The next thing that I want to say about chronic pain is that people that suffer with chronic pain are much more likely to suffer with depression. That may seem completely obvious. It may not even need to be said. It’s like, of course, if you’re hurting all the time, you’re going to be depressed. But it actually goes beyond the obvious reasons. So it is not just because you are depressed because you’re hurting all the time. It is not just because you are depressed because you maybe can’t accomplish the things you want to, like I talked about last time or you can’t have fun or enjoyed time with friends and family in the same ways as you want to. It’s not even because of those reasons that chronic pain sufferers also typically suffer with depression or more commonly do.
It is because of your brain and the pain centers in your brain, especially the chronic pain centers, those are related to the centers in your brain that are activated in depression. So it’s like you’re a button in your brain that’s being pushed over and over. And every time there’s pain signals being sent to your brain, it’s also activating that portion of your brain that processes depression. So this goes beyond just I’m hurting, so that depresses me.
You need to realize if you suffer with chronic pain, again, bringing from the last post that I made, give yourself some grace, but also recognize that there’s a reason why you’re feeling this way. There’s a reason that you’re struggling with depression. So, that bringing in that mental health aspect and not just chalking it up too well, I’m in pain all the time so of course, I’m depressed. Get some support in that area as well. As most of you know, I’m a huge advocate for mental health support at all times and especially if you suffer with chronic pain, there may be some deeper things there that you definitely need support for. So please take care of yourself. Get some mental health support.
