Chronic Pain
Do You Experience:
- Chronic low back pain?
- Headaches?
- Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS)?
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?
- Other Chronic Pain?
- Has Pain affected your ability to engage in social activities or hobbies?
- Has pain affected your ability to work or function?
If you are in pain, the discomfort is very real. The last thing you want to hear is “it’s all in your head”. We also believe that the pain is very real. Seeing us does not mean we think the pain is “all in your head”. When you have dealt with pain for a long time, it can affect many areas of your life. It can have an impact on relationships with family and friends. It can affect your ability to work or engage in social activities and it adds stress to everyday activities. As a result of being in pain for a long time, you may begin to feel down or feel anxious. Feeling down or anxious can actually make your pain feel worse.
Would you like to:
- Reduce the impact pain has on your daily life?
- Learn skills for coping better with pain?
- Improve physical and emotional functioning?
- Reduce the pain and the reliance on pain medication?
What would it be worth to you if you could achieve these results? We can help! To learn more about how we can help you call: (703)-437-6311 or send an email to [email protected]
Our primary approach to helping you manage chronic pain is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The way you think, (“I’m never going to get better,” “It’s so unfair,”) can have a huge impact on your experience of pain. The research shows that negative emotions or thoughts will increase the focus on pain so that the pain becomes more noticeable. Using CBT techniques, we teach you how to take back control by managing your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to pain. We help you improve your coping strategies and put the discomfort in a better context.
CBT can also change the physical response in the brain that makes the pain worse. Stress caused by pain affects neurotransmitters (chemicals in your brain) such as norepinephrine and serotonin that help control pain. Reducing stress may lessen the impact on these chemicals thereby making the body’s natural pain relief response more powerful.
Clinical Hypnosis is another technique that can be helpful for managing chronic pain. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “research findings indicate that hypnosis interventions consistently produce significant decreases in pain associated with a variety of chronic pain problems”. Hypnosis for pain management involves the induction of a trancelike state that is characterized by extreme relaxation, focused attention, and heightened susceptibility to suggestion. The two most common applications of hypnosis to pain reduction are hypnoanalgesia (the use of hypnosis to decrease sensitivity to pain) and hypnoanesthesia (the use of hypnosis to numb sensation of pain).
Neither CBT or Hypnosis replace working with your medical doctor. Both are most often used along with other methods of pain management (such as medication).
We can teach you a set of skills, techniques and methods that will help you better manage your chronic pain. We use techniques that are based on research and proven to be effective.
Call 703-437-6311 or email us at [email protected] to schedule a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you better manage your chronic pain.