How Are Chronic Pain and Depression Connected?

Living with either chronic pain or depression puts strain on you, your loved ones, and your quality of life. It can seem unfair, then, that depression and chronic pain often go hand in hand. If you suffer from one of these conditions, you’re at heightened risk for the other.

However, the connection between chronic pain and depression also means that by improving one set of symptoms, you can often take positive action toward relief for both your physical and mental health. That’s the upside of the link between chronic pain and depression. It’s a connection you can use to improve your life.

At Iconic Infusions, PLLC, located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Dr. Bryant S. Edwards offers ketamine infusion therapy for both chronic pain patients and people with major depression. Dr. Edwards takes a holistic view of your health, helping you understand how to take control of the connection between mind and body and use it for your benefit.

Finding the connection between chronic pain and depression

Suggesting that chronic pain could raise your risk of depression shouldn’t be shocking. After all, living with a pain condition can be quite depressing. Your quality of life suffers, and so, in turn, does your mental health and wellness. If you have chronic pain, your symptoms continue for 12 weeks or longer, and the underlying cause of your pain may not be clear.

However, studies also show that people with clinical depression often suffer from pain symptoms, showing that the connection works both ways. In fact, many depressed adult patients in the United States experience physical pain symptoms as well as low mood, lack of energy, and persistent sadness.

Research suggests that chronic pain and major depression patients are both three times as likely to develop these connected conditions as unaffected individuals. Often, you experience both types of problems at once, adding to the complexity of your treatment.

Depression, chronic pain, and brain activity

Both depression and chronic pain contain neurological elements related to brain activity. This explains the connection between the two types of conditions and the likely co-occurrence of symptoms.

People living with chronic pain may suffer from overactivity from nerves or parts of the brain that register pain, overwhelming normal cognitive function. Depression may result from a lack of neurotransmitter activity, as the brain loses the ability to form new connections and neural pathways.

That’s why Dr. Edwards often recommends ketamine treatment for both chronic pain and ongoing depression. Ketamine powerfully stimulates your brain in several ways, activating dormant areas of your prefrontal cortex associated with executive function and memory, and quieting areas of your brain where depression or chronic pain keep harmful activity cycling.

Healing your brain after depression or chronic pain

As you benefit from regularly spaced ketamine infusion treatment sessions, your brain continues to change in healthy ways. Your pain symptoms or mental health symptoms don’t affect you as strongly or as frequently. 

Once your body finds relief, you might be surprised at how much your mood lightens. And, as you recover from depression, pain symptoms are likely to trouble you less.

Your treatment starts with a consultation with Dr. Bryant at Iconic Infusions, PLLC. Dr. Bryant reviews all of your symptoms, as well as your health history, and advises you on whether ketamine therapy could be the right solution for your physical and mental wellness.

Call Iconic Infusions, PLLC, today to book or schedule your appointment online.