How To Overcome Fatigue From Depression

Dr Fava How Often Do We Observe Symptoms Of Fatigue In Mdd

Dr. Fava: We see prominent symptoms of fatigue in the majority of patients with depression. In fact, fatigue is one of the most prevalent presenting symptoms of MDD, the second most prominent residual symptom of MDD, and is often associated with impaired concentration, irritability, and reduced productivity.13 Further, up to one-third of MDD patients who have achieved remission or response stiH continue to experience some symptoms of fatigue.1,2 In one recent study, more than 90 percent of patients with MDD had severe fatigue despite the fact that more than 80 percent of these patients were already taking antidepressant medications.4 In this study of 66 patients with MDD, 81.5 percent were taking antidepressant medications: 48.2 percent were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and 33.3 percent were taking serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors .

What To Expect At Your Providers Office

There is no laboratory test for chronic fatigue syndrome. But your health care provider may use tests to rule out other illnesses. Your provider will go over your symptoms, check your medical history, and do a physical examination.

If you have CFS, your provider may prescribe drugs to treat your symptoms, or suggest herbs, vitamins, or dietary changes to help you. Get plenty of rest, exercise regularly, and learn to pace yourself. Often this combination of treatments will help you get better.

If the usual treatments do not work, your provider may check for other conditions that can cause symptoms similar to those of CFS.

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How Do You Assess The Symptoms Of Fatigue In Mdd

Dr. Fava: First, I want to confirm that the patient actually has a diagnosis of MDD. There may be some patients who complain of many symptoms of fatigue but do not have MDD, or there may be some patients with comorbid illnesses that include some depressive symptoms and fatigue, but are not truly MDD. Second, it is really important to differentiate between symptoms of fatigue that have been caused by the drugs we are using to treat the MDD in contrast to symptoms that are present as residual symptoms of MDD.

I begin my assessment by obtaining a careful, detailed history of all of the symptoms that existed prior to the initiation of treatment, followed by identifying any symptoms that have persisted despite treatment, and then I ask about any new symptoms that have emerged during treatment. Treatment-emergent symptoms may or may not be caused by the medications we are using, but it is important to differentiate whether these symptom are new or were preexisting to the treatment. Obviously, it is also important to explore whether the residual symptoms are more or less severe than they were before treatment commenced.

patients with residual fatigue are more likely to get depressed again despite continued prophylactic treatment. There is a much greater likelihood that patients with MDD who have residual symptoms like fatigue will also have work, school, and/or social difficulties.

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Fighting Depression At Its Roots

To really beat depression, eventually you need to remove the stress factor that is triggering your amygdala to flood those downers into your brain in the first place.

The therapist is key here. They are also bound to confidentiality, and can help you identify the source of your problem.

Hopefully, it isnt death or taxes that is bothering you, because those are two of lifes constants.Loss is a classic trigger for depression. It might be loss of job or relationship or capacity to do something. Big changes, and life transitions such as Empty Nest Syndrome can be a problem too. At all ages, each of us has a weak point: it might be feelings of powerlessness, it might be high needs of security, or deep fears of abandonment.

Whatever your trigger is, part of your recovery program needs to be to identify the trigger, and take some steps in your life to insulate yourself from this stress point.

To get rid of depression for good dont get mad, get even!

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What Can Cause Extreme Fatigue

Various medical and nonmedical factors can contribute to fatigue:

• Psychological factors

In some cases, fatigue may be a sign of an underlying health problem that requires medical treatment. If your fatigue persists despite lifestyle changes, talk to your doctor to rule out other causes.

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Support Them In Continuing Therapy

On a bad day, your friend might not feel like leaving the house. Depression can zap energy and increase the desire to self-isolate.

If they say something like, I think Im going to cancel my therapy appointment, encourage them to stick with it.

You might say, Last week you said your session was really productive and you felt a lot better afterward. What if todays session helps, too?

The same goes for medication. If your friend wants to stop taking medication because of unpleasant side effects, be supportive, but encourage them to talk with their psychiatrist about switching to a different antidepressant or stopping their medication entirely.

Abruptly stopping antidepressants without the supervision of a healthcare professional may have serious consequences. Typically, reaching out to a healthcare professional before stopping medication use can prevent health complications.

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How Is Depression Diagnosed

Diagnosis is vital to effective treatment and recovery. A person must experience one of the following symptoms most of the time over the previous two weeks:

• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed

In addition, some of the following symptoms must be present:

• Changes in sleep or appetite
• Increased fatigue
• Suicidal thoughts or a wish for death

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Anxiety And Depression During Postmenopause

During postmenopause, a lot of women will have the worst of menopause symptoms behind them, but that does not mean there are not a number of psychological and physiological symptoms that accompany the postmenopausal period, two of which are depression and anxiety. Although they may be discouraging, try your best to understand your symptoms. Keep reading for further information about depression and anxiety during postmenopause and how to deal with them.

