Depression and Physical Illnesses

Mood changes and depressive disorders are more common in people who are struggling with physical illnesses, than in people who are well.

Although a person can develop depression with almost any physical illness, some lead to depression more often than others.

Depression in these conditions can be expected to respond to the same treatments medication and psychotherapy as most other depressive illness.

Some physical illnesses, especially heart disease and other sicknesses that affect the blood supply, occur can cause depression and the depression is often be the underlying cause of such diseases.

It is not that physical illnesses can lead to depression the mental disorder can often be the cause of a medical condition. This makes the recognition and treatment of depression all the more urgent.

Physical illnesses in which depression is common: diseases of the nervous system; dementia people with dementia suffer from more depressive illnesses than with other people. The difficulty these people have in communicating their disturbing symptoms so that the depression can be missed and not treated. Multiple sclerosis Depression seems to be more common in this condition, too. Heart disease; depression is more common in people with heart disease. It is two to three times more common in people after a heart attack. Depression in such cases also leads to problems for people recovering from a heart attack, making them more at risk of another heart attack.  Depression with strokes is much more common in people after a stroke; high blood pressure studies have shown this also leads to increased rates of depression. Hypothyroidism; low levels of thyroid hormones can lead to depression, which may be severe viral infections, are prone to trigger depression in individuals

It is important to be aware of the possibility of depression, especially when a person is suffering from one of illnesses mentioned. The difficulty is that some of the symptoms in depression are found in these conditions, disrupted sleep patterns, poor appetite and tiredness.

This makes these symptoms less helpful for doctors when making the diagnosis of depression.

Furthermore, sadness is common following diagnosis of an illness because the sufferer comes to terms with their condition, but a prolonged 'low' mood with frequent weeping is likely to indicate depression has developed.

The cause or causes of depression in people with no physical illness are often not clear; it is also true of those who also have a physical illness.

There's good evidence that some of the above illnesses directly affect the parts of the brain and the chemical systems that control our mood and behavior.

Suddenly losing function in a limb after a stroke, or struggling to walk, after a heart attack, can lead to a number of consequences being unable to return to work, having to give up enjoyable activities. Such changes may trigger a depressive illness.

Losses affect a person’s self-esteem and their roles as a care taker and work may be changed. These factors may all contribute to the development of depression.