Written by CrashMD staff
When someone thinks of pain they might think of pain that is directly related to a broken bone, head injury, or medical condition. To reduce the pain, it would be commonplace to see a doctor who can provide a cast, utilize diagnostic tools, and put together a treatment plan to help you get out of pain. While that is generally the standard operating procedure for many healthcare providers, there is a chance that the person develops additional issues related to the pain that last well beyond the standard healing time.
Acute pain is pain that a person can expect to feel as a result of a one-time incident, and that goes away during the normal period of recovery expected for that injury. However, there are times when a person could experience chronic pain, which is pain that lasts longer than the standard period of recovery. In addition to experiencing chronic pain and the tingling, numbing and burning sensations associated with it, a person could also suffer from mental health issues.
In fact, research shows that chronic pain and mental health are interconnected. Additionally, they can contribute to and worsen pain symptoms. This is what makes it so important to partner with a trained pain management specialist who can treat both your symptoms of pain, as well as the associated mental health issues, with a goal to help you find pain relief and improve your quality of life.
How are Chronic Pain and Mental Health Connected?
People who are living with chronic pain symptoms have a greater chance of developing mental health disorders. On top of that, patients who have mental health disorders find that they experience more pain, and could take a longer period of time for the treatment to help the patient find relief. One example of this is that a person who suffers from depression is more sensitive to pain, and could experience heightened pain symptoms.
Chronic pain and mental health can contribute to and worsen each other because the brain processes pain and emotions in an overlapping way. This means that pain and mental health can trigger each other. Another link is through stress and cortisol. When a person experiences stress, either through dealing with the pain itself or feelings of being a victim to pain, the body produces more cortisol and stress hormones. This can make the body more sensitive to pain, as well as cause muscles to tense up or spasm, which leads to an increase of pain around the injury or affected area in the body.
Patients who suffer from chronic pain might experience the following mental health disorders:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Substance abuse disorders
- Thoughts of suicide
Chronic pain can cause a person to suffer from insomnia (or have trouble sleeping), stress and low self-esteem. If a person feels that they cannot find pain relief, or won’t be able to find pain relief, they could be depressed, “give up” and stop trying to enjoy their daily activities. This could become even worse if the chronic pain symptoms prevent the person from keeping employment or having to pay for doctor visits, causing financial stress.
Anxiety is another mental health issue that can be debilitating because it is the anticipation of fear or danger. If a person is concerned about if they’ll feel pain leaving the house, for instance, then they probably won’t, this reduces their quality of life. In fact, anxiety and depression often occur together in people who suffer from chronic pain. This is because the nervous system is the common link for pain and anxiety. When messages from pain and anxiety overlap, the nervous system becomes constantly reactive. This not only leads to more feelings of anxiety and depression, but also more feelings of pain.
If a person is unable to find pain relief with conventional therapies, such as physical therapy or acupuncture or chiropractic care, they might opt for pain medications. Not only is this not an ideal treatment for the pain, as medication just treats the symptoms and not the underlying cause, it also can lead to substance and long-term abuse. This can create both an addiction as well as open the door for the person to experience all of the side effects related to the particular medication or medications they’re taking.
And when it seems like all has failed, a person who lean into thoughts of suicide. Chronic pain can increase the risk of suicide for several reasons. Firstly, if a person is feeling pain symptoms every single day, and they haven’t been able to find relief, they might begin to think they can’t live the rest of their life the same way. Secondly, if the person isn’t receiving care for their mental health issues, or they haven’t been diagnosed with mental health issues, then they aren’t giving themselves the greatest chance of feeling better, both physically and mentally.
The best way to avoid mental health disorders from developing, and creating additional pain, is to partner with a trained pain management specialist who can address both your mental health and physical pain. Especially if the pain originated as a result of a car accident, the person might be feeling, “Why me?” So then to have chronic pain and mental health issues on top of it, all hope could seem lost. But it doesn’t have to! There are a myriad of ways that a pain management specialist can help to reduce both pain symptoms and mental health issues, with a goal to directly focus on stress and pain management and improve the person’s quality of life.
