Can Depression Cause Fatigue And Body Aches

Eye Problems Or Decreasing Vision

Do you find that the world looks blurry? While depression may cause the world to look grey and bleak, one 2010 research study in Germany suggests that this mental health concern may actually affect ones eyesight.

In that study of 80 people, depressed individuals had difficulty seeing differences in black and white. Known by researchers as contrast perception, this might explain why depression can make the world look hazy.

Stomach Pain Or Uneasiness In The Abdomen

That sinking feeling in your stomach is one of the most recognizable signs of depression. However, when your abdomen starts to cramp, its easy to write it off as gas or menstrual pain.

Pain that worsens, especially when stress arises, may be a sign of depression. In fact, Harvard Medical School researchers suggest that stomach discomfort like cramps, bloating, and nausea may be a sign of poor mental health.

Whats the link? According to those Harvard researchers, depression can cause an inflamed digestive system, with pain thats easily mistaken for illnesses like inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome.

Doctors and scientists sometimes refer to the gut as the second brain, because they have found a connection between gut health and mental well-being. Our stomachs are full of good bacteria and if theres an imbalance of good bacteria, symptoms of anxiety and depression may arise.

Eating a balanced diet and taking probiotics can improve ones gut health, which may enhance mood, too, but further research is needed.

Digestive problems, like constipation and diarrhea can be embarrassing and uncomfortable. Often caused by food poisoning or gastrointestinal viruses, its easy to assume that gut discomfort stems from a physical illness.

But emotions like sadness, anxiety, and overwhelm can disrupt our digestive tracks. One 2011

Symptom #1 Chest Pain

Firstly, if youre experiencing chest pain of any kind, it is extremely important that you get it checked immediately to rule out heart attacks and other serious conditions.

But, chest pain can actually be linked to depression. Seems strange, but there is a good reason: depression often goes hand-in-hand with anxiety and panic attacks, which are typically felt in the chest.

In fact studies have shown that depression is one of the more common explanations of chest pain, making this a helpful indicator for diagnosis.

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Q: What Are The Symptoms Of Pots

A: The most common symptom of POTS is chronic fatigue. Other symptoms include body aches and exhaustion. About a third of patients faint. Other patients are plagued by adrenaline symptoms such as chest pain, racing heart rate , sweating and difficulty breathing. POTS feels like having the flu, but having to drink coffee to get through the day.

Never Ignore Chronic Body Aches & Fatigue

Chronic body aches and fatigue can affect anyone- no matter what your age- and can be a quite stressful experience.

Some of the most common body aches include neck/back pain, muscle pain, headaches, and joint pain. In addition, there is neuropathic pain, which is a condition that results in a malfunction of the nervous system.

Chronic body aches and fatigue can be a serious medical condition that needs medical attention and should never be ignored.

Following are some of the most common causes of body aches and fatigue that you should be aware of.

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Q: Why Is Pots Often Misdiagnosed

A: Many of the symptoms described above seem very cardiac-driven. However, at the hospital or ER, the doctors will find that the POTS patients heart is fine. Its actually the adrenaline thats producing a lot of these symptoms to compensate for a neurologic problem.

Often, patients have so many symptoms and are consulting so many different specialists that theres no cohesive assessment or treatment. In addition, POTS symptoms are often misdiagnosed as adrenal fatigue a term used to describe a group of symptoms when nothing else can be used to explain it.

Awareness of POTS in todays medical culture is limited. Recently, however, theres been a growing awareness of POTS thats evolving across the board. As the general population is learning more about it, the medical community is being educated as well.

Other Types Of Depression

There are different types of depression, and some conditions where depression may be one of the symptoms. These include:

• postnatal depression sometimes new mothers, fathers or partners develop depression after they have a baby this is known as postnatal depression and it’s treated in a similar way to other types of depression, with talking therapies and antidepressant medicines
• bipolar disorder also known as “manic depression”, in bipolar disorder there are spells of both depression and excessively high mood the depression symptoms are similar to clinical depression, but the bouts of mania can include harmful behaviour, such as gambling, going on spending sprees and having unsafe sex
• seasonal affective disorder also known as “winter depression”, SAD is a type of depression with a seasonal pattern usually related to winter

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Sleep Disorders And Fatigue

Symptoms: Chronic fatigue, feeling exhausted upon awakening, snoring

Sleep disorders are a group of conditions that disrupt or prevent restful, restorative sleep. That can take a toll on your health and quality of life, so its important to look out for signs and symptoms.

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Sleep apnea is one of the most common sleep disorders. If you or your partner notices loud snoring and you wake up tired and stay that way, you could have sleep apnea. More than one-third of adults in the U.S. snore at least a few nights a week. But if the snoring stops your breathing for seconds at a time, it could be sleep apnea. Learn more about the best sleep positions and see if sleeping on your stomach is bad or not.

