I know what it is like to live with chronic pain and with a chronic illness from personal and family experience.  It can be frustrating and disheartening, not to mention that dealing with chronic pain is devastating for both the patient and family members.  It can lead to depression, loss of productivity, loss of social interaction and loss of income.  Family members often don’t understand why it’s taking so long for you - the patient - to get better, and friends who were initially supportive and “there for you” frequently become inpatient with your progress and drift away. This can leave you feeling hopeless and depressed. 

One thing that many people don’t realize about chronic pain is that instead of becoming desensitized or less susceptible to pain because you have so much of it, the body actually becomes more sensitive.  This is not a psychological process; this is a physiological process. Certain types of nerves cells become hypersensitive with repeated stress, or pain, and instead of becoming pain resistant, or “tougher,” like muscles get stronger with repeated use, the nerve cells become more sensitive.  It’s not your fault if you have a chronic condition.  Many people with chronic illness and chronic pain carry a great deal of guilt which only makes their condition worse.

Emotional stress also can aggrevate chronic pain syndromes and illnesses. Worry about having pain or becoming ill and missing work can lead to depression or a worsening of symptoms.  Which came first – are you depressed because you have a chronic pain/illness condition, or do you have a chronic pain/illness because you are depressed and it is manifesting as a physical condition?  It might a chicken or egg kind of question!  Psychotherapy can help with this by providing a place to talk openly about your feelings, verbalize your concerns, identify your fears, confront behavior patterns and clarify or understand these patterns without judgment by you or anyone else; especially by your therapist.

By talking about your situation and how you feel in a supportive, understanding environment and learning self-management techniques such as self-hypnosis, meditation and visualization, you can begin to feel empowered and hopeful again.  You can learn how to manage your symptoms, how to talk to your family and friends and even how to get what you need from your medical providers.  Because I work on a somatic (body centered) level, I can help you to release some of what is keeping you stuck. 

You don’t make yourself sick, but stress and anxiety can contribute to pain and keep you stuck where you don’t really want to be.