If you’re struggling with chronic pain, you’re definitely not alone. Chronic pain affects millions of people worldwide. Chronic pain is pain that lasts or recurs for months or years, sometimes even when doctors can’t find a cause. It can be associated with a medical condition (like fibromyalgia or endometriosis) or an injury that never fully heals. While physical factors such as injury or illness can cause chronic pain, stress plays a significant role in the development and management of chronic pain. Stress can exacerbate pain, making it more intense and harder to manage.
Chronic Pain and Stress: How They Are Connected
When we experience stress, our bodies release cortisol, a hormone that helps us respond to stressors. Cortisol can increase inflammation in the body, which can lead to pain and exacerbate chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, and migraines. As pain repeatedly stimulates cells in our body that that notice, send, and receive pain signals to our brain, the structure of cells can change overtime to become more receptive and responsive. That process can make us even more sensitive to pain. So pain might come from stimulation that wouldn’t ordinarily be painful, or it might feel more severe.
Muscles might become more tender to the touch, triggering unexplained pain in other parts of your body. Stress can also lead to muscle tension, which can cause pain and stiffness. Over time, chronic stress can cause changes in the nervous system, leading to hypersensitivity to pain and making pain more difficult to manage.
Our emotional lives, stress levels and tendency towards anxiety can make us more likely to experience pain in ways that feel more extreme and limit our lives. People with chronic pain can also often feel more anxious about the anticipation of pain coming back. Fear can even reduce our bodies ability to desensitize us to pain over time. How supported you feel by your medical team and family matters too. Invalidation of pain can make us tend to need to exadgerate our emotional response to pain to get what we need… and that in turn can impact our perception of pain over time, making it worse.
Therapy for Chronic Pain and Stress
Therapy can be an effective way to manage chronic pain and stress. Here are some ways therapy can help:
Identifying and Managing Triggers: A therapist can help you identify their stress triggers and develop strategies to manage them effectively. Therapy can help you identify negative thought patterns and replace them with more positive and constructive ones.
Relaxation Techniques: Therapists can help you practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided imagery. These techniques can help reduce muscle tension, promote relaxation, and reduce pain levels.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a therapeutic approach that combines mindfulness meditation, body awareness, and yoga. MBSR has been shown to be effective in reducing pain and stress levels in individuals with chronic pain conditions.
Support and Validation: Living with chronic pain can be emotionally and mentally taxing. Therapy can provide a safe space for you to express your emotions and receive support and validation from a therapist who understands what they are going through.
Chronic pain and stress are closely linked, and therapy can be an effective way to manage these conditions. By identifying and managing triggers, learning relaxation techniques, practicing mindfulness, and receiving support and validation, if you’re living with chronic pain, you can learn to manage their symptoms more effectively and improve your overall quality of life.
