19 May,2010 09:26 AM IST | | Special Features Team
Eating healthy low fat food, and exercising are essential to maintain a healthy weight, but depression patients find it tough to do it. Weight gain from depression is an added stress. Overstressed, depressed oranxious individuals may over eat to compensate for psychological problems adding to their body weight. The medication used to treat depression and anxiety also aid weight gain.
With too many things to balance, your stress level rise to an unhealthy level and you go into what they call the 'fight or flight' mode. Then, it also releases too much cortisol in your bloodstream, which cause an increase in your appetite. Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, anti-obesity specialist lists down a few symptoms of depression:
1. Increased appetite, especially for sweets and carbohydrates.
2. Weight change, ie significant weight loss or gain and fatigueu00a0.
3. Loss of interest in daily activities, social life, and ability to feel joy and pleasure
4. Increase in physical complaints like headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain
4. Sleep changes, either insomnia, especially waking in the early hours of the morning, or oversleeping (hypersomnia).
6. Irritability or restlessness or feeling of helplessness
7. Trouble focusing, making decisions, remembering things.
