Being sad in response to life’s difficulties is a natural emotional reaction that many of us go through. Depression is different from being sad for a little time. Depression often leads to the feeling of being ‘down’ for a prolonged time. This medical condition can result in severe symptoms that affect you physically and mentally, impairing your daily activities like sleeping, eating, and working. The best treatment centers for depression are highly effective in treating even the most severe cases of depression.
Women often play challenging roles of being a daughter, mother, wife, and more. The challenges of work and home, combined with certain biological, hormonal, and social factors that are unique to women, make them highly vulnerable to depression. Post-partum depression is also common among new mothers. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of depression is an essential first step in finding help.
Negative Feelings
Depression often causes negative feelings that you just can’t get over. Anger, irritability, hopelessness, despair, etc. are common negative feelings that are part of being depressed. Depressed women may find themselves having wild mood swings and being teary eyed all the time. You may experience panic attacks over minor issues, and develop severe anxiety towards life’s circumstances. Depression severely impacts the ability to think rationally, and if left untreated can lead to suicidal thoughts or attempts of suicide. It’s therefore critical that if you’ve been feeling low for a long time, you must talk to your healthcare provider who can suggest required tests and treatment to make you feel better.
Physical Symptoms
Being depressed for a long time can wreak havoc with the functioning of your body systems, resulting in a range of physical symptoms, which can exacerbate depression. Depressed women often experience severe and chronic fatigue, which often results in decreased productivity at work and home. Headaches, muscle pains, and back pain are common physical signs of depressions, which often happen due to muscle tightness resulting from being anxious all the time. A depressed mind can cause alterations in the gut-brain interaction, resulting in a host of digestive issues like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, cramps, etc. Researchers have found that prolonged anxiety and depression can worsen digestive symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Depressed women also tend to go on an emotional eating spree, which can cause weight gain and obesity. Some with depression suffer from lack of appetite resulting in weight loss and fatigue.
Sleep Disturbances
Depression can lead to disturbed sleep patterns, fueling more fatigue. Depressed women often find it hard to fall asleep, leading to insomnia and increased anxiety. If you’re depressed you may find yourself waking up at odd times in the night, and then not being able to go back to sleep. Some women may find solace in sleeping, and sleep excessively during the day, leading to a disturbed life. When you sleep too little or too much, you’ll lose your ability to focus on tasks, and may develop memory and concentration issues.
Depression is a real medical condition, which needs to be treated so that you can get your life back on track. Call or visit us at Kinder in the Keys to know how our approach to treating depression makes this facility one of the best treatment centers for depression.