Anxiety and Chronic Pain Connection: Solutions & Therapy

If you or someone you love is living with chronic pain, you know it not only impacts the body but also your entire life. You may be going through life not only physically in pain but mentally anxious, wondering why you feel this way. What many do not know is how closely related anxiety and chronic pain really are to one another. Both anxiety and pain go side by side, feeding off one another, creating a never-ending loop.

As therapists at Rebound Total Health, we often get questions about the anxiety and chronic pain connection. And we also are asked how to calm physical symptoms of anxiety to reduce pain. In this post, we explore these topics so you can get your questions answered.

Why the Pain and Anxiety Connection?

When pain occurs, the body enters a state of high alert. This means the nervous system works in overdrive, thus becoming tense. The anticipation of the pain can begin to trigger an anxious response, therefore continuing to perpetuate this cycle. You may have found yourself thinking or asking: Why do I feel this way? What if I am getting worse? How will I keep up with my life responsibilities?

Since anxiety often times makes our minds tense, the same goes for our bodies. It can cause so much tension that the body pain begins to feel worse. High anxiety/stress can tighten the muscles, cause sleep disruption, and increase sensitivity to pain or discomfort. It is a constant cycle in which the pain and discomfort cause high anxiety. This anxiety makes the pain all the more present.

How Does This Show Up in Life?

Chronic pain not only impacts the body, but also the mind. This seeps into every avenue of life, whether that be relationships, friendships, work and even hobbies, to name a few. This may look like:

Sleep Disruption: your body is in constant pain, which keeps you up at night, tossing and turning. This poor sleep increased worry/anxiety.

Activity/social avoidance: fear of worsening the pain or having a flare-up can lead to social avoidance. Whether that be through activities you used to once enjoy or even simply socializing.

Mood Shift: Stuck in this chronic pain cycle can lead to feelings of frustration, hopelessness, sadness, or anger.

Relationships: When living with chronic pain, it can be hard to explain what you are feeling or feel as if nobody understands—leading to feelings of isolation or loneliness.

How To Break The Cycle Of Chronic Pain and Anxiety

We know how defeating chronic pain and anxiety can feel—the good news is this feeling does not have to be forever. We can get you out of this cycle and help you live your life to its fullest, whatever that may look like for you. This may look like:

Talk therapy: counselling provides a space to not only talk about what is going on and what you are feeling, but also engage in the use of tools to cope with stress and change how pain is perceived.

Movement: Gentle movement in whatever way is most comfortable for you, alongside talk therapy, can help release pent-up tension while also strengthening your body.

Mindfulness: Within therapy, both you and the counsellor can go over tools to cope with stress and pain, which may look like breathing, muscle relaxation and/or meditation to calm down the nervous system.

Daily Care: To help the mind, it is important to nourish the body. This includes eating well, sleeping well and having a supportive circle of people in your corner.

Taking Care of Yourself

Life gets busy, and it becomes hard to take care of yourself on top of all that you have going on. The truth is, chronic pain cannot be fully treated unless both the physical and mental aspects are looked over; they are interconnected. Once both are supported, life may begin to feel more manageable, and you may start to feel hopeful again.

We forget to be kind to ourselves amid life’s challenges—something we often need to be reminded of. If this sounds like you, check out our blog post on self-compassion and managing perfectionism through self-compassion.

Getting Help For The Anxiety and Chronic Pain Connection

This feeling you have does not define you as a person; the chronic pain or anxiety does not make you who you are. With the right support of our clinicians at Rebound we can begin to work on breaking the cycle and gaining control in your life once again.

Rebound Total Health offers in-person therapy sessions in Hamilton and virtually online for Ontario residents. We work with clients managing the chronic pain-anxiety connection, helping them find solutions that work for them.

If this sounds like a cycle you are ready to break, look no further. You can book a consultation with our team and get started on creating the best version of you, both mentally and physically. Learn more about our therapists at Rebound Total Health.

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