Experiences of depression and illness behavior in patients with intractable chronic pain

Studied the relationships between depth of depression, anaclitic and introjective depressive experiences, and dimensions of illness behavior in 37 chronic pain patients. Depth of depression and degree of introjective depressive experiences showed similar positive covariation with a broad range of illness behavior: Namely, hypochondriasis, disease conviction, affective inhibition, affective disturbance, and irritability. The findings suggest that depression characterized by feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and self-doubt, rather than themes of abandonment, is associated differentially with disturbances in the illness behavior of chronic pain patients.