Chronic Pain Management and Coping with Depression

In some ways the chronic pain trance many people undergoing chronic pain management experience resembles depression, and the relationship between the two is very intimate. Pain is depressing, and depression can cause and even intensify pain. People living with chronic pain have three times the average risk of developing coexisting psychological disorders—usually mood or anxiety disorders—and depressed people have three times the average risk of developing chronic pain.

If you are experiencing depression the first step towards helping yourself is to identify the emotional, psychological and behavioral difficulties you have been experiencing which may be related to depression. You should also assess how depression may have impacted other areas of you life, including relationships with family and friends, finances, academic/work responsibilities, etc. Discussing these problems with the people involved or with an understanding friend may resolve some of the issues before feelings of depression become more serious. You may also want to consider the following common do’s and don’ts depression management tools.

Things to Do When You’re Depressed

1. Eliminate the use of alcohol and other drugs (other than appropriate prescriptions)
2. Exercise or engage in some form of physical activity, such as walking, every day
3. Eat a proper, well-balanced diet—also, use a good multivitamin daily
4. Obtain an adequate amount of sleep—if sleep is a problem discuss this with your doctor/therapist
5. Seek emotional support from friends and family and focus on positive aspects of your life

6. Reduce or eliminate the use of nicotine, caffeine, and sugar

7. Pace yourself, modify your schedule and set realistic goals

Things to Avoid When You’re Depressed

1. Don’t isolate
2. Don’t over-commit to activities which are too stressful or overwhelming
3. Don’t assume that things are hopeless—because they’re not!
4. Don’t engage in emotional reasoning (e.g., “because I feel awful, my life is terrible”)
5. Don’t assume responsibility for events that are outside of your control
6. Don’t avoid treatment as a way of coping
7. Don’t push people away who are trying to help you

 To better understand the importance of addressing depression in chronic pain management please check out my latest article, Depression Management with the Chronic Pain Patient, that you can download for free on our Ariticles page.

You can learn more about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or a loved one is undergoing chronic pain management, especially if you’re in recovery or believe you may have a medication or other mental health problem and you want to learn more effective chronic pain management tools, please go to our Publications page and check out my books; especially the Addiction-Free Pain Management® Recovery Guide: Managing Pain and Medication in Recovery. To purchase this book please Click Here.

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