Physical Symptom of Depression
Depression is typically considered as mental or emotional condition, and with good reason; consider that several core symptoms of depression manifest itself in a person’s psychological outlook and in body systems. But depression always expresses itself in a change of appetite, usually inhibiting the desire to eat, but occasionally reversing course, as in atypical depression, and increasing it. The physical condition of depression will not reveal itself as severely as an advanced case of schizophrenia, but the physical symptoms of depression are there to be observed, especially as a case of depression remains on. Depression has many features that are strongly physical in nature. Some of these symptoms and signs are very similar to symptoms seen in diseases, which are known to have an identifiable physical cause. These physical symptoms of depression include aches and pains, constipation, weight loss, tiredness, loss of appetite, loss of interest in sex and others. Therefore it can be difficult for both patients and doctors to be sure, whether a physical symptom is representative of depression, or suggests an entirely different disorder requiring a different treatment.
Physical symptoms are often used as substitutes for psychological ones, particularly many more minor variations in mood. Many cultures express mood changes in real body terms, including descriptions of pains, for example. Many patients feel that doctors are trained to respond physical complaints and hence present these unconsciously to their doctors. It is well known that common physical complaints can have a psychological involvement. Headaches, for instance, can be made worse by the increase in muscular tension of the neck and scalp muscles that are a physical accompaniment of a state of anxiety. In the severe forms of depression not only you will find physical symptoms such as slowness and constipation present, but also about their physical state can increase in patients until they imagine they are ill when they are not, sometimes to the point of delusion.
Many patients de-emphasize psychosocial symptoms while emphasizing pains as their primary or individual complaints. There is a high correlation between the number of physical symptoms report and the existence of depression. Additionally, patients with residual physical and emotional symptoms that treatment for depression appear to be at higher risk of relapse compared with those who have no residual symptoms. In many cases, treating your depression with therapy or medicine or both will determine your physical symptoms. But make sure to tell your health care provider or physician about any physical symptoms. Don't think that they will go away on their own. They may need extra treatment. For example, your doctor may recommend an anti-anxiety medicine if you have insomnia. Those drugs help you relax and let you to sleep better. Since pain and depression go together, sometimes decreasing your pain may help with your depression. Some antidepressants, such as Cymbalta and Effexor, may help you with chronic pain, too. Other treatments can also help you when you suffer with painful symptoms. Certain types of focused therapy like cognitive behavioral, can teach you ways to handle better with the pain.