Chronic Pain Pain that persists for over 12 weeks is known as chronic pain and does not have to be from a physical injury, it can also be due to long term health condition such as arthritis, migraines, diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, colitis and Crohn’s disease. For many people with chronic pain, there is little awareness of its affects on their mental health. Or if they are aware, there is a tendency to suffer in silence as they can feel it is too difficult to attend to both their physical as well as mental health.

Impact of Chronic Pain on Your Mental Health The impact of chronic pain on your mental well-being however should not be underestimated. It can have the effect of making you feel very alone, as well as helpless. Often many feel a sense of hopelessness too about their future. It is very common for those with chronic pain to also have feelings of anxiety and depression.

How can Psychotherapy Help?

As our mind and body are not separate and work in co-ordination, it is understandable that pain can cause emotional upset which in turn can lead to an increase of pain. But in learning how to reduce stress and mental tension, this can lead to having a greater sense of control and can help reduce the power of pain over everything else in your life.

Therapy can help reduce build up of stress by being an emotional outlet for you, allowing you to express your feelings that you may have been concealing to protect loved ones and help you reach a new understanding as well as providing relief. Within therapy, you can also work on adjusting to current limitations, and what works for you to bring you relaxation. Related to this, therapy can help you work on techniques that manage your anxiety, which in turn helps you to feel you are coping better and can aid in improving quality of life.