CBT and pain: How to use cognitive behavioral therapy to manage pain

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that is used to help people learn how to identify and change the thought patterns that have a negative effect on their behaviour or emotions.

These thoughts are often spontaneous or automatic, and due to the disturbing or destructive nature, can often lead to the worsening of emotional difficulties, anxiety or depression.

CBT seeks to help the individual identify these thoughts, challenge them and replace them with more realistic, objective thoughts. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is extremely focussed on the one area in which the individual experiences negative thoughts, by creating goals that seek to eradicate the triggers that make that particular problem worse.

How can you utilize CBT to combat pain?

 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be used to combat pain. We have pulled together some techniques on how to employ CBT at home to assist you in dealing with pain.

1.     Control your thoughts

A key aspect of CBT is being aware of, and then being able to control your intrusive, destructive thoughts. In terms of pain, instead of thinking ‘I can’t cope with this pain,’ try thinking ‘I can cope with this pain’, instead. This tricks the brain into actively assuming these new thoughts instead.

2.     Retrain your brain map

Try to retrain your ‘brain map’. How did you move before your illness or injury? How did you feel before the pain began? If you have back pain, think about how you used to get up from a chair before the pain began.

Actively visualize it in your mind, think about it, relax and take a deep breath. If you do this mind exercise over and over again, you can start to slowly shrink the pain map!

3.     Track your thoughts

By writing down your thoughts on a daily basis, you can actively start to turn them from negative to positive. It is extremely powerful not just to think positively, but to actually write it down as well.

Utilizing CBT techniques alongside traditional therapy can be a very helpful, holistic approach to pain management. In fact, CBT is so effective that hospitals and doctors are now starting to adopt this as part of more holistic treatment programmes for all manner of patients. 

So, if you are struggling with pain, give these CBT techniques a try, you might be surprised at how effective they are!