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Psychological Symptoms of Chronic Pain

For the one in five Australians living with chronic pain the torture is not only physical but also psychological. Chronic pain can lead to hopelessness, depression, anger and anxiety disorders such as: panic, generalised anxiety, hypochondriasis and post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronic pain sufferers often end up (1) inactive because they fear exacerbating their pain through activity, (2) socially withdrawn and losing contact with friends, and (3) overweight due to inactivity and/or overeating. Anger and depression are common, especially among sufferers with no clear physical explanation for a condition that can split families and take lives. Chronic pain can cause a multitude of changes in the rest of the patient's life.

How can Psychological Health Interventions Help?

Psychological treatment aims to help chronic pain sufferers change their negative, unhelpful, unrealistic thoughts. The ability to cope with chronic pain requires a fundamental shift in thinking. Research has shown that having realistic, helpful thoughts is an important part of pain management. Treatment may incorporate: relaxation techniques, distraction techniques, the pacing of activity and challenging negative thoughts and beliefs about pain, other stressors, the future and disability.

Time Frames and Anticipated Outcomes

Many people can learn pain management skills in as few as 12 sessions; however any treatment plan has to be tailored to an individual's needs so the number of sessions required may vary from person to person. Following treatment it is anticipated patients will: increase daily activity levels, be able to sustain suitable work, learn to predict pain flare-ups and manage their onset effectively, take regular steps towards achieving clear, realistic lifestyle recovery goals, sustain an improvement in depressed mood and be able to challenge unhelpful thinking styles and beliefs associated with pain.

To initiate a referral please call 1800 424 635, email assist@psychi.com.au or send a doctors referral form or rehabilatation providers referral form to fax: 1300 782 393 with a mark in the box: “Pain Management”.


What is Pain?

Pain is a complex sensation involving not only intense sensory stimulation but also an emotional component. Physiological evidence suggests that the sensation of pain is quite different from the emotional reaction to pain.

What is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that persists for longer than three months. It is pain that continues beyond the normal healing time for an injury. The causes vary from patient to patient. In some, there is a clear, ongoing physical trigger. However in others even after the injury that brought on the chronic pain has been treated, the body remains sensitised. Some injured people continue to suffer long after any obvious damage has healed - their pain receptors continue to send signals to their brain, although doctors can see nothing wrong.
Any part of the body can become the site for persistent pain. The most common problem areas are the back, (upper or lower), the neck, the head (persistent headache) or a limb.
 
     
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