By continuing the pain behavior he can stay off work. Or an inattentive spouse may give loving care to the injured spouse. This is so positive that when the injury is healed the learned behaviors are continued. This usually develops from internal conflicts that have never been resolved. The effects of chronic pain depends on behavioral and sociological factors.
Sleep disturbances are the most common complaint of chronic pain patients.
Falling asleep is sometimes difficult because they can't get comfortable and the pain seems more severe when there are no distractions. One of the people in a group reports that to help himself fall asleep, he puts his favorite music in a walkman. Then he places the earphones slightly away from his ears. This way he has to pay attention to hear the music, which distracts from the pain. Once chronic pain patients fall asleep, they report waking up almost hourly and getting up very early in the morning as inability to sleep.