Dealing With The Winter Blues

For some people, the reduced daylight hours of winter lead to a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder . SAD can make you feel like a completely different person to who you are in the summer: hopeless, sad, tense, or stressed, with no interest in friends or activities you normally love. No matter how hopeless you feel, though, there are plenty of things you can do to keep your mood stable throughout the year.

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Fatigue In Daily Life Primary Care And Depression

Fatigue is a common complaint, not only from medical and psychiatric patients but also in the community. In the mid 20th century, a study seeking cancer-predicting signs interviewed over one million people in the US and found that 45.7 percent of women and 33.0 percent of men reported fatigue.2 National mental health surveys in several countries agree on its high prevalence rate. The 1984 Epidemiological Catchment Area study of the National Institutes of Health reflected a current fatigue prevalence of 6.7 percent and a lifetime prevalence of 24.4 percent 3 in a study of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 13.29 percent reported fatigue 4 in a survey conducted in Great Britain by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, fatigue was the most common neurotic symptom with a prevalence of 27 percent.5 Most of these people associate their fatigue with a psychological component. In a British study of over 15,000 people in the community, almost 60 percent attributed their fatigue to psychosocial or psychological causes.6

Fatigue is also a common complaint in primary care. Studies in primary care in North America and Europe show that 10 to 20 percent of men and 10 to 30 percent of women report significant fatigue.79 The World Health Organization Multinational Primary Care Study, which was conducted in industrialized and underdeveloped countries, shows a weighted prevalence of eight percent for substantial unexplained fatigue vs. 1.7 percent for CFS.10

Depression Also Affects Your Ability To Sleep

Adults should sleep seven hours a day or more, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For people with depression, that task may be challenging.

“People with depression often have trouble falling asleep or difficulty staying asleep, or both,” says Dimitriu. People with depression may experience less slow wave or deep sleep, according to a September 2014 review in the journal Sleep Science. The end result? Sleep feels “less restful and restorative,” says Ricke.

Plus, people who are depressed can engage in “maladaptive behaviors that contribute to poor sleep,” says Ricke. For instance, depression-related fatigue can lead to someone taking a nap, which will only make falling asleep in the evening harder, she says.

Dimitriu and Ricke note that staying active may be hard for someone with depression, but resisting the temptation to stay on the couch can go a long way in fact, getting some physical activity each day may even help you sleep better at night.

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Focus On What You Can Control

Your challenges may seem overwhelming, and when were stressed, we often lose sight of the resources at hand. Try making a list of every possible solution to a problem, no matter how outlandish or unlikely it may seem. You may find that more help is available than you thought. Trying to do everything alone is a shortcut to mental exhaustion.

Do Something You Enjoy

Depression can push you to give in to your fatigue. It may feel more powerful than preferred emotions.

Try to push back and do something you love something thats pleasurable or meaningful. It could be playing an instrument, painting, hiking, or biking.

The byproduct of engaging in meaningful activities can be a lift in your mood or energy, which can further motivate you to continue to engage in helpful activities that help with navigating symptoms.

Research suggests that walks in nature may improve depressive symptoms in people with clinical depression.

Time in natural spaces may improve mood and cognition, and lower the risk of mental health disorders. However, theres only limited research on the direct effect of nature on those with clinical depression.

Consider taking a walk at lunch among the trees or spending some time in your local park. Or plan a weekend hike. These activities can help you reconnect with nature and soak in some rays at the same time.

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Fatigue Fixes To Start Today

The obvious solutions: Stay away from processed foods, eat more vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and get some exercise, even if its just a walk around the neighborhood. Sleep issues can of course similarly sap daytime energy, whether theyre pandemic-related or from shifting hormones, particularly in women going through menopause. Unfortunately, Boling says, people dont often do what they need to prepare for a restful night, such as turning off electronic devices, covering up light sources and keeping TVs out of the bedroom.

Its worth trying these strategies and establishing a regular sleep routine, including time to wind down without stimulation before bed. FYI: A Northwestern University study found that pink noise increased deep sleep in older adults.

If none of these work, give melatonin a try, Salamon advises. I generally suggest starting with 1 milligram and taking it about an hour before bedtime to see if that helps, she says. Patients can gradually increase the dose, if they need to, until they find their sweet spot.

What Medical Conditions Cause Fatigue

Hundreds of conditions and disorders lead to fatigue. Some of the most common causes of fatigue include:

• Disease and infection: Cancer, kidney disease and multiple sclerosis are just a few diseases that cause fatigue. Fatigue can also be a sign of infections such as mononucleosis, HIV and flu.
• Mental health conditions: Fatigue from depression or anxiety may make it difficult or impossible to perform daily activities.
• Autoimmune disorders: Fatigue is a symptom of many autoimmune diseases, including diabetes, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
• Hormonal imbalances: Problems with your endocrine system can lead to exhaustion. Hypothyroidism is a common cause of fatigue.
• Chronic conditions:Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia cause severe, long-lasting fatigue.
• Heart and lung problems: Fatigue is a common symptom of cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , emphysema and congestive heart failure.
• Deficiencies:Anemia and other vitamin deficiencies are often responsible for fatigue. Dehydration can cause fatigue because the body needs plenty of fluids to function.
• Weight problems and eating disorders:Anorexia, bulimia, obesity or being underweight can lead to fatigue and a range of other symptoms.

