Keywords
Dear Editor,
It has been almost three centuries since René Descartes proposed the theory of dualism. It seems that the biopsychosocial model of pain has much in common with Cartesian theories (1). According to the recently revised definition by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), pain is "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage" (2). Chronic pain by definition is pain that persists far enough beyond healing time of damaged tissue, and sometimes pain that occurs without any obvious tissue damage making the patient suffer. There have been many advances in chronic pain management in recent years (3). Today, the multidisciplinary or multimodal approach to chronic pain management is universally accepted, and targeting the patient's depression and anxiety is the basis of treatment (4). In this approach, the ability to love is a measure of response to treatment (5). In some theories, it is believed that chronic pain is a kind of attention-seeking behavior in an unloved person (6).
In a world where some authors think of medicalizing love (7), and love alongside trust is a precondition of holistic healing (8), it is not unexpected to think about its beneficial physiological effects in patients with chronic pain. There are even hypotheses regarding getting help from romantic love to treat drug addiction (9). Perhaps further studies using newly developed brain imaging techniques can capture the analgesic effect of love in the near future (10).
References
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1.
Duncan G. Mind-Body Dualism and the Biopsychosocial Model of Pain: What Did Descartes Really Say? J Med Philos. 2000;25(4):485-513. https://doi.org/10.1076/0360-5310(200008)25:4;1-a;ft485.
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2.
Raja SN, Carr DB, Cohen M, Finnerup NB, Flor H, Gibson S, et al. The revised International Association for the Study of Pain definition of pain: concepts, challenges, and compromises. Pain. 2020;161(9):1976-82. [PubMed ID: 32694387]. [PubMed Central ID: PMC7680716]. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001939.
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3.
Hylands-White N, Duarte RV, Raphael JH. An overview of treatment approaches for chronic pain management. Rheumatol Int. 2017;37(1):29-42. [PubMed ID: 27107994]. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-016-3481-8.
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4.
Dale R, Stacey B. Multimodal Treatment of Chronic Pain. Med Clin North Am. 2016;100(1):55-64. [PubMed ID: 26614719]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2015.08.012.
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5.
Ventegodt S, Thegler S, Andreasen T, Struve F, Enevoldsen L, Bassaine L, et al. Clinical Holistic Medicine (Mindful, Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Complemented with Bodywork) in the Treatment of Experienced Physical Illness and Chronic Pain. Sci World J. 2007;7:310-6. https://doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2007.68.
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6.
Pustilnik AC. Legal Evidence of Subjective States: A Brain-Based Model of Chronic Pain Increases Accuracy and Fairness in Law. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2017;25(6):279-88. [PubMed ID: 29117023]. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000175.
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7.
Earp BD, Sandberg A, Savulescu J. The medicalization of love. Camb Q Healthc Ethics. 2015;24(3):323-36. [PubMed ID: 24937632]. [PubMed Central ID: PMC4712680]. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963180114000206.
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8.
Ventegodt S, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: chronic pain in internal organs. Sci World J. 2005;5:205-10. https://doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2005.27.
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9.
Zou Z, Song H, Zhang Y, Zhang X. Romantic Love vs. Drug Addiction May Inspire a New Treatment for Addiction. Front Psychol. 2016;7:1436. [PubMed ID: 27713720]. [PubMed Central ID: PMC5031705]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01436.
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10.
Zeki S. The neurobiology of love. FEBS Lett. 2007;581(14):2575-9. [PubMed ID: 17531984]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2007.03.094.