You’ve read many times “St. Anthony’s Hospice treats the five types of pain- physical, psychological, spiritual, social, and financial,” But what does this mean? Today we are going to dive into psychosocial, or social, pain.
Everyone likes to socialize, whether in person, via phone call or texting, social media, etc. And there are many things in our daily lives that affect social pain- marital status, social status, home and work atmosphere, social support, etc. For instance, if someone is going through a divorce or other traumatic social experience, he/she might have a lower pain tolerance. Whereas someone who has a loved one by their side might have a higher pain tolerance, think a child who is getting a shot and has mom or dad hold him/her.
Recognizing Social Factors that Affect Physical Pain
- Becoming Aware of the Social Factors.
Pain is one of the ways our body communicates with our brain. For example, if we touch something hot, we pull away from it before we develop a serious injury. If we are paying attention while touching the hot object and expecting the pain, the pain may be more severe.
One way to decrease the pain intensity is to distract the patient. Start a conversation, turn on a television show, or have company while doing something unpleasant, such as giving an injection. While the pain won’t fully go away, the distraction may help decrease the intensity of the pain.
- Interpretating the Pain.
How a patient perceives the pain can impact how the pain is felt. If the paint expects the worst physical pain, they may be pleasantly surprised when the actual pain is less than expected. On the other hand, if the patient was previously told by a physician that their disease would be cured in a certain timeframe and they are still receiving painful treatments, the physical and emotional pain could be more intense
To help lower the intensity of pain, it can be beneficial for the caregiver or hospice/palliative care team to discuss expectations with the patient. This helps the patient to express his/her wishes and avoid both overestimating and looking for all devastations in their care.
- Emotions and Physical Pain.
Fear, depression, anxiety, worry, and other psychological factors can lower a patient’s threshold for pain. Treating the emotional triggers as well as the emotions can reduce social pain, thus reducing physical pain.
Talking with a trained counselor or even a social worker can be a huge relief. This gives the patient the opportunity to feel heard and allows the patient to practice healthy coping skills. In addition, meditation, any type of physical activity, enjoying time outdoors, and enjoying time with company can help increase positive emotions which increases the patient’s threshold for physical pain.
- Managing the Pain.
How the patient approaches treatment options, as well as any additional support such as hospice or palliative care, can be beneficial to increasing the threshold for physical pain. The treatment options should be appropriate to the levels of pain; for example, narcotics shouldn’t be prescribed for mild pain. This can force the patient to develop other coping mechanisms, some often unhealthy.
Addressing the Social Pain
Improving a patient’s social surroundings can greatly improve a patient’s social and physical pain. Having someone there to ease the patient’s mind or take their mind off some of the more painful treatments can go a long way.
As the caregiver, look for ways to increase the patient’s social support. Encourage regular contact with friends and loved ones. If he/she lives alone, encourage visits to the local senior center (check for current COVID restrictions) or regular coffee dates and/or lunches with friends. If the patient is receiving hospice care, volunteers can go to their home and provide companionship and do activities with the patient (current COVID restrictions unfortunately are not allowing hospice volunteers to go into patient homes amidst the pandemic).
Social workers also work to address social factors, it’s in the name! They can help patients with stress management techniques, as well as address any issues the patients may be having and work toward solutions.
To learn more about how St. Anthony’s Hospice addresses symptoms of pain or to refer a loved one or yourself, give us a call at (270) 826-2326 or visit our “Make a Referral” page here- https://stanthonyshospice.org/referral/.
