As we already know, physical illnesses are directly related to psychological illnesses and vice versa. A person who suffers from a chronic illness has many possibilities of suffering from a mental illness, among them depressive and anxiety disorders.
Fibromyalgia is one of the chronic diseases that so far does not have a definitive cure and is characterized mainly by a intense musculoskeletal pain as well as a feeling of extreme fatigue, paraesthesia in the extremities, among others symptom. On the other hand, depression is a mental disorder that is characterized by a general disinterest and a constant feeling of emptiness and extreme sadness. In this Psychology-Online article we are going to let you know what is the relationship between fibromyalgia and depression and to provide you with more information about both conditions.
Index
- Physical and psychological symptoms of depression
- Fibromyalgia: definition and symptoms
- Relationship between fibromyalgia and depression
Physical and psychological symptoms of depression.
It is perfectly normal that in some moments of our lives we experience sadness and hopelessness due to the difficult situations that we are going through in life.
The normal thing is that those feelings disappear after a while and that they do not prevent us from continuing to lead a normal life where we can continue to fulfill ourselves. However, the Depression is a mental disorder characterized by the fact that the person suffering from it experiences feelings of sadness, hopelessness and dejection they appear in a very intense and continuous way, which directly affect different areas of their life such as social, work, personal, etc.
Depressed people tend to feel constantly tired, unmotivated, their performance and concentration decrease considerably, are irritated, sad, hopeless and may have sleep problems What insomnia or hypersomnia. Some of the symptoms that a depressed person manifests in their day to day are the following:
- Exhausted
- Confusion
- Difficult to focus
- Feelings of emptiness
- Sadness
- Hopelessness
- Fatal motivation
- Loss of energy
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Sleeping problems
- Irritability
- Muscle and / or stomach aches
Fibromyalgia: definition and symptoms.
When we speak of fibriomilagia we refer to a rheumatological disease in which affected people suffer from severe musculoskeletal pain as well as extreme fatigue. This disease is much more common in women than in men and can appear at practically any age, however it is very common for it to appear in middle-aged people. Some of the most common symptoms of fibriomyalgia are the following:
- Pains muscles in different parts of the body.
- Fatigue and tiredness caused by performing tasks that require little effort. It may not go away even if the person has adequate rest.
- Sensation of numbness, swelling, contractures in the muscles, cramps in the extremities, tremor.
- Sleep disorder (trouble sleeping, not having a good night's sleep, waking up many times at night)
- Cognitive problems which can lead to poor concentration, memory loss, and difficulty acquiring new learning.
Relationship between fibromyalgia and depression.
After learning more about what depression and fibriomyalgia are, we are finally going to answer the main question: what is the relationship between fibriomyalgia and depression? Based on the scientific studies that have been carried out so far, it should be noted that a high comorbidity has been found between fibriomilagia and depression.
30% of people who suffer from fibriomyalgia also suffer from depression, however they also found that 60% of people with fibriomyalgia have had depression at some point in their lifetime. Despite both diseases are closely related, it has not been proven that one is the cause of the other.
Due to the symptoms of fibriomyalgia, such as those we have already seen, people who suffer from it become more vulnerable to developing depression since the intense pain they experience, extreme tiredness, sleep problems and / or deterioration cognitive, prevent them from leading a normal life where they can develop personal, social and labor.
All this has a huge impact on the emotional well-being of the person, as well as the fact that being a disease that does not show obvious physical signs that can be seen At first glance, there are many cases in which the people closest to the patient do not get too involved with him (her), in some cases leaving him / her aside by believing that it is a exaggeration or invention on behalf of the other. So not having enough support and experiencing all these unpleasant symptoms continuously, it can undoubtedly lead to the development of a depressive disorder and / or anxiety.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is the relationship between fibromyalgia and depression, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
