Black and white thinking must be abolished
Black and white thinking, for those readers unfamiliar with cognitive distortions, refers to the tendency to reduce complex ideas and situations into simple, dichotomous, and mutually exclusive categories. Think of good or bad, yes or no, all correct or all wrong, acute pain or chronic pain, neuromatrix or peripheral mechanisms, cure the pain or manage … Read more
What to do about catastrophising even when you’re not a psychologist
OK, it’s time I stopped the suspense. This post is about what to do about catastrophising even when you’re a physiotherapist, massage therapist, acupuncturist, nurse, occupational therapist, social worker – oh just about anyone working with people who have pain! Catastrophising is “an exaggerated negative “mental set” brought to bear during actual or anticipated pain … Read more
Quick update from earthquake city
The aftershocks seem to have slowed a little, and they are not as powerful so hopefully things will settle down a bit. We still don’t have water, so we’re having to use our emergency stash (60 litres!) and boil it to wash, do dishes etc. Even when the water comes back on, we’ve been advised … Read more
Wobbles in the Quakey Isles
By now, if you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that I’m from Christchurch, NZ, and yes, we’ve had a few earthquakes recently! I’m happy to report that while we’ve had some more damage to the surrounds of our house, and there are a few more cracks in the ceiling and bricks, we’re … Read more
A brief review of cognitive behavioural approaches for pain management
Cognitive behavioural approaches for pain management are not exactly the same as cognitive behavioural therapy for mental health problems. While there are some underlying concepts that are the same, cognitive behavioural approaches for pain management include a wider range of strategies, and are far less readily defined than the very structured approach used in mental … Read more
Catastrophising and Pain (ii)
What are some of the indications that someone tends to catastrophise about their pain? How do we know? Do we have to use a questionnaire? Is it really my job to know about this if I’m not a psychologist – and what do I do about it? These are the kinds of questions that have … Read more
Pain behaviours persist…
I’m taking a tiny detour from the world of catastrophising – but only a tiny one because catastrophising is associated with greater levels of pain behaviour, and of course, discussion about pain behaviour is how I came to begin my exploration of catastrophising anyway! There have been several schools of thought, or models of treatment, … Read more
