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Can Painkillers make you depressed?
Im 28 year old guy & I have been taking Painkillers for back/knee pain since 2006 & I was just wondering if Painkillers can get you depressed?
I've been depressed for about a year or so now maybe a little bit longer because my life *****! I've been single for years, I've been out of work/on unemployment since march 2011, I still live at home, I don't have a car I'm driving my moms car, I'm flat broke I never have any money, I'm always in pain because of my back, I have bad asthma/health problems, I'm not really qualified for any job I have no college degree I had a few job interviews for a waiter position & I didn't get it, in march 2010 I watched my cat of 12 years (raised her from 7 weeks old) die. I had to put her to sleep because of what she was suffering from....
Most of my friends have moved on with their lives & are married or are getting married or at least have their on place & I'm the loser that still lives at home....
I was much happier in 2004-2005 that is when my life started going down hill & it's getting to the point where I don't even care if I live or die anymore. Some days are worse than others & I think to myself should I take this whole bottle of pills to put me out of my misery? I probably would have done it already if I wasn't afraid of going to hell. I also think maybe I'll fall down the stairs & break my neck or get in to a car accident or something like that. Most days I'll just sleep 12 hours a day or stay in bed all day....
I think its mostly just being alone that is making me depressed seeing all my friends going on dates & getting ready for their futures.
Do you think its the Painkillers making me depressed or the stuff I mentioned above or all it?
I'm tired of feeling like this, like I'm a 16 year old boy & not a 28 year old man. What should I do?
Thanks....
I've been depressed for about a year or so now maybe a little bit longer because my life *****! I've been single for years, I've been out of work/on unemployment since march 2011, I still live at home, I don't have a car I'm driving my moms car, I'm flat broke I never have any money, I'm always in pain because of my back, I have bad asthma/health problems, I'm not really qualified for any job I have no college degree I had a few job interviews for a waiter position & I didn't get it, in march 2010 I watched my cat of 12 years (raised her from 7 weeks old) die. I had to put her to sleep because of what she was suffering from....
Most of my friends have moved on with their lives & are married or are getting married or at least have their on place & I'm the loser that still lives at home....
I was much happier in 2004-2005 that is when my life started going down hill & it's getting to the point where I don't even care if I live or die anymore. Some days are worse than others & I think to myself should I take this whole bottle of pills to put me out of my misery? I probably would have done it already if I wasn't afraid of going to hell. I also think maybe I'll fall down the stairs & break my neck or get in to a car accident or something like that. Most days I'll just sleep 12 hours a day or stay in bed all day....
I think its mostly just being alone that is making me depressed seeing all my friends going on dates & getting ready for their futures.
Do you think its the Painkillers making me depressed or the stuff I mentioned above or all it?
I'm tired of feeling like this, like I'm a 16 year old boy & not a 28 year old man. What should I do?
Thanks....
Thanks for your reply, but that's the thing I can't go out & do stuff because like I mentioned I have no money & most everything costs something. I do play Drums & Guitar but that doesn't even seem to interest me anymore, nothing does. Alls I ever do anymore is watch tv/movies & play xbox 360 all night, that's about all I can do. My friends do ask me to hang out every now & then but I can't ever go because they have jobs/money & I don't....
My one friend took me to ocean city in august for a few days he paid for everything because he said he wanted to get me out of the house but I didn't really have a lot of fun because I felt like a heal mooching off of him/not being able to pay my own way is what I mean. I kind of felt a little embarrassed in front of the other people we were with....
My one friend took me to ocean city in august for a few days he paid for everything because he said he wanted to get me out of the house but I didn't really have a lot of fun because I felt like a heal mooching off of him/not being able to pay my own way is what I mean. I kind of felt a little embarrassed in front of the other people we were with....
OK, my computer decided to post for me. Sheesh...
