A intervenção psicológica no enfrentamento da dor crônica e a vivência dos que sofrem

Abstract

Although pain has always been part of the life of human beings, studies to understand it began in the mid-nineteenth century. Pain is an unpleasant personal, sensitive and emotional experience, influenced by several factors, requiring a biopsychosocial assessment. As for temporality, pain can be acute or chronic. When chronic, pain ceases to be a symptom, becoming the disease itself. Chronic pain is considered a global health problem, affecting thousands of people around the world. In Brazil, approximately 60 million people suffer from chronic pain. The theoretical contribution addresses the painful phenomenon in all its dimensions, as well as its relationship with psychology, discussing the contributions of the main psychological approaches in the pain?s treatment. Many professionals and patients still do not understand the relationship between pain and psychology. The overall goal of the research is to understand how patients suffering from chronic pain perceive psychology in their treatment. This is a qualitative exploratory study. For data collection, questionnaires were used, via the survey monkey platform. The link to access the questionnaire was sent on social networks in groups for people with chronic pain and passed on to acquaintances, who passed it on to others, constituting the snowball format. To proceed, it was necessary to accept the Free and Informed Consent Form, have chronic pain for at least six months, and be between 18 and 60 years old. For the analysis of the results, the technique proposed by Bardin (2011) was used, and three major categories were established, which were subdivided into subcategories, according to the focus of analysis. Among the twenty interviewees, nineteen stated that, after the onset of pain, they developed some psychic pathology, with depression and anxiety being the most prevalent. In addition, all participants show some degree of frustration and powerlessness. Psychological counseling is considered fundamental for many of the participants, helping in the acceptance, management pain?s process and their difficulties. According to the participants' reports, the reception received by health professionals can have a positive impact on treatment, as well as the lack of it, which can be harmful. All participants believe in the influence of emotions on pain, even those who do not see psychology as a possible treatment, either due to lack of knowledge, or because of negative past experiences. Believing that pain education can help in adherence to the proposed treatments, was created "Campos AcholheDores" project, which aims to educate and raise awareness about the painful experience. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]