Spinal cord injuries can lead to mental issues; Research says

Anxiety alone is not a cause of mental distress, there can be many reasons behind the deterioration of your mental health. Recently, scientists from the University of Michigan have revealed in research that 80% of people suffering from spinal problems also have mental health problems.

Research says:

In this study, scientists compared the data of two sets of adults. One set consists of persons, who previously had spinal cord injury. The sample size of this set was more than nine thousand. Another set consists of persons who had no such problem. Their number was more than ten lakhs.

Scientists found that people suffering from spinal cord injuries had problems ranging from anxiety disorders to sleeplessness and brain fog. Although problems like anxiety and depression are not the result of spinal injury, these problems can be more in such people than in healthy people.

Associated Mental issues:

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Research tells that chronic pain in the spinal cord, that is, long-term pain causes mental diseases in humans. In many people, mental health problems were seen not from spinal cord injury but long-term pain. Feelings of helplessness, unnecessary dependency on others and social isolation after the injury can trigger stress. The psychological problems following spinal cord injury in an individual may include the following:

Post-traumatic stress disorder
Depression
Suicidal thoughts
Apathy towards own life
Marital and relationship issues
Lack of motivation to achieve anything in life.
Feeling of worthlessness and low self-esteem.
Excessive anger.

What is the solution?

Scientists advise that apart from the treatment of spinal injury, doctors should also pay attention to the mental health of patients suffering from spinal problems. If the patient shows any symptoms of mental health problems, then they should be motivated to get treatment for the disease. Here, the family also plays an important role, the surroundings of such patients must be kept stress-free. Family members can consult mental health counsellors to get some tips that will help such patients.