Analyzing Chronic Pain as it Pertains to Affecting a Whole Person Chronic Pain is experienced by a large population of individuals and often affects every aspect of one's existence. Kirkham, Smith, and Havsteen-Franklin, in referencing an analysis from the Institute of Medicine, state, "about 100 million adults in the United States suffer from chronic pain" (2015, para. 2). Pain is often hard to describe, making the experience of chronic pain an isolating experience for some individuals. When pain is chronic and affects everyday functioning it can have major implications to one's psychological and social functioning. Chronic pain is a major issue in the United States and may be better handled if the emotional affects, affects to one's view
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1). They further note that various studies have suggested that the outward appearance of a chronic pain sufferer may reveal very little to nothing of the internal struggle of a sufferer (Kirkham, Smith, and Havesteen-Franklin 2015, para. 5). One of the many complexities of dealing with chronic pain is: how does one express what is unseen? How can a chronic pain sufferer make their pain visible? Such questions are important to ask as pain is likely to make one lose a sense of their identity while their body suddenly is painful and may not feel like the body they are used to anymore and their social life may fall apart around them as they are suffering. These realities are likely to make one's sense of identity confusing with no good way to express what one has experienced, lost, and gained from their pain. Researchers Kirkham, Smith, and Havesteen-Franklin (2015) suggest that having one draw a pictorial representation of his or her pain not only has clinical value, but gives sufferer a way to make the "unseen seen." Kirkham, Smith, and Havesteen-Franklin (2015) performed a research study demonstrating the usefulness of art with chronic pain sufferers and found that participants in the study were able to vividly portray their internal worlds. Kirkham, …show more content…
Researchers Koffel et al. (2016) suggest that, "up to 50% of individuals with chronic pain have depression." Further, depression is a condition that often affects one's functioning, paired with functional impairment from chronic pain, it can have significant consequences on one's life. Moreover, Research indicates that an individual's stress levels have a direct impact on exasperating depression and suggests that individuals with strong familial and social support are better equipped to cope, which also applies to populations of chronic pain sufferers (Lee, Chan, and Berven 2007). Interestingly, studies show that positive coping strategies to deal with pain do not have much affect on pain perception, but do however, affect one's ability to socialize and work despite his or her pain severity (Lee, Chan, Bervan
1). They further note that various studies have suggested that the outward appearance of a chronic pain sufferer may reveal very little to nothing of the internal struggle of a sufferer (Kirkham, Smith, and Havesteen-Franklin 2015, para. 5). One of the many complexities of dealing with chronic pain is: how does one express what is unseen? How can a chronic pain sufferer make their pain visible? Such questions are important to ask as pain is likely to make one lose a sense of their identity while their body suddenly is painful and may not feel like the body they are used to anymore and their social life may fall apart around them as they are suffering. These realities are likely to make one's sense of identity confusing with no good way to express what one has experienced, lost, and gained from their pain. Researchers Kirkham, Smith, and Havesteen-Franklin (2015) suggest that having one draw a pictorial representation of his or her pain not only has clinical value, but gives sufferer a way to make the "unseen seen." Kirkham, Smith, and Havesteen-Franklin (2015) performed a research study demonstrating the usefulness of art with chronic pain sufferers and found that participants in the study were able to vividly portray their internal worlds. Kirkham, …show more content…
Researchers Koffel et al. (2016) suggest that, "up to 50% of individuals with chronic pain have depression." Further, depression is a condition that often affects one's functioning, paired with functional impairment from chronic pain, it can have significant consequences on one's life. Moreover, Research indicates that an individual's stress levels have a direct impact on exasperating depression and suggests that individuals with strong familial and social support are better equipped to cope, which also applies to populations of chronic pain sufferers (Lee, Chan, and Berven 2007). Interestingly, studies show that positive coping strategies to deal with pain do not have much affect on pain perception, but do however, affect one's ability to socialize and work despite his or her pain severity (Lee, Chan, Bervan