What you can do
Pain is usually a signal your body is giving you to tell you that something is not right. It is an unpleasant experience, but at the same time an indispensable tool. Pain helps you to take timely measures and you learn what you can do better from now on.
When we talk about a sudden onset of pain, we speak of acute pain. An example is the pain you feel when you burn your fingers on a hot pan. It’s a warning signal from your body (let go of that pan!). If you remove the cause of the pain, the pain often subsides quickly.
If you suffer from pain that never seems to go away and that interferes with your daily activities, then it is referred to as chronic pain. Pain that lasts more than three to six months is usually categorized as ‘chronic’. It is estimated that about three million Dutch people suffer from chronic pain. That’s one in five people. In fact, about two million compatriots have been living with persistent pain for more than seven years.
How does pain arise?
You can feel pain because certain nerve endings in the body are sensitive to pressure, temperature or chemicals that we produce ourselves during illness or injury. Your nerves then transmit the pain signal through the spinal cord to your cerebral cortex. Only when the cry for help reaches your brain do you really feel the pain. So someone who says that the pain is ‘between your ears’ is actually right.
Not everywhere in your body are the same number of sensitive nerve endings. For example, you have a lot of them in your skin and a lot less in your stomach. That is why it is often a lot more difficult with abdominal pain to indicate exactly where the pain is.
A subjective experience
Measuring pain is an extremely difficult business. How much pain you feel is different for everyone. In addition, circumstances can play a role. If you are anxious or stressed, you will experience more pain than if you are comfortable. So the amount of pain you feel is actually a very personal experience.
What do you do with your pain?
Pain is often temporary and harmless. In many cases you already know the cause immediately. If not, the place where you feel the pain is often a good indication. Many pains are not serious and will go away on their own. A painkiller can possibly help to get through that period. However, sometimes the help of a doctor is needed. Do not hesitate in case of sudden, severe pain that you cannot explain and immediately visit a doctor or hospital.
In case of chronic pain, your doctor can refer you to a specialist or pain treatment center. That does not always mean that you will also be relieved of your pain there. Sometimes there is nothing for it but to learn to deal with pain. If that is the case, it can help to talk to fellow sufferers about how they approach this. A patient organization can help you get in touch with people who are in the same boat as you.
Tips
- Try to find the cause of your (chronic) pain
- Ask your doctor what you can do to relieve the pain
- Try (in consultation with your GP, homeopath or specialist) whether there are medicines or homeopathic remedies that help against the pain.
- Do not use too much medicine.
- Always go to a recognized therapist/specialist.
- Try not to always think about the pain, but also talk about other things.
- Exchange experiences and solutions with fellow sufferers.
- Stay positive. Try to live with the pain as best you can while looking for a method that will relieve the pain.
- Avoid tension and stress
€19.95 |