Is Fatigue A Symptom Of Depression

Missed Milestones To Faded Friendships: The Unacknowledged Grief Of 2020

However, the trauma is much bigger for individuals directly affected by the pandemic, says Galea. That includes those who’ve lost loved ones, lost a job or housing, struggled with child care, or have had COVID-19 themselves some of whom report continuing to experience exhaustion that’s thought to be associated with the viral infection.

Treating Depression And Fatigue

Therapy or counseling can help treat depression. It can also be treated with certain medications. These include antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers.

Taking antidepressants can sometimes make symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome worse. Thats why your doctor should screen you for depression and chronic fatigue syndrome before prescribing any medication.

Several treatments can help people with chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, or both. These include:

People with depression and chronic fatigue syndrome should also try to develop good sleeping habits. Taking the following steps can help you sleep longer and more deeply:

• go to bed at the same time every night
• create an environment that promotes sleep
• avoid taking long naps
• avoid foods and drinks that can prevent you from sleeping well
• avoid exercising at least 4 hours before bedtime

Characteristics Of The Selected Articles

Sixteen of the 21 articles were published in the past 5 years. More than half were cross-sectional studies,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, while two were longitudinal prospective cohort studies,. Two articles used both cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs,,,. There was one within-subject experimental study design and three randomized placebo-controlled trials,,,.

Across the 21 studies, 9 were conducted in Europe,,,,,,,,,, and 10 were conducted in the United States,,,,,,,,,. One study took place in Australia, and another study was a multi-continental venture involving 12 different countries. Out of the 9175 participants enrolled across these studies , 45.7% of the participants enrolled were male. One study analyzed medical records from a veteran database that enlisted close to a million veterans in the United States, 91% of whom were male. Three studies enrolled in-patient participants,,, and seven studies enrolled outpatient populations,,,,,,. The rest enrolled healthy or primary care patients.

Two studies collected data via online assessments,, and four studies either retrospectively analyzed data or utilized previously collected datasets,,,. Two studies utilized healthy controls,, and six studies used the control groups or placebo groups for comparison,,,,,.

Also Check: Lower Abdominal Pain And Fatigue

Your Doctor May Also:

• take your sleep history, including how much sleep you get each night, what the quality of your sleep is like, and whether you snore, wake or stop breathing in the night
• do a physical examination to check for signs of illness or disease
• carry out tests to rule out physical causes, such as blood and urine tests.

Aspects Facilitating Somatic Symptoms In Depression

Many factors may contribute to the form and extent to which a depression is presented in somatic symptoms. Female gender has been confirmed to be closely associated with somatization in many studies covering differential aspects on various theoretical levels. In a gender differential analysis, Sllversteln draws some Interesting conclusions from the epidemiological data of the National Comorblty Survey., By dividing respondents Into those who met overall criteria for major depression and exhibited fatigue, appetite, and sleep disturbances and those who met overall criteria without these somatic symptoms she demonstrated gender differences only for somatic depression but not for pure depression. The higher prevalence of somatic depression In females was strongly associated with a high frequency of anxiety disorders. Interestingly, this type of somatic depression among female patients already had Its onset during early adolescent years with predominantly bodily pains and aches. Wenzel et al attributed the higher prevalence of somatic depression in women largely to changes in appetite.

Besides gender, culture, and type of patient-physician relationship, there may be many other factors influencing a more somatic mode of presentation, such as different ages in life cycle, association with medical conditions, earning a lower income, and imprisonment.,

Don’t Miss: How To Heal Adrenal Fatigue Fast

Cravings For Salty Foods

A part of the adrenal glands named the cortex is responsible for producing aldosterone, a mineralocorticoid which works with the kidney to regulate our fluid and mineral excretion. When the adrenals become fatigued, we produce less aldosterone and tend to excrete large amounts of important minerals in our urine. Individuals with depleted endocrine systems often report frequent urination, which is often attributed to age but may actually be caused by depleted adrenals.

This means that Adrenal Fatigue sufferers effectively lose the ability to balance the levels of minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium in their blood. In turn, this leads to cravings for foods which will replace the sodium that we have lost. If you find yourself suddenly craving salty snacks, you could be suffering from Adrenal Fatigue.

How To Tell If You Are Depressed Or Just Tired

With both depression and fatigue, symptoms include low energy, low motivation, and anhedonia, or a loss of interest in pleasurable activities, Dimitriu says.

One distinguishing factor can be the desire to engage in activities people who have fatigue wish to do things, but lack energy, whereas people with depression have lower interest in activities, he says.

“Another important consideration is the duration of the low mood and if it improves with sleep,” Dimitriu says. A single good night’s sleep can improve a tired person’s mood, he notes.

