Roughly 1 in 5 people deal with chronic pain on a regular basis, and a significant amount of them feel guilty about their diagnosis. There is absolutely no reason you should feel guilty about your chronic pain condition, but the fact of the matter is that we talk about overcoming the stigma or guilt associated with a chronic pain condition with patients all the time.

So many people feel guilty about fighting a daily battle with chronic pain, but why do they feel this way, and what can we do to overcome these feelings? We try to answer those questions in today’s blog.

Why Do We Feel Guilty About Chronic Pain?

A recent study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology decided to take a closer look at the subject of guilt among chronic pain patients. You can take a closer look at the full study here, but we’ll jump to some of the takeaways. First, the team identified three main reasons why chronic pain patients felt guilty about their battle with chronic pain. They are:

1. Others assume that a patient’s pain condition is not legitimate – Oftentimes even after an official diagnosis, patients in the study faced questions about the legitimacy of their condition.

2. Others assuming that the patient is not managing their condition well – Some people felt like they were letting their doctor or their family down if they were not making progress in treatment.

3. Assumptions regarding how one’s actions affect others in terms of the person’s inability work or fulfill social roles – In other words, patients felt like others may view them as less of a co-worker or parent because their pain can sometimes affect their ability to perform certain duties within these roles.

When you look at those three reasons, we spot an interesting trend. Chronic pain patients are feeling guilty about how they come off to other people, like their friends, family, caregivers and doctors. How they feel they are being perceived by others is what’s driving these feelings, and that’s unfair.

So what can we do about feeling guilty about chronic pain? While it’s easier said than done, stop focusing on what other people think. The best way to do that is to focus on yourself. If you know that you are doing every thing you can to treat your chronic pain condition, than the opinions of others should feel less important. You know that you are trying your best, so those comments and suggestions shouldn’t get under your skin. And if they do, you can simply let them know everything that you are trying to get the condition under control.

Again, we know that it’s easier said than done to say “Don’t let what other people think bother you,” but if you’re truly giving it your best effort, it should be easier to shake off any feelings of guilt because you know that you’re doing all you can. You can only control your actions, so if you’re doing what you can, the thoughts and opinions of others shouldn’t hold much water. Trust yourself, commit to your rehab, and know that you should be feeling pride about your work ethic, not shame over other people’s misconceptions.

As always, if you have questions or concerns about managing your chronic pain condition, reach out to Dr. Cohn. He’ll treat you with respect and explain how to manage some of the psychological effects of chronic pain. For more information, give our team a call today at (952) 738-4580.