pain affecting mental health

Bear · 09-09-2011, 05:36 PM

hey. I'm writing this on my phone because i'm in bed so i'm not sure if it will work, sorry! I get severe pain in my legs and back and it's really starting to get me down. It's gotten worse over the part few months and i'm waiting to get appointments for physio and a muscular skeletal doctor. But it's really getting to me. I've been wanting to hurt myself out of frustration, i keep wanting to talke too many pain killers just to knock me out, i've even thought about stabbing myself in the spine so i cant feel my legs :( i feel isolated, i cant walk very far so i avoid going out and i get down and lonely. I've been vomiting from the pain and i'm off my food, i either feel sick or cant be bothered eating. I dont know what to do or what i'm asking for. At times i just dont want to be here anymore. Thanks for reading x

PassedExpectations · 10-09-2011, 02:00 AM

im so sorry you're in so much pain. i was physically ill for a few months early in highschool, and i know how demoralizing it can be.

are there ways that you can still interact with friends? one of the things i found most difficult was that the physical problems left me really isolated, which magnified the feelings of loneliness, fear, anxiety, boredom... you could even go through the internet and use video chat on skype or something if getting out is too much

do your doctors understand how much pain you are in right now? i would tell them about how you're feeling (physically and mentally), like the part that you want to stab yourself to sever your spinal cord... they may be able to speed things up somehow

bitomato · 13-09-2011, 08:34 PM

Hi. There is a definite connection between chronic pain and depression and I think that you need to find a health practictioner who can give you some alternative coping methods. Doctors may be reluctant to give you stronger meds because of addictive properties but you should not be waiting months for treatment. Do you know why you are getting the pain?

Have you tried meditation or looked into alternative medicine like acupuncture or aquatherapy?

If you break your day into smaller chunks, and see accomplishment in every little thing that you participate in from getting up in the morning or having a shower. The biggest struggle is keeping a positive attitude. See if you can get friends or family to assist you as much as possible while keeping as much independence as you can manage.

Crayon, · 18-09-2011, 01:34 PM

I was once told by my psychiatrist that those who suffer from certain mental health issues are more prone to respond to pain much more sensitively than others and that it can often be seen as attention seeking when the person is actually in real pain. Which explained for me why I often get really bad headaches/period pain in relation to anyone else I know. I don't know if this is possibly the case for you but it's sometimes nice to know that you actually aren't over-reacting.