6 Common Misconceptions About Chronic Pain [CC English & Español] | Kati Morton

- Hey, everybody!

Today we're gonna talk
about the six most common

myths and misconceptions
about chronic pain,

but before I jump into that,
are you new to my channel?

Welcome, I release videos
on Mondays and on Thursdays

so make sure you are subscribed
and have those notifications

turned on so that you don't miss out,

and I also have a book, Are u ok?

It's your guide to mental health

and it's coming out December 11th.

So you can click the link at
the top of the description

and pre-order yours today, and I also want

to thank Pathways pain therapy program

for sponsoring this video.

Pathways is a helpful app
that utilizes scientifically

proven methods to retrain
your brain to stop the pain.

Now, let's get into this topic

and begin by defining chronic pain.

Everyone feels pain in
their lifetime, right?

This could be because you got
a paper cut, our you stubbed

your toe, those are the worst,

but when we feel a sharp pain
in the area that was affected,

it usually goes away pretty quickly,

or, you know, after a
very short period of time.

Chronic pain, on the other
hand, is very different.

The pain that you feel with
chronic pain doesn't go away,

and it can last for weeks,
months, or sometimes even years.

Doctors often describe
chronic pain as being any pain

that lasts three to six months or more,

and it is estimated that
1.2 billion, with a B,

people around the world
suffer with chronic pain,

and I know that that is a huge number

but just remember that
pain can be a component

of a lot of other diagnoses
meaning that you can have

chronic pain because of a
back injury, or depression,

fibromyalgia, and many, many
other conditions and diagnoses.

What we do know is that
chronic pain prevents us from

doing our job, spending
time with our loved ones,

and living our life to the fullest.

Therefore, I believe it's
really, really important

that we start to understand it and have

some ways that we can best treat it.

So let's get into the
six most common myths

and misconceptions about chronic pain.

Common misconception number
one, that all pain has a cause.

Sure, if we had an accident
and a certain part of our body

was injured during that
accident, it's easy to identify

what is causing the pain, but
that's not always the case.

Many people experience neurological pain

which is caused by damage
or disease in the nerves,

and that isn't something that you

can always or very easily detect.

Many physicians will
usually see a slipped disc

and assume that that's the only issue

and what must be causing
the pain that we're feeling.

Because our bodies are so
complex and our minds can

create pain when there's
no identifying cause,

it can be impossible to find a cause

for the pain we are feeling,
and that is why I put that

as my number one misconception.

Number two, that pain
is your only symptom.

It's obviously the one
that's bothering us the most,

but just like I stated earlier,

our mind can create pain
when there isn't anything

physically wrong with us, and that doesn't

make our pain any less important or valid.

I just want you to hear that, okay,

but it's just something
that we need to recognize

and understand because
a lot of other things

could be going on to cause or
increase our pain response.

For example, have you ever been depressed

and as a result of that felt
like you had caught a cold

or you just wake up feeling sore all over?

Those are psychosomatic
symptoms, or pains,

associated with how our brain feels,

and that really just means
that like our mental health

is affecting the way our body feels.

I mean, just consider body memories

for example and how those affect us.

Our fight-or-flight response can have

all sorts of effects on
how we feel physically,

and hopefully now you
can see that pain may be

just one symptom of
what's going on with us.

It's not at all showing
you the whole picture.

Number three, that chronic pain

is just part of getting older.

Nope, while getting older
does make us more susceptible

to aches and pains, you know,
because of past injuries

or breaking down of some
cartilage or joints,

that doesn't mean that we
have to hurt all the time.

If we are experiencing
pain each and every day,

we should talk to our doctors and

therapists about it immediately.

We don't just have to
shutup and deal with it.

In fact, there are many
tools and techniques

that we can use today to help.

So don't just accept pain as a
consequence of getting older.

We can grow older and thrive, trust me.

The fourth myth or misconception

is that you shouldn't exercise
when you have chronic pain,

you'll just injure
yourself or make it worse.

Wrong, rest doesn't always
make our chronic pain better.

In fact, it can actually
make things worse.

Just the other day, and I know
this isn't like chronic pain

necessarily related, but
just the other day my mom's

boyfriend, Larry, had surgery on his hand

to alleviate trigger finger
and some other tendon issues,

and upon leaving the
surgery center he was told

to keep his fingers moving immediately,

like right after he got out,
and that if he didn't do this,

his fingers could actually end up worse

than they were before
the surgery, crazy right?

But it was because the tendons
needed to keep moving through

these newly opened tunnels so that they

didn't clamp back down or close again.

As long as you're doctor approves,

you should begin incorporating

regular exercise into your schedule.

This can not only help
stretch and strengthen

important muscles that may
even alleviate our pain,

but it also releases
endorphins which can give us

similar feeling to morphine,
which if you don't know

what morphine is, it's
like a very intense,

and addictive, pain reliever.

