Conditions · United States
Chronic pain and mental health
The International Association for the Study of Pain on the bidirectional relationship between chronic pain and depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
International Association for the Study of Pain9 min read
IASP's fact sheet on pain and mental health is a short, evidence-grounded summary of the bidirectional relationship between persistent pain and the major mood and anxiety disorders. Roughly half of people in specialty pain care meet criteria for at least one mental health condition.
Worth reading alongside any explainer on depression or anxiety, because the treatment plan that ignores the pain (or the pain plan that ignores the mind) tends to fail twice.
Mental Hum's library is a curated index of authoritative third-party resources. The summary above is our own framing; the full information lives at the source.
A note on this article
Mental Hum publishes general education, not medical advice. If something here reflects your own experience, please consider speaking to a clinician. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.