Pain

Pain is a very common symptom. In studies:

• One third of all adults will complain of pain
• Around 4% have acute pain that lasts for more than a week

What is chronic pain?

The most common forms of chronic pain are:

• Headaches
• Back pains
• Rheumatism
• Cancer
• Pain that is not attributable to any known physical illness
• Sometimes pain can be the most prominent symptom of your depression.

Unfortunately, patients with chronic pain have a greater chance of becoming depressed, no matter what is causing that pain.

Around half of all pain patients have the symptoms of depression. Around one third need to be treated for depression.

Depression and chronic pain have a number of symptoms in common. Antidepressants, which have proven to be very effective against depression in patients with chronic pain, may also be effective in treating some forms of pain, even if you aren't depressed.

There are many types of help available, so don't give up!