So exercise can essentially help

relieve your pain in some situations,

and it also releases
dopamine and norepinephrine

which improve our mood, if you don't know,

dopamine's that like feel
good chemical in our brain

that's like woo, that
was nice, I feel happy,

and norepinephrine helps
with our concentration,

so don't just assume immediately
that you can't exercise

if you struggle with chronic pain.

Talk to your doctor and find an

exercise plan that works for you.

Myth number five, that surgery is your

best option for resolution of the pain.

That would be like saying
that everyone with depression

needs to do CBT based treatment

and that that is their
only option for recovery.

Sure, it can help some
of us, but it's not gonna

be necessary for all of us,

and it's not gonna work for all of us.

Lumping the huge category of chronic pain,

do you remember it was
like 1.2 billion I think

that I mentioned at the
beginning of the video,

but if we lump all those
people into one bucket

and assume that something
as serious as surgery

is always the best option
is just really shortsighted.

There are many other less
invasive options out there

like massage, acupuncture, talk therapy,

yoga, meditation, and many, many more.

So always get another opinion before

deciding if surgery is right for you.

Ask a bunch of questions.

Make sure you understand
why they're recommending it

and what it's going to entail.

There is definitely a place for surgery

in the treatment of chronic pain.

I'm not a doctor, but I'm
just saying that it's not

the only option out
there, not by a long shot.

And the final myth I'm gonna
talk about today, number six,

is that if chronic pain is left
untreated, it can kill you.

What?

No, who believes that?

Sure, pain can really impact our life

and our ability to function fully,

but it's not going to kill you.

Some doctors, treatment centers,

and other medical professionals

can try to scare us into deciding
our next treatment option,

but just know that only
you know how you feel

and what you are okay with trying next.

If you find that your chronic pain

is causing you to feel anxious, depressed,

or possibly suicidal, please
reach out for support.

Just like I talked about, there
are many treatment options

and ways that we can improve both

our mental and physical health.

Sometimes we just have to ask.

Now that we have successfully
gotten through all six

misconceptions, let's get
into a few of the tools

that you can use today
to start feeling better,

because trust me, with the right treatment

we can all start feeling better.

Number one, the Pathways app!

Like I shared at the
beginning of the video,

they have sponsored this content.

They have created an app
that utilizes scientifically

proven methods to retrain
your brain to stop pain.

It helps you better
understand your diagnosis

as well as your specific pain.

They even help you connect
past trauma experiences

and how those may affect
your mental health

and therefore affect your pain level.

It's amazing, you guys, and
they offer over 70 sessions

for chronic pain help, and
a quarter of those sessions

are available for free and
you can access them now

by downloading their app,
and they offer a money back

guarantee so there's no financial
risk for giving it a try.

Also, just as a side note,
I really love that it was

created by a man who suffered
from chronic pain himself,

so he knows what it can be like,

and that's why he's been working
so hard building this app.

So check it out, and I
hope that you find it

as helpful and wonderful as I did.

Number two, therapy!

Just like I mentioned
throughout this entire video,

our mental health can affect how

we feel and even cause us pain.

If you think that a past
trauma or experience

could be adding to your
chronic pain, reach out.

I promise we aren't scary and there

are good therapists out there.

Oh, and also, there is a
ton of research to support

the fact that the way
we think about our pain,

so the way we think, how
we rate it and rank it

on a scale of one to
10, how we visualize it,

all of that can have an affect
on our pain level as well.

So finding a therapist
who understands that

could really, really help.

My mind automatically goes
to like CBT type treatments,

because, you know, it works
with the way that we think

and the way that we act,
it could really help.

Number three, alternative treatments.

Like I talked about before,
massage, acupuncture,

meditation, yoga, therapy
dogs, you name it.

Don't knock it until you've tried it!

Many years ago I had this
terrible shooting pain

that originated like in my shoulder blade

and would shoot all the way
down my arm into my hand,

and it was terrible, it was
hard for me to go to work,

I was really, really uncomfortable.

I would just cry laying
in bed it was so bad,

and after trying acupuncture
and fitting in a yoga class

each week, it slowly went away.

Not to mention the issue
I had a few months ago.

If you guys follow me on Instagram,

this thumb was completely numb.

I had like a pinched
nerve running down my arm

and it was super uncomfortable,

but after getting some
massage, I like went to

like I think once a week
I was getting a massage,

and then practicing yoga and meditation,

that fixed itself too.

Now, I know everyone's
experience and treatment

is gonna be different, but
just give some other treatments

a try, because you never
know what could help.

And fourth and finally, medication.

I know not everyone
wants to try medication

or is even open to the concept,

but I just wanted to mention it

so that you know it's an option.

You know, it could be an
option for the treatment

of the pain that you're
feeling as well as any mental

health issues you may
have, but just, as always,

talk to your doctor, ask
any questions you may have

about the side effects,
the cost, and the length

of time you may need to be on it.

Make sure that you're fully informed

before deciding if a
medication is right for you.

I hope you found that helpful.

If you think I left out any
misconceptions, or myths,

or any treatment options,
please leave those in

the comments down below, and
I will see you next time, bye!