How many of you thought of depression as a form of physical pain? I bet not too many, although depression hurts. Besides the feeling of sadness, hopelessness and other emotional symptoms, depression can also manifest as physical pain. Yes, dear readers, physical pain is a psychological sign of distress and it is just as important as the other symptoms.
So, if you believe you are experiencing a depressive period, pain can be a clue but there are also other important signs that can help you keep in check with your mind and body. Here are the most common depression symptoms:
- Fatigue or consistent lower energy levels
If you have that sluggish feeling in the morning that makes you want to stay in bed, watching TV all day long, with no energy for the smallest chores or even for the self-care routine, you might experience fatigue, one of the most common depression symptom. However, depression-related fatigue differs from every day fatigue because it also leads to apathy, irritability and it can even cause concentration problems. In fact, depressed people also feel sluggish even after they got a full night of rest, because they mostly experience nonrestorative sleep.
There are more diseases that can cause fatigue like viruses and infections, but if besides fatigue you also experience a lack of pleasure in every day activities, feelings of hopelessness or sadness, you may be depressed.
- Decreased pain tolerance
If you don’t feel any reason for your physical pain but you feel as if all of your nerves are on fire, you might have depression because this mental co-exists with pain. In fact, a study made 5 years ago suggested that there is a correlation between depressed people and decreased pain tolerance. They did not find a cause and effect link between the two but they underlined the importance of being evaluated together, especially if you’re under medication. It seems that there are some antidepressants that can combat pain besides relieving depression.
- Back pain or aching muscles all over
Although muscle pain can also be associated with bad posture, this symptom is also associated with psychological distress. Although this subject still needs further research, it seems that emotional issues can trigger the body’s inflammatory response, interrupting some brain signals and leading to chronic pains and aches. So it is important to treat inflammation in order to get rid of that back pain or muscle aches.
- Headaches
Although all of us can experience stress induced headaches now and then, if you have them daily, it might be a sign of depression. They don’t impair your functioning like the excruciating migraine headaches do, but they feel like a tension around the eyebrows or like a mild throbbing sensation that occurs regularly. Over-the counter pain medication can help you treat them but remember that chronic pain together with decreased energy, feelings of irritability and sadness is an indication of depression.
- Eye problems or decreasing vision
Sometimes, depressed people might have problems with the contrast perception so it seems that this mental disease can also affect one’s eyesight. One older study made on 80 depressed individuals suggested that they are not able to make the difference between white and black. So, if the entire world is a bit hazier to you and you also have some of the symptoms above, you may need to talk to a psychiatrist to rule out or treat depression.
- Stomach pain or uneasiness in the abdomen
The most recognizable sign of depression is the sinking feeling you have in your stomach. And when the stress arises, the pain gets worse and more symptoms are adding like bloating, cramps or nausea. According to a Harvard, study depression leads to an inflamed digestive system reason why the mental health is sometimes mistaken for irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease. In fact, there is a link between our gut health and our mental wellbeing and that’s why sometimes doctors refer to our gut as the “second brain”. An imbalance in our gut can have a great effect on our general mood, increasing the symptoms of anxiety and leading to depression.
- Digestive problems or irregular bowel schedules
Embarrassing symptoms like diarrhea or constipation are not just common to gastrointestinal diseases but they can also be a sign of anxiety or depression. Intense distressing emotions like anger, shame, sadness can disrupt our digestive tract and overwhelm our entire digestion. So if you have irregular bowel schedules for a prolonger period of time talk for your health provider to discover the cause of this discomfort. In the end, the pain we feel is the way our brain communicates.
According to the American Psychological Association, depression affect 14.8 million of American adults each year, being one of the most common mental illnesses. It can be linked to genetics, brain chemistry or it can be caused by trauma or exposure to childhood stress. If you experience some of the above symptoms, talk to a doctor to be screened for anxiety and depression because with medication and psychotherapy you can recover.
