{"id":{"repo_id":"middlesex","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.mdx.ac.uk:871ww"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/middlesex/oai:repository.mdx.ac.uk:871ww","repository":{"repo_id":"middlesex","name":"Middlesex University","base_url":"https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/oai2"},"display":{"title":"The problem of pain: a heuristic and structural existential analysis of unexplained physical pain","abstract":"This study was undertaken to increase understanding of recovery from chronic pain in the absence of medical intervention. Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that inflicts significant human suffering and costs the economy of the Western world £billions each year. Despite advances in modern medicine pain remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. Applying a heuristic methodology, an in-depth exploration was conducted into the author’s personal experience of recovery and participants (N=8) who had recovered from chronic pain were interviewed. The results indicate: • Chronic pain is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that serves a purpose and has personal meaning. • Pain serves as a non-verbal communication whose meaning can be revealed through tuning in to the felt sense of the experience. • Medical approaches were ineffective and often exacerbated pain. • Recovery occurred after all medically prescribed interventions had been exhausted and participants hit rock-bottom. This triggered a radical epistemological shift from the commonly held medical perspective into one that considers the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the experience. • Chronic pain is difficult to define within the realms of medical pathology and might be alternatively viewed as a healthy response to an unhealthy social system and world which are inextricably linked to the body. • Adult chronic pain was associated with physical pain during childhood as well as repressed childhood trauma. • Key factors in recovery were engaging in a deep personal exploration that involved: (a) remembering and acknowledging childhood adversity, (b) reflecting on the current circumstances of life, (c) challenging previously held views of pain that were based on a medical understanding, (d) Confronting pain and the fear of pain, and (e) making significant life changes.","abstract_html":"This study was undertaken to increase understanding of recovery from chronic pain in the absence of medical intervention. Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that inflicts significant human suffering and costs the economy of the Western world £billions each year. Despite advances in modern medicine pain remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. Applying a heuristic methodology, an in-depth exploration was conducted into the author’s personal experience of recovery and participants (N=8) who had recovered from chronic pain were interviewed. The results indicate: • Chronic pain is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that serves a purpose and has personal meaning. • Pain serves as a non-verbal communication whose meaning can be revealed through tuning in to the felt sense of the experience. • Medical approaches were ineffective and often exacerbated pain. • Recovery occurred after all medically prescribed interventions had been exhausted and participants hit rock-bottom. This triggered a radical epistemological shift from the commonly held medical perspective into one that considers the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the experience. • Chronic pain is difficult to define within the realms of medical pathology and might be alternatively viewed as a healthy response to an unhealthy social system and world which are inextricably linked to the body. • Adult chronic pain was associated with physical pain during childhood as well as repressed childhood trauma. • Key factors in recovery were engaging in a deep personal exploration that involved: (a) remembering and acknowledging childhood adversity, (b) reflecting on the current circumstances of life, (c) challenging previously held views of pain that were based on a medical understanding, (d) Confronting pain and the fear of pain, and (e) making significant life changes.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Christophy, C."],"institution":"Middlesex University / New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC)","degree_name":null,"degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017","date_published":"2017","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:04:47Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:repository.mdx.ac.uk:871ww"],"render_values":[{"text":"oai:repository.mdx.ac.uk:871ww","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Christophy, C."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2017"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2017"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["Middlesex University / New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC)"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/871ww"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/871ww"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis or dissertation"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:repository.mdx.ac.uk:871ww"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/download/a5ca8fc5dab11362a66c169e445b24275b299c8b35e3fa6a6b3b9f4f24bc1566/1925297/CChristophy%20thesis.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["This study was undertaken to increase understanding of recovery from chronic pain in the absence of medical intervention. Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that inflicts significant human suffering and costs the economy of the Western world £billions each year. Despite advances in modern medicine pain remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. Applying a heuristic methodology, an in-depth exploration was conducted into the author’s personal experience of recovery and participants (N=8) who had recovered from chronic pain were interviewed. The results indicate: • Chronic pain is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that serves a purpose and has personal meaning. • Pain serves as a non-verbal communication whose meaning can be revealed through tuning in to the felt sense of the experience. • Medical approaches were ineffective and often exacerbated pain. • Recovery occurred after all medically prescribed interventions had been exhausted and participants hit rock-bottom. This triggered a radical epistemological shift from the commonly held medical perspective into one that considers the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the experience. • Chronic pain is difficult to define within the realms of medical pathology and might be alternatively viewed as a healthy response to an unhealthy social system and world which are inextricably linked to the body. • Adult chronic pain was associated with physical pain during childhood as well as repressed childhood trauma. • Key factors in recovery were engaging in a deep personal exploration that involved: (a) remembering and acknowledging childhood adversity, (b) reflecting on the current circumstances of life, (c) challenging previously held views of pain that were based on a medical understanding, (d) Confronting pain and the fear of pain, and (e) making significant life changes."