Harmful Effects of Depression on Your Health

Depression is a mental health disorder, which is a result of untreated chronic stress and anxiety. Depression not only affects your mental health but it has the potential to affect your physical health as well. In other words, we can say that depression affects every aspect of your life including your mental health, physical health, emotional health, relationships, professional life, etc.

According to some studies, if depression is not treated on time, it may lead to death also. You may not die from depression but its harmful effects on health and other health issues may lead to death if not treated well.

Health issues which may lead to depression

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression and its symptoms can lead to several other health issues. Continuous stress or any pre-existing health condition or change in your brain because of any navigating condition like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease may lead to depression.

Scientists have made a list of health issues, which could be a cause of depression, and the list includes the following health issues:-

· Cancer

· Cardiovascular diseases

· HIV or AIDS

· Rheumatoid arthritis

· Multiple sclerosis

· Epilepsy

According to some other studies, diabetes along with depression increases the risk of heart disease, which badly affects a person’s health. Not only this, but depression also affects your diet, feeding habits, and sleep and increases the risk of substance use.

In this article, we will discuss depression’s effect on sleep, diet and how it increases the risk of substance use.

Effect on the sleep cycle

Sufficient and quality sleep is very essential for your overall health and wellness including your mental health also. Poor or insufficient sleep may lead to physical health issues also like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

According to some studies, people having depression and other mental health issues are often observed with sleep deprivation. This study shows a close link between a person’s sleep and his mental health. Moreover, it is also observed that people suffering from sleep deprivation have more chances of suicide. Studies show that increased depression leads to sleep deprivation and vice-versa.

In some cases, chronic insomnia may lead to multiple days without sleep, temporary psychosis, and hallucinations. People having depression are emotionally unstable which a cause of disturbed sleep is also.

Change in feeding habits

Just like proper sleep, your diet plays a vital role in maintaining your overall health. Change in feeding habits or altered feeding habits is a common symptom of depression.

For example, in some cases, depression may lead to overeating but in some cases, it may decrease the appetite or reduce a person’s desire to eat food. In some cases, it may lead the food choices, which are not good for your health.

A proper diet including all the essential nutrients is very necessary for the functioning of your body and mind. According to research, people with vitamin D, folic acid and vitamin B-12 deficiency are observed with depression symptoms.

What you can do to deal with it?

Depression is not something that you can completely get rid of instantly. It takes time to deal with it. There are a few things you can do to reduce stress and its impact on your health.

You should take a healthy and nutritious diet including all the nutrients essential for your overall health and wellness.

You should drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, as it is very important for the proper functioning of both your body and mind.

As we discussed above sleep is a very important factor when dealing with stress and depression. Therefore, you should get sufficient and quality sleep to reduce the chances of depression and stress.

You should follow the above-discussed steps to reduce the impact of depression on your overall health and wellness. For more visit UKSLP .