Your chronic pain may affect just about every aspect of your life. It’s probably hard to get through the day without thinking about it and you are undoubtedly becoming very frustrated. You may even be ready to give up. However, there are a lot of positive options available instead of using chronic pain as an excuse not to live. Effective treatment gives you the tactics and strategies you need to manage your chronic pain effectively.
Physical and Emotional Stress
Your chronic pain may stem from a physical condition such as fibromyalgia or arthritis. It can also be the effect of trauma or mental pain. Living with the daily pain can be stressful, physically and emotionally. Your chronic pain has changed the levels of stress hormones and neurochemicals within your brain and nervous system, which can affect your thinking, your mood, and your behavior. You may even feel depressed as a result of the disruption in your body’s balance.
When you are dealing with chronic pain every day, you know how it affects your ability to function at work and at home. Participating in social activities you once enjoyed can also be difficult. You may be experiencing a loss of self-esteem, as well as fatigue, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, and changes in your mood. These symptoms can also lead to depression and anxiety.
Chronic Pain and Opioids
In addition to a physical condition that can cause chronic pain, the use of opioids can also bring on an enhanced pain response. This condition, known as hyperalgesia, can make you more sensitive to pain. In fact, something that may not cause pain to someone else may be very painful to a person with hyperalgesia. Pain that may feel minor to another individual may feel much more significant in someone with this condition.
As a result of the opioid use, the individual will have an increased sensitivity to pain and will feel it more often. The symptoms of this condition include:
- An increase in intensity of the pain felt over time
- A spread of the pain to other locations on the body beyond where the original pain started
- An increase to the feeling of pain induced by an external stimulus.
The Cycle of Pain and Medication
When you feel as though you want to use chronic pain as an excuse not to live, you may be in a vicious cycle of chronic pain and medications designed to relieve you of that pain. As you experience additional depression and anxiety, you may be taking more medication and that can lead to a dependence or an addiction. People with chronic pain are four times more likely experience anxiety or depression than those who do not have the condition.
Breaking Out of the Cycle
There is hope. You have help available for your cycle of pain, depression, and medications. If you find that you are taking more opiate prescriptions to get any relief from your pain, you may feel powerless over your chronic pain and your developing addiction. You think that no one can possibly understand what you are going through.
While it’s true that many drug treatment centers are not able to effectively deal with your chronic pain issues, there is help for you at Hemet Valley Recovery Center. Our Chronic Pain and Addiction Treatment Program fills the gap and gives you the positive pain management options you need as you overcome your dependence on pain medication.
Alternative Pain Management Methods
At Hemet Valley Recovery Center, we offer you the opportunity to overcome your unprocessed emotional material. Your negative emotional state, as well as your fear and anxiety, can actually intensive your pain. When you learn how to develop a positive emotional state, you can gain a better sense of control as you learn how to cope in more positive ways. You can learn how to decrease the perception of pain.
Alternative pain management methods include group therapy, holistic therapies, meditation, therapeutic breathing, acupuncture, physical therapy, exercise, and massage. You will develop strategies and tactics to manage your pain, so that it is no longer an excuse. You can learn how to live a more fulfilling life!
Chronic Pain and Addiction Treatment at HVRC
Understanding and recognizing the signs of chronic pain can mean the difference in your mental and physical health. If your pain has led to a substance use disorder, it is especially important to get the right treatment for both issues. The professional team at Hemet Valley Recovery Center focuses on your needs as you face unique psychological, medical, and social challenges in your life.
Please contact HVRC for help beginning a journey of recovery. We invite you to take the first step toward healing with our dedicated team of professionals.
