Psychological Approaches Used in Managing Pain essay

All people experience some kind of pain in their life. Pain is one of the most common reasons why people refer to health care services (Boyd, 2013). There are many factors influencing pain: different causes of pain, different intensity and location of pain, etc. Pain is unpleasant and causes suffering, but at the same time it is important to remember that pain is vital for human survival because it signals that there is a dangerous situation and it is necessary to undertake appropriate measures.

Pain can have significant consequences for the patient and affect the patient’s quality of life. Unmanaged pain can hinder the process of healing, increase the patient’s stress, lead to depression and anxiety, affect sleep, etc. It is important to control and manage pain in a proper way. A vital role in the process of pain management belongs to nurses. Nurses are responsible for providing care to the patient and assuring the patient’s well-being and safety. Therefore, effective and proper management of pain is an essential function of nursing.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss different types of pain, outline psychological factors contributing to the perception of pain, to discuss psychological approaches used for managing pain, to discuss the role of the nurse in pain management, to consider the challenges existing in pain management and strategies used to address these challenges.