The Physical Effects of Depression
Depression is a crippling mental disorder that eats away at a person’s life. The effects of this disorder creep its way into every aspect of their life. These can cause them to stay awake constantly and become unable to eat. What can you do to help someone experiencing it? Well, the first step to successful treatment of this disorder is to understand it’s effects on the people experiencing it. Namely, the psychological and physical effects of depression.
Depression and What Patients Experience Physically
Understanding the physical aspect of depression can help you figure out a way to help a loved one going through depression. Depression can hit someone in two ways: Physically and Psychologically. Today we’ll be exploring the physical effects of depression on patients.
The physical effects of depression can be seen directly through a patient’s body. The physical effects of depression can vary from person to person. They could be losing or gaining weight, have bags under their eyes or even be more sickly than usual. Knowing these physical effects can help you identify what to do for the patient.
Excessive Fatigue
This is the most common physical effect of depression. 90% of all people who suffer from depression have to deal with crippling fatigue. The worst part is that chronic fatigue happens due to the other effects of depression. Lack of sleep and a terrible diet being the primary causes of the fatigue experienced by patients.
Insomnia
Insomnia is related to depression in one of two ways. The first way is that insomnia can cause depression due to a person not being able to get the rest they need to function. The second way is that insomnia is that a depressive episode is forewarned by the onset of insomnia. Either way, a person is not getting enough sleep to be able to function normally throughout the day. There is also evidence that treating insomnia can, in turn, lessen or even cure depression.
Lack of Appetite or Excessive Appetite
There are two ways appetite can affect a person with depression. They either refuse to eat and starting losing weight or they excessively eat as a coping mechanism for their depression. Either way, it is unhealthy for a person to not get the nutrition they need or overloading their body with too much food for it to process. The best way to deal with this is to plan out a diet and to stick to it. Avoid fatty food and processed food while opting for more natural meals that include omega 3 rich fish products, B vitamins, and protein from lean meat.
Weakened Immune System and Stress
Your immune system is at risk whenever you have depression. Over time your body’s immune system will waste away because of it. The way this happens is that during depressive episodes your body will feel as if it were being threatened or attacked. The stress from this reaction causes your body to release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Initially, this will boost your immune system. However, with cortisol and adrenaline constantly running rampant in your immune system, it will eventually wear out over time.
What Can You Do?
The best way to help someone with depression is to seek professional help. Depression can be crippling and having a professional back you up can be the difference between years of chronic depression to living those years free from the burden that depression brings. Contact us today for a consultation!
