When I woke up, I knew it was going to be one of those days. The sun was pouring into my bedroom and the glare was hurting my eyes. I turned on the news and the weatherman announced in an angry voice that we could expect another amazing sunny day in SoCal. “Perfect for that long walk on the beach you’ve been wanting to take,” she said. I shut her up and cried her eyes out.
A long walk on the beach? I can barely walk my poor dog on the street and I love him so much.
If you’ve been reading this blog for the past few months, you’ll understand why I’m so angry. I’m in chronic pain from a car accident eight months ago when an Uber driver ran a red light and killed my car. Until then, I always thought of whiplash as a dubious invention of ambulance chase lawyers. But the constant pain in my neck and right shoulder taught me otherwise. It’s real, it hurts like hell, and apparently, despite constant treatment efforts, it’s not going away anytime soon.
I was a soldier for the first few months, with confidence in my doctors and my own mental health. i bipolar disorder It’s been mostly under control for years, and along the way I’ve learned how to use an arsenal of recovery tools to keep my mien relatively even. So I was confident that I too could overcome this challenge without losing the ground I had gained.
You have too much faith. As the pain increased, so did my emotional vulnerability. Depression He sniffed and felt an opening; but I wasn’t sad like I usually feel when I’m depressed. Instead, I got angry and angry, like I wanted to punch the world in the face. Apparently, I was in a terrible “mixed” state of symptoms maniasuch as restlessness and irritability, with depressive symptoms such as hopelessness. I wasn’t sure what was happening to me; I just knew it wasn’t good.
It really bothered me that I couldn’t figure out exactly what was going on in my body and mind. Will my pain ever go away or am I permanently damaged? Was I having a bipolar episode or were my feelings just a normal reaction to an abnormal situation? And does it even matter what I thought?
This is probably very important – especially when you have bipolar disorder.
According to numerous studies, the way bipolar people deal with chronic pain is critical to their recovery. A longitudinal review of such patients found that “individuals with more negative views of their physical well-being had more severe mood symptoms and worse functioning over a two-year follow-up. These data suggest that addressing attitudes or broader thoughts about physical health is important in the treatment of individuals with bipolar disorder, as subjective perceptions influence the course of illness.” J influence, 2015 September 30; 189: 203-206.
Similarly, the Southern Pain Center found that patients with bipolar disorder and chronic pain often respond poorly to treatment and may therefore be at increased risk for chronic disease. suicide. It was concluded that a multidisciplinary approach is necessary for the proper management of these patients, that is, in addition to pain management Doctors, mental health professionals are an important part of the treatment team. (Excerpt Acta Psychiatr Scand2015 Feb 131(2):75-88.) This is especially true since. antidepressants are prescribed regularly for pain; but taken without a mood stabilizer, they can significantly worsen the mood swings of bipolar patients.
And yet…none of the medical doctors I saw ever asked me about my mental health or recommended that I seek counseling to manage the difficult emotions caused by the pain. I come across my bipolar disorder on admissions forms, but it never comes up on exams – unless I bring it up myself.
This is troubling because apparently my response to my chronic pain is just as important as the pain itself. Fortunately, I have a therapist and a psychiatrist who manage my bipolar medication and I was able to ask them for help. Their compassion and guidance has been invaluable, allowing me to identify cognitive distortions that may be clouding my thinking and showing me ways to reframe the issues I’m dealing with so they’re not as scary. However, even with their help, it was a long eight months.
Critical reading of chronic pain
But how many people are so lucky or privileged? Or even realize that their mental health is as important as their physical health in the background of a vulnerable wound? It’s not easy to find solutions on your own when you’re suffering – isn’t that why we go to doctors?
It seems clear to me that an important aspect of chronic pain treatment is missing: an emphasis on the brain, not just the pain. If one of my medical doctors asked me, “How are you dealing with this huge change in your life?” And then suggested ways I could fight back.
