The body is always this pain that pain, but repeatedly to the general hospital, but can not find any reason, time, money spent a lot, mood is also greatly affected. It is important to note that this is not a “strange disease” that cannot be detected by modern medicine, but probably a mood disorder, so go to a psychiatric hospital for examination as soon as possible.
Inexplicable pain that cannot be detected in general hospitals
The 61-year-old Ms. Wang said to the doctor: “I have been in pain for many years, but I can’t find out what is wrong with the left and right, other hospitals suggested that I come to you.”
She has had the pain for many years, and it has worsened in recent years. Her husband passed away 30 years ago due to illness, and Ms. Wang brought up her three sons alone, without complaining of suffering, and has always been a strong mother in her children’s hearts. Now that her children are grown up, she has a successful career, married and has children, so she can live a relaxed life, but she suffers from a “strange disease”: she often feels pain in her body in bursts, sometimes it is stomach pain, sometimes it is heart pain, sometimes it is muscle or skin pain, and the pain is different, sometimes it is like a knife twist, sometimes it is like a Sometimes the pain is like a knife, sometimes like burning.
The consultation revealed that Ms. Wang’s pain had started when her husband died. At that time, she was suffering from a serious illness and was in pain, but had to give up rest and treatment and brace herself to handle her affairs. Since her body did not recover well, this pain stayed with her afterwards. Only at first it was not serious, coupled with the heavy burden of the family and the lack of time and energy to go to the hospital, but now it has become serious after being idle.
In order to get rid of the pain, for more than 10 years, Ms. Wang sought medical help everywhere, and went to dozens of general hospitals. Every time the doctor saw her pain so badly, she was advised to be hospitalized immediately, suspecting a tumor. On average, she was hospitalized three times a year and repeatedly underwent various tests, which only revealed some minor problems, but did not find out what strange disease was causing her such pain. Then a doctor suggested she see a psychiatrist, thinking she might have some psychological problems that needed to be addressed.
Somatic pain is a common symptom of anxiety disorder
Sure enough, the puzzle that could not be found in the general hospital was not surprising at all in the eyes of the psychiatrist: Ms. Wang’s pain was actually an anxiety disorder. As soon as her body was in pain, she became very nervous and anxious, and as soon as her emotions became anxious and nervous, her pain became stronger. These two unpleasant sensations affect each other and make her suffer a lot. In addition, Ms. Wang had problems with depression and insomnia.
It is difficult for people to associate “pain” with “anxiety” or “depression”, so they tend to go to general hospitals repeatedly after experiencing physical pain. In fact, pain is a very common physical symptom of anxiety and depression.
Both anxiety and depression have two groups of symptoms. One group is psychological symptoms. Anxiety manifests itself as nervousness, worrying a lot, inexplicable fears, worries about the future, etc. Depression manifests itself as bad mood, unhappiness, low self-esteem, self-doubt, low self-evaluation, etc. One group is somatic symptoms, commonly including panic, chest tightness, poor sleep, fatigue, unexplained body pain, etc. It has been reported that 65% of depressed patients are accompanied by somatic pain of painless degree.
How to identify pain caused by somatic diseases with pain symptoms associated with anxiety and depression? It can be judged from three aspects.
1. The location of the pain is not fixed, and it is often accompanied by multiple systemic somatic discomfort symptoms.
2, Pain is often accompanied by insidious anxiety and depression, and the onset, development, and waxing and waning of pain and emotion are parallel, i.e., the greater the degree of anxiety or depression, the greater the pain, and vice versa.
3. In the examination at the general hospital, no organic disease that could cause pain was detected.
It can be seen that Ms. Wang has a typical anxiety disorder with somatic pain.
Her anxiety is related to years of repression
Where did Ms. Wang’s anxiety come from? Her anxiety was related to her husband’s untimely death, as was the pain. After her husband’s death, Ms. Wang “became a different person. She used to be very outgoing, loved to dance and sing, her husband was also very good, the family was very happy, so her husband’s death made her feel that “the sky has fallen”, looking at the three children just understand, do not know how to take up the burden of life, the heart is very panic, anxiety. At that time, the whole society was rather conservative, and the elders in her family taught her: “Now that you are alone, it is better not to go outside, lest people say that you are wrong. So she began to close herself off in her 30s, had little contact with the outside world, gave up the idea of remarriage, was both loving and strict with her children, and persisted in life even when it was hard. She seemed to be a peaceful person, but in fact she had a lot of emotions and feelings repressed in her heart, but never showed them in front of anyone.
After her children grew up and left home, she was also received to live in Shenzhen, the children have time to visit her. The life of living alone is very leisurely, and the pain and anxiety that used to be held back becomes more and more obvious.
Personality-wise, Ms. Wang is impatient, strong, and seeks perfection in her work. However, after encountering things that make her impatient, she never wants to show it in front of outsiders, but cautions herself not to get angry, hair lest it affects badly, but when she goes home, she looks for the nanny to get angry.
These factors had a great impact on Ms. Wang, and she still acted uncomfortable and nervous after her hospitalization even when talking with her male patients. It was actually the anxiety that caused her pain.
And the pain became her life partner. All along, pain gave Ms. Wang something to hold on to instead of having to face her true inner needs, which she would have been uncomfortable with if pain had left her. Then again, pain has allowed her to gain the care of her children, who also visit her often because of her pain. “So pain is good for Ms. Wang, and pain can help her.” This is a “secondary benefit,” notes Liang.
Treating Pain No More
To relieve this type of pain, it is important to seek help from a psychiatric hospital or mental health professional.
Studies show that 80.3% of pain patients go to general hospitals first, especially to internal medicine, and 88.68% of them are misdiagnosed as somatic diseases, repeatedly treating them ineffectively and wasting a lot of time, money and medical resources, while the efficiency of antidepressant treatment for these patients can reach 89.4% after stopping somatic disease drugs.
After Ms. Wang was hospitalized, she received anti-anxiety treatment, relaxation training, and psychotherapy. After two or three months, her anxiety was mostly relieved, and her pain disappeared completely, which was a great surprise to her. After being hospitalized, she was surrounded by doctors, nurses and patients, and her environment was very different from when she lived alone before. With the improvement of her mood, her attention gradually shifted, and she no longer focused on her anxiety and pain.
Although she still lives alone after discharge from the hospital, she is careful not to return to her original closed state. She must communicate more with her family and neighbors, participate in some community activities, and shift her attention to a broader content of life.