'recognizing some people do tend to catastrophize or ruminate about symptoms, excessively preoccupy or be disabled by their physical symptoms regardless of the cause and could benefit from a psychological approach.'
But as someone with chronic pain, I just find that so offensive. It strikes me that as someone who has pain for 20 years, severe pain at times, and in a situation where the medical profession has taken little interest (I've had procedures, been to pain clinics but very little has helped and all doctors have ended up telling me to go away and just lump it) I have a right to, at times, be consumed by my pain. It is natural that I am pre-occupied with it. It is a complete bastard of a thing to live with.
If the psychiatric profession said 'pain is massively difficult to live with and suffers could benefit from a psychological approach' I'd feel differently. I totally agree with that in fact. Counselling has helped me hugely. How you word it though makes people in pain sound, well, hysterical. What right does anyone in a position of power have to say that 'patient x came to me and complained they are in pain (er, what else should they be doing in a medical appointment, talking about the good things in their life?), they catastrophize it and ruminate excessively on it? Walk a mile in a patient's shoes before casting judgment. Chronic pain often feels like it is ignored and minimised by society and the medical profession. That isn't helped by the fact it is invisible. As a sufferer, I feel like I deserve support, not to be told I'm excessively pre-occupied by it (which, incidentally, I'm not)