Chronic Pain Counseling
When you’re dealing with chronic pain it can seep into every part of your life. It has the potential to become so overbearing that it’s all you think about. The brain is a very powerful tool in the fight against pain, the mind-body connection can work in our favor! The simplest example of this phenomenon is when you're stressed you get tense, and when you're tense, your muscles hurt. Bam! Your stress made your muscles hurt. Amazing what the mind can do. Imagine what the mind can do when it uses its power for good!
About Chronic Pain Counseling
Chronic pain counseling may seem intimidating and mysterious, but it can be pretty similar to other types of counseling, except we look at everything from a chronic pain perspective! We commonly help people with anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma, panic disorder, and other mental struggles while being compassionate and considerate of the fact that they are also dealing with ever-present pain.
Our central nervous system is delicate and chronic pain can easily cause this system to become over-sensitized leading to increased pain, quick stimulation, and other “glitches” in the body. Chronic pain counseling can focus on the reregulation of the nervous system so your body can focus its attention on healing and more productive activities. This may seem complicated (and it is!), but you can read more about it below!
At Chronic Hope Counseling all of our counselors have personal experience with chronic pain/illness and we are specially trained in all things chronic pain and mental health. Everything about Chronic Hope was built by people with chronic pain for people with chronic pain.
Chronic pain counseling is a unique specialty, scroll through this page and learn all about chronic pain, mental health, and the power the brain plays in our physical health.
Types of Pain
Primary Pain:
Pain caused physical damage to the tissue in the body. An example of this would be a broken bone or twisted ankle. Primary pain can sometimes be chronic as well, an example of this would be arthritis or Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
Secondary Pain:
This is also known as suffering. Secondary pain is the mental anguish that comes with long-term pain. Secondary pain is almost always present when there is chronic pain. Chronic pain is hard! No one would ever say otherwise. It’s natural that there is suffering and mental struggle. When pain is chronic, primary and secondary pain can become so intertwined that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins; they become one giant knot. Learning and discovering how to untangle that knot can be essential to lessening your suffering so that the pain is just “simply” pain.
Retrain Your Brain!
Your brain is smart, malleable, trainable, and ready to create new pathways to make your life and pain experience easier! Your brain can make things easier for you, you just have to show it how, and we can help! We are experts in guiding you (and your brain) in how to retrain your brain to work with and learn to love beyond your pain!
“Healing severe or chronic pain, I believe, includes transforming our relationship to the pain, and, ultimately, it is about transforming our relationship to who we are and to life.”
Sarah Anne Shockley, The Pain Companion: Practical Tools for Living With & Moving Beyond Chronic Pain
Unraveling Suffering with Chronic Pain Counseling
Pain may be inevitable, but the amazing thing is suffering is controllable. I know this may seem like an absurd statement, but pain and suffering are honestly two completely separate feelings that occur in the body. Pain is a physical sensation that often leads to suffering which is an emotion. We have power over our emotions. With training and work and processing we can change the emotion of processing.
We can minimize suffering!!
We have to tools, training, and expertise to teach your brain to separate pain and suffering. Our pain can simply be a pain, the suffering doesn’t have to follow. The emotional burden can be lifted.
Central Sensitization and Dysregulation
In a perfect world, a body struggling with chronic pain would get a stronger and better pain tolerance and eventually wouldn’t feel their pain at all! Unfortunately, this isn’t how the body works. In reality, a body that is in pain gets REALLY good at being in pain. The pain paths in the body go from being bumpy back roads that are hard to travel on to 5 lane highways where pain signals zip to painful parts of the body quickly and efficiently. When this happens the nervous system gets dysregulated and the pain starts getting worse.
Allodynia:
When a person experiences pain with things that are not normally painful.
Hyperalgesia:
Typically pain is perceived as more painful than it should be.
More About Central Sensitization
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What is Central Sensitization?
What is Central sensitization? (CS)? CS is the dysregulation of the pain center in your body. This dysregulation leads to your body being overly sensitive to pain, thinking everything is a threat, then suddenly even someone poking you hurts. Central sensitization is extremely common in people who have chronic pain or chronic illnesses, because the pain center is active all the time, always trying to find a threat and it become tired and overworked.
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Light, Sounds and Smell Sensitivity.
Central sensitization can also cause sensitivity to lights, sounds and odors. All of the sudden all sorts of stimuli are a threat, Touch, smell, sights all of these are suddenly something that causes pain.
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Emotional Regulation & Cognition
The nervous system controls more than just pain, so having the nervous system constantly in a state of panic can affect more parts of the body well. Central sensitization can also cause cognitive deficits such as poor concentration and poor short term memory. Emotional regulation can also be affected and can cause emotional distress and anxiety.
What are we going to do about it?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Recent studies show that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a powerful treatment for central sensitization. With CBT we work on changing your relationship with your pain. We focus on ending the battle between you and your pain and discovering ways for you and your pain to coexist in the most peaceful way possible. This gives your nervous system a chance to reset and return to normal.
Mindful/Meditation for Pain
A lot of people are hesitant about the idea of using mindfulness and meditation as a tool against chronic pain, but the research and Chronic Hope’s clients have shown the power they can have. Naturally, when the pain starts people recoil and immediately, try to distract themselves or reach for medication. But, if we can find the power to sit with pain in a peaceful place. feel the fluidity of it and find our calm we can start to take back power.
Mindfulness is a practice that you can add to your everyday life without having to necessarily carve out extra time for it. It’s all about changing the perspective of what you already do in your life, being in the moment, and appreciating an experience through all your senses.
When living with chronic pain it’s common to feel disconnected and negative toward your body. Both mindfulness and meditation can help connect you back to your body in a gentle. positive and productive way.
Together we can discover unique coping tools, and incorporate expressive art therapy, acceptance therapy, strength-based therapy, person-focused therapy, and other regulation techniques individualized to you to assist in helping you conquer your nervous system dysregulation, chronic pain frustrations, and mental health struggles.
Please be aware that we will not encourage you to change or address your medication unless that is one of your personal goals.
Begin Chronic Pain Counseling in Raleigh, NC
Dealing with chronic pain can be a lonely and challenging journey full of ups and downs. Oftentimes people who experience chronic pain feel isolated and alone, but you are not alone! At Chronic Hope Counseling our skilled team of therapists has first-hand knowledge and personal understanding of chronic pain and all the trials that accompany it. We want to support and guide you on your journey to understanding and living with chronic pain in a nonjudgmental and caring environment. Follow the steps below to get started on the road to living your best life.
Get to know our team of caring therapists.
Book an appointment on our convenient contact form.
Begin your journey to emotional well-being.
Other Counseling Services Offered at Chronic Hope Counseling in North Carolina
In addition to Chronic Pain Counseling, we also offer a variety of other services that are geared toward people who exist within the world of chronic illness and pain. These include Chronic Illness Counseling, Chronic Fatigue Counseling, Long Covid Counseling, Ehlers Danlos Counseling, Family and Relationship Counseling as well as Caregiver Counseling and Support. If you are hurting, we see you and care. Reach out to us today!
Resource Links for Chronic Pain
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Tell/Own Your Chronic Pain Story
Use this worksheet to help you create an elevator pitch style version of your chronic pain story to help you with the dreaded question “what’s wrong with you?” “how are you doing?”
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Links About Central Sensitization
Learn more about central sensitization:
What is Central Sensitization?
A brief cognitive-behavioural intervention for pain reduces secondary hyperalgesia
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