Strategies for Coping with Depression, Sciatica & Back Pain

Chronic back pain caused by sciatica is frequently linked to depression. The debilitating effect of limitations to movement can have a profound effect on the psyche. Unfortunately, the apathy that comes with depression can leave you unable to take action that could lessen your back pain, and ultimately inaction can make your back pain worse. So goes the endless circle of pain and depression.

Recognizing Depression

• The symptoms of depression include anxiety, decreased libido, poor appetite, sleeplessness, anger, sadness, moodiness, lack of concentration, and withdrawal from society. Simply put, depressed people don't care about anything and have no desire to do anything. They lose interest in things that once made them happy. If you have both sciatica back pain and symptoms of depression, it won't be easy to take action, but your life will improve if you do something.

Coping Strategies

• Addressing the depression with medication will lift your mood and also help alleviate the pain. Some antidepressants are formulated to treat anxiety, chronic pain, and sleep disorders, attacking several key symptoms at once.

  Stretching exercises or physical therapy are good options to relieve both pain and depression. If you cannot afford long-term physical therapy, consider taking up a type of exercise that is built around slow, carefully controlled movements, like tai chi. When practicing tai chi, you focus on breathing and slow, deliberate movements, which fosters a state of stress-reducing calm. Most of the exercises are gentle enough that anyone can do them.

  Acupuncture is rapidly becoming recognized as an effective alternative treatment for chronic pain. It may not work for everyone, but there are no side effects or drug interactions, and it is an ancient practice that does work for many people. A trial study led by Daniel Cherkin, Ph.D., of Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle, released a statement in May about the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating lower back pain. Researchers were happy to report that groups receiving acupuncture and simulated acupuncture reported significant pain relief over a year compared to traditional pain relief treatment. They could not, however, determine why simulated, noninvasive acupuncture had the same result as acupuncture and plan to follow up results with new studies.