Depression

Pain Specialty Group

Pain Management located in Newington, NH & Newmarket, NH

It’s perfectly normal to feel down now and again, and if you have a chronic pain problem, you have every reason to feel miserable at times. What isn’t normal is for those feelings of sadness to continue for many weeks and months and start to overwhelm your life, so if they do, call board-certified pain management specialists Anh L. Ngo, MD MBA, and Manuel G. Sanchez, MD, of Pain Specialty Group in Newmarket and Newington, New Hampshire. They have extensive experience of dealing with chronic pain and the depression that often accompanies it, so call the office today, or book an appointment online.

Depression Q & A

What is depression?

Clinical depression is a potentially serious mental health condition that causes long-lasting and intense low mood. The torment of depression affects the way you experience every aspect of your life, altering your perceptions and hampering your ability to function normally.

Depression can cause you to feel a range of negative emotions all or most of the time. You may experience feelings of:

Sadness and despair
Tearfulness
Emptiness or hopelessness
Anger and irritability
Frustration
Self-loathing
Anxiety
Agitation and restlessness
Worthlessness
Guilt and self-blame

You may find you feel sad and teary most of the time, or you may have any combination of these emotions at varying intensities. The common thread is that there’s no let-up from your anguish.

People who have depression lose interest in activities they normally enjoy, and feel like they’re slowing down or struggling through life, both mentally and often physically as well. It’s common to have problems with sleeping and eating, but whereas some people sleep more or eat more, others lose their appetite and struggle to get to sleep.

What causes depression?

There’s no single cause of depression. It can develop because of stressful or traumatic events in your life, because of an illness, or just arrive seemingly from nowhere. Hormonal and brain chemical imbalances also have a part to play in clinical depression.

Chronic pain and depression often go hand in hand. It’s not always clear whether the depression is a part of the pain condition, or whether it develops because of the difficulty of being in constant pain.

Whatever the cause of depression, it’s vital to seek help as soon as possible. The earlier the diagnosis, the easier depression is to treat. On the other hand, if left untreated, depression can worsen to the point where patients may consider taking their own lives.

Depression is a complex and challenging condition, but with expert care and treatment, you can recover and regain full health.

What treatments are available for depression?

If your depression is mild, talk therapies, relaxation techniques, and lifestyle changes can help, but in many cases, patients need antidepressant medication to stabilize their condition and rebalance chemicals in the brain. Counseling and psychotherapy are also vital to successful treatment of depression.

At Pain Specialty Group, patients are usually experiencing depression alongside a chronic pain problem, so the team offers additional treatments such as ketamine infusions and pain psychology therapy.

For compassionate support and effective treatment options, call Pain Specialty Group today, or book an appointment online.