Chronic pain can have a significant impact on every aspect of daily life. Besides causing physical discomfort, it can also influence a person’s thoughts, memory, concentration, feelings, sleep patterns, and other brain functions. If left unattended, chronic pain can even cause damage to your brain and increase your risk of cognitive dysfunction, making it difficult for you to live a normal life.
For these reasons, it’s no surprise that so many Americans have flocked to medication-based therapies and surgeries in an attempt to mask or address their pain. At B3 Medical, we take an innovative, minimally invasive, non-surgical, non-opioid approach to interventional pain medicine with an emphasis on unlocking the body’s ability to heal itself. Discover the negative effects of chronic pain on your brain.
It Affects Your Mood
Living with chronic pain can make you more vulnerable to mood disorders such as anxiety, depression, and fear. These disorders can be detrimental to your health, safety, career, and overall quality of life. They can also result in greater dependence on prescription drugs that temporarily improve mood and alleviate pain, such as opioids. When the effects of these medications wear off, feelings of discomfort, sadness, loneliness, fear, and hopelessness return. Over time, this can develop into a dangerous cycle.
It Causes Sleep Problems
When you’re suffering from chronic pain, you’ll likely have difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep through the night. Insufficient sleep can lead to fatigue, irritability, and lack of focus, which can make you less productive and ruin your day. Also, it can increase your risk of developing medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
It Weakens Memory and Concentration
Chronic pain can also negatively impact your memory and concentration. It disrupts the memory trace that holds information for processing and storage and makes it harder for you to remember things. Additionally, it can lead to poor concentration, causing you to be easily distracted from your work and other activities.
It Damages Relationships
It isn’t surprising that the effects of chronic pain can reach over to your relationships with your family members, friends, and colleagues. Because it limits your physical abilities and makes you more impatient, the pain can undermine your ability to empathize and interact with the people around you. As a result, you may prefer to be alone instead of spending time with other people, which can result in interruptions in your social life.
As you can see, chronic pain can be detrimental to your mental health in many ways. If you’re experiencing chronic pain, you can keep your mind sharp and healthy by finding an effective pain management solution. B3 Medical has six facilities that offer safe and comprehensive neck, shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, ankle, or back pain treatment in Tampa and its surrounding areas. We provide long-term pain relief without prescription drugs and surgery. Call us now to schedule an appointment.
