I have a friend who had surgery almost two years ago. She ended up with chronic pain and seems to be her own worst enemy. She makes everything out to be so much worse than it really is. Can anything be done to help her?

Research suggests there are some patients who “catastrophize” their pain. This means they focus on it, search endlessly for a cure, and lose the ability to pay attention to anything else.

Many of these patients persist in looking for a solution to their pain even though they don’t believe it’s possible. This type of negative coping style often results in greater disability and loss of function.

In fact studies show that people who find meaning in life despite their pain pay less attention to their pain. They are able to focus on other goals and activities in daily life.

Pain researchers are looking for ways to identify patient coping styles. They hope to match the patient up with realistic solutions to their pain. If a cure isn’t possible, then the goal is to find some other acceptable solution to the problem of chronic pain.

Right now, behavioral counseling along with trying different conservative treatment methods is the best hope patients have for reduced pain or increased function while still having the pain.