort to cope effectively. Excessive sympathy, or possibly letting the sufferer avoid or not do something he or she actually can do, may actually slow progress. Another approach is called fear avoidance. It is common for people to avoid doing something that they believe may or will cause pain. Then they will avoid doing that something which then can result in them eventually doing nothing and being inactive. If you do nothing, progress toward healing can come to a dead stop. Prolonged or chronic pain may be the result. Finally cognitive-behavior therapy can be an effective approach to managing of a variety of pain problems Psychologists have come a long way in developing their role in helping people manage pain. Combining medical and psychological technologies can offer some hope for people who must endure prolonged or chronic pain.