Yes, pain can and does lead to suicide. I'm on the verge of losing a dear friend and there's nothing I can do about it.
I am not a doctor or a mental health professional. However, I suffer from chronic pain and have contact with others who share this problem. Suicidal thoughts for chronic pain patients and actual suicides are much more common than you would think. In fact, I would not be surprised if many chronic pain patients are either contemplating suicide or planning to carry it out as I am writing. I know someone right now who is planning to commit suicide because her pain is undertreated and there is nothing I can do about it! When chronic pain exceeds resources for coping suicidal feelings are the result. If you or someone you know is depressed, in crisis or feeling suicidal please seek professional help immediately before it is too late. Each life is precious and deserves good care.
As mentioned earlier when pain exceeds pain-coping resources, suicidal feelings are the result. äThere are many kinds of pain that may lead to suicide. Whether or not the pain is bearable may differ from person to person. What might be bearable for one person, may not be bearable to someone else. The point at which the pain becomes unbearable depends on what kinds of coping resources people have. Individuals vary greatly in their capacity to withstand pain. Unfortunately pain is often undertreated and pain patients are even treated as addicts. The "War On Drugs" has created a national CRISIS, that is driving thousands of legitimate pain patients to suicide by using harassment, fear and intimidation to force doctors not to treat pain." Chronic pain is often undertreated even by compassionate doctors and chronic pain patients risk the threat of nerve damage and/or suicide if this pain is not adaquately treated.
My sources for this information are, If you Are Thinking of Suicide Read This First and The Chronic Pain Forum, as well as my own experience and that of very many sufferers of chronic pain that I have encountered. These websites are good resources as well as other links provided in my "Help With Pain" section under the heading "Health " and "Health Advocacy, such as American Society For Action on Pain etc. However, they are not meant to take the place of doctors or mental health professionals.
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