Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is a persistent pain that lasts longer than three months and continues beyond the expected time of healing. It can arise from injury, illness, or have no clear medical explanation at all. Whatever the cause, chronic pain is real — and it affects far more than just the body.

Living with chronic pain can be exhausting, frustrating, and isolating. It may interfere with work, relationships, sleep, and daily functioning. Over time, the emotional toll of pain — especially when it is invisible or misunderstood — can lead to feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, grief, or disconnection from one’s identity and goals.

At Inner View Psychology, we provide evidence-based, compassionate support to help people living with chronic pain manage its psychological impacts, reconnect with their values, and improve their quality of life.

Common Emotional Effects of Chronic Pain

Chronic pain often comes with a complex mix of emotional experiences. You might feel frustrated by limitations, grieve the loss of your previous lifestyle, or worry about the future. It’s common to experience:

• Low mood or depression
• Anxiety or fear of pain flare-ups
• Irritability, fatigue, or difficulty concentrating
• Loss of confidence or identity
• Social withdrawal or feelings of isolation
• Guilt or shame about not being able to do “enough”
• Stress in relationships, work, or daily routines

When pain is ongoing, it can feel like life is on hold. But support is available — and you don’t have to face it alone.

The Mind-Body Connection

Pain is a physical experience, but it is also shaped by how the brain interprets signals from the body. Over time, the nervous system can become more sensitive — meaning pain persists even when tissue damage has healed. This doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real. It simply means the brain has learned to remain on high alert.

Psychological factors like stress, fear, past trauma, and emotional strain can intensify pain signals and lower your ability to cope. Similarly, living with ongoing pain can affect mood, sleep, and energy — creating a feedback loop that reinforces distress.

Therapy doesn’t seek to eliminate pain directly, but to shift the way you respond to it — breaking the cycle of pain and distress, and supporting you to re-engage with life in a way that feels manageable and meaningful.

How Psychologists Can Help

Therapy can help you build skills to manage the emotional, mental, and behavioural challenges of chronic pain. At Inner View Psychology, we take a trauma-informed, collaborative, and whole-person approach to supporting people with chronic pain — recognising the complex interplay between body, brain, and emotions.

We work with you to:

• Understand how pain affects your mood, relationships, and identity
• Address unhelpful thinking patterns and internalised beliefs
• Learn practical tools for managing pain-related distress
• Reconnect with meaningful activities and values
• Build self-compassion and reduce feelings of shame or self-blame
• Support recovery from pain-related burnout, medical trauma, or loss of function

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

CBT is one of the most researched psychological treatments for chronic pain. It helps identify thought patterns and behaviours that might be intensifying pain or contributing to low mood — such as catastrophising, avoidance, or self-criticism. You’ll learn strategies to reframe unhelpful thoughts, pace activities, and manage flare-ups, building a stronger sense of control and confidence in daily life.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT focuses on helping you live a fulfilling life, even with the presence of pain. Instead of fighting or avoiding discomfort, ACT supports you to make room for it while still taking steps toward the people, goals, and values that matter to you. Through mindfulness, values clarification, and committed action, ACT helps reduce the emotional struggle with pain and increase psychological flexibility.