Many people living with chronic pain really don’t understand as much about their pain as they need to. That is why one of my first treatment protocols for my patients is to help them learn as much about their pain as possible. We start by looking at the way pain is defined.

There are numerous different definitions for pain. The most widely accepted definition of pain is the one used by The International Association for the Study of Pain. It defines pain as “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience arising from actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage.”

The Web version of the Encyclopedia Britannica defines pain as – “A complex experience consisting of a physiological (bodily) response to a noxious stimulus followed by an affective (emotional) response to that event. Pain is a warning mechanism that helps to protect an organism by influencing it to withdraw from harmful stimuli. It is primarily associated with injury or the threat of injury, to bodily tissues.”

The American Academy of Pain Medicine defines pain as – “An unpleasant sensation and emotional response to that sensation.”

The definition of pain that some believe is the most appropriate for use in clinical practice was given by Margo McCaffrey in 1968. He defined pain as “whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he says it does.”

Pain Is a Signal That Communicates Information

The easiest way to understand pain is to recognize that every time you feel pain your body is attempting to tell you that something is wrong. Pain sensations are critical to human survival. Without pain you would have no way of knowing that something is wrong with your body. So without pain you would be unable to take action to correct the problem or situation that is causing your pain.

What Is Your Pain Trying To Tell You?

Whenever you are experiencing pain, it’s always helpful to ask: “What is my pain trying to tell me?” I believe that pain is trying to tell you that something is wrong and that you had better find out what exactly is wrong and find a way to fix it.

To understand the language of pain, you must learn to understand how the pain echoes and reverberates between the physical, psychological, and social dimensions of the human condition. Pain is truly a total human experience that affects all aspects of human functioning.

Knowledge is power. Once you know what is really going on with your body and mind you can start to take action to effectively manage your pain. In fact, you need to stop believing pain is your enemy and begin to embrace it as your friend. I know this is easier said than done. Many of my patients have looked at me like I’m crazy when I tell them they must make peace with their pain and that pain is their friend. They tell me—very strongly in some cases—that they can’t buy it, but nevertheless it is true.

To learn more about the importance of understanding chronic pain please read my article Chronic Pain and the Hijacked Brain 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 in chronic pain and want to learn how to develop a plan for managing their pain and coexisting psychological disorders including depression or addiction effectively please go to our Publications page and check out my book the Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To listen to a radio interview I did conducted by Mary Woods for her program One Hour at a Time please Click Here to go to listen to this interview.

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