Chronic pain and mental health

Chronic pain affects every aspect of your life, including your mental health. Sometimes patients are so focused on relieving the physical pain that they cannot cope with the psychological effects of their chronic pain.

Ignoring the toll chronic pain takes on the mind can be a big mistake. Your mental state can exacerbate your physical pain, making it even more difficult to cope with.

In a 2006 study, 77% of people with chronic pain reported feeling depressed. More than 85% of chronic pain patients said they have trouble sleeping.

Let's discuss some common psychological effects of chronic pain and how to deal with them:

Depression

You can't sleep, you can't socialize, you can't work you would feel down. However, some people with chronic pain also experience major depressive disorder: symptoms include persistent feelings of sadness, loss of interest, inability to concentrate, sleep disturbances, changes in appetite, self-isolation, low self-esteem, and more.

Prolonged pain can trigger a major depressive episode, even for individuals who have never been diagnosed with depression before. Insomnia caused by chronic pain (more on that later) wastes your mood and often makes you take a nap instead of hanging out with others. Pain issues also cause you to withdraw from activities, isolating you from loved ones. Depression is extremely common among people with chronic pain.

Insomnia

Although insomnia is a symptom of many mental and physical disorders, it is also a diagnosis in its own right. You need good sleep to function. Although it can be uncomfortable and often difficult to get a good night's sleep in today's fast-paced world, adults still need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Chronic pain makes it difficult to sleep. This may be due in part to the pain itself, as well as any side effects of the medications you may need to deal with the pain. Insomnia negatively affects every aspect of your life: concentration, digestion, memory, fitness, relationships, etc. Worse still, insomnia can exacerbate psychological disorders such as depression or anxiety.

Anxiety

You worry and most of your worries are related to your chronic pain: you worry about why you are in pain, how you will pay your bills when you see your doctor and if you will keep your job. Your pain keeps you awake at night and you obsess over what-if scenarios. You become anxious, wondering if the pain will ever go away or if it is a symptom of another serious illness.

Sometimes people even doubt themselves, wondering if they are overreacting or if their pain is psychosomatic. For all these reasons and more, chronic pain can cause anxiety and even panic attacks.

Fatigue

Fatigue is different from just being tired. Feeling tired can be resolved by resting; fatigue cannot be relieved by resting and, if anything, rest can make the sensation worse. Walking around the block is like running a marathon. You are so focused on looking 'normal' that you mentally exhaust yourself.

Studies show that arthritis can increase physical fatigue; the body fights inflammation by releasing chemicals, which in turn can cause fatigue.

Guilt

Guilt can come from everyday events, such as not being able to play with your baby or working more than a few hours a day. While not a disorder in and of itself, feelings of guilt can overwhelm a person.

Chronic pain prevents you from participating in activities that most people take for granted such as socializing, working, and exercising. You may feel angry with yourself and blame yourself for no longer being able to interact with the world. Guilt is one of the more insidious mental side effects of chronic pain.