Psychological conditions and the importance of physical pain in alcohol addiction.

The general aim of this study is to deepen the knowledge of the experience of physical pain in people addicted to alcohol, a comprehensive analysis of pain sensitivity and endurance in this group, and to assess the relationship between these parameters and other risk and prognostic factors in alcohol dependence described in the literature. Detailed research goals:1) Analysis of the relationship between pain sensitivity and the known risk factors of relapse to drinking in people addicted to alcohol, with particular emphasis on the assessment of decision-making and processing of emotions in the study group. 2) Analysis of the relationship between pain tolerance and known risk factors of relapse to drinking in people addicted to alcohol, with particular emphasis on the assessment of decision-making and emotional processing in the study group. 3) Comparative analysis of subjective and objective measures of tolerance and pain sensitivity in a group of alcohol addicts. EXPECTED RESULTS: We hypothesize that people addicted to alcohol are characterized (compared to non-addicts) by a lower tolerance of pain and a greater sensitivity to pain. We anticipate that the experience of physical pain will be significantly associated with recognized risk factors for addiction development and relapse to drinking: depression, poorer behavioral control, sleep disturbance, history of suicide attempts, and poorer emotional regulation. Increasing the knowledge of the relationship between the various dimensions and characteristics of pain and other known risk factors for relapse drinking (impulsivity, emotional intelligence, emotional regulation, sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms) could have significant cognitive and clinical significance. It could also provide arguments to verify in a clinical setting the concept of addiction as "chronic emotional pain syndrome". In our opinion, this, in turn, may potentially contribute to the modification and improvement of the still very unsatisfactory results of treatment of people addicted to alcohol.