Chronic Pain and Mental Health Causes
Understanding the cause of your chronic pain is the first step in both managing it as well as any associated emotional distress. While there are no shortage of ways that a person can experience chronic pain that could lead to mental health disorders, here are a few of the more common causes of chronic pain:
- Neck and back pain: either from a traumatic event like a car accident, or a health condition, chronic neck and back pain can prevent a person from enjoying daily activities, sleeping properly, and exercising. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to depression and anxiety, which then leads to more feelings of pain.
- Arthritis: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis all lead to inflammation in the body, which in turn could cause a person to experience a diminished quality of life. Research has found a direct link between arthritis and anxiety and depression.
- Migraine: a common result of a car accident, patients who suffer from migraines are constantly worried about when the next migraine will strike. This can lead to stress, which actually can lead to more migraines, as well as also causing the person to avoid light and sound, which generally means staying indoors alone.
- Fibromyalgia: this chronic disorder causes stiffness and pain throughout the body. While the exact cause isn’t known, stressful events can trigger the disorder, which leads to more pain. Fatigue is also a side effect, which further diminishes a person’s quality of life. Most patients who have fibromyalgia report feeling depression, PTSD and anxiety.
Chronic pain associated with an event or condition that is/was outside of your control can leave you feeling hopeless in a few different ways. Now, you are not only dealing with pain conditions, you are suffering from a complete disruption to your life, which can lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and more. The good news is that there is hope on the horizon, as long as you partner with a trained management specialist who can recommend the best therapy options for you.
Treatment for Pain and Mental Health Conditions
Research has found that a person has a greater chance of success for mental health and physical pain management is to partner with a skilled pain management specialist who can treat the entire patient. This means not only performing a physical exam, but also reviewing the patient’s mental health and overall wellness. It requires active participation between both the provider and the patient so all symptoms can be addressed and taken into account for creating a custom treatment plan.
Pain management specialists could ask any of the following questions to help determine the best course of action, and it’s important that the patient answer honestly and provide detailed information. Questions could include:
- What does your chronic pain feel like?
- Where do you feel pain symptoms?
- Do the pain symptoms worsen during any particular activities?
- How has your quality of life changed since first experiencing pain symptoms/the accident/traumatic event?
- Do you have any thoughts of suicide?
- How long have you been taking pain medications, if applicable?
- Does your pain prevent you from falling asleep or staying asleep?
- Do you feel anxious about performing daily activities, i.e. seeing friends, going to work?
- Do you feel hopeless?
Once your pain management specialist has a better scope of your overall physical and mental health situation, they’ll be able to recommend necessary treatment to address both issues. Since they are directly connected via the nervous system, addressing pain should alleviate mental health disorders, and vice versa.
The most common treatment options for combating both chronic pain and mental health issues are:
- Psychotherapy: also known as Talk Therapy, psychotherapy is a therapy that can help people deal with mental health conditions and emotional challenges. It has proven helpful in identifying thoughts, behaviors and emotions and helping a person (and the specialist) to address and remedy them.
- Relaxation techniques: biofeedback, breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, guided imagery and spending time in nature are all proven ways to help a person calm down and relax. When anxiety and depression are lessened, a person will experience pain relief.
- Medications: antidepressants are helpful for treating depression, and anticonvulsants are helpful for treating mood disorders, both of which could help the patient find relief. It is important to note that a pain management specialist generally won’t recommend medications for long-term use, as there are associated side effects that could delay a person’s recovery, as well as the chance of becoming dependent.
- Lifestyle changes: helping to create an exercise regimen, focusing on a health diet, and trying to get a normal night’s sleep regularly can all help a person to feel better about themselves and have a more positive outlook
While there is a clear link between chronic pain and mental health, there isn’t always a clear treatment plan, especially if the patient isn’t seeking care or is seeking care from a general practitioner. Partnering with a pain management specialist who can recognize all pain and mental health symptoms is the best way to find the treatment and relief that you need.
If you are suffering with chronic pain that is causing you to avoid living life, and possibly allowing for hopeless and dark thoughts to resonate, it’s imperative that you find stress and pain management with the help of a skilled pain management specialist. The CrashMD team are highly-skilled in all aspects of chronic pain and mental health treatment with the goal to help their patients enjoy their ideal quality of life. Please schedule an appointment today to learn more about how the CrashMD team can help you.
