Depression is simply a brain disorder that can cause too much emotional anguish
Changes in how your brain functions also can have a big effect on your body. Is it any wonder, then, that depression contributes to a wide array of physical problems that affect everything from your heart to your immune system?
Depression doesn’t just cause physical symptoms; it can also increase your risk for — or may worsen — certain physical illnesses or conditions. In turn, some illnesses can also trigger depression.
Depression affects much more than moods. These are a few of the most common physical symptoms of depression:
1) Increased aches and pains, which occur in about two out of three people with depression
2) Chronic fatigue
People with chronic fatigue syndrome can feel extreme fatigue after exertion that doesn’t improve with bed rest. They can also have headaches, muscle pain and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms can persist for years.
3) Decreased interest in s*x
Dealing with depression can be tough in so many ways. The devastating effect it can have on sex makes the condition even worse.
Researchers have definitively linked this mental health diagnosis to a number of intimacy challenges: difficulties with sexual self-esteem, feeling sexually distant from a partner, trouble communicating about sex, being unsure how to initiate sex, and a flatlining interest in sex in general, according to a new study.
4) Decreased appetite
Changes in your eating habits may be related to other symptoms of depression, such as fatigue and a lack of pleasure from activities. Many people with depression lose both energy and interest. This can include a loss of interest in eating.
This may be especially true for older people with depression, who may lose interest in cooking and don’t have the energy to prepare meals. For others, nausea may be a symptom of their depression and a cause for loss of appetite.
5) Insomnia, lack of deep sleep, or oversleeping
Depression may also be accompanied by anxiety, low self-esteem, and physical symptoms such as back pain, headaches and gastrointestinal problems.
Sleep problems such as insomnia and daytime sleepiness are often among the most debilitating features of depression.