Pain Disorder
Pain Disorder is characterized by pain as the predominant focus of clinical attention. In addition, psychological factors are judged to have an important role in its onset, severity, exacerbation, or maintenance. This is not to be confused with Hypocondriasis which is the preoccupation with the fear of having, or the idea that one has, a serious disease based on the person’s misinterpretation of bodily symptoms or bodily functions.
Features and Symptoms
The primary symptoms observed in a patient with pain disorder are:]
1. The predominant focus of the clinical presentation and is of sufficient severity to warrant clinical attention
2. The pain causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning
3. Psychological factors are judged to play a significant role in the onset, severity, exacerbation, or maintenance of the pain
4. The pain is not intentionally produced or feigned as in Factitious Disorder
5. Pain Disorder is not diagnosed if the pain is better accounted for by a Mood, Anxiety, or Psychotic Disorder
Examples of impairment resulting from the pain include inability to work or attend school, frequent use of the health care system, the pain becoming a major focus of the individual’s life, substantial use of medications, and relational problems such as marital discord and disruption of the family’s normal lifestyle.
Diagnosis
The main problem in diagnosis is that pain disorder can only be considered as the patients condition if the medical and laboratory results for the symptoms turn out to be normal but the patient still has prevalent complaints for the pain. Even then, the condition may not be that of Pain Disorder but maybe mis-diagnosed as other similar mental illnesses like somatization disorder, conversion disorder or psychotic disorder. It is also possible that pain disorder prevails with other mental illnesses which makes the diagnosis even more troublesome and tedious.
Treatments
Depending on whether the pain is acute or chronic, management may involve one or more of the following: pharmacological treatment (medication); psychotherapy(individual or group); family, behavioral, physical; hypnosis, and/or occupational therapy. Antidepressants may be prescribed along with psychotherapy for fast and effective results. Pain and sleep medication is also closely linked so sleep medication is also a good option.
