Whenever you have some discomfort in your body, you are bound to experience either mild pain or a chronic one, depending on the nature of the disease. Whether it’s a mild one or a severe one, the pain should not last so long as it can be mentally distressing for you, leading to a low quality of living.
A mild pain would go away in a day or two, but living each day with the same pain will definitely have deteriorated mental health. Evidence from research also shows that people who face chronic pain for a longer time are bound to become more anxious and have higher depressive thoughts.
Pain can limit you in such a way that you would not think of anything else than the burden that your body goes through. The anticipation of the pain going away and having a normal life and not being able to achieve one will definitely worsen your mental health. In such a situation, you need to seek medical help and get rid of all the mental problems arising due to ill management of pain.
Categories of Pain
Depending on the duration of suffering, there are two broad categories of pain: acute and chronic pain. Each type of pain is further described below.
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Acute Pain
Acute pain happens suddenly and occurs for a short period. When you experience acute pain, it’s a protective mechanism of the body to signal that something is causing discomfort to your body. For instance, suddenly, you might have a paper cut, which can lead to a sharp pain, and then you immediately realize and take your hands off. Even though the cut is small, it can be really painful for you, but your fingers heal without much pain in a few days.
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Chronic pain
You might experience pain for a long period as you may have a painful knee or neck. Likewise, you might be suffering from back problems for a long time or maybe fighting cancer. At such times, you face pain for a long period which can be greater than three months of timeframe and experience an increased blood pressure or tensed muscles.
Learn about the 0-to-10 pain scale.
Pain can range from a slight tinge to a chronic one, which could be the worst that you have ever experienced. Your feeling of pain will always be different than someone sitting next to you. The 0-to-10 pain scale becomes handy when you visit a medical professional due to pain. The pain scale will help you convey your pain level, and the medical team will manage it accordingly.
In this scale, 0 refers to the experience of no pain, whereas ten means that the person is suffering from extreme pain and the scales in between have been described below.
0= You do not experience pain at all.
1= A tingling pain that is forgettable and negligible for you.
2= You have a mild pain that annoys you.
3= This is the uncomfortable one which is prominent but is bearable enough to be habitual with it.
4= On this scale, the pain is moderate, where you can deny it for a while when you are distracted by some work, but it is still evident enough.
5 = You have a distracting pain that you can bear for only a few minutes, but you can still ignore it when you have some work to finish or have to attend social events.
6= You have distressing pain that is strong enough to make you leave some of your daily activities behind as you lack good concentration due to pain.
7= It’s an unmanageable pain, and you are not able to do any daily work out of a strong pain.
8= You have intense pain and don’t want to listen to someone or talk with them.
9= The pain is severe enough that it’s all over your head, and nothing else is important at this moment.
10= You are bedridden with the most extreme pain that you could ever experience and are in a state of medical emergency.
What Can You Possibly Do to Reduce Your Pain?
Strategies to manage your pain could involve using medicines or non-medicine techniques, depending on the amount of pain you are experiencing. The 4 Ps of pain management describe those approaches.
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Physical
Physical activities like walking, stretching, aerobic workouts, yoga positions, and massage on the affected area can help you relax. Physical reactivation can help manage chronic pain with proper guidance from a trainer knowledgeable about pain management techniques.
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Psychological
Through psychological techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness, anxiety and stress can be well managed, leading to good mental health. In cognitive behavioral therapy, at times of pain, the way that you feel can be changed through self-management. For this, a well-experienced psychiatrist is necessary for the diagnosis and management of chronic pain, where the patient in pain will heal with consistent and patient-centric constructive communication.
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Pharmacological or medication
Pain can be treated through antidepressants and pain medicines like paracetamol, aspirin, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, and local anesthetics according to the kind of disease and pain that you are facing. Whenever you are opting for a pharmacological strategy of pain management, you must bear in mind that the medicines must be taken with caution. It’s better to consult with a pharmacist or a doctor beforehand if you have been suffering from the pain for a long time rather than taking medicines on your own.
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Prevention
With a healthier lifestyle and good sleep coupled with good mental health, you will be able to avoid pain for an extended period. You should also be mindful of the trigger factors that might cause you pain and avoid them. Also, leading a healthy lifestyle and managing your stress through meditation and breathing exercises can help you prevent pain in the long run. Multiple diseases and triggering factors of pain can be prevented when you know your body well. As rightly said, prevention is always better than cure, as your acute pain can become a chronic one when not treated on time.
