Psychological/Emotional Factors in Chronic Pain Management
Pain is not easy to define and in 1979, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) published its first working definition of pain: “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.”
This definition was reaffirmed in 1994 along with an extensive footnote discussion regarding its implications. The IASP definition acknowledges that, for most people, tissue damage is the gold standard by which pain is understood. However, the definition also recognizes that pain may occur in the absence of tissue damage and is impacted by emotional/psychological factors.
Psychological treatment for chronic pain needs to supplement medication treatment, not replace it. Emotional stress and negative thinking can actually increase the intensity of the pain, but the presence of psychological factors does not mean that the pain is imaginary. Psychological treatment goals are designed to help people learn how to understand, predict, and manage the pain cycle, how to use coping skills to minimize pain, and how to maximize active involvement in positive life experiences despite the presence of chronic pain.
Additionally, psychological treatment for chronic pain focuses on the emotional toll people experience living with pain on a daily basis. Important factors such as disability, financial stress, or loss of work are also a part of the pain picture, and psychological treatment is designed to address all relevant issues. The treatment for chronic pain does not include magical interventions; rather, it is a combination of proven psychological treatment approaches in addition to medication management and other non-chemical interventions that addresses all the issues people in chronic pain experience.
Once people understand the nature of their psychological pain, the treatment needs to focus on the emotional toll people living with chronic pain experience on a daily basis and must address all relevant concerns. What is also very important, is to first help people tell the difference between their physical and psychological/emotional symptoms. That is why I developed a two-part instrument to help healthcare providers to assist their patients to sort these symptoms out. These worksheets are in both my Addiction-Free Pain Management® Workbook and APM™ Module One. To learn more please check out our website http://www.addiction-free.com/ and go to our Publications page to review those books.
This definition was reaffirmed in 1994 along with an extensive footnote discussion regarding its implications. The IASP definition acknowledges that, for most people, tissue damage is the gold standard by which pain is understood. However, the definition also recognizes that pain may occur in the absence of tissue damage and is impacted by emotional/psychological factors.
Psychological treatment for chronic pain needs to supplement medication treatment, not replace it. Emotional stress and negative thinking can actually increase the intensity of the pain, but the presence of psychological factors does not mean that the pain is imaginary. Psychological treatment goals are designed to help people learn how to understand, predict, and manage the pain cycle, how to use coping skills to minimize pain, and how to maximize active involvement in positive life experiences despite the presence of chronic pain.
Additionally, psychological treatment for chronic pain focuses on the emotional toll people experience living with pain on a daily basis. Important factors such as disability, financial stress, or loss of work are also a part of the pain picture, and psychological treatment is designed to address all relevant issues. The treatment for chronic pain does not include magical interventions; rather, it is a combination of proven psychological treatment approaches in addition to medication management and other non-chemical interventions that addresses all the issues people in chronic pain experience.
Once people understand the nature of their psychological pain, the treatment needs to focus on the emotional toll people living with chronic pain experience on a daily basis and must address all relevant concerns. What is also very important, is to first help people tell the difference between their physical and psychological/emotional symptoms. That is why I developed a two-part instrument to help healthcare providers to assist their patients to sort these symptoms out. These worksheets are in both my Addiction-Free Pain Management® Workbook and APM™ Module One. To learn more please check out our website http://www.addiction-free.com/ and go to our Publications page to review those books.
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