Chronic Pain and Mental Health: What You Need to Know
Article at a glance
- Chronic pain is defined as lasting three months or more and has a wide variety of causes.
- Studies have shown that there is a link between chronic pain and mental health conditions, such as depression.
- There are ways to manage both pain and mental health, such as through psychotherapy, certain medications, and learning coping strategies.
What is Chronic Pain?
When pain is ongoing, it’s called chronic pain. Chronic pain is persistent pain lasting at least three months, unlike acute pain, which typically lasts less than three months and is sharp, sudden, and caused by a specific incident. Chronic pain can happen anywhere in the body, has a variety of causes, and the type of pain varies from person to person. Chronic pain may affect your work and social life, as well as your ability to care for yourself and your family.
Causes of Chronic Pain
Chronic pain originates from injuries, conditions, and lifestyle choices. There isn’t one specific cause of chronic pain, and causes vary for each person. Understanding the underlying cause of your chronic pain is the first step in addressing it, and any accompanying emotional distress it might cause.
Some causes/types of chronic pain include:
- Joint conditions, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and knee pain
- Cancer (pain resulting either from the tumor pressing on bones, nerves, or organs and/or from cancer treatments such as chemotherapy)
- Neuropathic (nerve) pain
- Back pain
- Headaches, including migraines
- Fibromyalgia
Depression and Chronic Pain
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common mental health comorbidity associated with chronic pain, although other conditions can also contribute to or worsen it. The two are interconnected, with each capable of exacerbating the other. A 2025 systematic review even suggests depression and chronic pain use shared chemical messengers in the brain.
Chronic pain can lead to functional limitations and reduced participation in social activities you typically enjoy, contributing to loneliness and potentially impacting self-esteem. Additionally, chronic pain and depression share the same neurotransmitters and nerve pathways to the spine, brain, and nervous system, meaning your symptoms may overlap.
Over time, depression can lead to a headache, backache, or other pain in other parts of the body, especially if you stop being active (such as staying in bed or not engaging in physical activity for long periods).
Mental Health Treatment for Chronic Pain
The experience of chronic pain is subjective and may occur for many reasons so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for treatment. When mental health is associated with chronic pain, it’s treatment becomes more complex. Sometimes it’s necessary to treat the pain and the mental health condition separately, and sometimes it’s more appropriate to treat both simultaneously. The following treatments can alleviate both simultaneously:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): A form of psychotherapy that addresses and helps to change negative thought patterns and behaviors, is a common psychological approach used to treat chronic pain. This process is often used to help people reframe their approach to their pain and lean on coping skills to manage symptoms.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): ACT is a form of psychotherapy that encourages patients to manage and accept difficult thoughts and emotions while taking actions that align with their values.
- Antidepressants: Antidepressants, such as serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), can be effective for treating chronic pain-induced depression simultaneously.
Talk to a healthcare provider or your primary care provider to determine what the best course of action is for you in treating your specific mental health and chronic pain symptoms.
5 Tips for Managing Chronic Pain and Mental Health Conditions
As noted previously, there isn’t one perfect solution to chronic pain management and mental health because each case is unique. However, any treatment plan should address all areas of a person’s life because both mental health and chronic pain affect someone’s day-to-day habits and existence. If you are struggling to know where to begin with treatment, here are five tips to get you started.
Try Pain Relief Strategies
Some strategies can be beneficial to both your mental health and chronic pain, such as:
- Exercising: staying active, such as strength training, practicing flexibility exercises, and stretching can reduce stress and pain while also improving sleep.
- Mindfulness: Practicing meditation, breathing exercises, or light yoga are great for learning how to accept unpleasant physical sensations and change the perception of your pain. Guided meditations or essential oil work can be a great place to get started.
- Holistic approaches: Holistic methods, such as acupuncture, can help reduce chronic pain.
Eat a Balanced, Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Inflammation can contribute to chronic pain in some cases, which means dietary changes, such as following an anti-inflammation diet like the DASH or Mediterranean diet, could improve pain.
Foods that can help reduce inflammation include:
- Fatty fish
- Turmeric
- Ginger
- Olive oil
- Leafy greens
Build a Support Network
Mental health conditions, such as depression, and chronic pain, can both lead to isolation and decreased socialization. Building a support network can be beneficial when you’re struggling; some ways you can do this include:
- When your pain is low, consider using this opportunity to socialize Extend an invitation to friends and family to spend time together
- Participate in pet therapy which can reduce pain and emotional distress
- Join a support group with others who experience similar chronic pain or mental health conditions. You can find potential support groups through resources like the American Chronic Pain Association.
