From the book Reversing Chronic Pain by Dr. Maggie Phillips:
"Myth 1: I have to learn to live with the pain. There's nothing that can be done.This belief is usually reinforced by professionals who have reached the limits of what the know to recommend to you, and it also impllies that you are too demanding or perhaps not complying fully with the treatment methods that have been offered. This statement speaks of the dangers of despair, hopelessness, and helplessness in approaching pain.
Remember that there are literally hundreds of pain relief methods and more are being developed every day. At least some of them will be right for you. If you sense that your treating professional is not responsive to your quest for permanent relief, maybe it's time to find another one who will be an active partner in your search. Feed your hope not your negativity.
Myth # 2: There is one special doctor, medication, high-tech intervention, surgery, etc., that will stop my pain. This belief can be particularly hard to put to rest. We so want to find that magic bullet! Usually there is NO one approach that will resolve your pain. Persistent pain is so cmplex there is no one root or underlying cause. Consequently, there is usually no one approach that will resolve it. Most experts believe that a combination of traditional and alternative methods is necessary to shift your pain gradually from center stage in your life to a less intrusive, more remote position.
Myth 3: I'm not getting better because I am not motivated enough (or smart enough, strong enough, etc.) to follow all the suggestions that have been given to me. I really dislike this one- if there are hundreds of pain interventions and each one involves multiple sets of directions.... well, you do the math! This myth conveys an overwhelming and impossible expectation. It is more likely that you are not following directives because they either aren't helping you significantly to warrant your energy, or because the pacing of the approach is not right for you.
Any given intervention can be broken down into smaller steps and each one of those may be more appealing and approachable than the total assignment or exercise. If you are not responding, take a deep breath and find loving compassion ofr yourself and trust that there may be a very good reason why the approach may not be working for you.
Myth 4: Everyone else is getting better faster than I am. When I hear this from my clients, I tell them that many pain clinics, physicians, and specialists have a 'bell curve' that they use to plan treatment. It's important to rememver that you may be in a different place for the 'norm' at any given point in your recovery- for example, maybe your response to treatment is in the 1-2% at either end (i.e., much faster or slower).
In fact, if you have persistent pain, by definition there are complex factors tha may have delayed your progress. Many of these include external events over which you may have no control such as work or family crises or changes in your healthcare coverage. A far better approach than competing with other pain patients around you is to compete only with yourself by asking, 'Am I moving in a positive forward direction even though my progress is slow? Am I in a significantly better place than I was a year ago?'
Myth 5: Unless I get rid of this pain, my life is not worth living. The despair and frustration relefeted in this statement is certainly understandable. Yet even if you can reduce significantly the intensity and/or frequency of your pain, it is highly likely that you will have some remaining traces of apin in the form of periodic flare-ups or certain sensations that remind you of the vulnerability in parts of your body. So it's important to ask yourself, 'How will I live if my pain does not disappear completely?'
To dismantle this myth, we need to distinguish between pain and suffering. The pain itself is a particular set of body and mind reacions, while suffering is the hurt of pain- the impact of your pain reactions on your life. Suffering can be addressed and greatly reduced so that physical pain is no longer a nuisnace and no longer controls your quality of life."
sue in ohio
"Myth 1: I have to learn to live with the pain. There's nothing that can be done.This belief is usually reinforced by professionals who have reached the limits of what the know to recommend to you, and it also impllies that you are too demanding or perhaps not complying fully with the treatment methods that have been offered. This statement speaks of the dangers of despair, hopelessness, and helplessness in approaching pain.
Remember that there are literally hundreds of pain relief methods and more are being developed every day. At least some of them will be right for you. If you sense that your treating professional is not responsive to your quest for permanent relief, maybe it's time to find another one who will be an active partner in your search. Feed your hope not your negativity.
Myth # 2: There is one special doctor, medication, high-tech intervention, surgery, etc., that will stop my pain. This belief can be particularly hard to put to rest. We so want to find that magic bullet! Usually there is NO one approach that will resolve your pain. Persistent pain is so cmplex there is no one root or underlying cause. Consequently, there is usually no one approach that will resolve it. Most experts believe that a combination of traditional and alternative methods is necessary to shift your pain gradually from center stage in your life to a less intrusive, more remote position.
Myth 3: I'm not getting better because I am not motivated enough (or smart enough, strong enough, etc.) to follow all the suggestions that have been given to me. I really dislike this one- if there are hundreds of pain interventions and each one involves multiple sets of directions.... well, you do the math! This myth conveys an overwhelming and impossible expectation. It is more likely that you are not following directives because they either aren't helping you significantly to warrant your energy, or because the pacing of the approach is not right for you.
Any given intervention can be broken down into smaller steps and each one of those may be more appealing and approachable than the total assignment or exercise. If you are not responding, take a deep breath and find loving compassion ofr yourself and trust that there may be a very good reason why the approach may not be working for you.
Myth 4: Everyone else is getting better faster than I am. When I hear this from my clients, I tell them that many pain clinics, physicians, and specialists have a 'bell curve' that they use to plan treatment. It's important to rememver that you may be in a different place for the 'norm' at any given point in your recovery- for example, maybe your response to treatment is in the 1-2% at either end (i.e., much faster or slower).
In fact, if you have persistent pain, by definition there are complex factors tha may have delayed your progress. Many of these include external events over which you may have no control such as work or family crises or changes in your healthcare coverage. A far better approach than competing with other pain patients around you is to compete only with yourself by asking, 'Am I moving in a positive forward direction even though my progress is slow? Am I in a significantly better place than I was a year ago?'
Myth 5: Unless I get rid of this pain, my life is not worth living. The despair and frustration relefeted in this statement is certainly understandable. Yet even if you can reduce significantly the intensity and/or frequency of your pain, it is highly likely that you will have some remaining traces of apin in the form of periodic flare-ups or certain sensations that remind you of the vulnerability in parts of your body. So it's important to ask yourself, 'How will I live if my pain does not disappear completely?'
To dismantle this myth, we need to distinguish between pain and suffering. The pain itself is a particular set of body and mind reacions, while suffering is the hurt of pain- the impact of your pain reactions on your life. Suffering can be addressed and greatly reduced so that physical pain is no longer a nuisnace and no longer controls your quality of life."
sue in ohio
USA
