Depression and Its Link With Physical Symptoms

Introduction:

Depression is a mental illness that exhibits emotional pains like sadness, crying, and feelings of hopelessness. Recent research has shown that depression is also linked to physical symptoms like pain. This makes it difficult to treat depression. Physical symptoms suggest that depression is real and damaging to the overall well-being of a person.

What Is Depression?

Depression is a serious health issue classified as a mental health disorder that may affect feelings negatively, the way the person thinks, and their way of acting. This condition may affect the ability of a person to function at work and at home. This also causes sadness and a loss of interest in activities the individual used to enjoy.

Depression is classified as a mood disorder, and it is a feeling of sadness, anger, and loss that affects the daily functioning of an individual. It is considered a common condition and is estimated to be affecting 18.5 % of the population in the United States (U.S.) in any two weeks in 2019.

Though grief and depression share some features, they are different. In grief, positive feelings like happy memories accompany the individual through emotional pain. In depression, there is a loss of self-esteem, and sadness is constantly present.

Depression may affect daily activities, relationships, and health. Some conditions may be more affected.

These include,

• Arthritis.

• Asthma.

• Cardiovascular disease.

• Cancer.

• Diabetes.

• Obesity.

Feeling down sometimes is considered normal in life, but if this feeling is consistently present, then it may be considered depression. If not treated at the right time, it may worsen the condition. Depression may be felt differently among males, females, teens, and children.

What Are the Physical Symptoms Associated With Depression?

In the case of depression, everyone is aware that it exhibits emotional pain. Along with emotional symptoms, depression also exhibits physical pains or chronic pains. The symptoms are not only related to the head, but they may show real changes in the body.

These physical symptoms are thought to be due to other conditions, and they are not taken care of. Even many doctors miss out on these symptoms.

The physical symptoms of depression include

1. Problems Related to Sleep: Depression is associated with sleep problems, mainly hypersomnia (sleeping more) and insomnia (sleeping less). Insomnia is always accompanied by depression and their neurobiology is similar.
2. Fatigue: Depression can slow down the whole system. Individuals with depression tend to be slow in all their activities and face challenges in functioning. They are found to be lethargic. It has been found that a theory called polyvagal theory suggests that depression is considered to be the body’s response to perceived danger or defeat. Hence, individuals with depression experience sleep problems and fatigue. Other symptoms of depression include slowing in speech, movements, and mental processes. The decrease in energy is thought to be due to fatigue.
3. Muscle Pains: Depression can increase bodily inflammation. Mediators produced in response to inflammation initiate depressive symptoms. Some studies have suggested that depression can increase pain sensitivity. Polyvagal theory suggests that a feeling of pain, whether physical or mental, keeps a person from expending unnecessary energy. Muscle pains may keep the person from doing activities, work, and spending time with others.
4. Joint Pain: Individuals having joint pains try to take medications or treatments for pain, and most of them will miss out on depression. Hence, it becomes challenging to diagnose the condition called depression. The relationship between pain and depression is bidirectional. When there is increased pain, depression may arise, and whenever depression is present, the pain may become significantly greater. The neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine can influence pain as well as mood. An imbalance in the neurotransmitters may impact pain and mood.
5. Digestive Problems: Stress is related to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome or gastrointestinal problems. The symptoms may be diarrhea, nausea, appetite fluctuations, and cramps. It has been found that millions of nerve cells are present in the lining of the gastrointestinal system. These cells are responsible for receiving and sending messages to the brain. Any imbalance in the digestive system may cause problems related to mood.
6. Dizziness and Lightheadedness: Psychological illnesses like depression may cause dizziness and lightheadedness. Research has found that 20 % of individuals with dizziness experience high levels of depression.
7. Backache: Back pain causes stress on the whole body. If depression is already present, it worsens the pain. Severe and chronic pain may also lead to depression.
8. Headaches and Migraines: Different types of headaches are seen among those suffering from depression. Types of headaches include cluster headaches and tension headaches.
9. Changes in Appetite and Weight: Depression may cause either increased or decreased appetite. There may be fluctuations in weight as well.
10. Low Libido: Depression may lead to a condition called anhedonia. This is a condition in which a person has a decreased ability to enjoy pleasurable activities. In depression, the decreased sex drive may lead to erectile dysfunction, or there may be a complete lack of interest.
11. Feeling of Restlessness and Fidgety: Sometimes, co-occurring symptoms of anxiety and depression may be seen. In such cases, the individual feels restless, irritable, and impulsive.
12. Vision-Related Problems: Individuals with vision problems may face depression. Research has found that individuals of old age with vision problems or vision loss are found to have depression.
13. Skin Reactions or Disorders: Skin problems like psoriasis and eczema are related to depression. Even due to anxiety, skin problems do occur.

How to Treat Physical Symptoms Caused by Depression?

Treatments used for depression may help in the case of physical symptoms of depression, too. The first step is to understand what is going on and making certain changes in the lifestyle does help ease the physical symptoms.

Treatments include

• Medications: Antidepressants are used to impact norepinephrine, serotonin levels, and neurotransmitters.
• Triggers: Avoiding triggers like diet and usage of social media may help reduce depression and pain.
• Talk Therapy: If the talks are against the pain, the pain sensation may remain longer. Sometimes, talk therapy helps to reduce the pain.

Conclusion:

Depression is a mental health disorder that affects the thinking and behavior of an affected individual. Along with emotional pain, it also causes physical pain. It causes various physical symptoms like tiredness, sleep disturbances, and various types of pain. Physical symptoms may indicate depression, or depression may show severe or different types of pain. Hence, it becomes important to know about depression, the physical symptoms associated with this condition, and how to deal with such a situation.