You suffer from chronic pain and you don’t understand it. It came out of the blue and now you face a lifetime with an incurable burden. You may find your self-esteem affected, your friends and loved ones struggling to understand your pain and help you when they feel helpless. How can you find the relief you deserve as quickly, safely and naturally as possible? Whether that pain stems from an accident or from a chronic condition such as fibromyalgia, you’re scared and you look to your doctor. Your doctor is going to try standard over-the-counter medication and pills to deal with your pain before finally prescribing painkillers and perhaps, depending on the severity of the pain, surgery.
Whether you’ve been prescribed painkillers for chronic pain or in the wake of surgery you may be okay with them. Your doctor might assure you they’re the best treatment for your condition or perhaps you knew someone who was prescribed painkillers and noticed its effect on them.
However recent studies have shown that opioids don’t work and the CDC announced that opioids are not an effective treatment. This is because they don’t solve the real root of the pain and they come with a host of very undesirable side-effects. They may lessen your pain, which you may desperately want if chronic pain gets in the way of your daily life.
But painkillers don’t help you return to living a healthy, normal life. In fact, they have been proven not to improve your:

•      physical function
•      strength
•      flexibility
•      mood
•      sleep
•      digestion
•      concentration

And when you have chronic pain you will, in all likelihood, be dealing with it for most of your life. That’s why it’s important to explore alternatives that will get you back on your feet and back out into the world with the confidence and strategies to handle anything.  
This ultimately means fewer pills, less surgery, less pain and most importantly of all, lower bills. All the while actively healing and dealing with your pain in a way that empowers you.

Three Major Problem with Opioids

Problem #1: The Side Effects No One Explains

Informed consent is when a physician discusses the benefits and risks with you, provides you information and allows you time to make an informed decision. Informed consent is a process that includes all of these steps:

• You are told (or get information in some way) about the possible risks and benefits of the treatment.
• You are told about the risks and benefits of other options, including not getting treatment.
• You have the chance to ask questions and get them answered to your satisfaction.
• You have had time (if needed) to discuss the plan with family or advisors.
• You are able to use the information to make a decision that you think is in your own best interest.
• You share your decision with your doctor or treatment team.

In the past 10 to 15 years we’ve seen a sharp rise in doctors prescribing opioids due to misinformation.
There’s been a lot of talk about how our country is in the middle of an opioid epidemic; this is partially due to a chronic pain epidemic going on at the same time. For much of recent history, opioids were only prescribed for people with cancer as well as pain brought on by terminal conditions. Everyone wanted to believe that opioids were safe. That’s why we have doctors prescribing them to their patients, flooding the country with opioids and creating a dependency on them, all the while never actually getting to the root of the chronic pain epidemic.
Remember, the chance of ultimately becoming addicted is moderate, but anyone taking them for a long period of time is bound to develop some kind of dependence on them.
Besides addiction, opioids still have a series of relatively benign effects. This includes:

•  Constipation
•  Slowed rate of breathing
•  Nausea
•  Vomiting
•  Drowsiness
•  Dizziness
•  Weakness
•  Dry mouth
•  Sexual difficulties
•  Confusion
•  Difficulty urinating
•  Itching

Dependency on opioids will serve to continually weaken your body when you think you’re healing. You’ll be unable to handle pain as you become reliant on opioids, and because people develop a tolerance to them – unlike with other medications or over-the-counter painkillers – you’ll need more and more to get the same effects.

Problem #2: The Emotional Toll on Your Loved Ones

On top of the effects that you face from painkillers, you’ll see it affecting your friends and loved ones. This may make your relationships difficult as both you and your loved ones struggle to understand the other’s burden.
You may struggle with being accepted, or asking for help as you find yourself limited in ways you never were before. People around you might even begin to doubt your pain as they try to understand something that can seem strange and strike at even the most inconvenient time. Or, because of the random nature of your pain, they may feel helpless and afraid around you
This can affect your relationship with your spouse and partners most of all, as they face new responsibilities with helping to care for you and take up some of the responsibilities around the house that were once yours. You may also associate basic forms of intimacy like kissing or holding hands with your partner as a signifier of pain, driving a wedge between you and them.

Problem #3: Emotional Burden on You

All of this will feel overwhelming and it is not uncommon for people with chronic pain to be diagnosed with depression as a result of their pain. You may start to draw back from the world and become isolated in an effort to avoid the activities that seem to cause you pain. You may have to leave your job, you may become distant from your partner as even holding hands and going for a walk seems to bring pain. It may seem that things will only get worse for you as you continue to deal with chronic pain.
But despite this negative outlook, it is perfectly normal for you to feel this way. Humans are naturally programmed to avoid pain at all costs. We don’t want to burn our hand on a hot dish, so we use potholders to protect ourselves. Similarly, people with chronic pain might feel pain in their legs and assume that a thirty-minute walk will cause them pain. Pretty soon you begin to associate every activity with pain and you’re stuck on the couch or in bed.
This flood of negative thoughts and emotions is what pain psychologists call Pain Catastrophizing. You might not realize how these thoughts are really impacting your perception of pain and how your recovery goes. But understanding this valuable insight into chronic pain is the first step to making a real recovery.

