Depression and Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is a term used to describe pain that lasts beyond the typical time it takes for an illness or injury to heal. Sometimes chronic pain is also described as pain that lasts longer than three months. Research suggestst up to 85% of patients with chronic pain are affected by

severe depression.  [1-2] In fact Depression is one of the most common mental health problems facing people with chronic pain. [3] 

Sometimes it can be difficult to assess whether chronic pain has led to depression, or vice versa.  People with chronic pain and depression suffer dramatic changes in their physical, mental, and social well-being—and in their quality of life. Such people often find it difficult to sleep, are easily agitated, cannot perform their normal activities of daily living, cannot concentrate, and are often unable to perform their duties at work. This starts a vicious cycle—pain leads to more depression, which leads to more chronic pain. In some cases, the depression occurs before the pain, in other cases after.   

In addition,  depression and chronic pain share some of the same neurotransmitters -- brain chemicals that act as messengers traveling between nerves -- and some of the same nerve pathways in the brain and spinal cord. To further confound things scientific evidence is demonstrating that the nerves in the spinal cord of patients with chronic pain can undergo structural changes. [4-5]   This all demonstrates how the health of the nervous system  is intrinsically tied to the health of the brain.