Prevalence and psychodynamic interpretation of premorbid hyperactivity in patients with chronic pain

The prevalence of premorbid hyperactivity in chronic pain patients and its psychodynamic interpretation are discussed both from the literature and from personal observation. In up to 70% of the cases, chronic pain patients were found to show hyperactivity tendencies throughout their life history. From a psychodynamic point of view, these tendencies may be situated in a context of overcompensated dependency needs, excessive bodily narcissism, phallic rivalry, masochism and perfectionism. The pathogenic implications of these findings and hypotheses are discussed and suggestions have been made for future research.