Last updated: Tue, Mar 11, 2025
This is the fourth and final major section of this work. In the first section (How Pain Is Made) I described pain as a physiological process. In the section The Psychology of Pain, I presented and evaluated psychological views of pain from various perspectives. In this section I will present a view of what it is to experience chronic pain.
If, as is generally said, pain is "subjective," how can we get a clear view of it? Following the central insight of behaviorism, we look at pain's manifestations in the world, which is less subjective.
In earlier sections you may have already seen several perspectives on pain. The physiological viewpoint makes certain aspects of pain understandable but has limitations. The psychological viewpoint has produced a plethora of theories and models but hasn't led to much effective help. (Effectiveness of Psych Treatments.)
I begin this section by offering some summary statements about what chronic pain is (The Nature of Chronic Pain). These statements are implied in the material from the first two sections, but I believe it worthwhile to highlight some of the home truths and some of the misunderstandings that seem to be abundant in pain literature and practice.
Next, I turn to the important question, "Why is pain disabling?" This question is unresolved in the law surrounding pain disability, and there seems to be wide disagreement even as to whether the question is based on a true premise. In The Challenge of Living in Pain I enumerate the challenges of pain as I have come to understand them. Unfortunately, there has been very little attention to this basic question amidst all the psychological investigating. As a result, I believe, the true burden of these conditions has not been properly registered in the policy-making institutions that define the world in which pain sufferers must live.
In the two sections, Psychological and Psychiatric Treatments and Medical Pain Treatment, I examine the treatments that are on offer for pain sufferers, paying attention particularly to the degree of effectiveness they provide and the gaps that exist.
In The Pain Institutions I analyze some of the institutions that have taken on roles in providing and in regulating the treatments that are available. The science/craft of organizational analysis is well-developed. The instituions that exist are not inevitable. There are good reasons to be skeptical about their suitability for the task they are presumed to be suited for.
Finally, in Destructive Pain Myths, I enumerate some of the persistent myths (mistaken beliefs) that impede humane treatment of pain sufferers in institutions and in the society at large.
Within this section...
The Nature of Chronic Pain (Last updated: Mon, Oct 21, 2024)
The Challenge of Living in Pain (This page is incomplete.)
The Challenge of Pain Treatment
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