How Mental Health Treatment Can Help with Pain

For several years, it has been noted in research that psychological treatment, namely counseling, therapy sessions, and even medications targeted to treat mental health issues, such as antidepressants, have a positive impact on the treatment of chronic pain. Now, scientists are starting to understand exactly why this is.

 

Traditionally, chronic pain was addressed with medication, such as opioids. Physical therapy has also been utilized with degrees of success. But these methods tend to not be as effective over the long haul. This indicates that chronic pain might not just be a physical issue, but possibly a mental health issue, too.

 

 

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been pointed to as one of the more effective types of thinking in this respect. CBT focuses on helping people to change automatic thought patterns. Automatic thought is what goes through people’s heads when they aren’t specifically thinking about something in particular. This type of thought is linked to the portions of the brain that process pain. When automatic thought patterns are changed regarding pain, it is possible to teach the brain to not let it take over and help people to maintain an active, happy lifestyle. It’s not that chronic pain isn’t real, but rather that by changing thought patterns, people can remain more active and do things that help themselves to naturally relieve the symptoms of the pain over time. 

 

The team was quick to point out that working with a licensed therapist was the most preferable route for therapy, but it probably wasn’t the only method of helping people. Talking with doctors, nurses, and other professionals likely has a strong positive effect, too. The researchers also thought that talking with trusted friends and family about issues might be helpful, but stated that it likely was not going to be as helpful as working with a trained professional.

 

This research comes out of Aarhus University in Denmark. They published their findings in The Lancet. In addition to their findings, the researchers commented that there is a possibility that many mental health apps might be able to help relieve chronic pain, too. However, there is a lot more research that is needed before it can be determined whether these apps have the same efficacy as in-person therapists do. Hopefully, this line of research continues to grow so that those with chronic pain can live a higher quality of life.

 

If you or a loved one suffer from chronic pain, finding the right team might help ease some of the burden that your family is dealing with. In-home care offers a lot of benefits that other types of care can’t, such as allowing seniors to stay in their own homes for longer, living their lives the way that they desire.

 

If you’d like to learn more about how care might be able to help, let us know. One of our care professionals would be happy to talk more with you. We offer free consultation sessions designed to get you pointed in the right direction. So, feel free to give us a call today to get the conversation started.