When you are in pain, often people go to the doctor to get relief because no one wants to live in pain if there is a way to get out of it. Doctors often look for visible signs of pain, such as tears, and if you don’t look like you are in pain, it can be difficult to find a doctor who will take your pain seriously. We can only hope that our doctors will believe our pain is real, but if you have invisible pain, it’s not uncommon for doctors to dismiss it as anxiety. Chronic pain affects every aspect of your life but it can be difficult to explain that to someone who doesn’t have chronic pain because most people don’t fit the description of what they think pain is something to look like. Doctors know a lot about different medical conditions because they have to, but when it comes to pain, sometimes you feel misunderstood, and it becomes painfully obvious that your doctor doesn’t fully understand chronic pain. What do I wish doctors understood about chronic pain? In this post, I am sharing a few things I wish doctors understood about pain.
Severe pain affects every aspect of your life- Doctors sometimes have a hard time understanding how pain affects your day-to-day life because they only see you for a ten to fifteen-minute doctor’s appointment once a year. Sometimes patients are told that we need to live with pain, and if there is one thing that I wish doctors could understand, it’s that you can’t just live with severe pain. Chronic pain sometimes prevents you from being able to get out of bed, and we won’t have a life without pain management. Sometimes I think doctors struggle to understand how much pain negatively affects your life because if you truly understood the pain I was experiencing, you wouldn’t be telling me to tough it out. You only see how much my pain affects me at that specific moment, but you don’t see all the sleep I lose because of pain. Looks can be very misleading because you only see the parts of my pain that I want you to see. People in pain often become very good at hiding pain to spare the feelings of others, but even though someone carries it well, that doesn’t mean they are better.
Tylenol often doesn’t touch severe pain- When you go to the doctor, they often will try to convince you that over-the-counter pain medication such as Tylenol will work miracles for your pain. It is often believed that everyone gets addicted to their meds, so doctors are hesitant to prescribe them to anyone. I am all about over-the-counter remedies for pain, and will try them first, but often they don’t touch severe pain. If I am going to the doctor because my pain is unmanageable, you should assume that I have tried over-the-counter remedies such as Tylenol, and it didn’t improve my pain in even the smallest way.
Exercise doesn’t always improve pain- When you are in pain, often the first thing doctors recommend is exercise because it can help some people significantly improve pain. Sometimes the reason you have back pain is that you don’t exercise and your muscles are weak, but not all types can be cured by exercise. Exercising with chronic pain is hard because it can trigger more pain, but it is not always the best recommendation, and if you want me to exercise, my pain needs to be well-controlled. A vast majority of people in pain are able to exercise and may see improvement in their pain, but someone’s activity level is not always the root cause of their pain. I exercise regularly and live with chronic pain, but am still in pain regardless of how often I exercise. Exercise can be part of your pain management plan, but not everyone can exercise or will see improvement in their pain when they do. I wish doctors understood that exercising is hard with chronic pain and sometimes our pain levels are the reason we aren’t as active as we should be.
Tears are not the only signs of pain- Doctors often look for visible signs of pain, such as tears, and if you are not crying, people often think that your pain is not that bad. Some people in pain cry, but the belief that everyone in pain cries endlessly is simply not true. There are so many ways that indicate that someone may be struggling with pain, such as loss of appetite, insomnia, and some people may become more fidgety. because it’s hard to get comfortable when you are in pain. You shouldn’t be most worried about people who have obvious signs of pain, but should be most worried about the people who are good at hiding pain, because you never know when these people will hit their breaking point. People with chronic pain become very good at masking their pain and often don’t shed tears.
Most people don’t fake being sick, but they fake being well- When you are in pain, sometimes people think that you are faking being in pain, but the opposite is often true, and you are faking being well. Some people will fake being in pain to get medication, but a vast majority of people are living with pain that you cannot see. I don’t fake being in pain, but I fake being well to spare the feelings of others.
It negatively affects your mental health- Chronic pain affects you physically, but what a lot of people don’t understand is that it also affects your mental health. People in pain are more likely to become depressed and commit suicide than someone without chronic pain because it negatively affects your quality of life. If someone is in so much pain that they can barely get out of bed and you dismiss it as anxiety, it can negatively affect someone’s mental health and cause them to not want to live anymore.
Doctors know a lot about different medical conditions because they have to, but it can be very difficult for your doctor to truly understand pain they have never experienced. People sometimes think that pain is something that you can get rid of by simply exercising more and eating healthily, but that is only sometimes true. Pain takes so much from you, and I think the one thing that doctors sometimes struggle to understand is how much it negatively impacts your life. People sometimes think that chronic pain is something that you can push through, but chronic pain is not like pushing through a tough workout, and you will make it worse by doing too much. Pain medication can help improve pain in some people, but people with chronic pain aren’t seeking more pills, and we are seeking long-lasting relief. Chronic pain is exhausting, and we will do whatever it takes to get our lives back. What do you wish doctors understood about pain? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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