Chronic Pain
Chronic pain affects the quality of ones entire life. It may be hard to complete chores around the house, sleep comfortably, do physical activities, enjoy seeing friends and family, can reduce ones sex life, and it can feel hopeless. People try all sorts of treatments to reduce their pain so they can live a better quality of life, and sometimes it has come with limited success. It is hard for friends and family to realize what it feels like to have chronic pain, and they may think one is exaggerating their pain or they just do not understand the limitations caused from the pain.
Pain is a subjective experience and not everyone’s pain experience is the same. Chronic pain is very common. Pain is a useful warning sign so that one does not go beyond the body’s limitations. This system can be unreliable at times. For instance, harm to the body can occur when there is no pain signal, and there are times harm cannot be detected by medical tests even though pain is present. Our pain pathway can give misleading information or go awry. This does not mean the person is not experiencing pain. Dr. Rosecrans takes complaints of pain seriously and understands how the pain pathway affects aspects of everyday life and its impact on mental health.
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy helps reduce pain by learning how to live life with pain in a way that allows us to reclaim our life. Therapy aids in reducing depression and anxiety which are connected to the pain pathway. Therapy also teaches strategies and techniques for pain management which include changing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, pacing strategies, relaxation techniques, increasing physical activity, improving diet, combating fatigue, repairing or improving relationships, and confidence building.
Dr. Rosecrans is specially trained and has experience in using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Existential Therapy, relaxation techniques, Biofeedback, and Hypnotherapy for pain management.
If you have questions, please call our office at (847)461-8414