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Depression Hurts, Emotionally and Physically
Depression hurts, not only as a disease of the mind, but in the physical as well and has many features
which are intensely physical in nature. In fact many cultures express mood changes in concrete body terms, including descriptions of pains.
The pain associated with depression can vary
from person to person and can include but is not limited to:
Headaches are common in depressed people. These can be caused by the brains
chemical imbalance associated with depression.
Back pain can also be a symptom of depression and if one has existing back
pain becoming depressed can make this worse.
Muscle aches and joint pain can also be a symptom of depression. In fact,
depression can make any chronic pain worse.
Chest pain can also be a sign of depression. It is very important that you
get any type of chest pain checked by a doctor as it can be a sign of
serious heart disease as depression can raise the risk of this deadly
disease.
Digestive problems can also stem from depression and can include being
constipated or diarrhea. You can also suffer from nausea.
It has also been found that depression can affect the bodies ability to
rebuild bones, leading to osteoporosis.
Exhaustion, fatigue and sleeping problems are all associated with
depression. Many depressed people cannot sleep well and this leads to severe
exhaustion. Even when they do sleep well they still wake up fatigued.
Severe weight loss or gain also can accompany depression. It can cause a
loss of appetite or food cravings.
As you can see depression can hurt many of the body's systems causing
debilitating effects. The physical symptoms aren't just a figment of the
imagination, they cause real changes to a persons body. This bodily pain can
cause many people who suffer from depression to not get proper medical care
because they do not associate the pain with their depressed state.
Most of the time treating the depression will alleviate the physical
symptoms as well. This is best accomplished with a combination of therapy
and medication. The opposite is true also and easing the pain
can help with the depression. This is why it's very important that you
discuss all your symptoms with you doctor or therapist because the two sides
of depression must both be dealt with. If you do not treat both problems the
chances of a full recovery are greatly reduced.
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