Back Pain Depression
Back pain depression is a specific and common form of emotional syndrome which affects millions of patients with
chronic pain.
Many people
injure
their backs,
recover
and move on with their lives. However, this is not the reality for so many patients burdened with constant or
recurrent back ache.
These patients endure a seemingly endless gauntlet of medical and complementary treatments, yet find no lasting relief for their horrible pain. It is these patients who become
frustrated,
despondent and depressed at the effects back pain has had on their lives. Many can not work, play or even love successfully. Back ache has taken everything from them and left them wondering how long the torture will last. Sometimes, it just seems like all that remains of once beautiful lives is the pain itself and the ability to suffer under its cruel whims.
Back Pain Depression Causes
When a patient is sick or injured, they rely on their
doctor
to take care of them. Most patients have little or no knowledge of their medical condition and trust their care providers to come up with a plan to aid them in any health related crisis. Doctors do their best, but back pain is often a
treatment resistant
condition which can wreak havoc in the life of a patient for years, or even decades, at a time. A patient will typically go through stages of hope and disappointment several times as they attempt new therapies for their chronic pain. As the
back pain treatments
fail, one by one, the patient suffers a downward spiral effect as their hopes fade and their physical symptoms worsen. After all, pain that defies treatment must mean something is REALLY, REALLY wrong in the spine, right? Once a patient begins to think that their pain might never go away, it is all downhill from there… Depression is just one of the horrific mind and body symptoms which become day to day occurrences.
Back Pain Depression Mind Set
Patients who lose hope feel that they have exhausted all their options for pain relief. Many are compelled towards inappropriate
back surgery
just because they have tried everything else. Most of these patients endure the trauma of an operation just to continue experiencing severe symptoms. Sometimes, their pain is even worse due to the damage caused by the procedure and the
nocebo effect
of yet another failed therapy modality. Other patients fall into a routine of
symptomatic treatment
using any number of different pain relief methods. The best of these, such as most
holistic treatment
options, drain the patient’s financial resources and only provide temporary relief. The worst of these methods, such as longterm
pain management
drug use, can change the patient into an addict suffering from numerous harmful side effects of their many pills. Regardless of the exact path a patient has followed to reach this point, the destination is the same… Many paths up the mountain, but they all reach the same summit. In this case, the summit is a lonely and painful place where the patient must wait, suffer and put their life on hold. There is no point to the waiting, since all the treatments have already failed. There is just pain,
fear,
anxiety, anger, sadness and of course, the topic of this article… DEPRESSION. Once a patient reaches this mind set, the hope for a cure is beyond even their most vivid and inspired dreams.
Recommendation on Back Pain Depression
I truly what it is like to live with back pain.
My suffering
lasted 18 years, which were supposed to be the best years of my young adult life. I found a cure for a few years, then the pain returned and remains my most dependable companion. I am an upbeat and positive individual, but even I was emotionally drained by my back ache torment. I suffered bouts of short term back pain depression frequently, especially towards the end of my first 2 decades of misery. As my suffering became worse, I knew I had reached a crossroads in my life. I realized that the path I decided upon would alter my future forever. Back pain was telling me loud and clear that it was the winner and I should just acknowledge defeat. I had tried my best to beat it, but I had lost. I employed the best doctors I could find and afford (as well as many I could not afford…), but they also failed. Back pain was the apparent victor, ready to claim the spoils of war… MY LIFE. It really came down to live in pain or die. I was depressed at the prospects for my future and filled with fear over what might become of me. How could I live? Work? Love? Teach? Everything that meant something to me was about to be taken away, never to return. Looking back, I am surprised that I managed to hold my life together at all… Well, I broke the cycle. I decided not to go down without one last fight. I changed the rules in this final epic battle and tried strategies I had never used before. I achieved almost immediate positive results and this gave me the courage to bring the fight all the way to back pain’s own territory. I fought it to the edge of my emotional cliff and pushed it off. It was the winner for so long and did not want to go, but I showed that pain who the real boss was. I conquered my symptoms and the back pain depression vanished. Now, the pain has returned, but I understand how sweet life can be, despite the agony. Every day is a gift and we can make it what we will, regardless of our enduring pain. I try to keep this ideal in mind during the days when pain simply forces me to surrender completely. Please, do not lose hope, even if you are suffering from
chronic pain depression.
There is always the chance for a cure. Sometimes, when the hour seems darkest, it truly does mean that dawn approaches. The new day might just bring renewed chances for you to be pain-free. This page is dedicated to all those who write to me saying that they are ready to give up from back pain depression. Please hang in there, a cure is always possible, regardless of your condition...
Back Pain Depression to Back Pain
8/10/07 Revised 11/11/11
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