How is the psychological intervention to manage chronic pain?

The existence of pain is part of an evolutionary mechanism that allows us to react quickly when something goes wrong with our health. In fact, it is so useful that all vertebrate animals and many invertebrates have the ability to feel it, and people with pathologies that prevent pain have a much higher risk of continuing to compromise their integrity physical.

However, in the same way that the parts of the body responsible for the sensation of pain can be affected by a disease that suppresses it, the opposite case can also occur: that due to an alteration, the pain is practically constant, without that there is an element that is damaging the cellular tissues of the body or nothing can be done to remedy the problem that generate. In situations like this we speak of chronic pain; In this article we will see how it is approached in psychotherapy.

• Related article: "Nociceptors (pain receptors): definition and types"

What is chronic pain?

Chronic pain is the subjective and localized perception of a more or less intense pain that remains relatively constant beyond the healing time

; it can last for weeks, several months, and even years.

The causes of this alteration can be infections, by subjecting certain nerves to pressure or pinching (for example, due to a tumor or an operation with complications) associated with chronic pathologies, or it can be neuropathic, which occurs when the problem is the proper functioning of the nervous system in Yes.

These feelings of discomfort can present themselves through various subjective experiences: from pricks, even tingling, burning, or a deep pain that affects more or less large areas of the Body. Likewise, These symptoms can vary in a matter of hours and intensify under certain conditions.: for example, in the days of greater physical activity or in moments in which the person does not stop thinking about his own pain.

Psychological intervention techniques in chronic pain

Since the sensation of pain varies from person to person, interventions Psychological disorders must always be adapted to the needs of each patient and the type of discomfort that experiment. But going beyond the particular cases, there are a series of therapeutic procedures that have been statistically shown to be effective against chronic pain. We will see them below.

1. Relaxation techniques

Relaxation techniques aim to reduce the person's levels of tension, stress and anxiety, and allow the focus of attention to be shifted beyond discomfort.

This type of procedure They start from the assumption that pain increases with anxiety, stress and excessive activation of the person's body, both at the cardiac level and in general tension levels.

• You may be interested in: "6 easy relaxation techniques to combat stress"

2. Biofeedback

Biofeedback consists of creating a context in which the patient can obtain real-time information about their activation level (thanks to sensors applied to your skin), especially in relation to your nervous activity.

This allows the person with chronic pain to incorporate a series of useful strategies for emotional management and regulation of certain physiological processes; in this way, it manages to normalize the altered physiological activation and regulation systems.

3. Hypnosis

Clinical hypnosis is another of the psychological therapies that have shown positive effects in managing and mitigating chronic pain. It is a procedure based on suggestion and in the establishment of a state of consciousness similar to the one that appears just before sleeping, which allows one to abstract from discomfort and direct the mind towards other sources of stimulation.

4. Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a series of practices that favor the appearance of a psychological state known as Mindfulness, which allows you to let go of intrusive thoughts and emotional dynamics that perpetuate discomfort. It is inspired by Vipassana meditation.

5. Techniques linked to the cognitive-behavioral model and ACT

Chronic pain is usually linked to psychological problems that go beyond the pain itself and are reflected in anxiety and depressive-type symptoms; both sources of discomfort reinforce each other. For this reason, therapy also works to weaken the alteration due to its purely emotional aspect and associated with certain beliefs and feelings about oneself and the illness that one suffers.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most used by psychologists, and its application combined with appropriate medical treatment has proven to be successful in effectively reducing the person's pain and the negative moods that cause it. It consists of a modification of belief systems, thought patterns, thoughts and habits that without our realizing it are reinforcing and perpetuating the disorder that affects us.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT (Acceptance and commitment therapy) is part of contextual therapies, which in turn are based on the cognitive-behavioral model. This is based on the importance of not adopting patterns of behavior associated with the avoidance of discomfort at all coast, since this strategy gives rise to the paradoxical effect that more attention is paid to what makes us feel bad. Thus, he proposes ways of accepting the existence of physical and / or emotional pain, at least to some extent, so that the rest of the experiences and sensations of the day to day diminish its prominence and favor its mitigation.

Looking for chronic pain treatment?

If you are interested in starting a therapy process for chronic pain, get in touch with our team of professionals. On Cribecca Psychology We have many years of experience dealing with this class of disorders and the psychopathologies associated with it. We offer face-to-face sessions and also in the online therapy format.

Bibliographic references:

• IsHak W.W.; Wen, R.Y., Naghdechi, L.; Vanle, B.; Dang, J.; Knosp, M. et al. (2018). Pain and Depression: A Systematic Review. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 26 (6): pp. 352 - 363.
• Main, C.J.; Spanswick, C.C. (2001). Pain management: an interdisciplinary approach. New York: Elsevier.