23 Aug Understanding Your Loved One’s Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is a life-changing diagnosis. It can affect a patient in all aspects of their life – including their relationships. Knowing what to say and how to help a chronic pain patient can be confusing. That’s why it is important to understand chronic pain so that you can support your loved ones through this diagnosis.
What is chronic pain?
Chronic pain is persistent and can last for months or longer. Because of this, chronic pain is a separate health diagnosis that needs careful management and treatment.
Chronic pain is often linked to other diagnoses, such as fibromyalgia, nerve or tissue damage or inflammatory bowel disease.
How can you help a loved one with chronic pain?
Here are just a few tips to help you encourage and support someone living with chronic pain:
- Acknowledge their pain. A common belief about chronic pain patients is that the pain is ‘all in their head.’ This damaging belief can lead to stigma around chronic pain, may discourage patients from seeking help and more. Simply acknowledging your loved one’s pain is an important way to support their diagnosis.
- Don’t take things personally. Chronic pain can often be unpredictable. A chronic pain sufferer’s symptoms may come and go throughout the hour, day, week, etc. Because of this, they may not always be able to attend events or social gatherings. It is important to remember not to take this personally, but instead to understand their diagnosis and the implications of chronic pain on their everyday life.
- Listen to your loved one. Chronic pain can be very difficult to understand for those who have never been diagnosed or experienced it. Because of this, it’s very important for loved ones to support chronic pain patients by listening to them. Pain comes in many forms, so it is helpful for you to understand how pain affects your loved one.
- Offer help and support. Those with chronic pain may have difficulty with some tasks, such as shopping, cooking or cleaning, depending on the severity of their pain. You can help support your loved ones by offering to help with daily activities and listening to their needs.
If you or a loved one are suffering from chronic pain, visit thepainmanagementgroup.com for more information.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
For more information on The Pain Management Group, please visit thepainmanagementgroup.com or schedule an appointment at one of our locations throughout Middle Tennessee.
We are committed to providing individualized care and vow to treat each patient with compassion and respect, never turning anyone away. Our physicians are fellowship-trained pain specialists who utilize a combination of interventional procedures and medication management services to tailor a personalized care plan for each patient’s long-term pain relief.
