What is pain?
This video will provide you with an introduction to pain and the factors that impact your individual pain experience.
Pain is your body’s way of warning you that something is wrong. It is a universal human experience produced by your brain.
You can think of persistent pain as over-sensitive fire alarm that may go off randomly, even without a trigger. This can create excessive pain that interrupts daily life. To treat this, it is similar to fixing a broken fire alarm. The main strategy is to help the nerves of the pain system become less sensitive so your nervous system only provides pain when necessary.
The Different Types of Pain:
- Acute Pain: pain that lasts for a few weeks or months
- Chronic or Persistent Pain: pain that persists for 3 months or more
The deeper meaning behind pain: By examining the events that occurred around the time your pain developed, you can form connections between events in your life and pain levels. Recognizing deeper emotions can also be part of the healing process.
Factors that can impact your individual pain experience:
- Medicine: Medication or surgery may help alleviate pain
- Thoughts and emotions: Pain can impact your mood and stress levels. By learning how to window and relax, you can improve your emotional well-being and reduce your pain levels.
- Diet and lifestyle: Your nutrition and health behaviours can largely impact your pain levels and provide you with clues about the source of your pain
- Physical activity and function: Exercise is good for your brain and can help you restore your body’s tissues.
Check out this website to learn more about how you can overcome your pain.
Check out the Pain Scale in the Symptom Diary to learn more about the severity of your pain.
Check out the Pain Journal for a private space to reflect on your individual pain experience.