A Personal Experience with Chronic Pain

Last night I couldn't sleep. I was exhausted but couldn't find a comfortable position. I don't suffer from insomnia, though. It was my chronic pain that kept sleep at bay. Every time my eyes would close my pain would smack me awake.

I have yet to receive a diagnosis for the searing pain that racks my body. The doctor I'm seeing now has simply prescribed pain medication and left it at that. Yesterday I ran out of pill. Over-the-counter medications don't help me anymore and pain control methods off little relief. Without my medication my pain sensitivity went into hyperdrive. Simply lying on my back was agonizing. Because of all this I find myself deeply depressed most days. The frustration at my lack of diagnosis adds to this depression. And the depression increases my pain. Unfortunately, I'm not alone in all this.

Researchers have found a direct link between chronic pain and depression. Both conditions feed off each other. Chronic pain can drastically alter a person's lifestyle which can cause depression. The depression then intensifies the pain sensitivity. The increased pain leads to more depression. And on it goes. This cycle can destroy not only the lives of the sufferer but those of their loved ones.

When a person experiences chronic pain they are 3 times more likely to develop some kind of psychiatric symptom, chronic depression being the most prominent. People suffering from chronic depression are likewise 3 times more likely to develop chronic pain. According to health.harvard.edu, pain is an emotional condition as well as a physical sensation. It affects though, mood and behavior. The pain signals may use the same brain neurotransmitters as mood regulators such as serotonin and norepinephrine. When pain intensifies so does the sadness, anxiety, and hopeless associated with depression. Because both conditions seem to alter the way the nervous system functions they perpetuate themselves.