Changes in Body FunctionsDepression is more than a mental illness It is a total body illness. People suffering from moderate to severe depression experience changes in the body functions.
Their energy levels fall and they fatigue more easily.
Insomnia is common and takes many forms depressed individuals may have difficulty going to sleep or experience early morning awakenings.
A subgroup of depressed patients feel an excessive need for sleep.
Depressives consistently complain that their sleep is not restful and that they feel just as tired in the morning when they awake as they did when they went to bed the evening before.
Some may be troubled by dreams that carry the depressive tone into sleeping hours, causing abrupt awakenings due to distress.
Appetite changes are common. Most depressive experience decreased or total loss of appetite, with associated weight loss resulting in lower energy levels.The same individuals who oversleep when depressed also tend to overeat. They gain weight from combination of increased caloric intake and decreased activity level, which compounds their problems through increased frustration and lowered self-esteem.
Whether the appetite increases or decreases, the end result is a vicious cycle of physical symptoms aggravating the depression.
Physical complaints are common and may or may not have a physical basis. Many seriously depressed people, in fact, first to their physicians with physical complaints.
The depressed mood many not be recognized initially by these patients, especially if they are men. Men, in general, are less apt to look inward when they “feel bad”, attempting instead to locate the problem in their environment.
Changes in Body Functions
