Feeling tired and depressed go hand-in-hand. One of the biggest symptoms of depression is fatigue or feeling tired. These problems can affect you psychologically as much as physically. The potential consequences can interfere with your ability to perform everyday tasks, but it can also lead to many serious health conditions.
Showing symptoms of depression does not technically mean someone is clinically depressed, but if you do not address these issues right away they can lead to clinical depression and other health disorders. A few consequences of fatigue and depression include the following problems:
- More than just feeling tired, fatigue is when someone’s body decides it can no longer function in its current condition. Fatigue is a way for the body to alert someone it needs help whether it be more sleep, more nutrients or medical treatment. It can impair brain function, motor coordination and even cause psychosis.
- When the body feels overwhelmed with fatigue it will alert people by stimulating nerve cells, resulting in muscle or bone pain or overall body aches. The body attempts to get attention to address the lack of health care.
- The effects of fatigue and depression contribute to significant weight gain or loss. As the body suffers from these problems, it can mistakenly believe it needs more nourishment, resulting in over-eating.
- Sleeplessness may can increase one’s chances of heart complications
- Substance abuse and suicidal behaviors are common in those who struggle with depression and tiredness. The negative feelings can also lead to angry, hostile or aggressive behavior and unpredictable mood swings.
- If left untreated, tiredness and depression can cause clinical depression, bipolar disorder and many other serious mental health issues
If you deal with any of these problems, get help today to address them.
Substance Abuse from Fatigue and Depression
Many people ignore the symptoms of fatigue and depressed because they believe they come from stress or a bad day. While it is normal to have these symptoms occasionally, it is abnormal to feel this way often or for long periods of time. There are many potential dangers of feeling tired and depressed, and these feelings can greatly damage one’s overall quality of life.
Feeling sad, hopeless, fatigued and empty can affect an individual’s entire life. Job performance, relationships with family and friends, personal satisfaction and self-worth are only a few examples of things that can be lost due to feelings of depression and tiredness. These feelings can cause people to feel like they are lost.
Many people self-medicate these issues with drugs or alcohol. Of course these issues return after a night of drinking or drug use, and people are left wanting more. As a result, substance abuse, dependence and addiction are likely outcomes if the issues are ignored. Treating symptoms of depression and tiredness may require medication, therapy, counseling or lifestyle changes.