Thesis Statement
Chronic pain is a disabling condition that affects over 100 million Americans (IOM, 2011). It is constant or recurring pain that remains beyond the healing of an injury or acute illness. Chronic pain has the ability to destructively affect a person’s quality of life including their mental and emotional well-being. The pharmaceutical industry’s strong influence on American culture encourages healthcare providers to overly prescribe medications that offer temporary relief to those suffering from chronic pain. However, these medications are accompanied by a vast number of side effects, medical complications, and addictive tendencies that may leave the patient in a more disabling state than before. Depression, poor self-efficacy, …show more content…
There were two groups in the study, a treatment group and a wait list group. According to Wilson, Roll, and Leiker, (2015), “By week 8 of the study, the treatment group had significantly greater improvements on pain self-efficacy and opioid misuse measures than the wait-list comparison group”. The evidence from this study supports our thesis statement and shows that CBT is a relatively low-cost alternative to opioid pain relievers. When used on a consistent basis, CBT can be beneficial for those suffering from the many physical and psychosocial ailments resulting from chronic …show more content…
However, interventions that are commonly used in the nursing profession can be readily applied to assist in treatment of physical and psychosocial complications of chronic pain. Education through verbal and written sources will enhance our patient's sense of control over their physical and psychosocial symptoms. By offering ourselves and giving recognition through therapeutic communication we will provide reassurance and reduce anxiety. According to Richardson, et al (2005), “Prolonged stress can also have psychological sequelae, such as anxiety and depression, which can negatively influence the experience of pain”. By implementing stress management and relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, guided imagery, distraction, and meditation we will help reduce the psychological sequelae of stress and provide distraction from pain. By encouraging patient awareness of thoughts, challenging the irrational ones, and replacing them with something fair and balanced they can effectively utilize cognitive restructuring to lower depression and increase self-efficacy. Problem solving is the central idea of the nursing process as well as a key element in managing chronic pain and its associated complications. We will teach patients to assess problems, set realistic goals, implement interventions, and evaluate success. By applying the interventions associated
Chronic pain is a disabling condition that affects over 100 million Americans (IOM, 2011). It is constant or recurring pain that remains beyond the healing of an injury or acute illness. Chronic pain has the ability to destructively affect a person’s quality of life including their mental and emotional well-being. The pharmaceutical industry’s strong influence on American culture encourages healthcare providers to overly prescribe medications that offer temporary relief to those suffering from chronic pain. However, these medications are accompanied by a vast number of side effects, medical complications, and addictive tendencies that may leave the patient in a more disabling state than before. Depression, poor self-efficacy, …show more content…
There were two groups in the study, a treatment group and a wait list group. According to Wilson, Roll, and Leiker, (2015), “By week 8 of the study, the treatment group had significantly greater improvements on pain self-efficacy and opioid misuse measures than the wait-list comparison group”. The evidence from this study supports our thesis statement and shows that CBT is a relatively low-cost alternative to opioid pain relievers. When used on a consistent basis, CBT can be beneficial for those suffering from the many physical and psychosocial ailments resulting from chronic …show more content…
However, interventions that are commonly used in the nursing profession can be readily applied to assist in treatment of physical and psychosocial complications of chronic pain. Education through verbal and written sources will enhance our patient's sense of control over their physical and psychosocial symptoms. By offering ourselves and giving recognition through therapeutic communication we will provide reassurance and reduce anxiety. According to Richardson, et al (2005), “Prolonged stress can also have psychological sequelae, such as anxiety and depression, which can negatively influence the experience of pain”. By implementing stress management and relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, guided imagery, distraction, and meditation we will help reduce the psychological sequelae of stress and provide distraction from pain. By encouraging patient awareness of thoughts, challenging the irrational ones, and replacing them with something fair and balanced they can effectively utilize cognitive restructuring to lower depression and increase self-efficacy. Problem solving is the central idea of the nursing process as well as a key element in managing chronic pain and its associated complications. We will teach patients to assess problems, set realistic goals, implement interventions, and evaluate success. By applying the interventions associated