Louis Zantema
5 January 2020
Louis is a GZ-Psychologist with a great passion for gaming. For him, a game training that offers therapy is the most valuable thing you can develop: especially for pain complaints, which are on the interesting intersection of body and mind. His aim is to make himself dispensable as a therapist.
What is Chronic Pain? Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than you would expect. It is also pain that often causes you more pain than you expected. In most cases we count pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three months. Often the pain has (much) negative influence on your work, social life and/or home situation.
What is Chronic Pain? The influence of Chronic Pain
It is particularly annoying to be in pain for a long time. We often see that pain is not only physical. It also has a lot of emotional influence on the following areas:
Pain and feeling
Pain can make you feel worse about yourself. Unfortunately, many people with pain symptoms also suffer from anxiety or depressive symptoms over time. Conversely, it is also the case that fear and depression can increase the pain felt. A good mood is very important to keep a grip on pain.
Pain and behaviour
In general, two patterns are common when we are in pain (for a long time). We do too much and go beyond our limits, or we do too little and are therefore not active enough. Sometimes it is a mix, in which we are alternately too active and too passive. It is very important to find a balance here. So being moderately active in case of pain, and at other times not too much effort. (Link)
Pain and attention
The more attention for pain, the stronger the pain feels. Focusing attention consciously away from the pain causes the pain to be given less room.
Pain and thoughts
Pain can cause your head to be filled with negative thoughts. Thoughts like: 'Maybe it will never be over again', or 'nobody can help me' are common. These thoughts in turn make you feel worse and really influence your pain.
What can I do about it myself?
The good news is: fortunately there is something to be done about all these things. Pain arises in the brain, and the brain can be trained to deal with pain in a different way! On this blog you will find lots of exercises and tips, but you can also take a look at our Virtual Reality training Reducept for Chronic Pain Complaints. I hope this blog will give you a good answer to your question: "What is Chronic Pain? I have received. If you happen to have chronic pain yourself, I hope you find help here!