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Chronic Illness and Pain

Chronic Illness and Pain

Chronic illness comes in many forms: asthma, diabetes, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, etc.  Chronic is defined in medical terms as any condition lasting more than 3 months. It can be frustrating and terrifying when you are first diagnosed with a chronic illness. You may experience an increase in stress as you learn how best to care for yourself and your new condition. You may even experience symptoms of grief related to losing the life that you had
prior to this diagnosis. All of these are normal reactions to being newly diagnosed with a chronic illness, but if they persist for longer than 2 weeks, you may want to consider being seen by a therapist. Research shows that chronic illness increases your risk of experiencing depression and anxiety and in many cases the mental and physical symptoms are both more severe when they coincide. It may benefit you have someone outside of your family or friends who you can be honest with about how you are feeling without having to hide or minimize your experience. Learning mindfulness techniques can help reduce the effects of stress on the body and have been widely used to help cope with chronic illness. If you would like more information about how we can assist you, please don’t hesitate to call for a free consultation and for current therapist availability and specialties. We are here to help.

Try this body scan as an exercise in mindfulness to manage chronic pain.

 

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