The statistics on depression are pretty clear. The vast majority of people in the world will experience it at some point in their lives, and for many people it will be an ongoing issue. One thing that you can say for depression, however, is that it varies dramatically. Where for one person it might be literally life-ending, for another it could merely be a persistent feeling of low mood and a flattened affect. There is still much that most people don’t understand about depression, and one area that is worth looking into is what kind of effects you might expect from depression. The illness of depression affects your body and mind in many ways. Here are three which you might not expect.

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Tinnitus

Depression can do all sorts of things, and one of the things it does for many is that it can cause tinnitus. This is where you experience a ringing in the ears, either one or both, or in the head, which persists and which you can’t seem to get rid of. This can be made worse by complete silence, and the more you focus on it, the worse it can get. Fortunately, there are solutions to tinnitus, and of course if yours is caused by depression then healing the depression will absolutely help. You might also need to get a tinnitus test, to ensure that that is really the problem, and then it might be a case of merely trying to sleep more and look after yourself to get rid of it. For most people, it gets better over time, so there is hope here.

Aches & Pains

Many people don’t realize that depression can cause a range of aches and pains in the body. However, anyone who has experienced a true depressive episode might well have noticed that suddenly their back hurts a lot, or that they are experiencing more headaches than usual, for instance. The way in which depression causes bodily pain is not quite clear to us yet, but it is certain that it does. It can help, if you are stuck in such a situation, to try and move around a little and get some exercise, as that can help to alleviate the depression while also soothing the bodily pain. Of course, to a depression individual, that might seem like a very hard thing to do.

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Insomnia

This one is clearer, especially to anyone who has experienced either insomnia or depression. The inability to sleep properly or deeply can be a cause and a symptom of depression, and it is for this reason that it is such a vicious cycle. Once you are in this cycle, it can be challenging to get out of it again – but it is always possible. Speaking with a therapist will help on the depression side of things, whereas taking steps to sleep better is obviously a wise idea too. So again, try to exercise more – and also ensure that you are not drinking too much coffee in the day, especially in the evening, as that is bound to inhibit your sleep.