Armah A Quick Guide
People all over the world experience some sort of pain on a regular basis. For some, it is more frequent and persistent and for others, it is temporary but equally distressing. For example, conditions like headaches, backaches, toothaches, injury pain, illness pain, abdominal pain, and other chronic conditions are fairly common. Yet, many people don’t know how to cope with pain. Although the feeling of pain can emerge at any point in our body. Usually, it is the most intense in areas where nerve endings are densely packed on the body surface e.g. face. Feeling pain deep within the body is also possible e.g. abdominal pain. Learning to cope with pain is an essential skill. So, this article will discuss a few powerful strategies for it in detail
The adaptive function of pain & when it becomes maladaptive
To put it simply, the function of pain is to signal that something is wrong in our body. so, we can say that it is an adaptive function that encourages us to take an action to stop or reduce it somehow. However, for some people when the experience of pain becomes chronic, persistent, and distressing it becomes a problem. Since it hinders our potential to live and enjoy life fully.
Does our response matter to cope with pain?
According to Ronald Melzack (1999), our emotional response to pain determines the degree of pain we feel. For instance, an intense stress reaction, high fear response to a particular object like needles, or an attitude of helplessness i.e. not being able to do anything about the pain, may increase the pain we feel. Whereas, if we respond to pain with self-confidence and resilience, it may decrease its intensity.
How to cope with pain
For people with chronic and prolonged pain conditions, coping with it is quite difficult. Main treatments for it include anesthesia or pain-killing drugs. However, psychological factors also help in managing it. According to Spencer A. Rathus and Jeffrey S. Nevid (2016), a few strategies to cope with the pain are stated as follows:
1. Obtain information about the pain source
The majority of people adopt an avoidance or ignorance strategy when it comes to dealing with pain. They prefer to not know the source of their pain or seek medical treatment for it. This may actually increase their stress. So, if you experience pain in your body, find why and where it is coming from, from a reliable source. Knowing an accurate medical explanation can reduce the feelings of stress and give you a sense of being in control.
2. Use distraction strategies
Prior research reports that, people who don’t actively focus on the pain and shift their attention away from it, experience it less. In short distraction, strategies can be effective in regulating the pain. For example, reading a good book, watching a captivating movie, focusing on the details of your environment, talking about your day with your friends and family, etc.
3. Seek Hypnosis to cope with pain
W. S Ward (1842), first utilized hypnosis to perform medical operations with minimal pain in his patients. Since then, hypnosis is used as an additional anesthetic in some forms of medical treatment e.g. delivering a child, getting your tooth out, getting injections, etc.
Hypnosis simply works by activating deep relaxation in our body and taking us into a trance i.e. an altered state of awareness. In this state, a person becomes highly responsive to suggestions. So, if the hypnotist suggests that you do not feel pain and are completely calm, you are likely to believe him while being in this state. If you experience chronic pain, consult a trained and certified hypnotist for this purpose.
4. Practice guided imagery
Like hypnosis, guided imagery is a visualization strategy that uses the mind to influence the body. In this, a person is guided to completely relax. Then, his imagination is stimulated to form a soothing image in his mind. This helps our body to react to it with a relaxation response and reduces any prior sensations of pain. Multiple guided imagery audios are available online on YouTube. Find one tailored to people with chronic pain conditions. Access and practice those to cope with pain effectively.
5. Practice relaxation exercises
Usually, in pain, muscles of our body tense up which adds to our discomfort. Relaxation exercises like deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation help to reduce this tension. As our body muscles loosen up and feel more relaxed afterward. Look up the step-by-step guides for these online and practice them on a regular basis.
6. Manage your thoughts
Our thoughts have a huge influence on our emotions and consequently on the physical sensations we feel. People who think negative thoughts e.g. ‘I will always be in pain’ or ‘I can’t bear the pain since I am not strong enough’, are more likely to deal less effectively with pain.
So, try to adopt a neutral and resilient attitude towards pain and think empowering thoughts like ‘I have dealt with pain like this before, I can do I again’ or ‘I am stronger than the pain I feel in my body’ etc.
7. Try pain-reducing strategies
Remedies like applying an ice pack, heat pack, rubbing, or massaging the painful area can help to slow the signals of pain going to our brain. Try practicing that.
8. Seek acupuncture treatment
Acupuncture is a Chinese treatment that involves needle insertion and rotation in the body to reduce pain. Some people find this effective for relieving physical discomfort or pain.
9. Access social support to cope with pain
Seek help from your loved ones to cope or bear with the pain. Being around your social circle will occasionally help you to vent out about your experience and keep you distracted from the pain in your body.
Watch: [Tools to Manage Chronic Pain]
Dealing with pain can be distressing and challenging. However, regulating our psychological response to it can reduce our physical experience of it. It must be mentioned that the above strategies are an adjunct and not an alternative to medical treatment. Seek physical treatment for pain first before trying the above strategies.