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study was undertaken to increase understanding of recovery from chronic pain in the absence of medical intervention. Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that inflicts significant human suffering and costs the economy of the Western world £billions each year. Despite advances in modern medicine pain remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. Applying a heuristic methodology, an in-depth exploration was conducted into the author’s personal experience of recovery and participants (N=8) who had recovered from chronic pain were interviewed. The results indicate: • Chronic pain is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that serves a purpose and has personal meaning. • Pain serves as a non-verbal communication whose meaning can be revealed through tuning in to the felt sense of the experience. • Medical approaches were ineffective and often exacerbated pain. • Recovery occurred after all medically prescribed interventions had been exhausted and participants hit rock-bottom. This triggered a radical epistemological shift from the commonly held medical perspective into one that considers the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the experience. • Chronic pain is difficult to define within the realms of medical pathology and might be alternatively viewed as a healthy response to an unhealthy social system and world which are inextricably linked to the body. • Adult chronic pain was associated with physical pain during childhood as well as repressed childhood trauma. • Key factors in recovery were engaging in a deep personal exploration that involved: (a) remembering and acknowledging childhood adversity, (b) reflecting on the current circumstances of life, (c) challenging previously held views of pain that were based on a medical understanding, (d) Confronting pain and the fear of pain, and (e) making significant life changes."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The problem of pain: a heuristic and structural existential analysis of unexplained physical pain"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Christophy, C."],"dc:date":["2017"],"dc:date.issued":["2017"],"dc:description":["This study was undertaken to increase understanding of recovery from chronic pain in the absence of medical intervention. Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that inflicts significant human suffering and costs the economy of the Western world £billions each year. Despite advances in modern medicine pain remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. Applying a heuristic methodology, an in-depth exploration was conducted into the author’s personal experience of recovery and participants (N=8) who had recovered from chronic pain were interviewed. The results indicate: • Chronic pain is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that serves a purpose and has personal meaning. • Pain serves as a non-verbal communication whose meaning can be revealed through tuning in to the felt sense of the experience. • Medical approaches were ineffective and often exacerbated pain. • Recovery occurred after all medically prescribed interventions had been exhausted and participants hit rock-bottom. This triggered a radical epistemological shift from the commonly held medical perspective into one that considers the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the experience. • Chronic pain is difficult to define within the realms of medical pathology and might be alternatively viewed as a healthy response to an unhealthy social system and world which are inextricably linked to the body. • Adult chronic pain was associated with physical pain during childhood as well as repressed childhood trauma. • Key factors in recovery were engaging in a deep personal exploration that involved: (a) remembering and acknowledging childhood adversity, (b) reflecting on the current circumstances of life, (c) challenging previously held views of pain that were based on a medical understanding, (d) Confronting pain and the fear of pain, and (e) making significant life changes."],"dc:description.abstract":["This study was undertaken to increase understanding of recovery from chronic pain in the absence of medical intervention. Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that inflicts significant human suffering and costs the economy of the Western world £billions each year. Despite advances in modern medicine pain remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. Applying a heuristic methodology, an in-depth exploration was conducted into the author’s personal experience of recovery and participants (N=8) who had recovered from chronic pain were interviewed. The results indicate: • Chronic pain is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that serves a purpose and has personal meaning. • Pain serves as a non-verbal communication whose meaning can be revealed through tuning in to the felt sense of the experience. • Medical approaches were ineffective and often exacerbated pain. • Recovery occurred after all medically prescribed interventions had been exhausted and participants hit rock-bottom. This triggered a radical epistemological shift from the commonly held medical perspective into one that considers the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the experience. • Chronic pain is difficult to define within the realms of medical pathology and might be alternatively viewed as a healthy response to an unhealthy social system and world which are inextricably linked to the body. • Adult chronic pain was associated with physical pain during childhood as well as repressed childhood trauma. • Key factors in recovery were engaging in a deep personal exploration that involved: (a) remembering and acknowledging childhood adversity, (b) reflecting on the current circumstances of life, (c) challenging previously held views of pain that were based on a medical understanding, (d) Confronting pain and the fear of pain, and (e) making significant life changes."],"dc:identifier":["oai:repository.mdx.ac.uk:871ww"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/download/a5ca8fc5dab11362a66c169e445b24275b299c8b35e3fa6a6b3b9f4f24bc1566/1925297/CChristophy%20thesis.pdf"],"dc:publisher.department":["Psychology"],"dc:publisher.institution":["Middlesex University / New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC)"],"dc:relation":["https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/871ww"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/871ww"],"dc:title":["The problem of pain: a heuristic and structural existential analysis of unexplained physical pain"],"dc:type":["Thesis or dissertation"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:04:47Z"}