Depression is a mental health disorder that affects how you think, act, and function. Although this condition primarily affects your cognitive and mental health, its side effects can also have a significant impact on your physical health.
At Klarity Clinic, the experienced medical team understands how depression can interfere with your happiness, lifestyle, and relationships. The providers customize depression treatment plans that focus on improving and stabilizing your mood and restoring the quality of your life.
The right treatment plan is also vital for reducing your risk for additional complications that are common with depression, including the physical damage this type of mental illness can cause.
Though many people understand that depression can interfere with how you feel emotionally, not everyone understands how depression can disrupt your physical health.
Some of the physical side effects of depression include:
The mental effects of depression, such as persistent sadness and loneliness, can have an impact on your energy levels and leave you feeling chronically fatigued and wore out.
Chronic fatigue can also put you at risk for physical injuries. Being overly tired can lead to falls and other types of accidents that result in painful injuries and other health complications.
Depression can have an effect on your appetite. Feeling down and hopeless can trigger overeating or not eating enough. This can lead to weight changes and poor eating habits that can ultimately interfere with your physical health.
Interestingly, the neurotransmitters in your brain that contribute to depression also play a role in pain. Dysfunction in these neurotransmitters, specifically norepinephrine and serotonin, can cause physical pain that may worsen your depression.
Due to chronic depression, you may also develop an increased sensitivity to pain.
Chronic depression can interfere with your ability to get a good quality of sleep every night. Though many with depression experience persistent fatigue and may want to sleep all the time, this sleep is often disrupted and not restful.
A lack of sleep can further contribute to a worsening of your depressive symptoms and also lead to physical pain, headaches, and an increased risk for personal injuries.
There’s a strong connection between your gut and your brain. When the neurotransmitters of your brain aren’t functioning correctly, they can send mixed messages to your stomach.
These messages can increase your risk for developing physical symptoms like stomach pain, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea.
The medical team at Klarity Clinic specialize in treating all levels of depression, including treatment-resistant depression that doesn’t respond to traditional therapies.
If you’ve tried psychotherapy (talk therapy) and antidepressant medications without much success, you may be a candidate for ketamine infusions. This treatment works by increasing the levels of glutamate neurotransmitters in your brain that are vital for healthy brain function. Ketamine is also beneficial for stimulating the growth of new neural connections, so your brain can recover and fully heal.
Typically, a series of ketamine infusions over two weeks can successfully relieve persistent feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and other symptoms of depression. This, in turn, can help you find relief of the physical symptoms depression is causing.
The providers at Klarity Clinic may combine ketamine infusion therapy with NAD+ therapy to boost your energy and help your body respond better to stress.
Learn more about the benefits of ketamine therapy for depression by calling the Klarity Clinic office nearest you or by requesting an appointment online today.
