#it wasnt until i went through several months of twice weekly pt AND started seeing my current doctor AND got on antidepressants that i

[eileennatural]

the thing they don't tell you is that chronic pain -- like, any level, even if it's not "debilitating" and you can still perform all the activities of daily living -- is so depressing. when half your energy every day goes towards just tolerating the pain, of course you're going to be meaner, less productive, more isolated and more tired and thus feel worse about yourself. not even to mention that, if your condition is degenerative, living with this pain every day and KNOWING this is the best you'll ever feel again can make you feel SO hopeless. which is WHY any pain management program, especially those using controlled substances like opioids need to be paired with mental health support or else the physician is just setting the patient up for at best, failure of the program and at worst, a fucking opioid addiction