Anger, Pain & Relationships

Anger, Pain and Relationships

By Linda Ruehlman

Living with chronic pain can be very frustrating. Not surprisingly, people with chronic pain tend to report greater levels of anger than those without pain. Expressions of anger differ, with some people being more likely to suppress and hide it, turning it inward on themselves, and others turning it outward, letting it explode.  Still others struggle to be someplace in-between – hoping for “healthy expression” of anger that allows the angry person to express his/her feelings without being aggressive.

How you express your anger can make a difference – the in-between approach may be best over the long-run. I have written before about anger management. Today I want to talk a bit about the consequences of anger and how to prevent anger from starting in the first place. In general, high levels of anger have been found to increase both acute and chronic pain, reason enough to try to prevent it!  Besides making pain worse, anger can also take a toll on your relationships, especially with family. For example, recently, a reader wrote to me:

“Sometimes when I have a migraine, I lose my temper and treat my husband badly. I realize that this has hurt our relationship. How can I undo the damage and prevent myself from snapping at him in the future?”

Relationship Repair

 

To Read More Please Click On This Link: http://www.chronicintractablepainandyou.net/apps/forums/topics/show/12978704-anger-pain-relationships

 

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What to Do When Pain Medication Is Dulling Your Sex Life

Chronic pain, on its own, can interfere with a healthy sex life, but sometimes the drugs that patients rely on to relieve their pain are the problem. Many painkilling medications can cause physiological changes that affect sexual functioning.

Opioids—a common class of drugs for chronic pain whose brand names include Vicodin, Percocet, and OxyContin—are among the worst offenders, says Todd Sitzman, MD, a past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. According to studies, opioids can lower testosterone levels, suppress sexual function in men, and cause erectile dysfunction. They can also contribute to low libido and difficulty with orgasm in both sexes. To read more of this article please click on the link:
http://www.chronicintractablepainandyou.net/apps/forums/topics/show/12844976-what-to-do-when-pain-medication-is-dulling-your-sex-life

How to Keep Your Marriage Healthy When One of You Is in Pain

How to Keep Your Marriage Healthy When One of You Is in Pain

For many chronic pain patients, their spouse can do a tremendous amount to help, but the patient, in the end, is isolated with his or her pain. The burden of living with it and helping with it can put an enormous strain on even the happiest marriage.
Jan, 45, of Boulder, Colo., recognizes that her chronic back pain has been very hard on her marriage.
To read more of this article please click on the link:
http://www.chronicintractablepainandyou.net/apps/forums/topics/show/12844944-how-to-keep-your-marriage-healthy-when-one-of-you-is-in-pain