The problem of pain : a heuristic and structural existential analysis of unexplained physical pain
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This study was undertaken to increase understanding of recovery from chronic pain in the absence of medical intervention. Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that inflicts significant human suffering and costs the economy of the Western world £billions each year. Despite advances in modern medicine pain remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. \n \nApplying a heuristic methodology, an in-depth exploration was conducted into the author’s personal experience of recovery and participants (N=8) who had recovered from chronic pain were interviewed. \n \nThe results indicate: \n \n•\tChronic pain is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that serves a purpose and has personal meaning. \n \n•\tPain serves as a non-verbal communication whose meaning can be revealed through tuning in to the felt sense of the experience. \n \n•\tMedical approaches were ineffective and often exacerbated pain. \n \n•\tRecovery occurred after all medically prescribed interventions had been exhausted and participants hit rock-bottom. This triggered a radical epistemological shift from the commonly held medical perspective into one that considers the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the experience. \n \n•\tChronic pain is difficult to define within the realms of medical pathology and might be alternatively viewed as a healthy response to an unhealthy social system and world which are inextricably linked to the body. \n \n•\tAdult chronic pain was associated with physical pain during childhood as well as repressed childhood trauma. \n \n•\tKey factors in recovery were engaging in a deep personal exploration that involved: (a) remembering and acknowledging childhood adversity, (b) reflecting on the current circumstances of life, (c) challenging previously held views of pain that were based on a medical understanding, (d) Confronting pain and the fear of pain, and (e) making significant life changes.
Author: Christos Christophy
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2753146569