Chronic Pain and Depression

[Getting-By]

I have a chronic pain in my back and find that when that is bad I can get depressed can anyone else relate to this? I also find that if my anxiety is high my pain gets much worse I seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle.

[Hidden]

Hi getting by

I also have a bad back, and yes it makes me very depressed when im in alot of pain. And i think thats because its a constant reminder of, i cant do this, i cant do that. And it can be quite stressful and the more you get stress the more tense you become,tensing the muscles you should be trying to relax. My neck also locked up about a year ago for 4 long months, i thought i was going to go insane from the pain. But it was caused by stress...so i was getting more stressed from the pain but i knew i had to stop it or my neck would never get better. So its really just about trying to find things to keep you occupied that your able to do while your in this pain to take your mind off it. Ive found the best thing for this is meditation,some days i try to do it and i dont feel it works. Other times ive done it and it has worked wonders! And eased the pain and also helped me to control the negative thoughts. I hope you feel better soon!

[Getting-By]

Hi

Thanks for your response your right about stress & anxiety making the pain worse I have tried relaxing techniques but find that hard as I have such an active mind but I am working on that one. I am just sick of being in pain all the time and that I find depressing

[Hidden]

I hear ya! i know exactly how you feel, just enjoy them days that the pain isnt as bad. Do you know whats wrong with your back? Palates is a good form of exercise to help get your back into alignment if you can do exercise that would be worth a try. Also i have the same problem with an over attractive mind. Are you on any anti-depressants? Ive been on 50mg of sertraline for about a month now and although it is quite drowsy medication ive found its really helped with thinking to much.

[Cazie50]

Yes and Yes, but also lack of decent sleep does the same for me too. I suffer from Chronic Pain anyway and my mental health at the time it started had recovered. Now I find having this condition brings about its own challenges and triggers for making me feel worse. I started using an app called "WhatsMyM3" for monitoring mood/anxiety and "Manage My Pain" for pain.

[Eveie]

Hi `getting-by`, I`ve never used this forum before so hope this works OK! I know what you mean about the vicious cycle!!! Following an accident I have chronic pain in my neck/ back and consequently suffered (and still do to an extent)depression. Had mutiple treatments for both the pain and the depression to no avail. Sertraline was ok, but needed 200mg. Was sent to psychologists, physio, pain management consultant, etc.... HOWEVER...What has helped best was HYPNOTHERAPY and NLP! I had to pay privately,but it made me untense the muscles when the pain was bad, therefore calmed down the affected nerves, and hence I don`t feel as low and desperate. I listen to the tape I was given almost daily, and within minutes of hearing the hypnotherapist`s voice I can relax into sleep. The Samaritans have also been fantastic when the depression was at its most dreadful and I could call them day or night. Doc also prescribed 10-15 mg diazepam when pain is very severe and hypnotherapy is not enough...and it helps (but cant drive cos of tiredness). Keep your chin up...life will get better!

[Hidden]

Hi, I'm wondering do you have other pain even if it's milder? If so then google fibromyalgia to see if the other symptoms seem related to you. If you are dealing with high levels of stress and anxiety you may be depressed without realising it? Often sleep problems together with aches and pains are the only symptom. Any weepiness or past losses you haven't got over? Are there particular reasons for the anxiety or is it just generalised. Any of those can interfere with sleep and cause pain in the strangest places. I get pain across my collar bone and ribs, as well as other joint pains, also a history of trauma and depression. Gradually teased out that I have osteo-arthritis and fibromyalgia which relate to my other symptoms of irritable bowel and depression. One doesn't cause the other but they are all different ways the body is expressing a response to prolonged stress. I don't know whether that's any help but it may enable you to think more about what may be causing the problem. x

[Getting-By]

Hi Guys

Thanks for all your responses to my question. I have Scheuremann's Disease which cause damage to the spine due to a curve over 45 degrees I also have Aspergers Syndrome which cause generalized anxiety disorder. I am due to start a pain management course this week so will let you all know how it goes thanks again.

[0704angela]

Good Luck, but remember that you may need a combination of Pain Management, relaxation and focusing on what may be causing the tension in your body.. this may be focusing on the reasons why you get anxious and trying to us cognative behaviorual techniques to overcome getting them... You can also take various medications which can be sedating but also there are others on the market that may be less... just talk to your GP.

xx

[aug2012]

Hi

I've lived with chronic pain of one form or another all my adult life. It began with sacroillitis at 17, then fibromyalgia in my 30s, followed by early-onset osteoarthritis in my early 40s and then bilateral sciatica in my mid-40s. I'm 49 now, but feel as physcially knackered as an 80 year old!

Trouble is that no-one, not even any GPs take any of it seriously, because everyone is under the impression that only "old people" have chronic daily pain. I do point out to them that even children get arthritis and shockingly 99% of people don't know that.

Anyway, I'm very sorry you are in pain, because pain is a rotten thing to endure daily/nightly. For some odd reason (I am odd though) I've always found that when I am at my worst physically I am at my best mentally, and when at my worst mentally I am at my best physcially - they never seem to come together - i.e. bad+bad or good+good - which is so annoying, as it means I'm rotten all of the time; either physically or mentally.

I think it is because when I'm bad physically that's what my brain/mind is dealing with and somehow the depression chemicals in my brain get switched off - then when my body is better those depression chemicals start being made again and so I get depressed.

It's better to be depressed when your back is bad, rather than being depressed when your back is good!

Obviously your pain will be worse when you are anxious, because your body is very tense during anxiety and physcial tension increases pain - at times like that you need a nice bath soak in arnica, or lavender. A massage. Some meditation. Anything to unwind and you'll feel less pain.