The psychological aspects of pain

A solicitor acting for a client suffering a chronic pain condition should always discuss with them the need for psychiatric evidence. Indeed, it will be a very rare case where it is not essential. It is also crucial that the psychiatrist chosen has recent clinical experience of treating chronic pain – most do not!

Sufferers are usually concerned that the involvement of a psychiatrist means that there is a suggestion they are imaging their pain.  That is certainly not the case.  Their pain is very real and it is important that those treating them explain clearly how the pain that we feel is often a combination of physical and psychological factors.

Depression

As many as 50% of people who suffer from chronic pain also suffer from clinical depression.

Clinical depression is not just a state of low mood; it is a psychological state that causes diverse symptoms, including lack of motivation, fatigue and feelings of helplessness.  However, clinical depression often also results in physical symptoms, including pain.  In such cases, the depression and pain are not easy to separate.  If you suffer from depression or chronic pain, you tend to be less active as a result of your mind and body causing you to slow down.  When the two are combined, it can be difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins.

Which to treat first?

When it comes to treatment, it is often difficult to decide which to treat first, the physical or the psychological.

Sufferers treated for their chronic pain in a pain clinic setting will typically be treated with a multi-disciplinary combination of physical and psychological therapy.  This joint approach often results in a far better outcome than treating each aspect in isolation.