- Hey, everybody!
Today we're gonna talk about the six most common
myths and misconceptions about chronic pain,
but before I jump into that, are you new to my channel?
Welcome, I release videos on Mondays and on Thursdays
so make sure you are subscribed and have those notifications
turned on so that you don't miss out,
and I also have a book, Are u ok?
It's your guide to mental health
and it's coming out December 11th.
So you can click the link at the top of the description
and pre-order yours today, and I also want
to thank Pathways pain therapy program
for sponsoring this video.
Pathways is a helpful app that utilizes scientifically
proven methods to retrain your brain to stop the pain.
Now, let's get into this topic
and begin by defining chronic pain.
Everyone feels pain in their lifetime, right?
This could be because you got a paper cut, our you stubbed
your toe, those are the worst,
but when we feel a sharp pain in the area that was affected,
it usually goes away pretty quickly,
or, you know, after a very short period of time.
Chronic pain, on the other hand, is very different.
The pain that you feel with chronic pain doesn't go away,
and it can last for weeks, months, or sometimes even years.
Doctors often describe chronic pain as being any pain
that lasts three to six months or more,
and it is estimated that 1.2 billion, with a B,
people around the world suffer with chronic pain,
and I know that that is a huge number
but just remember that pain can be a component
of a lot of other diagnoses meaning that you can have
chronic pain because of a back injury, or depression,
fibromyalgia, and many, many other conditions and diagnoses.
What we do know is that chronic pain prevents us from
doing our job, spending time with our loved ones,
and living our life to the fullest.
Therefore, I believe it's really, really important
that we start to understand it and have
some ways that we can best treat it.
So let's get into the six most common myths
and misconceptions about chronic pain.
Common misconception number one, that all pain has a cause.
Sure, if we had an accident and a certain part of our body
was injured during that accident, it's easy to identify
what is causing the pain, but that's not always the case.
Many people experience neurological pain
which is caused by damage or disease in the nerves,
and that isn't something that you
can always or very easily detect.
Many physicians will usually see a slipped disc
and assume that that's the only issue
and what must be causing the pain that we're feeling.
Because our bodies are so complex and our minds can
create pain when there's no identifying cause,
it can be impossible to find a cause
for the pain we are feeling, and that is why I put that
as my number one misconception.
Number two, that pain is your only symptom.
It's obviously the one that's bothering us the most,
but just like I stated earlier,
our mind can create pain when there isn't anything
physically wrong with us, and that doesn't
make our pain any less important or valid.
I just want you to hear that, okay,
but it's just something that we need to recognize
and understand because a lot of other things
could be going on to cause or increase our pain response.
For example, have you ever been depressed
and as a result of that felt like you had caught a cold
or you just wake up feeling sore all over?
Those are psychosomatic symptoms, or pains,
associated with how our brain feels,
and that really just means that like our mental health
is affecting the way our body feels.
I mean, just consider body memories
for example and how those affect us.
Our fight-or-flight response can have
all sorts of effects on how we feel physically,
and hopefully now you can see that pain may be
just one symptom of what's going on with us.
It's not at all showing you the whole picture.
Number three, that chronic pain
is just part of getting older.
Nope, while getting older does make us more susceptible
to aches and pains, you know, because of past injuries
or breaking down of some cartilage or joints,
that doesn't mean that we have to hurt all the time.
If we are experiencing pain each and every day,
we should talk to our doctors and
therapists about it immediately.
We don't just have to shutup and deal with it.
In fact, there are many tools and techniques
that we can use today to help.
So don't just accept pain as a consequence of getting older.
We can grow older and thrive, trust me.
The fourth myth or misconception
is that you shouldn't exercise when you have chronic pain,
you'll just injure yourself or make it worse.
Wrong, rest doesn't always make our chronic pain better.
In fact, it can actually make things worse.
Just the other day, and I know this isn't like chronic pain
necessarily related, but just the other day my mom's
boyfriend, Larry, had surgery on his hand
to alleviate trigger finger and some other tendon issues,
and upon leaving the surgery center he was told
to keep his fingers moving immediately,
like right after he got out, and that if he didn't do this,
his fingers could actually end up worse
than they were before the surgery, crazy right?
But it was because the tendons needed to keep moving through
these newly opened tunnels so that they
didn't clamp back down or close again.
As long as you're doctor approves,
you should begin incorporating
regular exercise into your schedule.
This can not only help stretch and strengthen
important muscles that may even alleviate our pain,
but it also releases endorphins which can give us
similar feeling to morphine, which if you don't know
what morphine is, it's like a very intense,
and addictive, pain reliever.
So exercise can essentially help
relieve your pain in some situations,
and it also releases dopamine and norepinephrine
which improve our mood, if you don't know,
dopamine's that like feel good chemical in our brain
that's like woo, that was nice, I feel happy,
and norepinephrine helps with our concentration,
so don't just assume immediately that you can't exercise
if you struggle with chronic pain.
