Dealing with pain - LPNI

Pain is universal.  To be alive is to feel pain.  As nurses, we are trained to assess and recognise pain of every kind -- physical, emotional and mental and, especially for Parish Nurses, also spiritual.  There are pain scales to assess the level of a person’s pain, visual cues and physical changes in vital signs that indicate the presence of pain.

Emotional and mental pain can be harder to recognize but often has outward signs of tears, sadness, anger, decreased interest in self-care or activities, withdrawal from others, anxiety -- overall changes in behavior.  

Spiritual pain might be seen through a person’s anger at God, separation from church family, increased or decreased reactions to and interest in spiritual matters, anxiety, questioning one’s faith.

All the types of pain listed above involve the whole person, body, mind and spirit.  One area affects all others.  Pain is always an unpleasant and negative emotional experience.  Over time, pain starts taking over how people think and behave.  Chronic pain changes the activity of the brain, especially in the frontal cortex, which leads to emotional changes, causing negative responses to the pain and decreased ability and interest in daily activities.

Pain and how people respond to it is complex. Helping a person deal with pain requires multiple approaches depending on the cause of pain, the person’s understanding and interpretation of the pain, and the overall wellness of the person.

The role of nurses -- and Parish Nurses in particular -- is to listen, assess needs, provide information on resources and connect the sufferer to the best access to comfort and care.  In cases of pain through chronic health conditions, the nurse can help provide or suggest approved products and methods of relief, including guiding people to understand how their own brain can be involved in easing feelings of pain.  

Most importantly, the Parish Nurse can ease a sufferer’s anxiety through prayer and reassurance of a loving, caring, healing Saviour.  Prayer and presence, while not curing the underlying cause of illness, plays a huge role in calming, reassuring and providing hope to a person in pain.  When we share God’s words, it encourages and provides hope for both us as caregivers and the person suffering pain.

One example is found in 1 Peter 5:7.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (NIV)

Dottie Simon RN

Navarre Beach, Florida

dotsimon03@yahoo.com