TEXT BY FRED WILKINSON

Caring for a loved one living with chronic pain takes a toll on the people closest (and most important) to the pain sufferer.

Family members, friends — and even acquaintances and colleagues – who have a supportive commitment and connection to a chronic pain sufferer can experience prolonged exposure to the person living with pain’s trauma. This can make them vulnerable to compassion fatigue, which can manifest itself in acute symptoms that can put their physical and mental health at risk.

It can make a pain sufferer’s support network wary of giving and caring just when they need their emotional and spiritual support the most. 

WHEN CARING TAKES ITS TOLL

According to the American Institute of Stress, compassion fatigue can take its toll on those caring for a pain sufferer in numerous ways:

• Emotional exhaustion
• Reduced sense of personal accomplishment or meaning in work
• Mental exhaustion
• Decreased interactions with others (isolation)
• Depersonalization (symptoms disconnected from real causes)

Patient caregivers suffering from compassion fatigue also may experience physical as well as mental symptoms. Compassion fatigue can make itself known through a host of bodily symptoms, including:

• Physical exhaustion
• Bodily fatigue
• Changes in appetite
• Digestive issues
• Headaches.

OPTIONS TO RELIEVE PAIN AND STRESS

Research looking at the impact of social support’s role in the context of health and wellness suggests patients who are part of a social network have a decreased risk of mortality in comparison to those who have a low quantity or quality of social relationships.

The link between patients’ emotional and mental status and positive treatment outcomes necessarily involves the patient, their family and loved ones, and the health care provider.

The path patients must walk on their healing journey is not tread by the patient alone. 

Patients have personal and professional resources that they can turn to for emotional, spiritual, and medical options for healing and recovery. 

COMPASSIONATE STAFF, REAL PAIN RELIEF

Florida Spine & Pain Center employs a team of experienced physicians, and this team of healers is bolstered by their compassionate supporting staff to offer patient-centric options for addressing their pain and making daily life free from physical pain and mental stress without surgery. 

Take the first step toward a new life for you and your loved ones and learn more about Florida Spine & Pain Center’s range of treatment solutions by calling out to our office at (954) 447-5206 to schedule your consultation.