Does Depression Cause Headaches?
The clinical term for depression is “depressive disorder.” It’s not just “feeling sad,” although that is one of the symptoms. Other signs include listlessness, loss of interest in things that you formerly enjoyed, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and difficulty concentrating. Often, people experience multiple symptoms. Interestingly, sometimes, they experience these events at the same time as experiencing others. Generally, to be considered clinically depressed, you have to have experienced symptoms for at least two weeks, and the symptoms must be an obvious departure from the way you felt prior to the onset of symptoms.
Certain physical ailments, such as a malfunctioning thyroid gland or a brain tumor, can show the same symptoms as depression. It’s a good idea to have a battery of tests done to rule out physical causes before deciding on a course of treatment. Misdiagnosis could have dire consequences, so being careful and diligent is important for the success of your treatment for depressive disorder.
What Depression Isn’t
Depression is not the same as grief or bereavement. In those cases, something happened to cause grief or bereavement. Someone died. Someone lost a job. Someone’s relationship or marriage ended. The sadness that comes along with depressive disorder is a result of the condition and not of an outside stimulus.
Additionally, the melancholy that comes with depression is constant, whereas grief and bereavement have periods of brightness between the sad times. That’s not to say that the two don’t sometimes go together. They do, but they are distinct and separate things, and each requires its own treatment.
Are You at Risk for Developing Depression?
First, just because someone has risk factors for depression doesn’t mean that that person will develop the condition. It seems like everything causes cancer these days, but some people don’t develop the disease, no matter how many risk factors there are. Still, if one or more of these apply to you, then it might be a good idea to see a mental health professional to get advice and guidance about how to proceed.
Some people have inherited biochemical markers that predispose them to depression. Others have inherited traits that produce a higher chance of developing depression. As an example of this, it’s up to 70% more likely for one person of a set of twins to develop depression if the person’s twin has already developed it.
It’s also possible for a person’s upbringing and surroundings to have an effect on whether or not that person develops the condition. For example, poverty and violence both have an effect. The same applies to an abusive or neglectful environment while growing up. There are also forms of depression that only occur sometimes, such as postpartum depression or what used to be called seasonal depression and is now known as seasonal affective disorder.
Treatment for Depression
There are several treatments for depression. Not everyone will respond well to all treatment options, so it’s crucial to discuss each of the options with your therapist and/or psychiatrist before seeking treatment. In no particular order, the treatment options include the following:
Medication
Mental-health professionals don’t know how antidepressants work. Sure, they increase the effect of neurotransmitters in the brain, but the so-called “serotonin theory,” which states that a lack of serotonin causes depression, is no longer in favor. The fact remains, however, that these medications work. Which medicine you take will depend on your specific case. There are a great many medications that doctors use to treat depression, and sometimes, your doctor will have to try a few of them and alter the doses to find the best solution. Fortunately, these medications are not habit-forming.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy alone is typically only successful in mild cases. If the person’s depression is severe, then psychotherapy could be a useful tool in treating the condition along with other measures. The goal of the therapy is to teach the person to recognize the thoughts that come about from the condition and to focus on problem-solving skills and other coping mechanisms to combat the feelings. One special kind of therapy to combat depression, especially depression that stems from trauma, is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR. Emily Wood, Thomas Ricketts, and Glenys Parry performed a study in 2018 that attempted to determine the feasibility of EMDR as a treatment for depression. Their findings were encouraging. Of course, no therapy alone will solve everyone’s problems, but having something like EMDR in a therapist’s toolbox can only be beneficial.
Exercise, Sleep, and Other Self-Help Options
Of course, just working out, sleeping, eating right, and maintaining communication with friends and family won’t cure depression on their own. However, all of these things are beneficial and helpful when applied as part of an overall strategy to treat someone’s depression. Certainly, not doing these things can have an indirect effect on someone’s depression. For example, a group of researchers noted in 2018 that diet and enough sleep both had a beneficial effect on depression themselves. They also noted that exercise did not. However, the American Heart Association recommends exercise as an effective way to combat heart disease. And as the 2018 study noted, there is a link between cardiovascular problems and depression. Therefore, alleviating cardiovascular problems will likely have a beneficial effect indirectly on people with depression.
Electroconvulsive Therapy
When all else fails, your therapist, psychiatrist, or both might recommend electroconvulsive therapy. Generally, this therapy is only for severe depression. Unlike in the past, you’ll likely be under general anesthetic when you receive the electrical stimulation. Also, the procedure has evolved since its inception in the 1940s to include input from a team of several professionals. Although the treatment is widely considered mainstream in the 21st century, it’s still reserved for certain cases and would almost certainly be administered in conjunction with other methods of therapy.
The Relationship Between Depression and Headaches
The relationship between headaches and depression is two-way because either can cause or at least be a symptom of the other. This is particularly true when it comes to migraine headaches, which can be completely debilitating in and of themselves. Folks with anxiety also have elevated risk factors for both headaches and depression. Chronic pain of any kind can lead to mental health conditions, but headaches can be especially nasty in that regard, often because there is no real relief from them.
One of the big reasons headaches can cause these mental health issues is that they make it difficult for people to sleep. Or, if the people actually can sleep, the headache then affects the quality of sleep. Sleep problems are well-known to exacerbate depression even if there is no direct causation. In a vicious cycle, lack of decent sleep also contributes to the development of further headaches.
Dehydration can also cause headaches. One of the symptoms of depression is a change in eating and drinking habits. If someone drinks less water throughout each day, then that person is at a much higher risk of dehydration than someone who drinks water normally. So, depression can indirectly cause a headache through this chain of events.
Stress is another symptom that can both cause depression and be caused by depression. Stress is a big factor in people developing headaches. Even if the depression doesn’t cause stress directly, people who have developed depression often worry about the effect the condition has on them, and that worry then manifests itself as stress. Then, the stress causes the headache.
Some pain medications actually cause headaches. The frustration of taking something that’s supposed to lead to less pain but rather causes more pain might lead to greater stress levels. Then, it’s back into the vicious cycle again.
When depression and headaches affect someone together, the treatment must be for both conditions. Treating one and “hoping the other one goes away” doesn’t work. People should speak candidly with their doctors and therapists about their feelings, their depression, and how the headaches affect them. That way, doctors and therapists can devise an effective and healthy method for combating the conditions.
The Importance of Support
For people to have success in seeking these treatments, it’s essential to have the support of friends and family. First, they can observe your condition, or conditions, and know if they’re getting better or worse. Through their observations, you’ll know what you need to discuss with your doctor and therapist. Also, when things seem bleak and hopeless, them being there might be a comfort for you. Lastly, if your depression gets to the breaking point, then they will be there to notice and to make sure that you get the immediate help you need. Such support could save your life.
The National Depression Hotline
When you’re close to rock bottom, and you, for whatever reason, don’t feel that you can get the support you need from family or friends, you will need somewhere to turn for guidance. The National Depression Hotline can help. The National Depression Hotline is a free service to which you can reach out at any time should you feel the need. Also, your friends and family can call on your behalf if you’re not able to do so.
The National Depression Hotline will be able to direct you to a specialist who handles mental-health crises. That person will help you identify possible triggers and recommend courses of action to get help. In a dire emergency, that person will summon help to come to you and stay on the phone with you.
The website for the National Depression Hotline has information about self-help strategies, state-by-state resources of which you can avail yourself, and information about comorbid depression and addiction if that applies to you. Never hesitate to call for any reason. You deserve the help you need, and you can take the first necessary steps to get it by calling the National Depression Hotline.
