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Mental Health Care - A Daily Reality

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Sustained pain or illness will have an effect on mental health. There is no maybe about this. Mind and body are inextricably intertwined and medicine is increasingly aware of this. Patients are treated as a whole and not as a collection of parts, and you too must consider yourself as a whole, with your emotional, psychological and physical well-being all equally important. Pain psychologists, cognitive behavioural therapists, psychologists, counsellors and psychiatrists are extremely important resources that you cannot overlook. No matter what you need help with–whether it's using cognitive behavioural training to reframe your emotional reactions to pain, or seeing a counsellor to talk through your loss of self-esteem, or visiting a psychologist to work through your feelings of anger and grief–there are resources available to you. Many health insurance programs cover (at least partially) the cost of mental health care. When this isn't an option, there wi
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Managing Medications

Medications can be a complex and baffling area, with many chronic pain sufferers using a combination of prescription and over- the-counter drugs to combat their symptoms and achieve day-to-day normality. There is also usually an element of trial and error in finding meds that work, and what works today may not work next month. Lastly, many pain meds are highly addictive, so dosing and proper use become very important. All of these factors—plus the fact that most of us are not chemists—can lead to a lot of misapprehension and confusion regarding what we can and should take. Do You Know Your Pharmacist? One of the most under-utilized resources in health care is the pharmacist. For those many millions who visit only big-box pharmacies, seeing one of a number of interchangeable random people in white coats, giving your name and receiving a pill bottle with no explanation, then this is very understandable. Why would you engage with this stranger who acts as little more than a
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Being Proactive When New Symptoms Occur

A funny thing happened to me over the holidays: I had an increase in symptoms from one of my chronic conditions. Time and experience has taught me two things: 1. Not every symptom increase is a sign of something worse, and it's always wise to stay calm and monitor yourself, objectively, for a while before reading anything into it. 2. Ignoring new or worsening symptoms in the hopes they are just 'temporary' is a slippery slope, and being proactive about nipping issues in the bud (when possible) is an important part of self-care. Clearly, balancing these two, often opposing, rules is tricky, and not something that gets much easier with practice. Having loved ones around you who can act as your 'sanity-check' and help you decide where the line between these two is can be of great help. Also helpful is a confident, trusting relationship with your doctor. Or, perhaps even more importantly, your doctor's office staff. I've spoken before about the impor
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