The Solution is Easier Than You Think

Change A Negative Mindset

Negative thoughts and emotions have a surprising amount of effect on how you perceive your pain. But most doctors don’t think about treating chronic pain as something that requires psychological help; instead, they look at it as a physical problem to be treated with prescriptions. And you’d probably agree with them if you didn’t know what could really be affecting your recovery and even worsening your pain.  
Pain is both a sensory and emotional experience!
All pain is processed in the brain and nervous system, which is the same part of our body that also deals with stress and emotions. This is why negative thoughts have an incredibly deep impact on how we recover, and how you can control your pain and your recovery without harmful painkillers.
Pain is filtered through the brain. No matter what type of pain you have.
Where do you begin? There are many ways to begin to work on the thoughts and emotions that affect you. Some of the simplest places to begin examining are:

• Sleep habits
• Medication history
• Your daily routine
• Stress level
• Mental health
• Physical health
• Support system

Pain is never about just one aspect of your life. We need to take a look at every area.
Having a solid idea of where you’re coming from physically and mentally lets them learn about any mental or emotional issues you currently or have in the past struggled with. It may surprise you what trauma may still linger and be contributing to your negative thoughts. Psychological factors often contribute more to your pain than simply the physical aspects and also greatly affect how your recovery goes. For instance, if you’ve experienced a traumatic event in your personal life such as the loss of a loved one that you’ve never really moved on from, this could be affecting your overall mental health and wellbeing.
Pain is filtered through the brain. No matter what type of pain you have. Share on X
And the psychological is just as important as your social support network. Our environment plays a huge role in our mindset and especially in our recovery. You may smoke or be in an environment with a smoker, or perhaps you’re in an unhealthy relationship and you need to deal with that. Your social situation also includes how your friends and loved ones feel around you. Do you have a spiritual practice? They might recommend couples counseling if your spouse or partner has been struggling with supporting you. All of these things are a part of the process to understand and treat the negative thoughts that are really hampering your recovery.

So, Is the Pain All in My Head?

No, your pain is real and there’s a medical reason for it. It’s not a mental illness nor is it your fault. The stigma of understanding that pain is processed in the brain may make you believe that it’s all in your head. It’s not, but the way we treat your pain is associated with your brain and your mind. Your thoughts and your emotions. Your ability to cope and be psychologically flexible. All of this influences how your brain perceived pain.
Pain is both a sensory and emotional experience! Share on X
It’s important to remember that if you have chronic pain you still need to work with a doctor or a physician. If, for example, you have a chronic case of diabetes you still need to work with a nutritionist to get your inflammation down. If you have fibromyalgia you still need to work with a physical therapist to work on healthy exercise. It’s important to remember that this doesn’t replace your doctor; it merely builds a team to help you get back to being you.
Working in your mindset may be something you seek help from a pain psychologist for or you may find a psychologically informed physical therapist who can integrate both mind and body techniques.
Sometimes you need a team, sometimes the therapeutic bond of one practitioner is sufficient.
The official term for this type of care is called the biopsychosocial model of pain care.
It’s a big word that means the treatment method encompasses both the physical as well as the psychological and social influences on your pain. Traditional doctors and physicians primarily deal with the physical side, the biological via prescription medication and surgery. This is the biomedical model which is now proven not to work for chronic pain.

Regaining Control

When on opioids you have no control, you’re sitting back and relying on pills while you let your negative thoughts and emotions impede your recovery. Gaining an awareness and control over your own thoughts, emotions, and psychology empowers you to control your body’s perception of pain, to stop negative thoughts and to actively cope with chronic pain so you can heal.
As your thoughts change so will your behavior. You’ll find yourself experiencing:

1. Less pain
2. Less suffering
3. Less reliance on pills
4. More control
5. More joy
6. More peace
7. Improved mobility
8. Improved sleep
9. Improved relationships
10. A whole new you!

You may fear being active but what you don’t know is that some of the best treatment for pain is movement, exercise, and activity. Staying social and exercising appropriately allows you to return to the life you loved, stop the negative thoughts and overcome the fear that stems from your chronic pain. As you move you will:

• Decrease pain
• Increase confidence
• Gain independence
• Interact more with people
• Return to the things you value and love

Planning is also important in regaining control of your life. Planning means knowing your limits as you return to being active. If you have fibromyalgia then a day at the museum or the park may be too much on your legs, but plan for a few hours at the museum and then maybe a movie or a restful lunch.
I’ve discussed three simple habits (3 P’s of Pain) that go along with planning.
They are pacing, patience and persistence.  
Pacing, patience, and persistence are often the unspoken framework of a successful rehabilitation program for those with pain. I have seen many patients overcome chronic pain, all of whom have embodied these traits. The 3 P’s help create small, sustainable change in your daily life to begin ending the pain. Do you seek to alleviate your pain? What would your life look like with less pain? Are you ready to live a life without pain? To be successful, these are the three attributes that benefit you on the road to recovery.  
Communicate with your loved ones just as you did before. Let them know what you’re going through and especially, how they can help, what to watch out for, the little signs that let them know when you’re in pain and how painful it is. This will give them an understanding of how to respond depending on the type of pain. For instance, do you need to sit for a few minutes? Do you need to go over your active coping strategies that you learned? Or do they need to take larger steps such as emergency medical help?  This communication is an important step in rebuilding your prior relationships and helping strengthen them despite your chronic pain.
You may think that you had to give up intimacy, but just because you have chronic pain doesn’t mean it’s entirely out of the question. For many couples, sexual intimacy is an important part of maintaining their relationship. This is something that entails working with your physician and your psychologist. Your physician may help you with techniques that will not activate pain and recommend appropriate medication for you if chronic pain treatment has impacted you sexually. Your psychologist, on the other hand, will help with the deep-seated problems that may be hindering your intimacy. This could be an issue of self-esteem if for example, the lack of intimacy in your relationship has caused one of you to feel unattractive to the other.
Life with chronic pain may be challenging and you probably just want the quickest way to deal with the pain. But you can take back control of your life and your recovery by investigating the alternatives to pills, alternatives that stop negative thoughts and results from worsening your pain. It’s your life and you shouldn’t have to live it at the mercy of your pain or your pills.