Create a Personalized Treatment Plan With a Healthcare Provider
While there are plenty of suggestions for navigating pain and mental health, your experience is unique and personal to you. Creating a treatment plan for your specific needs and concerns is a necessary step toward managing your pain.
Your treatment plan will likely consist of multiple strategies, in both medical and psychiatric aspects, to help target your pain and mental health needs. Your provider may recommend different types of therapies, such as talk therapy, CBT, or pain rehabilitation programs, as well as physical therapy, medications, such as opioids or cortisone shots, to help manage physical pain.
It’s important to discuss all your symptoms and concerns with your provider, as well as any other medical conditions you may have, since chronic pain often comes with comorbid conditions.
Consider Seeing a Pain Management Doctor
If you’re still experiencing chronic pain after using traditional methods of treatment, you may consider visiting a pain management doctor. Pain management doctors are specialists in evaluating, diagnosing, and treating painful conditions, including those that cause or result from chronic pain.
For more targeted treatment, an interventional pain management doctor is focused on finding the underlying source or cause of the pain rather than making a generalized diagnosis or treatment. This can be particularly beneficial if mental health conditions are the source of the pain, as it can help adjust treatments to manage mental health and physical pain symptoms.
Pain management doctors also play an important role in helping coordinate a treatment plan, as mentioned above. This can include physical therapies, psychological therapies, and pain rehabilitation programs, as well as surgery if required.
5 Tips for Supporting Someone With Chronic Pain
If your loved one is struggling with chronic pain, here are some tips that can help you determine the best ways to support them:
Learn about their condition
Even if you don’t share your loved one’s condition, learning about it can help provide insight and understanding into what’s happening and show you ways to support them best mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Researching medical websites can be beneficial, but also take the time to ask your loved one about their personal experience with the condition, since everyone experiences things differently.
Ask how to help
Asking for help when you have chronic pain can be extremely difficult, which can make your loved one feel shame or the need to withdraw from others so as not to be a “burden.” Offer to do specific tasks, such as shopping, household chores, or picking up medications from the pharmacy. Ask them how you can help, as reaching out can relieve some of the pressure, especially when their mental health and/or pain can make certain tasks hard to manage.
Encourage and join them in healthy lifestyle choices
Making changes to your lifestyle, even if they are beneficial, isn’t always an easy switch. If your loved one has been given recommendations to be more physically active, eat healthier meals, or be more social, offer to join them. Doing things together can make the transitions easier.
Be understanding and flexible
No matter how much your loved one may want to go out or spend time with you, chronic pain flare-ups or mental health struggles can show up without warning, which can lead to changing or canceled plans. Be patient and don’t take cancellations personally. Be open and willing to adjust plans, and keep inviting them to events even if the answer is no.
Don’t try to “fix” them
Seeing a loved one in pain is difficult, and the desire to “fix” the issues often comes from a well-intentioned place. However, in many cases, there isn’t an easy solution or miracle cure-all for their condition. In many cases, the best thing you can do is be present and show up for them when they need it most. Knowing they have people in their lives to depend on can help significantly.
Mental Health Resources For Chronic Pain
If you or a loved one needs support in managing your mental health and chronic pain, there are resources that can help:
General Resources
- Senior Mental Health Resources (Addiction, Elder Abuse, Anxiety, and More)
- National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- 988 Lifeline
Find a Therapist
Immediate Assistance
- 1–800–662-HELP (4357)
- 1–800–273‑8255 (TALK)
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline for Hearing Impaired: 1–800–799‑4889
- The Samaritans: (877) 870‑4673 (HOPE)
- Text HOME to 741741
- IMAlive
- 988 Lifeline Chat
Navigating Cancer Diagnosis
Addiction and Recovery
Veteran Mental Health Assistance
FAQ
Can chronic pain cause mental health issues?
Yes, people with chronic pain are at a heightened risk of developing mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Talk therapy, also called psychological counseling, can help with learning coping skills, stress reduction techniques, and other treatments for any mental discomfort or mental health conditions.
How do I mentally cope with chronic pain?
Some methods you can use to cope mentally with chronic pain include practicing mindfulness through meditation, as well as connecting with a therapist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy or acceptance and commitment therapy.
