Question

Why is it so difficult to distinguish psychological pain from medical pain? What criteria would you use to determine whether someone has psychological pain associated with pain disorder or medical pain associated with a physical/biological condition?Why is it so difficult to distinguish psychological pain from medical pain? What criteria would you use to determine whether someone has psychological pain associated with pain disorder or medical pain associated with a physical/biological condition?

Answer 1

The chief reason why it is difficult to distinguish medical pain from biological pain is because the perception and feeling of pain in both cases are real and valid in both cases. An individual experiencing pain that stems from a psychological source will feel the same amount of discomfort had it been from a biological source as well. It is commonly mistakenly assumed that psychological pain involves some amount of faking or malingering, however that is not the case.

The criteria I would use to find the origin of the pain, that is, the physiological source that might be causing the pain. This would require a lot of tests to be conducted to check if the pain has a valid physiological basis, however this step must be taken to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. In the absence of any valid biological cause, one needs to probe further to check if the individual has or has been experiencing distress from a traumatic event. These are the criteria I would use to understand the source of the pain.