By Alexis Adam
Depression is a severe mood disorder that can negatively affect the way you feel and deprive you of enjoying life. Some common medical conditions can cause depressive symptoms or even exacerbate them. It’s important to know if you have any of these health conditions so you can seek out the best kind of help for you. If you leave both your underlying conditions and your depression unchecked, it could have severe implications on your health. The following are some possible diseases you should know about.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a condition that’s characterized by a continuous feeling of severe fatigue that interferes with your daily life. This condition is often misdiagnosed as depression, but it’s possible to have both CFS and depression simultaneously. One difference between the two is the fact that those with depression lose interest in their usual activities, while those with CFS don’t but simply can’t participate in them because of their symptoms. CFS causes chronic pain, which can lead to depression. It’s essential to visit both a pain treatment center to address the pain and a mental health professional who can help with the depressive symptoms.
Hypertension
Hypertension can be both a symptom of depression and something that exacerbates it as well. When you’re experiencing a depressive episode, your brain releases plenty of stress hormones, which causes a spike in blood pressure. You’ll need to make some lifestyle changes to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. Paying a visit to the doctor to see if he or she can prescribe you some medication can also help.
Lupus
Lupus is an autoimmune disease wherein your immune system assaults healthy tissues and organs in your body. It can even lead to your immune system compromising your nerve and brain cells, which ultimately leads to depression. Furthermore, the combination of symptoms that accompany the disease (including chronic pain, fatigue, rashes, fever, skin lesions, etc.) can cause anxiety and distress. Corticosteroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often used to treat this condition.
Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism
Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism have been linked to causing feelings of depression and anxiety. Hypothyroidism has been known to cause weight gain and depression, while hyperthyroid can induce weight loss and anxiety. This has to do with the inability of your thyroid to release the right amount of hormones in your body correctly. In the case of hypothyroidism, your thyroid isn’t producing enough of it. When it comes to hyperthyroidism, your thyroid is producing too much of the thyroid hormones. You’ll need to get a blood test to tell whether or not your body is providing the right amount of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine.
Asthma
Those who suffer from asthma and allergies can also experience depressive symptoms. This seems to be linked to the fact that asthma can disrupt your sleep schedule, making you more susceptible to depressive episodes. Since you’re prone to getting asthma and allergy attacks, sometimes without warning, it’s easy to feel anxious and stressed out about when the next attack will come. Coughing and wheezing can make you feel tense, which in turn makes your asthma get even worse. Thankfully, asthma can be easy to manage if you’re diligent about following your doctor’s prescribed treatment plan.
Depression can be quite an insidious disease that accompanies other underlying medical conditions. Receiving a proper diagnosis is the first step to being able to treat both these conditions and any depressive symptoms that accompany it.
