The Psychological Effects of Chronic Pain and Redefine Healthcare’s Addition of Mental Health Services

Chronic pain plays a role in every aspect of your life, including your mental health. When treating chronic pain, it is essential to address not just the physical symptoms, but the psychological effects as well. 

Patients with chronic pain are 4x more likely to develop a mental illness than those without. Like a cycle, chronic pain and certain mental health symptoms feed into each other; a positive mood generally makes for less pain, while a negative mood often heightens discomfort and pain. Ignoring this fact and your risk factor to mental illness is a big mistake; your mental state can exacerbate your pain, making it even more difficult to manage.

It’s important to be aware of your mental state and recognize the effects chronic pain can have on it. Chronic pain is often linked to:

• Anxiety
• Decreased appetite
• Fatigue
• Lower quality of life
• Opioid dependence
• Restricted mobility
• Trouble concentrating
• Trouble sleeping

Redefine Healthcare recognizes the need for our patients to have access to both physical and mental support when working through chronic pain. We understand our job doesn’t stop at relieving the physical pain. This is why next month, Dr. Ketan Hirapara will be joining the Redefine Healthcare team, board-certified and fellowship-trained in both pain medicine and psychiatry. By providing this in-house resource, we are able to integrate measures to improve mental health into treatment plans for patients suffering from chronic pain, aiming to heal both the mind and body – not just the pain.

To learn more on Redefine Healthcare’s mental health services or to schedule an appointment, call (732) 906-9600 or go to RedefineHealthcare.com today.