In an article entitled “Chronic pain can change the way your brain processes emotion, scientists find” by Sophie Scott and Mary Lloyd and featured on ABCNews, we read about a group of Australian researchers who have made an interesting discovery between chronic pain and compromised emotional processing:
“Associate professor Sylvia Gustin, found patients with chronic pain had lower levels of a substance called glutamate, a key chemical messenger between brain cells that helps regulate emotion. “[It] means their brain cells can no longer communicate properly and therefore their ability to process positive emotion is jeopardised,” Gustin said.”
The report goes on to say: “As a result, people in chronic pain can have personality changes where they are “prone to feeling tired, unmotivated and constantly worrying on a daily basis”, she said. Researchers found the greater the decrease in glutamate, the more chronic pain sufferers showed fearfulness, pessimism, fatigue, and sensitivity to criticism.”
People who live with chronic pain often report having a comorbid condition such as depression and/or anxiety. It would stand to reason given that living with chronic pain puts your body and mind in the automatic position of trying to manage pain symptoms. Chronic pain also puts you in a state of limbo, as those who suffer from it never know on a daily basis if they will be able to carry out their planned activities.
Although the article goes on to mention that there are no medications that target reduced levels of glutamate in the brain, there is hope that programs can be developed in the future to address these issues for chronic pain sufferers. Often, just knowing that there could be a physical reason for emotional difficulties can relieve the guilt one experiences for having these feelings.
Chronic pain sufferers can begin managing symptoms by fostering a function centered life and talking to their GP about pain management.
To read the full article: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-04/study-shows-chronic-pain-changes-the-brain/11760024
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