As the awareness for whole body health continues to grow, we must take a closer look at the connection between inflammation and depression—and how individual counseling combined with holistic healing can help with both.
Depression Does Not Cause Inflammation
Depression is not an inflammatory disease but those who suffer from acute or chronic inflammation may be at a higher risk for depression. Since we traditionally think of depression first and foremost as a solely mental health concern, this scientific finding is significant and explains why some patients don’t respond to traditional depression treatment.
Diagnosing Inflammatory Depression
To get inflammatory depression under control it must first be diagnosed. Many factors can contribute to depression and the treatment will vary greatly if inflammation is the cause. Unlike visiting your general healthcare provider, holistic approaches will focus on identifying triggers, such as flare-ups in your inflammation, causing a flare-up in your depression.
Getting Inflammatory Depression Under Control
The cause of inflammation is many so there is not a single solution. Diet can play a large factor, by minimizing inflammatory foods such as processed sugar—and eating more anti-inflammatory whole foods. Ice and heat therapy may be part of the treatment program as well as complementary medicine may ignite the body’s natural healing abilities. This could include acupuncture, body therapy, anti-inflammatory herbs, and more.
Quality of Life
What inflammation and depression both have in common is that they negatively impact your quality of life. Depression can leave you feeling unmotivated to get out and do the things you love, while inflammation can leave you physically incapable of getting out and about. Inflammation can lead to chronic pain and a decreased quality of sleep, both of which can make your depression worse.
If you have inflammation and are depressed or have treatment-resistant depression reach out to the team at A Caring Approach today to discuss individual counseling combined with a holistic treatment plan.