Living with Chronic Pain and Depression

By Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.: About 50 percent of people who have chronic pain also have depression, according to Robert D. Kerns, Ph.D, National Program Director for Pain Management for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Director of the Pain Research, Informatics, Medical comorbidities and Education (PRIME) Center at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System.
Some individuals experience a decline in mood with a sense of loss, he said. Others experience a loss of interest or pleasure in activities they previously enjoyed. Still others experience “an increased irritability, impatience or lower tolerance for the normal stresses of daily life.”...By Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S....Continue reading...