(waves whooshing) (birds chirping)
(daunting music)
Jim: My name is Jim Paton.
I served in the United States air force
for four-and-a-half years.
About seven years ago I was walking on a beach in Florida,
the next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital.
I had been struck by lightning and seriously injured.
(daunting music) (thundering)
A guy came along and resuscitated me.
I had died from that lightning strike.
I spent eight days there,
kind of touch and go, life or death.
In the hospital I found out I had damage to my spinal cord
and my vertebrae in my neck, so the pain was excruciating,
and ultimately had to have surgery about six weeks later.
After surgery I bounced right back,
it was really a life saver.
But the lightning affected me, I had neuropathy in my feet.
The fact that I couldn't function as well as I used to.
I became depressed and anxious, I didn't get along
as well with my family as I formally had,
because I wasn't the person I used to be.
So that pain that I experienced was ongoing.
The more I walked, or the more I did,
any type of work I would pay for it later that day.
So I had to take narcotics, I weaned down to Ibuprofen,
but the pain's never left.
It's always been present.
Lisa: Quite often Veterans with chronic pain
have tried numerous treatments to get rid of the pain,
including physical therapy, medications,
interventions, even surgery.
When the pain sticks around, many people become frustrated.
Jim: So I struggle with this for six-and-a-half years
until I saw my primary care physician at the VA,
and she recommended seeing a pain psychologist.
That's when I learned about cognitive behavioral therapy
for chronic pain.
Jennifer: Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain,
or CBT-CP, is a treatment that has decades
of scientific support behind it
and has helped thousands of Veterans.
It's a treatment intervention that gives a person tools
to control the impact of pain on their body and their mind.
Doctor: Today's session we'll be reviewing
the chronic pain cycle and pacing.
Jim: Okay.
Doctor: So tell me a little bit about how pain has impacted
your engagement and activity?
Lisa: Since pain affects every part of someones life,
CBT-CP considers the whole person,
and all of the things that turn up
and turn down the volume on pain.
Doctor: In terms of your current pain,
what have you observed
in terms of how it's impacted your activity level?
Jim: Yeah, it feels like the pain has disconnected
me from life, you know.
I am kind of negative with my emotions.
Jennifer: Over the course of treatment,
Veterans work with a trained clinician
to learn how to respond differently to pain.
This actually changes the way pain is processed
in our brains.
Jim: Cognitive behavioral therapy, for me,
was a change in my mental perspective and my behavior,
which really helped me own my pain,
instead of my pain owning me.
Nurse: Hi, how are you doing today?
Jim: I'm good I'm ready for my blood pressure.
Nurse: Good.
Lisa: The best way to manage your pain
is through a team-based approach,
in which a variety of healthcare providers are involved.
Nurse: Perfect, 130 over 80.
Jim: All right that's not to bad (chuckles).
Lisa: Seeing someone for treatment does not mean
that you're not believed, or that the pain
is all in your head.
It's actually quite the opposite.
Since chronic pain is so complex,
we need various approaches to make sure
that all the bases are covered.
Doctor: Many of the things that you're describing
occur with folks over time,
and we refer to the cycle as the chronic pain cycle.
Jim: I understand a Veteran might be skeptical
about this treatment approach,
rather take a medication instead.
But, for me, I did the opioids.
And so now that I'm able to think better,
and behave better, through my pain by managing it myself,
it's been a win-win outcome for me.
I would highly recommend cognitive behavioral therapy
for any Veteran experience in chronic pain.
You can own your pain.
You can take your life back.
It can really change your perspective with relationships,
and then with your own perception of who you are,
dealing with chronic pain.
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