Getting support for your symptoms

Getting professional support can give you more tools to help you deal with your symptoms.

Psychological therapies

Psychological therapies are used with people who have physical health problems, including mouth, jaw or face conditions.

They help people become more aware of how they respond to difficult sensations, thoughts and emotions. This can help them live a fuller life alongside their health condition.

Psychological therapies include:

• cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
• acceptance commitment therapy (ACT)
• mindfulness

The NHS website has more information about cognitive behavioural therapy.

Our dental psychology service

You can ask your doctor or dentist to refer you to the dental psychology service for an assessment appointment.

At this appointment, you can talk to a psychologist about how persistent pain or other unpleasant sensations affect you, and how psychological approaches might help you.

If you would like to be seen in a service nearer to where you live, or your difficulties are not related to your mouth or face condition, ask your GP about local talking therapies or counselling services. Many of these services accept self-referrals.

The NHS has information about talking therapies, and finding support local to you.

Read NHS information about managing suicidal thoughts and who you can contact for support.

Talking to others

It’s not always easy to talk to other people about your health condition, and how you are feeling.

Communication and talking about your feelings is a skill that can be practised.

The tips below can help you to communicate better.

• Notice the thoughts that show up when you think about this topic. It is common to have thoughts such as ‘they do not understand’ or ‘they think it’s in my head’. These thoughts can affect how you communicate. For example, you might shut down and not say anything, or you might snap when somebody says you look OK.
• Be clear about what you want to communicate, and who you want to communicate it to. Try making a list of people who you feel it is important to talk to about your health condition.
• It is OK to share different amounts of information with different people. Think about who needs to know what, before you talk to them.
• Role-play some scenarios with someone you trust, and ask for feedback. These could be scenarios that you find difficult. For example, when a neighbour asks why you are having so many hospital appointments, or when you go to a doctor you have not seen before.
• Communicating confidently is a skill that can be practised. Practise in different scenarios, beginning with ones that do not feel too challenging.
• Remember that communication is 2-way. Think about how the other person might be feeling, and if there is anything challenging for them in the conversation.
• Notice the communication patterns you get into with those closest to you. Is it working for you and the other person? We cannot change other people, but making some changes to our own communication style can have a positive influence.

Support and more information

British and Irish Society of Oral Medicine have information on some conditions that can cause persistent pain and unpleasant sensations.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran have a video called ‘Understanding pain in under 5 minutes’, which gives a helpful explanation of persistent pain.