Talk to your doctor and find an
exercise plan that works for you.
Myth number five, that surgery is your
best option for resolution of the pain.
That would be like saying that everyone with depression
needs to do CBT based treatment
and that that is their only option for recovery.
Sure, it can help some of us, but it's not gonna
be necessary for all of us,
and it's not gonna work for all of us.
Lumping the huge category of chronic pain,
do you remember it was like 1.2 billion I think
that I mentioned at the beginning of the video,
but if we lump all those people into one bucket
and assume that something as serious as surgery
is always the best option is just really shortsighted.
There are many other less invasive options out there
like massage, acupuncture, talk therapy,
yoga, meditation, and many, many more.
So always get another opinion before
deciding if surgery is right for you.
Ask a bunch of questions.
Make sure you understand why they're recommending it
and what it's going to entail.
There is definitely a place for surgery
in the treatment of chronic pain.
I'm not a doctor, but I'm just saying that it's not
the only option out there, not by a long shot.
And the final myth I'm gonna talk about today, number six,
is that if chronic pain is left untreated, it can kill you.
What?
No, who believes that?
Sure, pain can really impact our life
and our ability to function fully,
but it's not going to kill you.
Some doctors, treatment centers,
and other medical professionals
can try to scare us into deciding our next treatment option,
but just know that only you know how you feel
and what you are okay with trying next.
If you find that your chronic pain
is causing you to feel anxious, depressed,
or possibly suicidal, please reach out for support.
Just like I talked about, there are many treatment options
and ways that we can improve both
our mental and physical health.
Sometimes we just have to ask.
Now that we have successfully gotten through all six
misconceptions, let's get into a few of the tools
that you can use today to start feeling better,
because trust me, with the right treatment
we can all start feeling better.
Number one, the Pathways app!
Like I shared at the beginning of the video,
they have sponsored this content.
They have created an app that utilizes scientifically
proven methods to retrain your brain to stop pain.
It helps you better understand your diagnosis
as well as your specific pain.
They even help you connect past trauma experiences
and how those may affect your mental health
and therefore affect your pain level.
It's amazing, you guys, and they offer over 70 sessions
for chronic pain help, and a quarter of those sessions
are available for free and you can access them now
by downloading their app, and they offer a money back
guarantee so there's no financial risk for giving it a try.
Also, just as a side note, I really love that it was
created by a man who suffered from chronic pain himself,
so he knows what it can be like,
and that's why he's been working so hard building this app.
So check it out, and I hope that you find it
as helpful and wonderful as I did.
Number two, therapy!
Just like I mentioned throughout this entire video,
our mental health can affect how
we feel and even cause us pain.
If you think that a past trauma or experience
could be adding to your chronic pain, reach out.
I promise we aren't scary and there
are good therapists out there.
Oh, and also, there is a ton of research to support
the fact that the way we think about our pain,
so the way we think, how we rate it and rank it
on a scale of one to 10, how we visualize it,
all of that can have an affect on our pain level as well.
So finding a therapist who understands that
could really, really help.
My mind automatically goes to like CBT type treatments,
because, you know, it works with the way that we think
and the way that we act, it could really help.
Number three, alternative treatments.
Like I talked about before, massage, acupuncture,
meditation, yoga, therapy dogs, you name it.
Don't knock it until you've tried it!
Many years ago I had this terrible shooting pain
that originated like in my shoulder blade
and would shoot all the way down my arm into my hand,
and it was terrible, it was hard for me to go to work,
I was really, really uncomfortable.
I would just cry laying in bed it was so bad,
and after trying acupuncture and fitting in a yoga class
each week, it slowly went away.
Not to mention the issue I had a few months ago.
If you guys follow me on Instagram,
this thumb was completely numb.
I had like a pinched nerve running down my arm
and it was super uncomfortable,
but after getting some massage, I like went to
like I think once a week I was getting a massage,
and then practicing yoga and meditation,
that fixed itself too.
Now, I know everyone's experience and treatment
is gonna be different, but just give some other treatments
a try, because you never know what could help.
And fourth and finally, medication.
I know not everyone wants to try medication
or is even open to the concept,
but I just wanted to mention it
so that you know it's an option.
You know, it could be an option for the treatment
of the pain that you're feeling as well as any mental
health issues you may have, but just, as always,
talk to your doctor, ask any questions you may have
about the side effects, the cost, and the length
of time you may need to be on it.
Make sure that you're fully informed
before deciding if a medication is right for you.
I hope you found that helpful.
If you think I left out any misconceptions, or myths,
or any treatment options, please leave those in
the comments down below, and I will see you next time, bye!