Depression and the Disease Process

It may be natural for a person to experience periods of depression when they are diagnosed with a serious illness or disease, but clinical depression can also affect the progression and outcome of the disease.

It has been known for some time that depression can have a negative affect on eating and sleep patterns, cause chronic fatigue, cause aches and pains with no known cause, as well as make a person more prone to illness and disease. For a person that has been diagnosed with a disease, depression can seriously affect their natural ability to combat the disease as well as their willpower to overcome it.

Serotonin is the neurochemical whose levels are greatly affected by depression. This neurochemical that is naturally occurring in humans not only regulates sleep, but also controls our pain threshold. When the serotonin level in the body is reduced, a person will feel more pain than someone who is not affected by clinical depression. This means that a person with both clinical depression and a serious illness may not be able to tolerate pain associated with treatments and procedures, and this may seriously jeopardize their chances of recovery.

Our bodies heal and repair themselves while we sleep. Depression wreaks havoc on our sleep patterns as well as the quality of that sleep. To a person that has been diagnosed with a serious illness, this lack of adequate or restful sleep can impede their body's healing process.

The appearance of psychosomatic symptoms that is often caused by depression can interfere with both the diagnosis and treatment of a serious illness. It is very important that a treatment team be aware of actual symptoms, and not be confused by those that don't exist. Medications and treatments are tailored to particular illnesses, and the inclusion of these psychosomatic symptoms may result in a faulty diagnosis or unnecessary treatments.

If someone that you know has been diagnosed with a serious illness or disease, it is important to monitor them for the signs associated with depression. These symptoms can include trouble concentrating, changes in eating or sleeping habits, lack of interest or participation in daily activities, changes in grooming habits, or preoccupation with death. It is vital to advise the person that has been diagnosed with a serious illness to seek the advice of their physician when they exhibit the symptoms of depression so that they will be able to respond to treatment. There are prescription medications and therapy options for depression, and this can drastically increase the patient's ability to respond to treatment for their illness.

www.clinical-depression.co.uk
www.webmd.com
www.health.yahoo.com
www.medicinenet.com