I absolutely LOVE my “job” working with the pediatric chronic pain population. I cannot say how gratifying it feels to help a child or a teen feel safe in their body and then watch them thrive.
My basic job with this patient population is to help them believe that they are NOT broken and that they don’t need to be fixed. Let me tell you, that’s not always an easy task to achieve, but if I can build enough therapeutic alliance, they begin to trust me.
Me: I believe in you.
Patient: It seems like you believe in me more than I believe in myself
Me: It’s okay, you’ll catch up!
It is almost impossible to help a child living with persistent pain recover without assistance from their parents. The only “assistance” I strongly request, is to allow their child to be and feel more independent.
Coming from a place of love, too often parents over-protect their children with the mindset that if they protect them enough, they will get better.
Could over-protecting children from experiencing pain perpetuate the problem?
Anxiously protecting a child from damage or from pain, sends the message that they are perpetually in danger and that they should fear being hurt. This in return triggers the brain to create and maintain pain.
Pain is not an accurate measure of injury but is always an accurate measure of how much protection the nervous system perceives the individual needs.
Factors that may contribute to the maintenance of chronic pain in children include health anxiety, parental anxiety, fear of pain, uncertainty about recovery, social rejection, etc. just to name a few.
Please view my video called “Dear Parent,”