The Mental Health Effects of Chronic Pain

Chronic pain can have a profound negative impact on a person’s mood, sense of self, and overall emotional well-being. Left untreated, these concerns can lead to devastating outcomes. But when a person receives comprehensive care that addresses the connection between chronic pain and mental health, they can experience true relief and achieve improved quality of life.

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What Is Chronic Pain?

To appreciate the connection between chronic pain and mental health, it’s important to understand what, exactly, chronic pain is (and isn’t).

From a medical perspective, there are two general types of pain: acute and chronic. They are differentiated by how long they last:

• Acute pain lasts for three months or less. This type of pain often results from injuries, short-term illnesses, or surgery.
• Chronic pain persists for longer than three months. In addition to injuries or the results of some surgical procedures, common causes of chronic pain include cancer, benign tumors, and neurological conditions

Examples of chronic pain include:

• Inflammatory pain from fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer
• Neuropathic pain, which can result from diseases or lesions that affect the nervous system
• Musculoskeletal pain, which can impact muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments
• Nociceptive pain, which results from direct tissue damage, such as sprains, burns, or contusions
• Mechanical pain, which may be related to growing tumors or surgical hardware such as screws or plates
• Psychogenic pain such as frequent headaches or abdominal distress due to a mental or behavioral health condition

Chronic pain is quite common.  According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) it affects an estimated 50 million adults in the U.S. alone, or about 21% of the population ages 18 and above. 

CDC data also indicates that 17.1 million U.S. adults experienced high-impact chronic pain (HICP) in the previous 12 months. HICP is defined as pain that causes substantial impairment in one or more important areas of life.

How Chronic Pain Impacts Mental Health

Given the intense, virtually omnipresent discomfort of chronic pain and the profound disruptions that it can cause in a person’s life, it’s no surprise that it can also have a substantial negative impact on their mental well-being.

The connection between chronic pain and mental health includes an increased risk of certain disorders as well as an elevated danger of substance abuse, addiction, and suicidal ideation.  

Mental Illnesses

Several experts have identified links between chronic pain and mental health disorders:

• According to Mental Health America, people who experience chronic pain due to multiple sclerosis have an increased risk of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
• Two reviews cited by the National Center for PTSD found elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder among people who are living with chronic pain.
• A September 2022 report in the journal Complex Psychiatry noted that chronic pain is “significantly genetically correlated” with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD). 
• The authors of the Complex Psychiatry report also noted that almost every condition in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has been linked to an increased prevalence of chronic pain.

Substance Abuse

Substance abuse is commonly associated with recreational drug use. And while many people do make the unfortunate choice to abuse substances for this purpose, many others do so after first using prescription drugs for legitimate medical purposes, such as alleviating chronic pain.

A CDC survey revealed that about 8.6 million Americans intentionally misused prescription opioids in 2023. More than two thirds of these people, or more than 5.7 million individuals, said they had misused the drugs in an attempt to ease physical pain.

The outcome of this behavior can be catastrophic. In addition to posing a high risk of addiction, prescription opioid abuse has also fueled a dramatic increase in overdose deaths in the U.S:

• In 1999, the nation recorded 3,442 overdose deaths involving prescription opioids.
• By 2017, the annual number of overdose deaths involving prescription opioids had risen to 17,029.
• This number has decreased in recent years, but prescription opioids still contributed to 14,716 overdose deaths in 2022. This represents an increase of more than 327% from 1999.

Suicidal Ideation

A November 2023 study in The Journal of Pain described chronic pain as “a significant risk factor” for suicidal thoughts. The authors of this study identified several factors that can contribute to increased suicidality among people with chronic pain, including:

• Depression
• Perceived stress
• Head pain (such as chronic headaches)
• Sense of entrapment
• Mental defeat

The final factor in the list above, mental defeat, refers to a person’s belief that they have lost their autonomy, or ability to control their own life, due to some form of uncontrollable traumatic experience. This concept was developed in the context of treating people with PTSD, where it can be a predictor of both symptom severity and treatment response.

Mental defeat indicates diminished sense of self, to the point that a person believes they are no longer a functional human being, with no hope of escaping their current circumstances. 

Find Mental Health Treatment in the San Francisco Bay Area

Live Oaks Wellness offers life-affirming care for adults whose lives have been disrupted by addiction and co-occurring mental health concerns, including those whose problems have been caused or exacerbated by chronic pain.

When you choose to heal at our center near San Francisco, CA, you can expect to receive personalized care and comprehensive support from a team of experienced and compassionate professionals. Working together, we can address the full scope of your needs and help you find your path toward a healthier and more hopeful future.

To learn more about how we can help you or a loved one, or to schedule a free consultation, please visit our Contact page or call us today.