Physical Symptoms of Depression and Mental Attitudes

Of all mental illnesses, depression is one of the most common diseases in the world. Over 300 million people in the world become depressed within a six-month period. In America alone, a reported 20 million people develop depression every year!

Depression has been called the “Common Cold of Mental Health”. Because of this, many people fail to seek help, even if the majority of the patients will respond to treatment.

This condition can be mild, which can cause only a little annoyance in your daily routine. However, it can also become a serious condition, which can make you unable to work, or worse, participate in your social life. 

During an episode of depression, you may experience emotional changes and mood alterations.  Conversely, depression can also produce physical changes in the way your body functions. Understanding these symptoms associated with depression can help you assess the severity of your condition.

The physical symptoms of depression include:

•Changes in appetite
This is the most common symptom of depression. Although typically, your appetite may decrease significantly, other people can express depression by excessive eating and weight gain.

•Changes in sleeping patterns
Many people with depression experience insomnia, reduced or disturbed sleep, difficulty of getting to sleep or waking up early and become unable to go back to sleep. In fact, 80% of clinically depressed patients report complaints of insomnia. However, other people may also sleep too much, which is often seen in patients who experience an increase in appetite.

•Chronic fatigue and exhaustion
When you are experiencing a sudden decrease in energy, this feeling may become severe to a point where even the smallest tasks seem strenuous to accomplish.

•Headaches
Another common physical symptom of depression, headaches can be mild to severe. However, if you have a history of migraines, headaches may become more persistent if you’re depressed.

•Chest pain
There has been evidence that depression raises the risks of heart diseases and increases the severity of existing cardiac problems. When you experience chest pains, it's advisable to check with your doctor to evaluate if it's related to heart problems or depression alone.

•Digestive problems
Depression can trigger certain digestive problems such as an inflated stomach, difficulty to urinate, stomach acidity, diarrhea, indigestion, and chronic constipation.

•Musculoskeletal pains
People with back pains or Scoliosis will suffer with relentless back pain if depressed. Other times, you may experience tenderness in your neck, muscles and joints. These symptoms may show up alone, or in any combination. However, if depression remains untreated, it may lead serious changes in your body’s structure, such as bone mass insufficiency leading to osteoporosis.

•Nausea
Due to different physical changes you may experience, you are likely to experience dizziness or lightheadedness caused by lack of sleep or food as well as headaches.

•Agitation and physical slowing
This occurs to people with severe depression. Anxiety can be seen when a person cannot sit still in one place and squeeze his or her hands constantly. On the other hand, some people may move and talk slowly. These two conditions can be experienced alone or alternatively. 

•Loss of sex drive
For some people, sex drive may be decreased noticeably, which could possibly lead to impotence or develop anorgasmia – inability to have an orgasm.

These physical symptoms of depression may be experienced alone or in combination. However, don’t let them scare you. All of these symptoms can be eased and even eliminated permanently.

If you’re experiencing at least three of these physical symptoms, you may be clinically depressed. Consult your health care provider and discuss these symptoms to ensure proper medication and treatment.