I recently read an interview with Dr. Paul McClelland, a psychiatrist at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore about the serious physical changes in the body and brain that can be a result of depression. These conditions or complications are among them:
1. Anorexia. Many depressed patients also have eating disorders which can cause irreversible kidney damage and other complications.
2. Self-harm. Self-inflicted wounds can cause several complications.
3. Noncompliance with treatment. Depressives sometimes do not comply with a doctor’s medication or treatment plan, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and other problems.
4. Self-neglect. If a depressive doesn’t have the energy, for example, to get her annual mammogram, she could be at risk for a disease like breast cancer advancing much more quickly than had she taken the necessary precautions.
5. Abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs. As I mentioned in my latest Britney article, persons with mental illness often self-medicate with alcohol or drugs to create the state of well-being that non-depressives experience on a regular basis. Habitual drinking or drugging, however, strengthens the habit, which aggravates the mood disorder, making this a viscous cycle.
6. Profound insomnia. Insomnia can trigger depression and vice versa because when a person’s sleep is disrupted, that causes changes in the body’s internal biological clock, known as circadian rhythm. This rhythm is a 24-hour cycle that affects our eating and sleeping patterns, brain wave activity, hormone production, and other biological activities.
7. Weak immune systems. When people are very depressed their immune system often doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. And with a weakened immune system, people are more prone to infections and cancer.
8. Heart disease. When people are severely depressed, they sometimes are more prone to blood clotting, through the adherence of platelets. This could explain why people who experience depression after a heart attack or stroke have a worse prognosis than non-depressed people. They are more likely to have subsequent heart attacks and strokes.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
"Fatigue (a.k.a. low energy) makes cowards of us all" - Vince Lombardi
"the body’s internal biological clock, known as circadian rhythm. This rhythm is a 24-hour cycle that affects our eating and sleeping patterns, brain wave activity, hormone production, and other biological activities." The circadian rhythm is a constant part of our daily lives. Almost everyone has energy levels that rise and fall during a 24 hour period. That's why coffee, energy bars, and "Jolt Cola" are so popular. They smooth out the ups and downs of our energy level during our waking hours. We are much better able to cope with pain and emotions when our energy level is high.
WiseSteven
You have chronic pain
you have depression
and its all in your head
now that is depressing
wow... thanks Steve. I never knew what our bio clock was really called. And, I liked the quote from Lombardi.
Blessings,
Cully
So my ciradian rythym is fishimmeled, my brain waves are bouncing off the wall, it helps to give a name to it. That makes it real. Somehow that validates this messterpiece I am! Oh brother, where art I? Somewhere in this halfvast universe is truth, or a reasonable facsimile. Just smile and sing "Don't Worry, Be Happy". Love and Laughter to all!
It has only been in the last few years that I admitted that I had depression. When I found myself focused on suicide I decided that I had better reconsider. I had been in denial for the previous forty-nine years. (I am really GOOD at denial!) But more to the point, it all hurts. Depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation; all of it makes life miserable. Rhetorical question coming: Have you ever noticed how much an anxiety/panic attack feels like a heart attack? Had my one heart attack two years after admitting that I had a depression problem.
Short of being in a coma, I am currently living about as a low key lifestyle as possible. But there are times when I am walking down the hall and have to stop to regain control of my breathing and heart rate. There seems to be sort of a cross over from depression to cardio- events and I would like to avoid the latter.
I am new to this website and still wandering around from place to place, but I am very glad to have found it.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.