DEPRESSION AND WEIGHT GAIN

BY: FITZ-GEORGE RATTRAY

I recently wrote an article on the relationship between stress and weight gain. The response was significant. Although this conversation has been ongoing for decades it is increasingly clear that more people are beginning to recognize the impact of their mental states and their physical well-being.

There is a list of particularly important issues connected to our ability to chose and maintain a healthy lifestyle; very high in this is depression.

One of the first essential things to remember is brain, mental and emotional energies are finite.  The finite natures may not be as apparent when compared to muscle fatigue, but there are a few simple reasons. The brain has no pain sensors. The aching and burning you feel in muscles are clear indicators of overwork or fatigue, fortunately the brain simply does not work this way.

Nevertheless, every function is finite, and the higher the function, the more it pulls from a central pool of energy.  Cognitive functions and processes, such as those related to working memory, decision making, learning, reasoning, attention and language, will power and much more, are both draining on the finite pool of energy and are quickly jeopardized when energy is low.

HOW DOES DEPRESSION AFFECT YOUR WEIGHT?
But, how does any of this affect our weight?  Once you have started your day, and have rested as much as you are going to, all the energy you are going to have is intact and ready to serve you. As your day progresses you are, pressed upon by tasks, concerns and issues. This energy is depleted, leaving you at the end of the day with just enough energy to sit or lay around, to only do the absolute essentials or perhaps to reward yourself with a treat for surviving the day. You are now both physically and mentally drained.

This pattern often leads to nighttime snacking, eating within three hours of bedtime, or worse. These foods usually consist of the most calorie dense nutritionally weak foods, which have actual medical risks attached.  Other patterns observed are over compensatory eating for physical exercise and weekend splurges.

As with any emotional and mental state, depression will drain our energies and resolve and drive these patterns significantly.  But as depression is highly misunderstood let’s take a moment to get some clarity of what it is.

ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION?

Depression is not sadness, unhappiness, moodiness, weakness or laziness. Depression is a very serious medical illness which will impact the sufferer’s interest and ability to fully appreciate the enjoyability of life and can have the following characteristics:

• Levels of severity and duration
• Weight loss or weight gain
• Affect your physical and emotional well being
• Perpetually feeling tired and drained
• Range from low feelings to absolute total despair
• Difficulty focusing and making decisions
• Extreme focus on a specific task or purpose
• Persistent episodes can last from morning to night and continue for an average of 6 to 8 months
• Loss of interest in activities and many relationships
• Feelings of guilt and/or worthlessness
• Difficulty remembering past events, words or details
• Frequent thoughts of death (not a fear) and suicide
• Compromised or excessive sleep
• A lack of pleasure in everyday activities
• Anxiety, restlessness or conversely, slowing down
• Ruminating, constantly recalling, pondering, deliberating and pouring over issues
• Most importantly, diagnosis begins with consulting a mental health professional

Are you recognizing 5 or more of these characteristics occurring within the last 2 weeks? If so contact a medical professional, it will be well worth the effort.

If you have been suffering from depression and have overweight issues, chances are you have been “self-medicating” with foods, hoping to numb your depression with rewarding foods. Usually these are high in calories, flavors, sugars, oils or creams and may be taken socially, solitary or both.  Often these foods are connected to or an escape from earlier memories, family, parents, place or situation making them so very precious and safe.

But remember one thing, numbing depression with food is not fixing it, it’s literally feeding the depression.  Inflaming the cycle of brain chemical imbalances, driving a system of downs and ups, lows and rewards, on which depression feeds.  Added to that, is the impacting damage to our gut microbiome, the delicate balance of gut bacteria which researchers are calling our second brain. The preferred foods of the depressed mind are like throwing a bomb into our helpful bacteria, allowing the ones to stimulate unhealthy moods and cravings to thrive.  Eating away depression is no more a solution to depression for you than crack is to a crackhead’s distress.

REACH OUT TO SOMEONE OR A PROFESSIONAL 

I appreciate that you or someone you know may understand what I am saying here, unfortunately I also appreciate that most people who are exposed to the realities of depression and its effect seldom do anything about it. Make the effort, decide deep down what you want, who you want to be, how you want to live and act on that, take the first step, reach out.

Forget how abstract it sounds. Forget any ignorant stigma you may have been exposed to, forget worrying about being private or the perceived difficulty in finding the right person.  Get started on your recovery now. Psychologists and Psychiatrists have the tools to get you on the road to management.

Working on your nutrition and fitness will go hand in hand with your mental recovery. It will not be easy. Your brain has created a set of habits, and fooled you into believing that they are connected to your survival. Unfortunately our society, family, friends and the food industry have also been selling you on the same message.  Get help separating yourself from these habits and false limiting misconceptions. It is essential to get the knowledge, guidance and support.  Start now, it will never be a quick fix, but your options are, indefinite suffering or a slow steady fix to wonderful improvements otherwise unimagined.