How Chronic and Severe Pain Changes The Life of an Individual
For most people, pain is a signal that they have gotten a cut or bruise, or that they have overworked themselves and pulled a muscle. It can be very difficult for the average individual to imagine pain being unpredictable and continuous, but for people suffering with chronic pain it is a constant presence in their life.
Chronic and severe pain has a way of changing the lives of people. While a bad flu or illness may keep someone bogged down for a week or two, pain may never release its hold completely. Naturally, this new factor in their life can lead to a change in activity, mental health, ability to work, and in their enthusiasm for pursuing new things. Unfortunately, many people experience negative fallout as a result of these changes.
For many people who feel pain regularly, losing relationships can become an all too familiar experience. Because chronic conditions are typically hard to understand friendships may become more distant, less fulfilling, and even be severed completely. Helping someone face pain that may never end can take a toll on both parties, but the loss of important relationships can increase the difficulties that an afflicted person might face, such as depression and obesity.
Another issue that chronic and severe pain regularly presents is the challenge to stay physically active. Although exercise can ultimately be a positive in battling most chronic conditions, many sufferers find it extremely difficult to get going initially. For some, physical activity like lifting weights, jogging, or even walking can be very painful, and may cause an increase in symptoms in the first weeks of their exercise routine. As a result, it is very common for physical activities to be abandoned before the benefits can surface.
It is clear that chronic and severe pain introduces real obstacles into the lives of the people who suffer with it. Pain has a way of getting into every corner of life and can set of a series of changes in motion very quickly. For a large number of people who live with a chronic condition, the pain is merely the first level of their struggles. Finding effective treatments and building strong relationships often play a very important role in continued physical and mental health and can help people enjoy some level of normalcy in their life.
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