Living Well with Chronic Pain
Course Information
Everyone can feel stressed, worried or experience low moods from time to time. These feelings are normal but can become more intense when living with chronic pain and the emotional distress it can cause. Chronic pain can be overwhelming and it can impact every area of life. Many people can also find that they become less active, or start experiencing unhelpful thoughts about themselves, their health and the world around them.
How is the Course Organised?
This online course runs for five weekly sessions. Each session is 1 hour 30 minutes long, with a 5-minute break in the middle. The course will be facilitated by 2 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, who have been trained to deliver low intensity cognitive behavioural interventions for anxiety and depression.
This is an online lecture style course where facilitators will present information and talk you through tools and techniques for 50 minutes. There will be a short break and a space to ask questions and share your experience of living with Chronic Pain with other attendees. However, there will be no need to share in-depth personal information, it is fine to just listen and learn and share only if you feel comfortable doing so.
Each session will have an accompanying booklet. The booklet contains interactive exercises for you to complete between sessions, as well as a summary of the presented information. You will get more from the course if you practice the techniques between sessions. In the sessions, clinicians are unable to offer individual support. If you feel you need to speak to someone directly, please use the crisis numbers and helplines listed below.
What will I Learn?
What will I learn?
Session 1: Welcome to the Course
- How what we do and think affects how we feel.
- How anxiety about our health affects the body.
- Skills around relaxation, goal setting, lifestyle changes and improving sleep.
Session 2: Managing our Mood
- What low mood is and how it affects our behaviour.
- What actions you can take to improve motivation and boost mood.
- How to overcome common barriers to activity and exercise.
Session 3: Managing Thoughts
- How chronic pain can affect our thinking.
- How to identify unhelpful thinking styles and challenge unhelpful thoughts.
- How to manage unhelpful thoughts, using the STOPP Technique.
Session 4: Managing Worry
- How to identify different types of worries and how to manage them effectively.
- The relationship between worry and tolerating uncertainty.
- Skills to refocus your attention using 'Worry Time' and 'Problem Solving' techniques.
Session 5: Facing your Fears and Bringing it all Together
- How the role of avoidance and reassurance keeps anxiety going.
- Techniques to help you to face your fears and regain confidence.
- How to develop a future management plan and prepare for possible barriers to your progress.
Questionnaires and Feedback
You will be asked to fill in a short questionnaire about anxiety and low mood before each session. This enables us to both give you feedback about your progress and evaluate the course. We also welcome any comments or suggestions you might like to share about the course.
"I’ve learned a lot about myself and I have some great tools to help me in the future." Service user feedback
Crisis Support
If you are in crisis or need immediate support:
Samaritans: 116 123 or text "shout" to 85258
For support and information:
Sussex Mental Healthline: 0300 5000 101 open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For more advice on coping with suicidal thoughts:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/suicide/
If you have concerns that you may have symptoms in line with risk of COVID-19, please phone 111.