Sore Feet Can Be Downright Depressing

When our feet hurt, everything hurts. The 3 out of 4 adults who have a foot problem can attest to their discomfort. Sometimes it’s a nagging discomfort that grows into serious pain. Other times, our feet become sore as soon as they touch the ground. If you’re one of these foot pain sufferers, how long can you function with sore feet? A few hours, one day, maybe two. Suppose you had to endure foot pain for months?

Most of us don’t think about our feet until they hurt. It doesn’t take long for foot pain to alter our plans.  I broke my pinky toe, twice. Each time during the healing process, I regularly forgot I had to move very carefully and slowly. My toe reminded me of this mistake every time. As soon as I physically made the motions to move, my pinky toe generated excruciating pain that radiated throughout my body.  Continuing foot pain can cramp a once healthy and active lifestyle. Continuing foot pain can make a normally happy person cranky. Did you know continuing foot pain can also lead to depression?

Depression is a serious illness that can leave the strongest of people emotionally broken. It can destroy our self-esteem and make our once healthy lifestyle seem like a distant dream. Depression is a mental health illness which should not be ignored. May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s a good time to break the stigma associated with it.

• Mental health issues can arise at any time in our lives. Physical pain like continuing foot pain can be a trigger. I spoke with someone in my bowling league who could barely walk due to foot pain that transferred from one foot to the other. This once very active 30-year-old could barely walk. She struggled to go to work and watched from the sidelines as her friends bowled. After six weeks of treatment with her podiatrist, her pain continued, and she’d lost her smile. She didn’t see any end to her misery in sight and her depression was very real.

The following bowling season, I was pleased to see my friend bowling again. Her podiatrist had diagnosed and was treating her problem. Her smile had returned. The memory of her foot pain and her depression were still fresh. She was grateful she was able to speak to a counselor during that difficult time. The depression she experienced during her illness created insecurities within her that nearly overwhelmed her.

If you know someone who suffers from continuing foot pain, please encourage them to see a podiatrist.  Sometimes foot problems are not easily diagnosed, and the patient may continue to experience pain. If this occurs, and you notice the patient’s mood is changing, encourage them to speak with a mental health specialist. Being ill can be very depressing.

Anxiety, panic disorder, eating disorders, Bipolar, schizophrenia and uncontrollable anger are also mental health illnesses. If you know someone who suffers from one these illnesses, you can make a tremendous impact in their lives by encouraging them to get treatment. Support is available for you or your friends at the National Alliance of Mental Illness, https://www.nami.org/.  It’s time to break the stigma and get help.