• ABOUT
  • STEPHEN GARRETT
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • CORE CONTRIBUTORS
  • CONTACT

We Can Die Better

Bringing Death Back To Life

Classic Cremation
  • Dying and Death
  • The Grief Journey
  • Alternative Funeral Services
  • Celebration of Life
  • End of Life Planning
  • :: Training

Getting Clear on Pain for Your Loved One’s Sake!

August 16, 2017 By sgarrett Leave a Comment

When we are the primary caregiver for a family member or a friend one of the several challenging conversation topics is pain and pain management. Often the one in pain does not want to be a burden on her / his family members so even broaching the topic can backfire.

Once the pain conversation has started though we still run into challenges by the very nature of the English language and the rather subjective choice of words the one experiencing pain selects. You may often hear sentences like this;

  • “We I have felt worse.”, or
  • “I am feeling way better than the guy in the room next door.”, or
  • “I have felt better that’s for sure.” Or it could sound like,
  • “It feels like I have been in a marathon.”, it could even sound like this,
  • “Pain is pain and I just have to suck it up and get used to it.”

There are many more where these ones can from. A woman might say something like, “Its worse than labor pains!”

All these phrases have one thing in common, they are subjective and don’t tell the one asking very much at all. So I have attached a table to this week’s article that gives both the one experiencing the pain and the one asking about it some common language that clearly describes the level of pain being experienced without the subjectivity.

The table uses a number scale between 0 for no pain at all and 10 very bad demobilizing pain. Each level of pain also has a sentence to describe it in words and plain language. You will also notice that the levels of pain are also colour coded so you can see quickly the severity of the pain you are trying to manage.

By using this table the care team is able to communicate accurately with each person being clear on the level of pain the loved one is dealing with in the moment. It removes all manner of second-guessing and error prone assumptions and enables much better pain management.

Filed Under: Dying and Death

Learn more about End Of Life Guide Training with Stephen Garrett

A 12 Lesson Training that is available online and self-paced.

Learn more and sign up

 

sgarrett

About sgarrett

Death is one of North America’s biggest taboos. No one wants to talk about it, so we suffer bad deaths. We can die better, come find out how. Start by subscribing via rss or e-mail.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Sign up to receive updates!

Receive the Free Guides!

All-Ready-to-Go-Create-Your-Own-Death-Binder All-Ready-To-Go-Talking-With-The-Funeral-Director All-Ready-To-Go-Talking-With-The-Children

My Life jo-URN-ey – Begin with the End In Mind

My Life jo-URN-ey – Begin with the End In Mind

February 26, 2021 By sgarrett

If There Is Healing, There Can Be No Blame

February 22, 2021 By sgarrett

Grief – A Breathtaking Teacher

Grief – A Breathtaking Teacher

October 18, 2020 By sgarrett

Stop!

Stop!

September 25, 2020 By sgarrett

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

Advertisement

The mission of We Can Die Better is to generously serve readers with contemporary, accurate, and well researched information regarding the intimate and important process of dying, death and grief and to do so with boldness, compassion, creativity and humor.

Recent Posts

  • My Life jo-URN-ey – Begin with the End In Mind
  • If There Is Healing, There Can Be No Blame
  • Grief – A Breathtaking Teacher
  • Stop!
  • Pets are Family Too!
Uncopyright Stephen Garrett & Just Alive Consulting