Many people with chronic pain also need to address psychological issues. Nellie Radomsky reports that women who strove to address such issues over time developed a clearer sense of themselves and their own strengths. They still experienced pain, but they had learned to manage both the pain and their feelings. Their perspective on life had shifted, and they were no longer victims of their pain. The good news is that sufferers of chronic pain need not struggle alone.
Adequate support is imperative for sufferers of chronic pain.
A compassionate doctor and supportive friends and family help, but many sufferers find that joining a self-help group is the best thing they ever did. The bad news is that many sufferers never find permanent relief. With chronic pain, we, being both patients and health professionals, need to shift our expectations and criteria for success away from the notion of cure, toward the notion of acceptance and self-management. This is not to say that we shouldn't be looking for causes of pain, but many people have extensive tests and multiple surgical interventions, with little or no success. To pursue the elusive cause and focus on the strictly organic is to miss the mark.