When I was going through some of the worst bouts of clinical depression I always seemed to be ill with something else; usually something to do with my liver or gall bladder or some blood condition. I almost always had some pain in my back, or my knee, or I had low-grade cold and flu symptoms.

It seemed that whenever I was ill depression quickly followed in the wake of the illness.

But I've read many medical reports since then that show me that it might have been the other way around – that the depression came first and then the aches and pains and illnesses came afterwards.

It turns out that doctors who treat chronic pain and depression have known for years just how closely the two conditions are linked. There's even some research that shows pain and depression share common pathways in the emotional part (the professionals call it the limbic region) of the brain. It's thought that this goes some way to explaining their association.

I came across this article on the WebMD.com site that talks about the link between pain and depression in detail.

“Physical pain is a common, but often ignored, symptom of depression; and pain severity is a strong predictor of the degree of depression and health-related quality of life, findings from a newly published study indicate.

Two-thirds of the depressed patients beginning antidepressant treatment in the study reported being in physical pain, with the most commonly cited symptoms being frequent headaches, back pain, joint pain, and abdominal pain.

Physical symptoms persisted longer than depression symptoms in more than a third of the patients, leading the researchers to conclude that pain may serve as a barometer for gauging the effectiveness of depression treatment. The findings are reported in the August issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

"It is important to recognize that physical symptoms like pain can be part of the picture of depression," researcher Kurt Kroenke, MD, tells WebMD. "Even though the physical symptoms may be related to or aggravated by the depression, they can linger longer than the emotional symptoms."
Source: WebMD.com

Here's a question for you - which do you treat first? The physical pain or the emotional and mental pain?

Well, in my case I ended up getting help for both – when I finally did get round to seeking help that is...

I ended up in hospital a couple of times with doctors leaning over me chatting casually about surgery. I remember being in such pain and wondering how I would be able to live my life if I had to put up with such discomfort for another 5 years. It made me feel even more hopeless and exacerbated the depression.

I thought to myself, if I have these difficulties, and I'm not emotionally strong, I simply won't be able to handle all these health issues as well, and I made a decision to seek counselling and coaching to help strengthen me so I could cope.

Well, I cannot diagnose anyone, including myself, but I do know that in the 18 months during which I worked on my emotional state, treating my depression through as many natural nutrition and talking therapies as I could afford, the physical illnesses and the aches and pains have melted away.

Not overnight you understand. But after 20 years of such troubles, to find that they lessened so much within a year and a half seemed – and still does seem – pretty miraculous to me.

I'd encourage you to have a little think about how your physical state and your depressive episodes might be linked. Don't ignore the one and treat the other.

Our bodies and minds and souls are linked – even doctors know that now... We have to treat ourselves holistically.

Wishing you health, wealth and true happiness.


Lorraine

 
 

Ok, so I'm sure you've noticed by now that I'm a real believer in the importance of using 'talking therapies' and natural methods for overcoming depression.

This isn't because I'm some barefoot, Eastern-New-Age believing hippy type. No, it's because they worked for me. After fighting with increasingly debilitating bouts of depression for 22 years, I thought that finding emotional and mental health within the space of a year just through talking and changing my mindset, and though changing what I ate was amazing. Spectacularly successful.

So I thought I'd quickly chat about one of the most effective and well-established talking therapy available, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – or CTB.

CBT is based on the idea that the way we think, and what we think about creates, or at the very least alters, our mood.

Have you ever felt perfectly content and happy then thought about something sad that made you feel unhappy or disturbed? Well for someone who struggles with depression those unhappy thoughts can spiral out of control and drag them down from unhappiness into desperation.

On the other hand, have you ever felt a bit down, but then started concentrating on something pleasant fun, or remembered a fun event that made you smile and start to feel better?

Well there you can see already how much our thoughts – what's going on in our imaginations – can have a pretty profound influence on our moods.

The thing about CBT is that it doesn't only assist the depressed person through dealing with the feelings they have, such as feelings of hopelessness, sadness, grief or anger. It also works by helping the person find ways to actually change the way they think about life and what's happening to them. So they start to recognise the pessimistic thought patterns, unrealistic expectations, critical self-talk and so on that not only bring on depression, but often makes it worse and makes it stay around for longer.

CBT is all about helping a depressed person work out how to have a healthier way of thinking about the world and about themselves. For someone who's struggling with incredibly low self-esteem or chaotic thinking (as I did), this can be the key to getting out of the rut that depression keeps you in.

If you want to try CBT, make sure that you search for a qualified, certified and experienced therapist. If you're already under treatment from your doctor, he or she may be able to recommend someone to you.

Wishing you health, wealth and true happiness.


Lorraine