Depression can affect a person in many different ways. Many people recognize the mental and emotional effects of depression, but these are not the only symptoms and side effects. There are mental, emotional and physical symptoms of depression. In order to overcome depression, or even recognize that you have it, it's important to understand what depression looks like.
Despite what you may have heard, feelings of depression are not all in your head. Yes, it can have an impact on the way you think, your motivation levels, and your emotions, but its impact can go far beyond that. Depression can bring about a range of physical symptoms that can make daily life challenging.
physical symptoms of depression
While there are not many peer-reviewed studies in humans, studies in animals have shown the effects and connections between gut health and mental health. These studies suggest that what you eat and how you keep your gut healthy may affect your mental health. People also believe that vice versa. Your mental health can affect your physical body.
This may explain many of the physical symptoms of depression. It can also help explain why focusing on self-care, including eating right and exercising, can have a positive impact on your mental health.
chronic pain
Everyone's situation may be different. For example, some people with depression often suffer from headaches. Others experience back pain and even muscle aches and joint pain when they are depressed.
Another type of chronic pain often associated with depression is chest pain. While many people think what they are experiencing could be a heart attack or a more serious problem, it can also be a symptom of depression. This is especially true for those who experience anxiety, panic, and depression.
digestive problems
People with depression often also have digestive problems. Some people experience constipation or diarrhea. Others may experience nausea frequently.
If studies correctly show a link between mental health and gut health, then this makes scientific sense. People with depression may also experience changes in their appetite, which are related to digestion. Some people are unable to continue eating a balanced diet due to depression. They may eat highly processed convenience foods, which their bodies may have trouble digesting. Or they may be unable to eat anything at all, which can cause digestive problems when they eat.
sleep problems
People with depression often experience changes in sleeping habits as well. Some people may find that they sleep much more than usual. When suffering from depressive symptoms, it can be difficult to even motivate yourself to get out of bed. This may cause them to sleep much more than usual.
Others who suffer from depression may find it difficult to fall asleep. They may be plagued by anxious or negative thoughts that constantly run through their heads. This can make it difficult for them to get the rest they need every night.
exhausted
When a person is depressed, it's not uncommon for them to also feel fatigued and exhausted. No matter how much sleep they get each night, they may not feel rested when they wake up.
Mental and emotional symptoms, as well as pain, can cause people with depression to feel hopeless. This can make it difficult for them to feel excitement for life, motivation, or other positive emotions that might help them get on with their day. As a result, they may become exhausted and even small tasks become difficult to complete.
Other symptoms
While these symptoms are the most common symptoms of physical depression, there are others. Some of these may include eye problems such as decreased vision, dizziness, or lightheadedness.
If you're experiencing physical symptoms that you don't understand, they may be related to your mental health. It's important to discuss these with a professional.
The cycle of physical depression symptoms
The physical symptoms of depression, along with mental and emotional symptoms, can create a vicious cycle. When you feel blue, it can be easy to feel unmotivated to do the things you need to take care of yourself. This includes nutritious diet and exercise. When you stop doing these things, you may start to experience more symptoms of depression.
When you don't take care of yourself properly, your physical symptoms may also start to affect your mental and emotional symptoms. For example, if you are feeling depressed and find yourself less motivated to get out of bed in the morning, you may decide not to exercise that day. Because you feel so bad, you don't care much about eating, so you don't get the calories you need.
Lack of exercise and inadequate diet can make you feel more fatigued and exhausted. You may feel guilty and ashamed when you can't do the things you're used to doing in your daily life. Eventually, as the cycle continues, it can leave you feeling like the situation is hopeless and that you'll never regain control of your day, your energy, and your thoughts.
Treatment programs
Depression is a treatable mental health disorder. Talking with a licensed therapist can help you get to the root of your depression. It can also help you understand how to resolve any symptoms you are experiencing. A therapist can teach you important coping strategies that you can use to overcome depression and regain interest in activities you once enjoyed. They can even help you identify symptoms that may not be related to depression and learn how to address them.
There are many different treatments for depression. These include different types of therapies, medications, and many holistic options such as acupuncture and aromatherapy. No matter which option you choose, it's also important to practice proper self-care. Taking care of your body helps you take care of your mind, and vice versa.
Find a therapist
There are many places where you can find therapists to meet with. You can ask for a referral from your GP, your health insurance company or religious organization.
However, the symptoms you are trying to relieve can sometimes prevent you from seeking treatment for depression. Both physical and emotional/mental pain may cause you to stay home instead of going out in public to attend to everyday tasks, such as seeing a doctor or therapist. In these cases, you may be better off scheduling sessions with an online therapist. Web-based counseling allows you to meet with your mental health care provider from the comfort of your home. Plus, you can schedule your appointment at a time that's most convenient for you, day or night.
There is no right or wrong way to treat depression. Research shows that online therapy is a suitable alternative to face-to-face consultations for a variety of conditions, including depression. A meta-analysis confirmed that outcomes from Internet-based treatments were comparable to those from more traditional office-based treatments.
