Physical Symptoms of Depression

Depression is often called "mental illness" and most of us know about the emotional symptoms of depression. However, clinical depression frequently causes physical symptoms as well. In fact, a lot of people with depression feel pain or other physical indications, which include:

Headaches. These are somewhat widespread physical symptoms of depression in people. If one already suffers from migraine headaches, these become worse when they are depressed.

Muscle aches and joint pain. This is one of the physical symptoms of depression which is aggravated with depression; chronic pains become worse with depression.

Back pain. People suffering from back pain gets it more often when they are depressed.

Chest pain. Apparently, it is very essential that one experiencing chest pain should be checked by a specialist immediately because it can be a sign of a serious heart problem. However, chest pain is also one of the physical symptoms of depression.

Sleeping problems. Several people suffering from depression can no longer sleep well; they either wake up too early or have trouble sleeping when they go to bed. Others have excessive sleeping.

Digestive problems. One of the common physical symptoms of depression are feeling queasy or nauseous, including having diarrhea or becoming chronically constipated.

Exhaustion and fatigue. The feeling of being tired or worn out no matter how much sleep one does is one of the physical symptoms of depression. Even getting out of bed may seem very difficult if not impossible to do.

Change in appetite or weight. Weight and appetite are also affected with depression. Some people lose appetite and weight, but for some they find cravings for certain foods like chocolates and carbohydrates, therefore they gain more weight.

Dizziness or lightheadedness. Depressed people may experience being lightheaded or dizzy when they wake up in the morning or during the day.

A lot of people who have depression never get help because they are not aware that their physical symptoms may be caused by depression, and a lot of doctors miss the symptoms as well. The physical symptoms of depression are not "all in your head", it can cause real changes in the body that can result to a lot of physical problems.

Some cases of depression require treating it with therapy or medicine or both, which will also resolve the physical symptoms. Just make sure to inform the health care provider about any physical symptoms, and don't assume that it will go away on its own. It may need additional treatment; the doctor may recommend antianxiety medications for insomnia that will help in relaxation and better sleep. Other treatments can also help with the painful physical symptoms of depression such as focused therapy that can teach ways to cope better with the pain.