But depression-related fatigue permeates every facet of a person’s life, says Ricke. The effect is felt:

• Physically: Everyday tasks eating, showering, getting dressed, and so on may become difficult. “The body can feel heavy, slow, and stiff due to depression,” Ricke says.
• Cognitively: Due to depression, you may experience “difficulty sustaining focus, concentrating, and processing information,” Ricke says. Of course, lack of sleep can have a similar cognitive impact, making it challenging to concentrate.
• Emotionally: Here is where the effects may be most profound. “Fatigue makes it more difficult to weed through the already confusing thoughts and feelings that are part of depression,” Ricke says. Forming emotional connections with friends, family, and the people around you may be more challenging when you’re fatigued, she says. And that, in turn, “can perpetuate feelings of aloneness and hopelessness,” Ricke says.

You May Like: Signs Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

How The ‘lost Art’ Of Breathing Can Impact Sleep And Resilience

Another way that chronic stress makes us feel exhausted is by interfering with sleep, says Bufka. “When we’re feeling stressed, our sleep can get disrupted, which naturally leads to feelings of tiredness and exhaustion,” she says.

“We really rely on sleep to recover each day,” explains Epel. “And so for many of us, even though we might think we’re sleeping the same number of hours, it’s not the same quality. It doesn’t have the same restorative ability, because we’re getting less deep sleep, and we think that is tied to this chronic, subtle uncertainty, stress.”

Seeing A Healthcare Provider For Fatigue

When your chief complaint is fatigue, cancer isn’t likely to be the first thing on your healthcare provider’s mind. Fatigue is related to many other conditions, and your healthcare provider will want to rule out the most common causes first.

This will be accomplished through a physical and routine blood work. Your healthcare provider will likely order a few different blood tests, especially tests to check on your thyroid function.

During your visit, your healthcare provider may ask several questions relating to your quality of life and what factors may contribute to your fatigue. Possible questions include:

• How many hours do you work? Are you stressed at work?
• Have you had any major life changes, such as marriage, birth, or death?
• How often do you exercise?
• Do you sleep well? How much sleep do you get?
• How is your diet?
• Do you have a family history of thyroid disease?

It is important to remember that fatigue is not exclusive to cancer. If you are experiencing fatigue, it may be related to a less serious condition or have a lifestyle cause.

You May Like: How To Fight Chemo Fatigue

Diagnosing Depression And Fatigue

To make a depression diagnosis, your doctor will ask you about your medical history and give you a questionnaire that assesses depression. They may use other methods, such as blood tests or X-rays, to make sure another disorder isnt causing your symptoms.

Before diagnosing you with chronic fatigue syndrome, your doctor will run several tests to rule out other conditions that can cause similar symptoms. These may include restless leg syndrome, diabetes, or depression.

Food Allergies Food Intolerance And Fatigue

Symptoms: Fatigue, sleepiness, continued exhaustion

Although food is supposed to give you energy, medical research suggests that hidden food intolerances — or allergies — can do the opposite. In fact, fatigue may be an early warning sign of food intolerance or food allergy. Celiac disease, which happens when you cant digest gluten, may also cause fatigue.

Ask your doctor about the elimination diet. This is a diet in which you cut out certain foods linked to a variety of symptoms, including sleepiness within 10 to 30 minutes of eating them, for a certain period of time to see if that makes a difference. You can also talk to your doctor about a food allergy test — or invest in a home test such as ALCAT — which may help you identify the offending foods.

Don’t Miss: What Can Cause Extreme Fatigue And Muscle Weakness

Fatigue And Depression: When Is Tiredness A Warning Sign

1 Minute Read

Sleep is an important part of overall health, but for many, it does not come easily. Millions of Americans report feeling fatigue a feeling of tiredness or exhaustion.

Many different factors, ranging from poor sleep to health conditions, can cause fatigue. Its also a common symptom of mental health conditions, such as depression.

Being fatigued doesnt mean youre depressed, but fatigue can be a warning sign. Learn more about the link between the conditions.

How To Fight Depression Fatigue

Fatigue may linger even after other depression symptoms improve. These strategies can help you boost your energy and conquer depression fatigue.

Living with major depression can be challenging when you’re also dealing with fatigue, a common depression symptom. Not only can fatigue disrupt your daily routine, it can also make it harder to take the steps needed to get depression under control.

Major depression causes a total lack of energy that doctors call anergia, says Stephen Geisler, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Hofstra North ShoreLIJ School of Medicine in Long Island, N.Y. This lack of energy can lead to mental, emotional, and physical fatigue thats difficult to treat.

Left untreated, fatigue can contribute to longer and more severe depression, according to a research review published in 2014 in the journal Depression and Anxiety. Its also one of the main causes of disability in depression, says Dr. Geisler. For these reasons, taking steps to conquer fatigue is an important aspect of depression treatment.

How Is Depression Fatigue Treated?