Obstructive sleep apnea causes low blood oxygen levels. That’s because blockages prevent air from getting to the lungs. The low oxygen levels also affect how well your heart and brain work. Sometimes, the only clue that you might have sleep apnea is chronic fatigue.

Your doctor may prescribe a medical device called CPAP that helps keep your airways open while you sleep. In severe cases of sleep apnea, surgery may help. The surgeon will remove tissues that are blocking the airways. If left untreated, sleep apnea can increase your risk of a stroke or heart attack.

But sleep apnea is just one of many sleep disorders that cause fatigue. Other common types include:

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Psychological Causes Of Fatigue

Studies suggest that psychological factors are present in at least 50 per cent of fatigue cases. These may include:

• Depression this illness is characterised by severe and prolonged feelings of sadness, dejection and hopelessness. People who are depressed commonly experience chronic fatigue.
• Anxiety and stress a person who is chronically anxious or stressed keeps their body in overdrive. The constant flooding of adrenaline exhausts the body, and fatigue sets in.
• Grief losing a loved one causes a wide range of emotions including shock, guilt, depression, despair and loneliness.

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Causes Of Fatigue In Arthritis

Inflammation, pain, inactivity and lifestyle factors can cause extreme tiredness when living with arthritis.

Everyone gets worn out from time to time. But exhaustion that disrupts your daily life and doesnt get better after a good nights sleep has its own medical term: fatigue. Fatigue significantly affects the quality of life for people with many forms of arthritis-related diseases, includingrheumatoid arthritis,psoriatic arthritis, spondyloarthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia andosteoarthritis. Your lack of energy may be caused by your inflammatory disease and other health conditions you have, as well asmedications side effectsand lifestyle habits.

Dehydration And Inadequate Nutrition

Staying hydrated and getting proper nutrition is important for keeping your energy levels up. Research shows that a lack of fluid intake is associated with increased sleeplessness, fatigue, and irritability.

Not getting enough calories in your diet can also leave you feeling tired all the time, as can eating too many refined carbohydrates or not getting enough protein. Allergies to foods such as wheat, peanuts, or dairy may also contribute to tiredness.

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Disease Activity And Fatigue

Fatigue and arthritis go hand in hand for many people with arthritis. The main culprits are the inflammatory disease process and the accompanying chronic pain.

• Inflammation. If you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks your body and inflammation is the result. The body undergoes stress as it tries to cope with the release of inflammatory cytokines in the blood. That can cause fatigue, especially when disease activity is high or low-grade inflammation remains for a long time.
• Chronic Pain. The pain-fatigue connection can be a vicious circle. Dealing with arthritis pain for months at a time over many years can wear you down. It can affect your sleep habits, which adds to your exhaustion. Being fatigued, in turn, can worsen pain and make it more difficult to manage.

Appetite And Weight Changes

Depression in and of itself can make someone feel like eating more or less than they typically do. People who are depressed may report they have lost weight without trying or have gained weight without being sure of the reason why.

One factor that may contribute to weight gain is emotional eating which refers to a person using food to self-medicate feelings of depression. These behaviors can lead to weight gain over time. If someone is overweight or obese, changes in self-image, associated health problems, and weight stigma can also contribute to depression.

The relationship between weight and depression may depend on more than how much someone weighs or their body mass index .

For example, a 2019 study proposed a specific link between higher amounts of body fat mass and depression .

Depression can also cause someone to lose weight. Loss of appetite, low energy, and motivation that makes preparing meals difficult, bowel symptoms, and other factors may cause weight loss in someone who is depressed. People who have eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, often also have depression or another mental illness.

Weight loss in eating disorders can be extreme and may cause a host of physical symptoms. Several studies have suggested that malnutrition from inadequate food intake may worsen depression, though additional research is needed to support the theory.

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How Chronic Pain Causes Fatigue

The Arthritis Foundation says, The pain-fatigue connection can be a vicious circle. Dealing with pain for months at a time over many years can wear you down. It can affect your sleep habits, which adds to your exhaustion. Being fatigued, in turn, can worsen pain and make it more difficult to manage.

Here are five specific ways pain can cause fatigue.

Back Pain And Depression

The Spine Health Institute observed that although back pain can lead to depression, depression can also cause back pain. Body aches are a common symptom of depression. Like those with anxiety, people with severe depression feel pain more intensely than those without. Some believe that depression can cause increased pain and inflammation.

Depression can also cause fatigue that can prevent those who have it from exercising. The lack of exercise can put added stress on the discs and joints in their backs, making them more susceptible to low back pain, injuries, and muscle strains.

