Treating your depression symptoms in the short term is important for improving your mood and quality of life, but it is also important to treat depression symptoms to benefit your long term health. By seeking treatment for your depression now, you can protect your long term physical and mental well being as well. Atypical depression has been shown to cause physical inflammatory symptoms which can harm the entire body.
Atypical depression is a type of depression common with those who have major depressive disorder (MDD) or persistent depressive disorder (PDD). If you are unsure of whether or not you have atypical depression, here is a list of symptoms for you to review. If you experience two or more of these symptoms, you may be experiencing atypical depression and should consult a doctor or someone that you trust.
1. You are oversensitive to rejection or criticism, perceived or real, from your friends, family and peers.
2. You have a feeling of physical heaviness.
3. You have an increased appetite.
4. You experience weight gain.
5. You are sleeping excessively.
6. Your depression symptoms seem to be elevated based on situational factors, such as going out with good friends, receiving praise at work, or other positive life circumstances.
Among individuals with depression, between 15 and 40 percent experience atypical depression, and it has been found that more women suffer than men.
Sufferers of atypical depression have been shown to have higher levels of the inflammatory immune system substances known as cytokine interleukin-6. These substances have been shown to stimulate the inflammatory processes for diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, lupus, myeloma, prostate cancer, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Atypical depression sufferers are also twice as likely to have higher amounts of C-reactive protein (CRP) occurring in their bloodstream. CRP is produced by the liver, and high levels of CRP in the bloodstream has been linked to atypical depression, and is a marker for coronary artery disease. It has been shown that atypical depression symptoms can put stress on your whole body, and can put you at greater risk for developing heart disease. By treating your depression, you can help to cut your risk of heart attacks or stroke by nearly half.
Those with atypical depression are also very likely to have substandard dietary habits compared to those with typical depression or no depression at all. It is a good idea for those with atypical symptoms to seek the advice and counseling of a nutritionist as part of their treatment plan. A nutritionist can provide you with information on eating a healthy, well-balanced diet that can improve your physical health as well as your mental health. They can help you set up a diet plan to help treat your atypical depression and any inflammation you may be experiencing.
With cases of atypical depression and bodily inflammation, the inflammation may be experienced first, or the depression may come first and be followed by inflammation. Whatever the case, it’s important to treat depression symptoms to benefit your long term health. You should seek professional help to create and follow a treatment plan to help improve your mood, to feel better physically, to protect your body from further inflammation and to ensure your physical well-being.
Sourced from: psyweb.com
Photo by: Thinkstock/ AlexRaths
Posted on May 22, 2023