When to see a psychologist for your pain.
Do you have pain that is persisting for months, years? Persistent pain is a horribly confusing, taxing, and tiring experience; thankfully understanding the process can help you find progress.
You may be aware that pain is a message your brain produces to tell you that you are under threat. When pain persists beyond the time that it takes for an initial injury to heal, we have to wonder why your brain is still sensing a threat.
You are one whole unified person. You are not a physical person, separate from an emotional person, separate from a thinking person. If there is a threat perceived by your brain, whether that be physical, emotional, social, financial, spiritual, it will protect you in the way it knows how - pain. I’ve had many people come to see me with an aggravation of their painful problem, at a loss for why the pain has flared up. Recent examples of reasons that people’s pain has flared up are: HSC exams, a good friend passing away, relationship turmoil, insurance company interrogation.
Pain is always influenced by thoughts, memories, and emotions, but sometimes these things play a more significant role than others. Some pains are very physical, sometimes there is barely a physical cause.
Amber Sargeant, registered psychologist and the director of The Sunshine Club Psychology, based in Cronulla says;
“People often think pain is a purely physical experience, because we feel it in our physical body. However, pain is a lot more complex than that. What people often miss is that are minds and bodies are not separate - they are intertwined. Pain has physical elements, though it also has psychological ones and to address pain effectively, we need to manage all elements of the pain and its origins. Pain can also be extremely distressing and lead to increased feelings of anger, sadness, anxiety and even grieving a life before the pain.
If your pain has been ongoing for an extended period of time, and physiological interventions are not as effective as you had hoped, or you’re noticing that the pain is causing you psychological or emotional distress, it might be time to see a psychologist.”
Because pain is part of your safety mechanism, it is influenced by unsafe or vulnerable experiences, whether that be in a whole body, or injury sense. Pain can be perpetuated but unsafe experiences that happened;
around the time of the injury – if the initiating injury carried significant emotional or psychological distress, for example, you were injured in a scenario that produced fear, anger, a sense of injustice, helplessness, or hopelessness. The persisting emotional toll from these types of injuries can contribute to them persisting, even once the injured tissues have healed.
through the rehab process – sometimes medical professionals can catastrophise and exaggerate scenarios that create a sense of fragility and vulnerability in your body. Phrases like “this is the worst X-ray I’ve seen in years” can amplify the sense of danger and influence the output of pain.
during childhood – being subjected to periods lacking safety as a child, while your protective responses were developing, will affect how your protective system develops. This can mean your brain perceives danger and produces an experience of pain in scenarios that don’t otherwise look like they should cause pain.
In these scenarios, it can be helpful to work with someone to move forwards from an emotional and psychological perspective. Amber explains, “A psychologist can help with the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are linked to or impacting the pain that people might be experiencing. Psychologists might assist you to challenge thoughts about the pain, change behaviours that could be impacting the pain, implement relaxation techniques, navigate relationships or other elements of life that have been impacted by the pain and more.”
Chronic pain is incredibly difficult, so a team approach works best, where therapists listen and help you find your way forwards. If you need help managing persistent pain, get in touch today and we can help you take the next step.