Pain & joint rheumatism - When movement causes anxiety

Rheumatoid arthritis

- usually referred to medically as rheumatoid arthritis - is more than "just" an inflammation of the joints. It is an autoimmune disease that affects the entire system: metabolism, immune system, psyche and attitude to life.

The pain is omnipresent: stiff in the morning, pulling during the day, throbbing at night. It wanders, flares up, calms down again - and over time leaves behind not only physical but also emotional traces.

We hear statements like this again and again in therapeutic practice. And they show that pain is not just a physical event. It is a warning signal - and often part of a much larger, inner state of alarm.