anxiety Archives - The Painful Truth

Can You Feel My Pain?

Are patients qualified to determine whether or not opioids help in treating their pain? Pain Medicine Advance Access published a study that was conducted at the Back and Pain Center, University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, MI. The Back and Pain Center is an outpatient tertiary care pain clinic where patients are evaluated for a range of chronic pain conditions.

Study Asks Patients to Describe Pain

Patients were asked about key clinical factors including pain, functioning, mood, and opioid use history. The researchers wanted to evaluate patients’ beliefs about opioids. Their goal was to find out, from the perspective of patients, whether the difficulties associated with opioids (such as anxiety and depression) outweighed its benefit (that is, pain relief).

The Painful Truth About Suicide

Suicide Rates Have Reached a 30-year High

Suicide rates have reached a 30-year high, according to the New York Times. “This is part of the larger emerging pattern of evidence of the links between poverty, hopelessness and health,” according to Robert D. Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard University.

It’s true that poverty, hopelessness, and health issues do factor into the suicide problem. In fact, an article just published in Rheumatology shows a link between people, especially women, who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and suicides. Co-morbid depressive disorders preceded the suicides 90% of the time. The conclusion we can draw is that the pain of RA for some patients causes depression which, in turn, can lead to suicide.

Yoga Can Treat Chronic Pain

Yoga can be helpful for people with chronic pain, just as it can be immensely helpful for people who are dealing with trauma. Chronic pain patients often suffer from trauma as well.

Chronic pain is processed differently by the brain than acute pain. Chronic pain, as opposed to acute pain, recruits areas of the brain that are responsible for emotions and thoughts. This is why many medications that work for acute pain fail to provide relief in chronic pain. With chronic pain, the body freezes with tension and the mind focuses exclusively on negative thoughts. We experience fear, stress, and helplessness.