It's up to us to change our outlook on life - not the people in our lives. It's our responsibility to reach out to others, pick up the phone, see what's going on with them, and insert ourselves into life again. Sure, we can't do what we used to do, but we're not dead yet! I had to explain to people that part of my pain management therapy was distraction and learning not to focus on it all the time. I asked them to please continue to include me in things like parties and other activities and I would participate if I could. I made it clear I wanted to stay connected and to assume there was no change unless I told them otherwise. Most of them seemed relieved to have my illness off the table and it wasn't long before they treated just the same way they always had before I got sick. What an improvement in my life!
It's so easy to fall into the trap of believing that meds will restore us to what we used to be before we got sick. When they don't do that, we tend to give up and sit around waiting for some cure to come along when most likely it won't. It's up to us to accept our new lives and begin to build a new one. You still have a working brain, don't you? Use it! You say you have no marketable skills and with your injuries a waitressing job is obviously not going to work for you. Look into online education programs if you physically can't attend classes so you can do something that accommodates your pain. Many of them are cheaper than classroom based courses as well.
I know getting out of the house likely seems like the last thing you want to do right now but it's important for both your physical and mental health. Once we stop living, we stop moving, and the downhill slide begins. For me, an important part of my therapy is music. I play handbells and sing in the choir at church. Everything else just falls away during rehearsals and on Sundays. No matter how badly I hurt, participating in music pretty much gets rid of it. You need to find something like that of your own.
Take it from a woman nearly twice your age: you are young! You can't and shouldn't compare your life to your friends' lives or anyone else's for that matter. You have a whole, long life to live and it's time to start living it - with or without the pain. Try different things and explore interests that you maybe didn't have time to explore before chronic pain derailed your life. You never know what might be a lifeline until you try it. :-)
It's up to us to change our outlook on life - not the people in our lives. It's our responsibility to reach out to others, pick up the phone, see what's going on with them, and insert ourselves into life again. Sure, we can't do what we used to do, but we're not dead yet! I had to explain to people that part of my pain management therapy was distraction and learning not to focus on it all the time. I asked them to please continue to include me in things like parties and other activities and I would participate if I could. I made it clear I wanted to stay connected and to assume there was no change unless I told them otherwise. Most of them seemed relieved to have my illness off the table and it wasn't long before they treated just the same way they always had before I got sick. What an improvement in my life!
It's so easy to fall into the trap of believing that meds will restore us to what we used to be before we got sick. When they don't do that, we tend to give up and sit around waiting for some cure to come along when most likely it won't. It's up to us to accept our new lives and begin to build a new one. You still have a working brain, don't you? Use it! You say you have no marketable skills and with your injuries a waitressing job is obviously not going to work for you. Look into online education programs if you physically can't attend classes so you can do something that accommodates your pain. Many of them are cheaper than classroom based courses as well.
I know getting out of the house likely seems like the last thing you want to do right now but it's important for both your physical and mental health. Once we stop living, we stop moving, and the downhill slide begins. For me, an important part of my therapy is music. I play handbells and sing in the choir at church. Everything else just falls away during rehearsals and on Sundays. No matter how badly I hurt, participating in music pretty much gets rid of it. You need to find something like that of your own.
Take it from a woman nearly twice your age: you are young! You can't and shouldn't compare your life to your friends' lives or anyone else's for that matter. You have a whole, long life to live and it's time to start living it - with or without the pain. Try different things and explore interests that you maybe didn't have time to explore before chronic pain derailed your life. You never know what might be a lifeline until you try it. :-)
Sweetheart, it's not the meds that are causing your depression. It's your situation. We chronic pain patients have to really work hard at not falling out of life into a black hole. The meds just make it easier to do that.
I did the same thing early in my pain journey and particularly when I had to quit working. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be defined by our disease and our pain. When people talk to us they only think, "She can't/won't do anything because she's sick." That happens because we either allow it or unknowingly promote it because it's all we talk about.
I was shocked when my pain shrink told me all that.
I did the same thing early in my pain journey and particularly when I had to quit working. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be defined by our disease and our pain. When people talk to us they only think, "She can't/won't do anything because she's sick." That happens because we either allow it or unknowingly promote it because it's all we talk about.
I was shocked when my pain shrink told me all that.
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