Show your pain who is the boss
Anyone who has been having pain for more than three months suffers from chronic pain. Chronic pain is different than pain that only lasts for a few hours or even a few days. New research suggests that chronic pain can actually cause changes in brain activity and brain chemistry, or even alter the anatomy of the cellular connections in the brain. Chronic pain seems to deplete the brains reserves, so that cells in the brain and spine deteriorate more quickly. This can lead to symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, depression, and difficulty concentrating. Sleep, in particular, becomes difficult.
Chronic pain can seem like an insurmountable obstacle. It is often accompanied by anger, frustration, depression, and anxiety. It affects your ability to work. It can affect your relationships with friends and family. Fortunately, we are coming to understand chronic pain in ways that were not even imaginable just a few years ago, and the good news is that there is a way out. The key is finding a structured plan that puts you back in control of your life.
There are several good resources available in books and online. Here are a few that you can investigate to find out which is the right one for you.
Even as you undergo other treatment modalities for your pain, take some time to learn about pain itself. You are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t explore what a structured program can do to help you heal from the effects pain has had on your life.
Websites
- Back in Control – www.drdavidhanscom.com
- Pain Connection – www.painconnection.com
- American Chronic Pain Association – www.theacpa.org
- The Mayday Pain Project – www.painandhealth.org
- painACTION – www.painaction.com
- U.S. Pain Foundation – www.ctpainfoundation.org
- P.U.R.E. H.O.P.E. – www.pure-hope.org
Books
- The Feeling Good Handbook by Dr. David Burns, MD
- Managing Pain Before It Manages You by Margaret Caudill, MD, PhD, MPH
- Unlearn Your Pain by Howard Schubiner, MD, with Michael Betzold
- Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Pain: A Step-by-step Guide by Beverly E Thorn, PhD
- Managing Chronic Pain: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach by John D Otis, PhD
- Back in Control by David Hanscom, MD
- The War on Pain by Scott Fishman and Lisa Berger
- The Chronic Pain Solution by James N Dillard and Leigh Ann Hirschman
- The Pain Survival Guide by Dennis C Turk