Chronic pain sent Jabez into a spiral of despair. Behaviour therapy brought her back
A new study has found that helping sufferers manage their emotions lessens their experience of chronic pain
When Jabez Allies developed chronic lower back pain 10 years ago, her doctor sent her to the physio, who recommended different types of stretching and exercises – some that helped, some that didn’t help at all – as well as hot-water bottles and painkillers.
But as the pain got progressively worse every year, so too did Allies’ feelings of being overwhelmed – frustrated she couldn’t do the things she could before and spiralling into hopelessness that there was nothing she could do to fix it.