Why Good Pain Management Is Suicide Prevention

I don’t think that it is a coincidence that September is both Pain Awareness Month, and Suicide Prevention Month. I have lived with chronic pain for over twenty years, and I can understand why bad pain management can lead to someone struggling with dark thoughts. We often focus on mental health when we think of suicide prevention, but good pain management can be also seen as suicide prevention.

What chronic pain actually means

I think most people think chronic pain is just, having pain that lasts a long time, but if you take the right meds, you are fine. The truth, however, is very different, and unless we as a society start to understand that, then people who struggle with this will continue to suffer.

The reality is that chronic pain is felt all day every day, waking up and going to bed in pain, and having plans interrupted by pain. Its constantly managing energy levels and symptoms, and wondering whether tomorrow is going to be another bad day. And it is being left with no, or little opportunity for your nervous system and mind to properly rest.

Pain levels with chronic illness fluctuate, and yet we need to remember that pain does not need to be unbearable every second to be exhausting.

The mental health cost of living with pain

Living with constant pain, affects every part of a person’s life, sleep, concentration, independence, relationships. It can take away the ability to work or participate in everyday life. It can also take your hope and motivation, and even take your sense of self, leading to anxiety and depression.

Chronic pain leads to a vicious cycle of pain, poor sleep, reduced capacity to cope, worsening mental health and then pain becoming harder to cope with. None of this is about a person being weak, or having the wrong mindset either, anybody would be worn down by suffering that does not give them a break.

Pain management is more than making pain disappear

I think we often think that doctors can give us pain relief that takes it all away and someone is without pain. But often that is not the goal of pain management, it is about making life with pain more manageable.

This can involve more than medication, encompassing other areas like physiotherapy, pacing, mobility aids, psychological support, occupational therapy, and specialist care. And this will be different for every patient depending on what their experience and cause of pain is.

Often the goal is how they can help you have more life alongside the pain, but when it misses the goal, pain can prevent that. Isolation, and lack of rest can seriously affect a person’s mental health and ability to cope with life.

Why listening to people with chronic pain matters

My life has always featured pain, even as a child my legs were constantly painful and yet nobody listened. We were just told it was growing pains and I would grow out of it, and in time I learned there was no point telling anyone it hurt.

Ever since I was in my early twenties, my life has been marked with waiting for appointments, being told to lose weight, to exercise more. I was told to think positively, or simply to live with it as there is nothing can be done.

But people need to be believed, we need to be listened to and supported instead of this social witch-hunting for people ‘faking’ for attention or because they are lazy. Because when people are suffering for years, hopelessness can easily become part of the chronic pain experience.

Pain relief as suicide prevention

Pain management is not the whole story of course, when we want to focus on suicide prevention it is more nuanced than that. People may need mental health care, crisis support, social support, and so many other versions of help.

But physical suffering should not be left out of the conversation, and if suicide prevention is about reducing the circumstances that make life unbearable; then surely it needs to be part of the conversation.

A personal reflection

I have spoken about my own chronic pain and mental health struggles both here and on my YouTube channel. Chronic pain has taught me so much about living a life that allows me to feel joy and happiness alongside living in pain.

For me, it has been about slowing down, adapting, finding pleasure in the small moments, and asking for help. It has become about living a smaller, but happier life, and keeping people in my life who believe me.

Having hobbies that are adaptable is a big part of what makes me happy, as well as working on old beliefs that can stop me from resting when I need to. I am also very lucky to have a wonderful, supportive husband and we live with my mom which is something I am very thankful for.

People deserve a life worth living

I really hope that this post has helped you to understand why good pain management is suicide prevention. We need to stop believing that people in chronic pain are faking or put the pressure on them to try to be positive. We deserve compassion, support, treatment and the opportunity to build a life that is not centred around the pain we feel.

Thank you xx

Please remember if you are struggling, you can contact your doctor or there are helplines available.

If my words or videos have brought a little cosiness to your day, you can support me on Ko-fi with a tip or join my Patreon for just £2 a month. Your kindness helps me keep creating both here and on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this, you might also like:

• Why Good Pain Management Is Suicide Prevention
• Creating a Calming Sanctuary: Mindful Self-Care Practices for Long-Term Wellbeing
• When the Goalposts Move: The Mental Health of Being a Small YouTuber
• Finding Joy and Magic While Living with Chronic Illness
• Building a Life That Works With Your Body