We generally talk about pain by asking sufferers how ‘bad’ it is, as if bad is the objective standard by which we measure pain. The reality is that, because pain is such a complex experience, we need to have a more ‘sophisticated’ way to talk about pain. Moreover, we know that when people have a better way to communicate their experience with pain we have a greater likelihood of applying more effective interventions. So how do we as a community need to break down this experience if we are truly going to understand the way pain affects those who suffer with it? Three domains we should consider are the notions of intensity, bothersomeness and interference.

Pain certainly feels, at least initially anyway, like it’s something that should be avoided and that certainly can be the case in at least the initial stages. If you’ve suffered the onset of an acute injury then ensuring that your body has the time and space to settle down and/or heal can be important. Yet bed rest has become something we know, in principle, doesn’t lead to better results. That’s why it’s vitally important to get expert oversight when you become injured or suffer the onset of pain, and that the result of this should include at least some idea of what a map of recovery should look like. Yet, health professionals who simply provide the advice to wait until all pain resolves are providing advice that has been found to often lead to impaired recovery and even poorer rates of healing. Our body thrives on stimulus and when we withdraw physical stimulus that keeps our systems regulated appropriately towards tolerating stress we do it a disservice.

So how do you know when you actually need help with your mental health? There are potentially 3 considerations to make when asking yourself “do I need to get some help?” Briefly stated, these are a consideration of the severity of symptoms, an appraisal of the current ability you have to cope with these symptoms amongst everyday tasks, as well as the length of time symptoms have persisted. Of all these considerations, though, the often most underrated is an appraisal of our ability to cope. It’s the thing we all reassure ourselves about with adages like “it’s not that bad” or “there are people worse off than me”.