October is a month dedicated each year to awareness about mental health and depression. Health providers are on a continuous mission to reduce the historical stigma and educate the public at large about mental health and depression. There is no shortage of information and resources about recognizing the emotional signs and markers of depression, but what about the physical symptoms? Talking about it is important because many people don’t always link together the physical and emotional aspects of depression.
Physical ailments ranging from mild to severe are associated with mental illness, depression in particular. Because these ailments can also be associated with so many other conditions, they might not be at the forefront of the mind of someone living with depression. Research shows that up to 50 percent of people with chronic pain conditions exhibit symptoms of depression and that depression and anxiety can cause upset stomach, digestive issues, headaches, and body aches, just to name a few. The physical ailments that accompany the mental aspects of depression can range from mild to severe and from the short term to the long term. Fatigue is one of the most common complaints. People may suddenly lack motivation and energy with their usual level of activity and feel tired after getting 10 or 12 hours of sleep.
Frequent physical complaints to go along with depression can include:
Sleep disturbances – sleeping too much or too little.
Abrupt changes in appetite – eating too much or too little, leading to rapid changes in weight.
Vague achiness in the body – headaches, back aches, and other muscle aches that seemingly have no explanation.
Sexual problems – decreased libido, difficulty becoming aroused, or even performance anxiety.
Another thing noticed early on is digestive issues. There is a large concentration of serotonin receptors in our gut. Serotonin is also hypothesized to be an important neurotransmitter playing some role in depression. Increased stress can present as nausea, diarrhea, constipation, any sort of physical complaints to the gut and people often don’t make the connection that it could be anxiety from depression. The good news is that when these somatic symptoms can be directly linked to depression, they have a good chance of responding to medication, psychotherapy, and lifestyle modifications. Once these physical manifestations are linked to a patient’s depression, it is important to have realistic expectations regarding how long it will take treatment to become effective. While some symptoms like sleep quality and appetite may improve quickly with medication, patients should realize that recovery is a long road and allow themselves grace and patience during recovery.
Most people often have difficulty with the time it takes to get better. It can take a bit of trial and error to find the right antidepressant and dosage and then four to six weeks for them to take effect. Screening, diagnosing, and treating depression is no longer solely up to psychiatrists and other mental health providers. Primary care physicians more often than not are the providers that are identifying depression in patients and prescribing antidepressants. Primary care physicians are often the gatekeepers. If an individual is more comfortable talking to their primary care provider, the most important thing is for their mental health to be addressed.
The number of available mental health providers is still quite small compared to the need. Primary care providers do a great service for the community by providing some of this help to people.
Fatigue, body aches, and sleep disturbances are the more common bodily ailments experienced by those living with depression. The more moderate to severe depressive episodes and their accompanying physical afflictions are less common. Depressive episodes can be so debilitating that a person can barely get out of bed. If someone is in such a severe state of depression that they are having prolonged periods of inactivity the body breaks down in sort of a domino effect.
Their muscles begin to waste away, and the immune system decreases which leads to a plethora of illnesses and conditions – cardiovascular troubles, high blood pressure, heart disease, dramatic weight changes, thyroid problems, and diabetes for example. In addition, these conditions can lead to deconditioning of the body, chronic pain, and bedsores. Extended periods of no social interaction will eventually lead to cognitive failure. Symptoms severity is also affected by external factors like non-compliance with prescribed medication or treatment plans, substance abuse, or lack of a support system.
Self-care is crucial, for both the person suffering from mental illness and for those who love, live with, and care for them. Individuals living with depression should take care to eat healthy, maintain good sleep hygiene and social interaction, and receive observations from those who love them. Family members and loved ones of mental illness sufferers should listen, validate what they are going through, encourage them to get help when needed, and educate themselves about depression and what their loved ones are experiencing.
If you are living with depression, remember it’s a medical condition for which you should seek help as you would any other illness. It’s not your fault and you didn’t bring this on yourself.
Adapted from: AFRO
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