You know that depression is dangerous for your mental health. But did you know it’s also dangerous for your physical health? Untreated or uncontrolled depression can take a big toll on you physically. Depression can make you sick and keep you from taking care of yourself when you are sick. A depression treatment plan can help you avoid these eight health risks linked to depression.
1. Depression and Heart Disease
Studies show that depression can lead to heart disease, make heart
disease worse, and make it more difficult to recover from complications
of heart disease. Depression can even increase your risk of having a
heart attack. Having depression increases your risk of dying by nearly
20 percent in the first six months after a heart attack. Lifestyle
habits that often go along with depression—like poor diet, smoking,
drinking, and not exercising—are also bad for heart health.
2. Depression and Diabetes
Depression may increase your risk for type 2 diabetes if it causes
you to eat poorly, smoke, gain weight, and skip exercising. If you
already have diabetes or prediabetes, depression can keep you from doing
the things necessary to manage your diabetes. No matter which comes
first, statistics show that about 20 percent of people with diabetes
also have depression. Left untreated, depression and diabetes are a
dangerous combination.
3. Depression and Obesity
If you’re depressed, you have a higher risk of being obese. In fact,
depression may increase your risk for obesity by 58 percent. If you’re
obese, you have a higher risk of being depressed. This is partly because
eating is a way to self-medicate when feeling depressed, and not
exercising. Depression may also cause you to secrete stress hormones
that promote belly fat.
4. Depression and Mental Decline
Long-standing depression can contribute to loss of brainpower. This
is especially true if you are elderly. Brain scans of elderly people
with depression show shrinkage in certain areas of the brain that is
more significant than among elderly people without depression. Untreated
depression early in life increases your risk of developing Alzheimer's
disease, becoming senile, and having a stroke. The more episodes of
depression you have over time, the higher your risk.
5. Depression and Substance Abuse
If you have depression and you aren’t getting the right treatment,
you may be tempted to treat your symptoms with drugs or alcohol. What’s
more, these substances make depression harder to treat. It’s also true
that abusing drugs or alcohol can lead to depression. Either way, drugs,
alcohol, and depression make a dangerous combination. This is why it’s
so important to get help for depression or a substance abuse problem.
6. Depression and Cancer
Up to 25 percent of people with cancer also have depression. Some
studies show that depression’s effect on your immune system can make
cancer worse. In one study, patients with breast cancer and depression
were found to have a higher rate of cancer recurrence and early death.
Studies also show that patients with depression and cancer have faster
tumor growth. Treatment for depression and participation in support
groups can help boost mood and offset emotional distress while
undergoing treatment for cancer.
7. Depression and Pain
Chronic pain can lead to depression, and having untreated depression
can make pain worse. If you have major depression, you’re three times
more likely to experience migraine headaches. Studies show that people
with depression are 50 percent more likely to complain of physical
symptoms like pain when they visit a doctor. Depression makes pain
harder to treat, and pain makes depression worse. The stressful
combination of pain and depression can lead to isolation and more
depression.
8. Depression and Suicide
The most dangerous risk from untreated depression is suicide; the
risk increases when substance abuse is involved. Two-thirds of all
suicides are caused by depression. If you ever have thoughts of death or
suicide, you need help right away. Warning signs of suicide with
depression include giving away favorite possessions, becoming suddenly
cheerful, and talking about death as an escape. If suicide seems like a
way out, you need to call 911.