What We Do Our Service The Link Between Mood and Pain Pain has a psychological component. This is not to say that pain is in your head. Instead, your mood can act as a volume control for pain – turning it up and down. Serotonin is a chemical in our brain that is linked to both mood and pain perception. The lower your mood, the more pain you feel. Anxiety Increases Pain Anxiety increases muscle tension which results in greater pain Anxiety also increases alertness to physical changes in the body Anxiety results in more worried and catastrophic thoughts, which may prevent you from doing things despite your pain Depression Increases Pain Pain magnifies low mood Feeling depressed makes it difficult to change habits Depression results in feelings of isolation and loss of self confidence Depressed people can feel out of control and have many negative thoughts, possibly preventing you from doing things despite the pain Feeling depressed results in avoidance of social activities and events, this all leads to a vicious circle of isolation and low mood. Our thoughts affect how we feel. When we feel low in mood, we tend to have a lot of negative thoughts. If we can identify that we are having these thoughts, we can challenge them and hopefully replace them with more realistic/balanced thoughts. Ask yourself these questions: What is the evidence for this thought? Are there any alternative ways of thinking about this? What would I say to a friend who is in the same situation? What would my friend say to me? By challenging negative thoughts, and replacing them with more realistic or positive ones, we can: Feel more in control Raise our mood Help ourselves relax Increase our motivation Increase energy and activity Decrease pain Manage life better Manage Cookie Preferences