The chemical processes and physical effects connected with clinical depression can add to the presence and severity of a persons back pain. From this standpoint, depression can also trigger back pain. William Deardorff, Ph.D., discusses at length the relationship between depression and chronic back pain.

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Frequent Headaches Or Migraines Can Be Another Symptom Of Depression

“Individuals with depression often struggle with headaches specifically, they may report symptoms of what is frequently characterized as a tension headache,” explained Dara Gasior, who has a doctorate in psychology and is the director of assessment and training at High Focus Centers, a New Jersey-based treatment facility.

“These headaches are believed to be caused by sustained or tightened muscle contraction of the scalp and neck muscles. As people struggle with depression, feeling overwhelmed, sad, tired, lethargic all of this has an impact on the body.”

Read More: 11 things that could be causing your frequent headaches

What Are My Options

Since depression is at the core of your depression fatigue, its important to look into ways that you might want to treat your mental health above anything else.

There are many options, and each type of treatment can offer a different approach in helping you to deal with the challenges that come as a result of your feelings of depression.

Here are two main treatment options to consider:

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S To Proactively Address Depression

Following are several steps to help proactively prevent or manage both the chronic pain and associated depression that may develop:

• Muscle tender points
• Sleep disturbance and fatigue

In many stress-related back pain cases, patients complain of the pain “moving around” or becoming noticeably worse either just before, during, or just after a stressful event or experience.

Chronic pain can also be exacerbated by things such as physical de-conditioning due to lack of exercise and a persons thoughts about the pain. An appropriate exercise program and practicing distraction, guided imagery, and other cognitive techniques, are all effective coping techniques that can help prevent the pain from worsening.

Recognizing how stress affects pain provides the ability to lessen pain without pain medications some level of empowerment over chronic pain.

How Diabetes Causes Pain

Diabetes causes pain by damaging tiny blood vessels all over the body due to sugar accumulation within arteries. Around 20 to 60 percent of diabetes patients report chronic pain to their physicians. Diabetes patients are also prone to back, neck, and joint pain, as well as abdominal pain caused by damage to the nerves in the gut.

Peripheral neuropathy is another common pain for those with diabetes to experience. This is when poor circulation causes pain, numbness, and tingling in the hands and feet. If not treated by regulating blood sugar levels, neuropathy can lead to tissue death and amputation.

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Pain Of Depression: Physical Symptoms Of Depression

Depression is a mental illness known as a mood disorder, so some people think the only effects of depression are on mood. This, however, is not the case. Depression is linked to many physical symptoms including insomnia, lack of energy and loss of interest in sex. Physical pain from depression is also widely recognized with up to half of all people with depression reporting physical pain. In a study of 25,000 patients, 50% of depressed patients reported unexplained, physical symptoms of depression.1

The physical pain of depression should be a major concern for doctors, as continuing pain reduces the chances for a successful recovery from depression and increases the possible risk of suicide.

Prioritize Getting Good Sleep

Since depression may be causing you to have disordered sleeping habits, it can be helpful to develop better sleep habits.

Sleep hygiene pretty much just means good sleeping habits. Here are some ways of implementing sleep hygiene:

• Be consistent with sleep and wake times. Try going to bed at roughly the same time each night and getting up at the same time each morning. This way, your body becomes accustomed to a certain routine that optimizes healthy sleeping.
• Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature. You can experiment with different room temperatures or try out a white noise machine. With patience, you might discover the best room environment to promote sleep.
• Remove TVs, computers, and smartphones from the bedroom. This may seem like an impossible task sometimes, but avoiding harsh blue light will help you fall asleep faster.

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Viral Or Bacterial Infection And Fatigue

Symptoms: Fatigue, fever, head or body aches.

Fatigue can be a symptom of infections ranging from the flu to HIV. If you have an infection, you’ll probably have other symptoms like fever, head or body aches, shortness of breath, or appetite loss.

Infections that may cause fatigue include:

• Flu

Symptoms: Chronic fatigue, deep muscle pain, painful tender points, sleep problems, anxiety, depression

Fibromyalgia is one of the more common causes of chronic fatigue and musculoskeletal pain, especially in women. Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are considered separate but related disorders. They share a common symptom: severe fatigue that greatly interferes with people’s lives.

With fibromyalgia, you may feel that no matter how long you sleep, it’s never restful. And you may feel as if you are always fatigued during daytime hours. Your sleep may be interrupted by frequent waking. Yet, you may not remember any sleep disruptions the next day. Some people with fibromyalgia live in a constant fibro fog — a hazy feeling that makes it hard to concentrate.

Constant daytime fatigue with fibromyalgia often results in people not getting enough exercise. That causes a decline in physical fitness. It can also lead to mood-related problems. The best way to offset these effects is to try to exercise more. Exercise has tremendous benefits for sleep, mood, and fatigue.

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