National Pain Awareness Month
Chronic pain is pain that goes on longer than six months and does not respond to conventional medical treatment. In other words, chronic pain is pain that does not go away. What’s more, chronic pain often has no concrete explanation and no tangible diagnosis. That does not mean that chronic pain is not real. It simply means that, using the information available today, modern medical specialists cannot define a “cause’ for the pain. Chronic pain is pain that many people have to “learn to live with.” The question then is, how do you do that?
Eighty-six million Americans are affected by some sort of chronic pain. Chronic pain presents business and industry with a bill of $90 billion annually, including lost work hours, retraining, and insurance claims. It causes untold stress on families. The pain can become life-threatening to many who suffer with overwhelming all-controlling pain. Chronic pain is an affliction that must be dealt with now.
Who is affected by pain? It affects the victim who feels the pain and suffers with it. However, it also affects everyone around him or her. When the pain begins, others are supportive and caring. As time goes by, the sufferer begins to lose his support system, co-workers, and friends. The person withdraws from all activity and the only people the sufferer sees are health care providers and those he lives with. Chronic pain has an effect has an effect not only on the sufferer, but on family and significant others. Soon they find that large parts of their lives are controlled by the victim’s pain. Unfortunately, chronic pain creates many different types of suffering.
The person with chronic pain may come to believe that he or she is the only one who has chronic pain and that can create a sense of hopelessness. One’s pain may cause the sufferer to withdraw from all social and family support systems.
Chronic pain, in many cases, has no visible signs. The victim’s level of functioning changes daily. It is not surprising that those around her may question the reality of her pain. It is not unusual for the sufferer herself to question whether or not her pain is real—she may sometimes believe it is all in her head.
Is the pain all in one’s head? The answer is partly. You cannot separate mind and body. What one experiences physically affects your emotional well-being and vice-versa. The lack of a diagnosis—a reason for the pain—can cause a person to question the reality of his suffering. Even with a diagnosis, he may find it hard to believe that modern medicine cannot “fix” him.
If a person has chronic pain, she will suffer. If she gives undivided attention to her pain, her suffering will be overwhelming. If, however, she can redirect her attention to other issues, her sense of suffering can be reduced.
A person with chronic pain may believe that his value is measured by the amount of work that he can accomplish. His inability to contribute at work or at home creates a sense of guilt.
A sufferer may be angry with the medical community for not making her better. She may be angry with her co-workers for not understanding. She may be angry with her friends and family for not being more supportive and understanding. And she may be angry with herself for not having the ability to “get better.”
The American Chronic Pain Association, Inc. offers a support system for those suffering from chronic pain, help dealing with pain in a positive way, and a helping hand and a friendly ear for those willing to help themselves.
This non-profit organization supports self-help groups which teach positive ways to deal with chronic pain. Their main goals are to help people improve the quality of their lives, restore an appropriate level of functioning, and reduce their sense of suffering.
The ACPA sponsors hundreds of self-help groups throughout the United States and in some foreign countries. In an ACPA self-help group the members study the ACPA workbooks which focus on a variety of coping skills. As members take responsibility for their own well-being they make the journey from patient to person.
People living with chronic pain can phone the national office at (916) 632-0922 to learn about groups in their area. The ACPA website is www.theacpa.org.
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