Health and Chronic Pain

Good health means being free of pain…

…in mind, body, and spirit.

Pain is experienced in hundreds of ways and has so many definitions. Sometimes they overlap, one causing, contributing to, or resulting from another.

Emotionally, it may be the anguish of grief at the loss of a loved one that feels like your heart is breaking. I’m sure you’ve heard, or even experienced, the physical pain of an anxiety attack. It’s undeniable the pain in both ways is real.

Physically, you may feel the chronic pain of arthritis, acute illness, or aging that has no end in sight. The feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can result in deep sadness and depression. The pain is real in both the physical and emotional sense.

The questioning of your spirituality and faith when dealing with circumstances and experiences that are out of your control is common – and painful. “How can God let this happen?” is a question raised by many in times of distress and crisis. Many of our values are tied to our spirituality or faith, and the fear of what our doubt means to that faith can be shaking.

Don’t be ashamed of the feelings – emotional, physical, or spiritual. Oddly, the pain is proof of your humanity and your need for support. You wouldn’t be here, reading this page, if there wasn’t a deep need for relief.

We have a choice in how we cope with the pain…

We can choose pain medication, which is sometimes necessary… even though it’s a passive approach to treatment.

We also have the option of doing more, such as learning how to reframe our understanding and tolerance of the pain we feel.

We have helped clients with illnesses like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), arthritis, excess weight, severe anxiety, and debilitating depression. While not all are physical illnesses, the clients each experienced physical pain as a symptom of their diagnosis and benefited from the skills learned in therapy.

The ability to think of your pain differently…

…has immeasurable positive impact on your life.

Often the pain being experienced is made worse by the meaning being assigned and the assumptions creating that meaning.

When time is taken to work through your assumptions and reframe the thoughts that result, the pain can be managed differently.

The sensation of pain frequently decreases when your understanding of it is increased. It allows you to create a strategy for handling it through new approaches you learn as we work together.

We may have to live with the pain for years…

So, learning new strategies to cope with the pain may save us from the psychological, emotional, and behavioral issues that come with it.

Imagine actually coming to terms with the reality of having physical pain and not having the helpless, hopeless, frustrated, or depressed feelings you do now. It may sound ridiculous or unrealistic, but it can be achieved.

Clients have told us the emotions that accompany chronic or acute pain are often worse than the pain itself. The pain, they say, is tolerable; and they can sometimes get temporary relief. The isolation, dependence on others, loss of enjoyments, pessimism, and the sense that a chapter of their life is coming to a close is another story.

What does this all mean?

Well, if you have to live with chronic pain, then learning how to live with it can help reduce symptoms of severe depression and/or anxiety, which can impact one’s ability to function at work, school, and in relationships.

The pain can also impact our spirit and create disharmony within, affecting our ability to connect to our inner-self or higher power. Some would even say that when we learn how to cope with chronic pain, we learn how to overcome the chronic sense of fear and learn how to feel safe in a sometimes unsafe world.

For some, physical pain is a fact of life…

…but the emotional suffering that’s associated doesn’t have to be.

There are steps to take, within your power, to make a difference in the ways your pain makes you feel.

Physical pain doesn’t have to cause emotional pain. If you are already experiencing the emotional impact of your pain, please contact us. We want to help you discover your inner strength and bring emotional relief to your life.

Are you ready to take charge of the way you experience pain?

Let us help you learn how. Call us for a free phone consultation: (630) 358-9821.