Chronic pain could make your life hard, and it could worsen if you have depression, as depression tends to magnify the pain. Depression makes everyday living difficult, and it is essential to get psychotherapy treatment to reduce pain and depression. You should look for a pain management specialist in Charlotte, NC. At Charlotte Ketamine Center, your doctor could explain how the vicious cycle of depression and chronic pain could affect your life and recommend the appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
Chronic pain
Chronic pain lasts more than is expected. It could result from an injury or trauma and could last for more than two weeks. Chronic pain could lead to a high level of stress hormones, which could trigger depression and mood disorders. It could lower your energy, thus reducing work productivity, affecting your relationship with the boss and your colleagues. Chronic pain could lead to muscle pain, which lowers typical mental and physical performance. As you continue to suffer, there could be changes in your body that make you more sensitive to pain. Sensitivity could make you feel pain more even in areas that you usually felt fine. The pain could lead to disrupted sleep, causing even more tiredness and fatigue throughout the day. The ongoing pain could make you irrational and challenging to deal with. People under your care, such as young children, could have difficulty coping with your moods and irritability.
Depression
Depression could be associated with chronic pain, and it could make the pain more complicated as it disrupts normal moods. Moreover, depression could go undiagnosed for people with chronic pain as patients rarely recognize its symptoms. The pain symptoms could take center stage on most doctor visits, and the doctor could fail to know that the patient has depression. Depression could have symptoms similar to chronic pain, such as sleep disturbance, loss of appetite, little energy, decreased physical activity, and increased pain.
The Vicious Cycle
Pain could provoke an emotional response, which could result in depression, anxiety, and irritability. The emotional disturbance could be a normal response when one is hurt. When the pain subdues, then the stress response could also decline; however, since chronic pain does not subdue, it means that a patient is least likely to have reduced emotional distress leading to depression. Depression that results from chronic pain could lead to intensified pain since it disrupts your normal activities. For instance, depression could suppress appetite and lead to little sleep, thus further enhancing chronic pain.
Both depression and chronic pain could lead to altered mood, anger, enhanced anxiety, confused thinking, fatigue, fear of injury, and irritability. Moreover, they could result in financial concerns, inability to get along with other people, family stress, reduced self-esteem, declining physical condition, and social isolation.
Diagnosis and Treatment
When you visit the doctor when in chronic pain, it could help if you informed them about your emotional distress to assess if you have depression. You could be treated for both depression and chronic pain for health improvement. Your doctor will customize the treatment to meet your specific needs significantly if you have altered moods.
Conclusion
Chronic pain and depression could happen simultaneously, causing a vicious cycle of intensified pain and emotional distress. When visiting a pain expert, it could help if you noted any emotional distress to get proper treatment for both depression and anxiety. Do not let emotional instability and chronic pain reduce the quality of life! Contact the specialists at Charlotte Ketamine Center to find relief.