Depression fatigue may be linked to poor sleep, lack of activity, or commonly used antidepressant medications called SSRIs and SNRIs. Even after other depression symptoms have responded to treatment, fatigue is likely to linger.

Helpful Lifestyle Changes Can Fight Depression Fatigue

You can also make healthy lifestyle choices that may help reduce fatigue:

Also Check: Lack Of Energy And Fatigue

What To Do If You Have Long Covid

Since the symptoms and impact of long COVID can vary so much from patient to patient, its important to tailor your coping strategies to your specific symptoms. Physical problems such as shortness of breath, fever, and pain may leave you feeling drained of energy, mentally exhausted, and lead to a depressed mood, all of which require different coping skills.

While it can feel overwhelming, there are steps you can take to care for your overall health and ease your distress at this difficult time.

Seek medical help immediately if you experience chest pain, trouble breathing, a profound change in weight, or are unable to stay awake, eat, or drink. Your doctor may also be able to help relieve physical symptoms and rule out any serious complications or underlying causes.

Get vaccinated. While research is ongoing, some long-haulers have reported that having a COVID-19 vaccine has helped relieve their symptoms.

Continue to practice caution to avoid reinfection. Wear a mask if youre out in public, avoid non-essential travel, wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Limit your alcohol and caffeine intake. Both can disrupt your sleep and adversely affect your immune system. Caffeine may give you a short-term boost but it can lead to a painful crash in energy later.

Affordable Online Therapy for Help and Support

Get professional help from BetterHelps network of licensed therapists.

Need urgent help? .

Is Your Fatigue A Symptom Of Cancer

Could your fatigue be the first symptom of cancer? At one point or another, we have all experienced fatigue. For most of us, it is temporary, usually caused by stress or being overworked.

For some people, however, fatigue can become persistent, occurring daily. When fatigue becomes frequent, it is natural to be concerned about what may be causing it.

One of the first things many people think maybe the culprit for their fatigue is cancer. When might feeling tired be a sign of cancer and how often is it?

We often hear about cancer patients who are extremely fatigued, but a lot of cancer-related fatigue is caused by the side effects of cancer treatment, not always cancer itself. In other words, for people with many cancers, the fatigue begins after diagnosis.

While fatigue alone without other symptoms is uncommon in many cancers, for people with leukemias and lymphomas fatigue may well be the first symptom.

Also Check: Fibromyalgia And Fatigue Center Of Boston

How Do You Treat Residual Fatigue In Depression

Dr. Fava: In clinical practice, evaluation of the treatment of fatigue as a residual symptom of MDD is complicated because it can be part of the symptom cluster of MDD, can be a prodromal symptom of another disorder distinct from MDD, or could be a side effect of antidepressant treatment., Furthermore, treating fatigue by adding more medications can be risky because of the possibility of inducing additional adverse symptoms as a consequence of the intervention. Baldwin and Papakostas describe the following three treatment strategies: 1) using antidepressant medications that are less likely to induce or exacerbate fatigue symptoms 2) using antidepressant medications that are more likely to resolve the fatigue symptoms or 3) using adjunctive treatments to specifically target residual fatigue and sleepiness in MDD patients.

Heart Disease And Fatigue

Symptoms: Fatigue from an activity that should be easy

If youre exhausted after an activity that used to be easy — for example, walking up the steps — it may be time to talk to your doctor about the possibility of heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. If your fatigue is related to your heart, medication or treatments can usually help correct the problem, cut the fatigue, and restore your energy.

Don’t Miss: Can Rheumatoid Arthritis Cause Fatigue

Depression Acts On Neurotransmitters To Make You Tired

Depression is likely associated with changes in brain neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. “These neurotransmitters play important roles in regulating energy levels, sleep, appetite, motivation, and pleasure,” Ricke says.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, depression is a complex disease with many possible and interlinked causes, including genetics, medical conditions, stressful life events, and brain chemistry. And it can be challenging to tell the difference between everyday tiredness and depression-related fatigue.

“Fatigue and depression can look quite similar,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine.

Back Pain Or Aching Muscles All Over

You might feel okay in the morning, but once youre at work or sitting at a school desk, your back starts to hurt. It could be stress, or it could be depression. Although theyre often associated with bad posture or injuries, backaches can also be a symptom of psychological distress.

A 2017 research study of 1,013 Canadian university students found a direct association between depression and backaches.

Psychologists and psychiatrists have long believed emotional issues can cause chronic aches and pains, but the specifics are still being researched, such as the connection between depression and the bodys inflammatory response.

Newer studies

Also Check: Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Real

Use The 3 Ps Approach To Daily Tasks

When youre suffering from long COVID, even the gentlest activity can seem exhausting. By making small changes to how you pace, plan, and prioritize your daily tasks, though, you can conserve energy and get more done during the day.