Spirituality and Chronic Pain Management

Posted on Friday, January the 1st at 1:55pm

By: Dr. Stephen F. Grinstead,  LMFT, ACRPS, CADC-II

Chronic pain is often misunderstood and undertreated. In addition to the biopsychosocial impact a chronic pain condition frequently has on a person, spiritual crisis can accompany the condition as well.  Long-term chronic pain is a body-mind-spiritual problem that requires a multifaceted solution. Complementary spiritual practices are necessary components of any effective chronic pain management plan.

Many people have found spiritual interventions like the traditions of prayer and meditation to contribute to the reduction of the sense of suffering. Unfortunately, in our fast paced world and the secular treatment modality, adding a spiritual component to chronic pain management does not get enough attention. 

Another challenge is that many people confuse religion with spirituality. Although the terms religion and spirituality are sometimes seen as one and the same, they are really separate concepts.  Religion is an organized faith system grounded in institutional standards, practices, and core beliefs; whereas spirituality is grounded in personal beliefs and practices which can be experienced with or without a formal religion, and vary widely depending on an individual’s personality.

Spirituality Defined

Miriam Webster Online Dictionary states: 1. something that in ecclesiastical law belongs to the church or to a cleric as such; 2. clergy; 3. sensitivity or attachment to religious values 4. the quality or state of being spiritual.
Your Dictionary.Com states: 1. spiritual character, quality, or nature; 2. religious devotion or piety; 3. the rights, jurisdiction, tithes, etc. belonging to the church or to an ecclesiastic; 4. the fact or state of being incorporeal
The online Wikipedia Encyclopedia defines spirituality as: Spirituality is relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. Synonyms include immaterialism, dualism, incorporeality and eternity. Spirituality is associated with religion, deities, the supernatural, and an afterlife, although the decline of organized religion in the West and the growth of secularism has brought about a wider understanding of its nature.

Spirituality versus Religion

Over the years I have found it important to have a discussion with my patients regarding spirituality and effective pain management, as a common understanding of terminology is essential as is an understanding of what their beliefs are. One concept that rang true was the simple saying: “Religion prepares people for the next life while spirituality helps them live this life to their fullest potential.” Many of my colleagues also recommend clarifying the difference between the terms “spirituality” and “religion.” They advocate developing a broad-based definition of spirituality that encompasses religious and nonreligious perspectives.

Spirituality is a complex and multidimensional part of the human experience. It involves beliefs, perceptions, thinking, feeling, experiences and behavior aspects. Thoughts, beliefs and perceptions include the search for meaning, purpose and truth in life as well as the values by which a person lives their life. Experiences and emotions involve feelings of hope, love, connection, inner peace, comfort and support. Behaviors involve the way a person externally demonstrates their individual spiritual beliefs and inner spiritual state.

I’ve known many people who claim to be very religious but lack true spirituality. I have also met many others who demonstrated powerful spiritual principals but were not in any organized religion. It is true that people find spirituality through religion or through a personal relationship with the divine. It is also true that many others find it through a connection to nature, music and the arts, through values and principles or through a quest for scientific truth.

Pain versus Suffering

Chronic pain is often associated with perceived endless and meaningless suffering. Issues related to the suffering of chronic pain involve a complex interaction between emotions such as fear, guilt, anger, loss and despair. This suffering may seem inseparable from physical pain and often influences the way pain is expressed. Spirituality is a basic human phenomenon that allows the creation of meaning and purpose in life. So a person’s spiritual beliefs can and does influence their health beliefs and sense of well-being.

The psychological meaning that people assign to a physical pain signal will determine whether they simply feel pain or experience the sense of suffering. Although pain and suffering are often used interchangeably, there is an important distinction that needs to be made here. Pain is an unpleasant, physical signal telling people that something is wrong in their body. Suffering results from the meaning or interpretation the brain assigns to the pain signal.

The concept of spiritual pain requires healthcare providers to go beyond the bounds of traditional clinical treatments and be prepared to devote the time required to give supportive and understanding care.  It is crucial to explore spirituality and its impact on a person’s pain in a multidimensional assessment.

Spirituality is vital aspect of being human which is difficult to fully understand or measure using scientific methods; yet convincing evidence in medical literature supports its beneficial role in the practice of medicine. It will take many more years of study to understand exactly which aspects of spirituality hold the most benefit for health and well-being.
The world's great wisdom traditions suggest that some of the most important aspects of spirituality lie in the sense of connection, inner strength, comfort, love and peace that individuals derive from their relationship with self, others, nature and the transcendent.

I believe that spiritual healing is an important component of a multifaceted chronic pain treatment plan. One goal of spiritual healing is to help patients improve their well-being and quality of life, rather than to cure specific diseases or in this case eliminate pain. Spirituality as part of a treatment plan may include encouraging patients to use visualization, prayer and positive thinking.

As chronic pain impacts a person’s body, mind and spirit the solution must also address those domains. Effectively managing this requires a multidisciplinary approach that would greatly benefit from adding a spiritual healing practitioner to the team. The ultimate goal of any effective chronic pain management plan is to help create a shift physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually so a client can leave behind the long dark tunnel of pain their life had become.