The Influence of Discouragement, Anxiety and Anger on Pain

Animal research suggests that exposure to inescapable stressors can lead to an endogenous opioid-mediated form of pain inhibition, known as stress-induced analgesia. Similar results have been found with humans, although the literature is much less extensive and at times contradictory. More recently, there has been some suggestion that emotions play an important role in pain modulation, and that particular negative moods are associated with opioid-mediated decreases in pain. In four separate studies, this work aims to clarify the psychological factors underlying endogenous opioid-mediated pain inhibition in humans, especially in those with a major mood disorder, namely depression. This book also examines the involvement of endogenous opioids in the blood pressure-pain relationship. This analysis provides some interesting insights into the opioid-dysfunction hypothesis in depression, and increased incidence of chronic conditions such as chronic pain and coronary heart disease, and should be especially useful to professionals interested in endogenous pain modulation and those working with patients who experience comorbid mood and pain disorders.