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Chronic pain & mental health

Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 3:14 pm
by Lara J C
Hi. What tips do you have for coping with long term chronic pain (migraines) and associated anxiety (and depression)? My local NHS trust does not provide a pain management programme for chronic migraine.

Re: Chronic pain & mental health

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 4:00 pm
by Jayne Ellis
Hi,

Has anyone ever suggested to you that your migraines are a symptom of your anxiety?

If your GP/specialist has ruled out a specific cause of the migraines then spending time concentrating on addressing any causes of your anxiety that are not chronic pain related may be a good approach and have positive results.

It is possible that you are in a cycle where the anxiety about getting the migraines is giving them to you. An example of this is written about by John E Sarno in his book Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection. Have you also had an osteopath or chiropractor examine you?

Have you explored alternative therapy options such as acupuncture or reflexology or aromatherapy as these can also be really helpful with helping to reduce your anxiety and at times when you are in pain or recovering from an attack. Mindfulness and mediation are also very helpful and can be learnt online.

There are counsellors who specialise in helping people manage anxiety and your GP may be able to point you in the right direction or you can find someone local to you by looking on https://www.bacp.co.uk/

There are other more general things that you can do to help your anxiety. Be mindful of what you are eating: food = mood! keeping your blood sugar stable can help control anxiety and there are even foods that are natural antidepressants. Stay hydrated, even mild dehydration affects how you feel.

Take regular exercise, 20/30 mins a day will make a big difference to your mood and some exercises like yoga and Pilates helps control anxiety by teaching you to control your breathing.

I hope you find some of this helpful and I wish you all the best.