Why is pain a mental health issue?
I get it. Pain is unpleasant, stifling, and sometimes unbearable; but that is what makes it such an effective and essential part of life. The role of pain is to alert us to a potential threat- even perceived threats- that our brains create to keep us safe. Pain is so much more complicated than something physical. It’s a complex combination of mental, emotional, and cultural influences.
In fact, there are 7 factors that contribute to the pain experience:
Things you sense,
Things happening in your body
Things you say
People in your life
Places you go
Things you think/ believe
Things you do.
For the sake of time, we will just look at how a few of these concepts can contribute to someone’s pain experience. After exploring a brief case study, hopefully, you will have a better understanding of why pain is a mental health issue.
Imagine a young woman who has injured her back and still has pain a year later. Concerned there might be tissue damage, she has an MRI and X-ray, only to find that there is no physical cause of her pain. From here, we look at various elements that could perpetuate her pain experience along with its effect on her mental health.
Things Happening in Your Body: Even though there is no tissue damage, nerves from scar tissue are cautious to allow movement based on what happened last time.
Things you do: Maybe she thinks that she should tough it out and “soldier on,” hoping it will go away on its own.
Things you think/believe: Unfortunately, she realizes that this approach is not working. As she ruminates on the incident that started it all, thoughts of self-blame begin to creep in. Uncomfortable beliefs may come up such as: “something must be broken, why can’t they find it?” or “I am being punished for something.” or “Why me?” Beliefs like these can foster anger, fear, and blame. She believes she is uniquely damaged.
People in Your Life: She suffers in silence, but part of her wants to yell at everyone about how much pain she is in. At work, she is angry with unsupportive work colleagues. She feels her friends don’t want to spend time with her. (If they only knew what she was going through, they would.) She then withdraws from her social circles. Her isolation leads to feelings of depression. In response, she frantically looks for anything that will help. Her restlessness and racing thoughts consume her. Just like her attitudes and beliefs, her emotional suffering further perpetuates her pain experience.
Above, we examined just a few factors that influenced her pain experience. Additionally, we addressed how her incessant pain led to social and psychological distress.
Maybe this story sounds familiar. Perhaps, you can see yourself in some of these thoughts. If this is the case, I’d love to talk with you more about your pain and how I can support you on this journey. Please read more about me and my approach here.
In the words of Carl Rogers, “What is most personal is most universal.”
