Chronic Pain: How Can it Impact my Life?

Were you ever hurt by accident? Maybe you tripped while walking at the mall, or maybe you slipped and fell face down on a hard surface. Some of us were unfortunate enough to have a broken bone. The pain that came with those incidents falls under the category of acute pain. Although the pain was unpleasant, it was somehow tolerable. We felt it for a short time, but as soon as our injury healed, the pain went away, too.

Chronic Pain

The second type of pain, unfortunately, is not as simple as acute pain. Chronic pain is the type of pain that persists even long after the original cause has healed. Any pain that has been felt for more than 3 months is considered to be chronic pain. It is also often referred to as persistent pain. It is said to significantly disrupt majority of the life of the people who experience it.

The Impact of Chronic Pain

Chronic pain affects people’s ability to take part in different activities in all areas of their lives. It can affect their ability to manage simple day-to-day tasks, to work, and to enjoy normal social activities that they used to enjoy in the past. Chronic people, limiting what its victims can do, often has a big impact on people’s emotional well-being as well as the overall quality of life.

In fact, a study shows that 50% of Canadian adults with chronic pain typically experience serious levels of anxiety and depression as a consequence. Unmanaged anxiety and depression can definitely make pain even more challenging and difficult to live with.

People who suffer from chronic pain have fears of reinjuring of further injuring themselves, making their current pain worse, and living with the pain. They feel hopeless and helpless thus the feeling of loss is common and understandable. The good news is there are strategies that can be used to manage pain, depression and anxiety.

Consequences of Chronic Pain

When people experience persistent pain, they also often experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. To further understand what a person with chronic pain goes through, here are the different symptoms:

Physical Symptoms: The pain itself, tension, changes in sleep, headaches, muscle weakness/stiffness, low energy levels, reduced concentration, panic and memory difficulties

Behavioural Symptoms: Reduced activities, avoidance, irritability, doing less pleasurable activities, getting into an overdoing-underdoing activity cycle

Thought Symptoms: One’s ability to cope and that they’d rather not be alive, thoughts about the nature of one’s pain, self-criticism, self-doubt and worry

Legal Help and Chronic Pain

If you have been injured in an accident or as a result of someone else’s negligence, please contact our office today at 1.855.905.9222 for a free consultation. No one needs to endure chronic pain alone.