Stop Living in the Problem

Chronic pain management can be an extremely complex and frustrating experience for both the patient as well as their healthcare provider.  Managing a pain condition is often very challenging, and it becomes even more so when a coexisting problem is also present. In fact, one of the most difficult problems is not identifying coexisting prescription drug abuse or addiction problem.  There is a significant risk of prescription abuse/addiction problems because as many as 90 percent of people undergoing chronic pain management are prescribed opiates—about 10 percent of people on chronic opiate maintenance will develop a substance use disorder abuse or dependence.

Some People are Blinded by Denial

What often happens for a patient undergoing chronic pain management through their primary care provider, or even at a pain clinic, is medication management becomes a problem.  Sometimes nobody sees this problem until it has become quite serious.  One reason for this is the person goes into denial about their pain medication because after all “I have a real injury and my doctor is prescribing me the medication.” Now in many cases this is true.  Unfortunately, many people develop prescription drug abuse or even addiction and no one saw it coming.

Working Towards Freedom from Suffering

The important thing to remember is that people undergoing chronic pain management who also experience coexisting addictive disorders need to be able to recognize and admit they have a problem before they can work on finding a solution. Typically they need help—a support network for instance—to work through any denial or depression issues in order to develop an effective recovery and pain management program. In acute cases, and due to the nature of coexisting disorders, they also need a multidisciplinary team to effectively assess, diagnose and provide treatment. In any case, a major task for the individual or a treatment team is education regarding the diagnosis and how to effectively participate in a treatment plan.

Finding Freedom with the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System

The Addiction Free Pain Management® (APM) System provides such a way to deal with the problem of chronic pain and co-existing addictive disorders and succeed in providing people with effective chronic pain management so they can lead a higher quality of life.  The APM™ system is a treatment approach that is based in part on the GORSKI-CENAPS® Biopsychosocial Developmental Model of Recovery.  It also integrates the most advanced pain management methods, developed at the nation’s leading pain management programs with the most effective treatment methods for addiction developed at the nation’s leading addiction treatment programs. 

The result is a unique integration of treatment methods that combine proper medication management and cognitive behavioral interventions along with nonpharmacological (non-medication based) modalities.  The APM™ approach leads to patients obtaining pain relief, while lowering or eliminating their risk of addiction or relapse as well as reducing or eliminating problems from other mismanaged coexisting disorders.

To learn about the importance of dealing with roadblocks to effective chronic pain management please check out my article Overcoming Obstacles for Effective Chronic Pain Management that you can download for free on our Article page.

You can learn more about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or a loved one is undergoing chronic pain management, especially if you’re in recovery or believe you may have a medication or other mental health problem and you want to learn more effective chronic pain management tools, please go to our Publications page and check out my books; especially the Addiction-Free Pain Management® Recovery Guide: Managing Pain and Medication in Recovery. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please Click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please Click here and input your name and email address. You will then recieve an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.

To learn about my upcoming trainings you can check out our Calendar page.

Today I was asked to conduct an online TV interview with Channel 10 News Live-Online in Sacramento.  The topic they asked me to talk about was teen depression and encouraging parents to screen their teens.  This led me to thinking about how depression also seriously impacts someone undergoing chronic pain management and can actually sabotage their treatment.

This past June we posted an article on our website discussing the challenge of depression that many people with chronic pain face. It’s often misdiagnosed because a chronic pain management client does not even realize they are depressed so they don’t mention anything to their healthcare providers who often aren’t looking for it. And if people who have depression and chronic pain only define their physical problems as it relates to their chronic pain condition, the various symptoms related to depression can be easily ignored.

There are many treatment options available for depression management, but treating it can take time. If you suffer with depression along with chronic pain, work at staying mentally strong and focused on those bad pain days. It is also important to reach out for support and stay connected. Effective chronic pain management and depression treatment can be achieved with a good plan and the right team!

To better understand the importance of addressing depression in chronic pain management please check out my article, Depression Management with the Chronic Pain Patient, that you can download for free on our Ariticles page.

You can learn more about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you are working with people undergoing chronic pain management and want to learn how to develop a plan for managing their chronic pain and coexisting psychological disorders including depression, addiction and other coexisting psychological disorders effectively please consider my book Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please Click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please Click here and input your name and email address. You will then recieve an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.

I believe that to develop an effective pain management plan one of the most difficult and crucial, emotional issues that must be resolved is the grief and loss of your health and/or prior level of functioning. Obtaining support to work through a painful grieving process improves your chances of a successful treatment outcome with chronic pain.

I’ve seen many people living with chronic pain and/or disability get stuck in various stages of a grieving process and it intensified their levels of pain.  I know this was also true for me in my early chronic pain recovery journey. There were times I became very depressed and felt hopeless that I could ever have a good quality of life again. Today I’m actually grateful for the initial injury that started me on a very exciting journey.  In fact, if it wasn’t for that injury I wouldn’t be writing this Blog.

I’ve listed the Kubler-Ross stages of grief below and after that I’ll share what I believe is the necessary final stage for someone living with chronic pain and/or disability. It’s important to remember that these stages don’t necessarily happen in the order listed and some people go in and out of the stages until they finally get through them.

Denial: “This can’t be happening.”

Anger: “Why me? It’s not fair.”

Bargaining: “Just let me find a better way to live.”

Depression: “I’m so sad, why bother with anything?”

Acceptance: “It’s going to be OK.”

Although it is crucial to get to the “it’s going to be OK” stage, I believe we have to get to another level where we can honestly say to ourselves “My life is now better than ever—yes it’s different—but I like my quality of life now.”  It took me over two years to get to that point in my own grieving process and I needed help from a great therapist to guide me through the process.  I call this final stage Reintegration.

I’ve seen some people get stuck in one or more of these stages and it makes their lives miserable—as well as negatively impacting those they love. I’ve seen some people in so much denial and/or the bargaining stage about their limitations that they used massive amounts of medication to keep functioning at a super high level; until they crashed.  I’ve seen others become so depressed they contemplate suicide—and a few people I’ve know have even killed themselves.  Others became so angry and bitter that they drove their loved ones right out of their lives.

To learn about other roadblocks to effective chronic pain management please check out my article Overcoming Obstacles for Effective Chronic Pain Management that you can download for free on our Article page.

You can learn more about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or a loved one is undergoing chronic pain management, especially if you’re in recovery or believe you may have a medication or other mental health problem and you want to learn more effective chronic pain management tools, please go to our Publications page and check out my books; especially the Addiction-Free Pain Management® Recovery Guide: Managing Pain and Medication in Recovery. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please Click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please Click here and input your name and email address. You will then recieve an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.

To learn about my upcoming trainings you can check out our Calendar page.