Question:
I am wondering if anyone manifests their depression via
physical symptoms? In my case I have problems with standing and
walking, headaches and an eczema like rash on my hands.
I don't really feel depressed, except with frustration
over my physical symptoms.
I kinda feel my doc cannot diagnose my problem and just
wants to put me on Paxil to see what happens.
Answer:
I suffer from severe headache that started when my mild depression became
seevere i attribute it to having to concentrate so very hard to keep in control
to acting normal and to resisting the self destructive impulses but they come
with my depression and not by them selves I have had theses for three weeks
straight now I find physical fatigue, muscular strain, eyestrain, headaches, upset
stomach, dizziness went with my depression, and/or with side effects of
treatment. Most were clearly "stress" related items, though. I don't
know about eczema... what is a usual organic cause for that?
Something I've wondered about, and maybe you could get a second opinion,
is whether these things were due to the depression, OR whether the
depression was because of another organic illness, or whether both the
physical symptoms AND depression were demonstrations of something else.
Example: I have moderate, chronic allergies. Dusts and molds in the
winter, pollen in the summer, animals all year. While I don't have
"attacks", I came across some literature in my travels on allergies and
fatigue, energy level, systemic upsets, and yes, depression, as one
person seemed to be referring to allergies disrupting brain chemistry.
It doesn't seem too far-fetched, since allergies are a systemic,
biochemical response to a percieved threat/poison to your system. Why
would your brain be left out of it?
And we've all heard about increasing instances of illness associated with
environmental toxins, like industrial cleaners or chemicals on our food.
It just seems that if you say you "don't feel depressed", but have these
other physical/dermatological symptoms, you and your doctor might be
better to look for an underlying cause.
lini, the symptoms you describe might be depression but they might be
a lot of other things. i did not feel like i was depressed when i was
diagnosed but everyone else knew it. my MD told me it was depression
when i fist brought up my problem. you might try asking people who
know you if they think you are moody depressed or have mood swings.
also ask your doctor about dysthymia. if you suffer from depression
that is probably what you have. This is one of those chicken and the egg things. Am I physically
having problems because I'm depressed or am I depressed because of
the physical problems?
Okay, here's a list of physical symptoms that I experience on a daily
basis .
Headache
Dizziness (feeling faint when standing up)
muscle soreness
Acne
Eye sensitivity
skin burning
A lot of the time I can't help but think that if physically I were
fine, then the depression wouldn't be an issue.
In my case (I've had chronic eczema on my hands since I was 12) it seems to
be mainly aggravated by certain foods that I eat, so you could say this is a
food allergy. But it also responds to the level of stress in my life (for
example, anxiety or unexpressed anger). I've read that allergies are a
"stress disease," that the underlying cause of all allergies is stress. I
also have seasonal allergies to pollens and probably grasses, and I'm mildly
sensitive to the odors/vapors of certain household cleaners and auto
emissions. So are allergies and pollutants in our environment and depression related to
each other? Do allergies cause depression or depression cause allergies?
Interesting questions.
I should mention that my other symptoms were chronic low-level fatigue and
non-restful sleep. I've mostly cured these with vitamin and herbal
supplements. My job gives me a certain amount of physical exercise, and that
helps. You'd be surprised what a simple thing like boosting the amount of
oxygen to your cells can do.
