CHRONIC PAIN

Have you been told by your doctors that your chronic pain is “all in your head?” While technically that’s true because all pain originates in the brain, that is not usually how that statement is interpreted, especially if the individual has previous medical trauma. Because whether they mean to or not, some physicians come across as dismissing a person’s pain symptoms as “fake or made up” by saying it’s all in their head and not offering any further solutions.

 

 In reality chronic pain can have many psychological causes that manifest as physical symptoms. Trauma can cause pain throughout a person’s body, whether or not the person remembers experiencing trauma at all. Constant or near constant muscle tension due to hypervigilance or anxiety can have lasting pain effects in the person’s body. If a person experienced a physical injury but did not receive adequate medical care or support this too can cause lasting pain. So what can be done for individuals with chronic pain? I have been trained in a specific EMDR protocol for pain which can be very effective. Additionally, there are cognitive behavioral, mindfulness based, and somatic therapy techniques that can reduce or eliminate pain.

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