Since we talked about judgment in the last post, this topic also seemed fitting: Another issue that comes up regarding judgment is from medical providers. I've heard some horror stories. I've had patients tell me it took years for a doctor to believe there was a problem - a real medical diagnosis (no, it wasn’t …
Author: copingwithmentalhealthchronicpain
Invisible Diseases and Judgment. Part 1.
In the chronic pain world, there are a number of diagnoses that aren’t visible to the naked eye. A short list (not exhaustive) may include fibromyalgia, cancers, or neuropathy. Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), migraines, and nerve damage are also invisible to the eye. These problems are terrible and difficult to endure. And, treatment really …
Chronic pain, anxiety, depression & addiction
I wasn't planning on covering this topic, since it was sort of discussed earlier. But, I wrote this piece for someone else and it wasn't used. Since I spent a decent amount of time researching I didn't want this to go to waste. So, here you go: When I first meet with a patient who …
Continue reading Chronic pain, anxiety, depression & addiction
Types of research-based psychological/therapeutic treatments for pain
Hello! As previously discussed, your pain is real. But, we know that our psychology can definitely make pain worse. Have you ever noticed that the more you think about your pain, the level starts to increase (you know, the pain scale that medical providers always talk about)? We often start to become stressed when we …
Continue reading Types of research-based psychological/therapeutic treatments for pain
Psychology and Chronic Pain
When people are referred to me, there is often a look of confusion on their face. Why would they need to see a psychologist? Some are understandably offended. And, unfortunately, there is still a stigma to seeing a "shrink." Here is what I normally tell people: As mentioned in the second post, we know that …
What is pain?
I will likely begin some of these entries with a disclaimer. The following post will focus on physical pain and introduce how emotions/psychology are related to the pain process. This is not an exhaustive definition, but simply provides the basics. Websites are included if you would like to do additional research. When ever I first …
The Journey Begins – An Introduction
I’ve been wanting to start this blog for several months now. It seems there is some misinformation out there in the "pain" world, so I figured it would be useful to cover topics to help inform the public (especially in the wake of the opioid crisis). A little bit about me: I am a Clinical …
