Increasing your confidence to deal with chronic pain

On this second episode of the chronic pain series, we approach it from the perspective of the mind, focusing on self-efficacy, which is a very important psychological construct that acts as protection against chronification. What is self-efficacy, how is it related to chronic pain, and how can we increase it? I'll give practical tips on how you can implement small steps in your life towards feeling more confident and capable of dealing not only with pain, but with all the challenges that life may throw at you.

To read more about me and my work, visit www.mindbodyfoodpain.com

For questions and comments, write to me at [email protected]

References:

1. Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire: https://novopsych.com.au/assessments/health/pain-self-efficacy-questionnaire-pseq/

2. Review of the research on the role of self-efficacy in chronic musculoskeletal pain: Martinez-Calderon, J., Zamora-Campos, C., Navarro-Ledesma, S., & Luque-Suarez, A. (2018). The Role of Self-Efficacy on the Prognosis of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review. The Journal of Pain, 19(1), 10–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2017.08.008

3. Study on the relationship between self-efficacy and chronic pain symptoms: Sucher, J., Quenstedt, S. R., Parnes, M. F., & Brown, A. D. (2020). Pain centrality mediates pain self-efficacy and symptom severity among individuals reporting chronic pain. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(12), 2222–2231. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23012

4. Study on the association between self-efficacy and disability: Karasawa Y, Yamada K, Iseki M, Yamaguchi M, Murakami Y, et al. (2019) Association between change in self-efficacy and reduction in disability among patients with chronic pain. PLOS ONE 14(4): e0215404. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215404

5. Download my free guide on 7 things you might not know about chronic back pain: https://www.mindbodyfoodpain.com/free-guide-chronic-back-pain

Be well!

Dr. Elaine Barretto.