When I first entered the mental health field, I did not see physical pain as something I would treat. I understood that many of the individuals I encountered were dealing with pain.
It’s extremely common, affecting 20 percent of us (Kuehn,2018). I also understood that pain would naturally affect someone’s well-being. No one likes to hurt.
It wasn’t until I had my own, admittedly mild, brush with chronic pain that I started to appreciate this a little more. In my early 30s, I developed neck pain and migraines. At times, it is a daily thing.
I particularly remember preparing to go to a festival with friends when someone said, “Why are you even going to go if your neck is just going to hurt the whole time?”
“My neck is going to hurt no matter where I am,” I snapped back.
That was true. I didn’t want to stop doing things because of this, and, in all reality, the pain would likely be there tomorrow, the next day, and so forth.
As I met more and more people coping with pain, I became curious about the interplay between pain and mental health. There is a strong relationship between pain and depression. Pain serves as a natural stressor, placing one at higher risk for mental health issues of all kinds, both psychologically and in the body’s response to that stress (Blackburn‐Munro, 2001).
It’s not an all-or-nothing thing, either. Longitudinal studies suggest that the higher the intensity of pain, the worse the depressive symptoms (Angst, 2020). Unfortunately, many medications used to treat pain can also have psychological side effects, such as depression and irritability.
Pain also affects us on a broader scale. It is usually a signal for us to slow down. When we feel pain daily, we are primed to withdraw. It can feel like others’ lives are moving forward while yours stands still. Behavioral interventions targeting depression encourage behavioral activation—getting out there and doing stuff. This is the opposite of what pain instructs.
Over time, chronic pain and its emotional aftermath can negatively affect relationships. It can breed resentment among friends and family who feel isolated by the withdrawal. Pain affects how we interact with others, and the stress of social strain can worsen pain.
Research has shown an interaction between social pains, such as rejection and grief, with physical pain at a neurological level. Both types of pain appear to be processed in similar brain regions and likely affect each other on multiple levels (Zhang et al., 2019). It seems to be a complex, bi-directional relationship.
Lastly, pain often feels without reason. The seemingly meaningless nature of this suffering can add an existential burden to pain, particularly if the affected perceives the pain as punishment (Telbizova, 2022).
But can therapy help?
Research suggests that it can.
Meaning in Suffering, Improved Relationships, and Decrease in Pain Intensity
One space where psychotherapy can be of use is in navigating how to readjust life after pain. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) focuses on value clarification, allowing experiences, and moving toward what matters, among other objectives.
An effective ACT therapist can guide you in taking meaningful steps as you carry your pain with you. A study utilizing a short-term course of ACT in individuals experiencing chronic pain found a decrease in pain interference with life goals (Wetherell et al., 2011).
In addition, a meta-analysis of 21 studies exploring the effectiveness of ACT for individuals living with chronic pain found a variety of favorable outcomes ranging from a decrease in pain intensity to an increase in quality of life (Ma et al., 2023).
Psychotherapy with an emphasis on interpersonal things can also assist with relationships, pain intensity, and severity of depressive and anxious symptoms in people experiencing chronic pain (Monsen et al., 2002). One such therapy is interpersonal therapy.
Interpersonal therapy assists individuals in working through role disputes, life transitions, grief, and other social difficulties that affect their well-being. It is an evidence-based treatment for a variety of difficulties, including depression. The study Interpersonal Therapy for Pain and Depression found a large effect size in both a decrease in depressive symptoms and an increase in social functioning Poleshuck et al., 2010).
Finally, therapy that focuses on meaning-making and self-compassion can assist with how individuals relate to themselves in the face of pain. An intervention utilizing group compassion-focused therapy found a decrease in pain-related distress and anxiety as well as an increase in self-efficacy after the intervention.
Across all studies, a decrease in pain intensity appears small, but the gains in quality-of-life measures are more impressive.
Read the rest of the original article on Psychology Today.
If you find suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, depression or other health issues, please see our information on treatment options including Psychotherapy Treatment in NYC.