Emotional and Physical Pain: Interactive Symptoms
Chronic pain is the most common reason people seek medical assistance. Until recent years, physical pain was thought to be isolated to the body and unrelated to emotional pain. Scientists are now discovering a close connection between the two. The same part of the brain (the nervous system) processes both types of pain. This means that our feelings of physical and emotional pain all travel through the same neural pathways.
Research shows that people who experience both physical and emotional trauma experience more severe symptoms of each type of trauma than those who experience only one type of trauma.
Understanding this connection is important for medical and mental health professionals as they work with patients to explore the causes of pain and develop effective treatments.
physical symptoms of emotional pain
Emotional trauma can lead to physical symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, and joint pain.
For example, people with depression often also experience joint pain. When you're depressed, neurotransmitters change, causing a range of symptoms, including inflammation, which manifests as joint pain.
Anxiety is often associated with headaches and digestive problems. And, when anxiety leads to a panic attack, physical symptoms include dry mouth, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, and numbness in the hands and feet.
The appearance of the word "heartbreaking" is no coincidence. or “heart-wrenching” that often accompanies discussions of emotional pain. For example, when you go through a painful breakup, your heart can feel like it's being crushed. And if you've ever been injured in a car accident and lost your job, you probably know what "heartbreak" is. method. This isn't just a metaphor - emotional pain is real and can be just as painful as physical pain.
Although pain can be felt anywhere in the body, the most common physical symptom of emotional distress is in the stomach. This is because our brains cannot differentiate between real pain and imagined pain. So if you're worried about something that hasn't happened yet, or you're stressed about something that has already happened, your brain is actually sending a signal to your stomach that it's in trouble. This is why people often feel sick to their stomachs when they're nervous or anxious - their brains think danger is coming and send signals to their organs to prepare.
Emotional Symptoms of Physical Pain
When you're experiencing physical pain, it's easy to ignore your emotional state. But the two are interrelated—ignoring them can make things worse.
If you live with chronic pain, you may worry about the future, lose hope, and feel like a burden to others. This can lead to depression, anxiety, and social isolation, which may increase your sensitivity to pain. If you have had an accident or had a stroke, you may be worried about how your injury or illness will affect your quality of life, income, relationships, or family. These thoughts and emotions can lead to stress, and the body's response to stress is to release cortisol, which can make you feel more anxious and depressed.
In some cases, physical pain may lead to somatic symptom disorder, a mental health condition characterized by an abnormal focus on physical symptoms that results in severe distress or functional problems. Some people with this disorder are diagnosed with a disease but have a disproportionate number of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to the disease. For others, medical conditions have been ruled out and there is no clear diagnosis of symptoms. Because a medical condition may not be the underlying cause of pain, the disorder is sometimes difficult to diagnose and can be very challenging for patients and their medical and mental health clinicians.
dual treatment approach
Because physical and emotional pain overlap, patients often benefit from the simultaneous work of medical and mental health providers. You can start with your doctor or mental health provider, whichever you feel most comfortable with.
If you see a mental health professional, they may ask questions about your medical and physical health conditions and symptoms. At Dakota Family Services, we believe it is important to fully understand the situation and, when appropriate, refer you to your doctor to rule out serious medical conditions. If I'm treating you for depression and you have mononucleosis or thyroid disease, you won't be able to make any progress until the underlying medical problem is also treated.
Chronic pain patients most often start with their medical provider. Your treatment will depend on the underlying cause of the pain and may include medications, physical therapy, surgery, and implantable electrical stimulators.
Because most doctors who treat chronic pain recognize the connection between emotional and physical pain, they will also recommend psychotherapy to help you learn how to cope with your condition. This can include learning stress management and relaxation techniques, as well as identifying triggers for pain, which may be emotional or physical (or both).
Some psychotherapeutic modalities used to treat patients with chronic pain include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).
- CBT will help you understand how your ideas develop based on your experiences. How you view yourself and how you respond to the words and actions of those around you are often automatic and based on previous experiences. CBT can help you shift your perspective and perceptions so that you can choose other ways to cope with situations that are causing you distress.
- DBT is another form of therapy that helps you change thoughts and behaviors that are getting in the way of achieving your goals or living your best life. Using pain tolerance DBT tools, you can learn to accept and live with your pain. It may seem counterintuitive, but strategies that balance acceptance and change can help you shift your energy from avoiding and ignoring pain to discovering and focusing on the positive aspects of your life. Other pillars of this model include mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotion regulation, which all help patients cope with pain.
- ACT is another therapy that includes mindfulness. It helps a person accept thoughts and experiences as they are rather than trying to change them.
- MBSR is a therapy based on meditation and yoga. Originally designed for stress management, it is also used to treat a variety of conditions such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, skin and immune disorders. During MBSR, patients learn stress reduction and relaxation techniques to manage symptoms.
Other therapies considered include biofeedback, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), hypnosis, somatic anchoring, and hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy.
Don't suffer in silence
If you're struggling with emotional or physical pain, don't be afraid to ask for help. Not only do you need treatment for your condition, but you also need to find ways to cope with it to help lessen the impact on your mind and body. Combining treatment with other chronic pain treatment options is the best way to relieve pain.
Don’t give up until you get answers or relief!
