Pain can involve a lot of loss – of friendships, work or plans for the future. The emotional impact of these losses as well as of the pain itself often hits people hard.
People with long term pain can find themselves struggling with low mood, depression, anxiety and isolation – this can in turn make the pain worse. It’s important to tackle these emotional impacts of pain as well as treating the pain. This doesn’t mean that the pain is ‘all in the mind’.
Top tip: learn more about pain. Many people find that, like Carmen and Diane, understanding more about their pain makes them less anxious and can help them to start becoming more active.
Find out more: improve your understanding of pain by listening to Pain Concern’s interview with Lorimer Mosley, one of the authors of Explain Pain.
To read the transcript of this programme, please click here.
Published September 2015. Text to be reviewed September 2018.
Love the series of videos you have and I share them to our members. Was astounded at the rice of the Explain Pain group but bought a kindle version at £17. Do Pain Clinics have budgets for books like these.
Would love to make a connection with yourselves so our groups can share info.
Thank for this informative group of videos. They have helped me to understand that others feel the same as I do and their stories inspired me.
On the 23rd of this month I will be put to a test because I will be in front of a panel of Doctors who want me to tell them how living with chronic pain impacts on my life. To be honest I don’t know if I can, I need an action plan but don’t know where to start. Could anybody at Pain Concern help me? I also have a plethora of other conditions which are:- Fibromyalgia, Ulcerative Colitis, Hiatus Hernia, Migraines, Osteopenia, and I also have to self catheterise 3 – 4 times daily due to nerve damage after my 30′ fall causing me to fracture 12 bones and more recently sustaining a Comminuted fracture after an awkward fall in my neighbours garden which have all culminated into me suffering with Chronic Pain. Could you help me?
Hi Marie,
I think it would be best if you email our helpline, help@painconcern.org.uk, or call 0300 123 0789 (within the hours stated above), as our specially trained helpline volunteers are more suited to offering advice than here on the website.
I hope this can help you