Does chronic pain shorten your life?

Chronic pain, defined as pain lasting for more than 12 weeks, or longer, can lower your lifespan if left untreated. Chronic pain includes a diagnosis such as arthritis, back pain, and recurring migraines, all of which can have a profound effect on a person’s day to day life when left untreated.

What are chronic pain behaviors?

Furthermore, chronic pain behavior seems to be composed of at least 9 components: anxiety, attention seeking, verbal pain complaints, medication use, general verbal complaints, distorted posture and mobility, fatigue, insomnia, and depressive mood.

How does chronic pain affect family life and relationships?

Chronic pain can have a profound influence on family life and relationships. Many of the people that we talked to were very grateful to their families, who helped to keep them going and gave them pleasure in life (see also ‘ Relationships and sex life ‘ and ‘Parenting, children and grandchildren’ ).

Is there enough support for families who have lost a loved one?

One woman felt that her close friends and family had to go through a natural grieving process over the loss of the person she had been. Many people felt that there was not enough support for families, although NHS Pain Management Programmes or support groups had sometimes run helpful sessions for families.

How does your family support you when you are in pain?

Many people talked about the positive support from their families including understanding, tolerance of their moods, belief of their pain, or a good shoulder to cry on. Several felt that their pain had actually brought them closer to a family member, most often a parent but sometimes a brother or sister.

How does chronic pain make you feel and act?

Most of the people we talked to said that chronic pain sometimes makes them self-centred, moody and intolerant and that often they took their pain out on those closest to them by being snappy, and even aggressive. Sometimes it was best to be alone at these times, although some explained that they did not always realise what they were doing.