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Tip 32 Find Out How Byron Katie Overcame Her Depression

Your thoughts are sometimes very compelling. Everything has to happen or not happen according to your thoughts. He should have appreciated me more. Whose business is that? Can you decide that for him? Who are you, God? Its hard to manage an entire universe, no wonder youre depressed!

Do you think other people should be different than they really are? This thinking brings deep unhappiness and even depression.

A mother about her son: Kevin uses alcohol. If she flips this, it becomes, Im using Kevin. Byron Katie: Yes. I use Kevin to stay depressed.

Stress is always caused by a specific thought. That thought is often a distortion of reality. Investigate that with If you then also start to believe in that thought , then that is suffering.

Dont believe your thoughts : they are just thoughts, not the truth. We may love our mind , but trusting the mind is a mistake.

Do you believe your thoughts? Thats kidding yourself: keeping yourself out of reality.

Signs Of Depression At Work

Here are some signs that you may be working while depressed:

• Missing work:It could be you start calling in sick or make excuses for needing a personal day.
• Trouble concentrating:Just cant keep your mind focused on work? If it feels like youre in a fog all the time or in a hopeless state of mind, this can be an indication that youre trying to work while depressed.
• Missed deadlines and goals:Inability to get work done or complete tasks, avoidance of phone calls and meetings, failing to achieve personal or career goalsthese can be signs of depression at work.
• Feelings of depression only when youre at work:It could be that your workplace is the cause of depression. If youre largely overcome with depression while at work, but not as much elsewhere, it could be that feelings of depression are driven by your job. Serious workplace issues like harassment, discrimination, abuse, and bullying can eventually lead to feelings of depression, if left unaddressed.
• Fatigue and lack of energy:Tired all the time? Feel like you have no energy to do your job? Persistent fatigue can be a sign of depression.

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Stress Versus Mental Exhaustion

Stress is a term that refers to anything that temporarily taxes a persons mental, physical, and emotional resources. Our bodies respond to both good and bad stress in similar ways. Ideally, were able to quickly resolve stressors and return our bodies to a state of balance. Long-term stress leads to mental exhaustion not the other way around.

Effects Of Decision Fatigue In Daily Life

Experiencing decision fatigue can lead to a person not having the energy to make any more decisions right away avoiding making a decision altogether picking a decision just to get it over with and possibly doing an inadequate job making a decision. In some instances, decision fatigue can also be a precursor for burnout.4

Possible effects of decision fatigue include:

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How Dr Tms Therapy Griffith Psychiatry Can Help You With Your Depression Symptoms

Dr. TMS Therapy Griffith Psychiatry offers transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment, which is a noninvasive, FDA-approved procedure that delivers magnetic pulses to areas in the brain that regulate mood and depressive symptoms, including persistent fatigue .

In addition to TMS therapy, our clinic provides medication management services and counseling that is based on a holistic approach to depression treatment, whether it is a primary or comorbid disorder.

To learn more about the services we offer and how TMS therapy can help fight depression fatiguecontact our clinic today!

Walter G. Griffith Jr., MD, PA

Psychiatrist

Dr. TMS Therapys content is for informational and educational purposes only. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always talk to your provider about the risks and benefits of any treatment.

Fatigue And Depression: When Is Tiredness A Warning Sign

3 Minute Read

Sleep is an important part of overall health, but for many, it does not come easily. Millions of Americans report feeling fatigue a feeling of tiredness or exhaustion.

Many different factors, ranging from poor sleep to health conditions, can cause fatigue. Its also a common symptom of mental health conditions, such as depression.

Being fatigued doesnt mean youre depressed, but fatigue can be a warning sign. Learn more about the link between the conditions.

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If You Think It’s All About How Much You Sleep You Need To Read On

What does it mean to feel energetic?

Watching children play, adults marvel at their energy. Can’t we feel energetic as well? The answer is yes, although as we age, it is normal to experience less vigor. This fatigue is not entirely due to the physical process of aging. Stress increases as we agewe may have big mortgages, car payments, increasing responsibility at work, ill parents, medical conditions, or children to raise. And we often play lessthose who are younger are often better at prioritizing socializing, trying new things and having fun, while we can become bogged down in responsibility and forget to do the things that fill us up.

Adults also tend to decrease their activities as they get olderand less activity is associated with greater fatigue. It can mean poorer physical conditioning, too, which means that less activity is needed to produce muscle strain. Fatigue is functional it can help protect us against overexertion. However, our bodies are also sensitive to too little activity. So although fatigue is often associated with not wanting to do anything, paradoxically, sometimes we need to increase activity to shake off the cobwebs.Too often we take the cues of fatigue as a sign that we must do less.

What can we do to feel less fatigued?