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Feature Intro: Chronic Pain & Mental Health: How our Physical Pain Affects our Mental Wellbeing When I’m not writing for ONC, I work as a counseling intern for an agency providing outpatient mental health services. I work with clients from all backgrounds, of all ages and all levels of education, income and wellbeing. Some of my clients seek help with communication in their marriages. Some clients wish to better control anger or want to explore traumatic events from the past. But for many of my clients, their mental health is affected by their physical health, and chronic pain is a present, daily struggle. Helping to identify and understand the connection between chronic pain and mental health is the first step in making things better. When we know the battle we’re facing (and fighting), we can create a plan to lessen the pain we feel all around. Just like physical pain might need multiple solutions (medication, physical therapy, surgery), mental pain is the same. We can address it from multiple perspective, but first we have to understand it. In this article we’ll explore how we define pain, how chronic pain and mental health are related and what we can do to interrupt the pain cycle and feel better.
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CONTENTS ASK THE EXPERT: TUNING IN FEATURE: CHRONIC PAIN & MENTAL HEALTH: HOW OUR PHYSICAL PAIN AFFECTS OUR MENTAL WELLBEING RECIPE: PEANUT BUTTER BREAD