The physical impact of your MH.. even if you’re medicated
Physical health wise, there’s a plethora of problems that can occurs within your body subjected to anxiety & depression. I recall my Dr explaining how they affect our skin, and it’s ability to rejuvenate, making it heal slower. It’s also common to have small memory issues, where you can forget little things more easily and might need to ask something twice (same with people on dialysis, so me & mother are in the same boat).
* reminder that i’m no health specialist; this has been based off what my family Dr told me aswell as my own experiences*
I also noted that my body is more prone to infections; i’m bad for removing skin off my nail beds & cuticles.. and most often than not I do need to put some ointment on it because otherwise it hurts and it just won’t do on it’s own 😅
Being someone who bruises easily and scratches literally everywhere- bruises seems to stay on forever.. not only don’t I recall why or how I got that- it seems to stay blueish far longer towards a month rather than just few weeks before finally dissapear. Legends says we also gets more dry skins.
When I was looking at the causes of restless legs, one of them was linked to antidepressants, aswell as those mental illnesses itself – and knowing it’s running in my dad’s family, I knew I was in trouble in any way we looked 😅 However, whenever i’d say it aloud to my mother, she’d say «But I thought you were feeling better?? »
And indeed, I am currently very stable within my medication and I get much less exterior stress in my new work.. but that doesn’t mean the illnesses have gone away. Depending on the reason behind ones’ illness, if it’s a lack of something produced within the brain like mine rather than contextual- that’s sadly not gonna magically be done.
Most people that are lucky not to have experienced it overlook how it’s not « only in our brain » — I mean it is, but not in the way they realize. A brain in someone’s control center, literally EVERYTHING comes from the brain.. which our body do needs the signal from it to act accordingly; therefore ALL within the body will be affected. It’s not just playing with one’s mood & way of thinking.
So even if the regulation of one’s mood works- that doesn’t means the full effects of one’s body is gone 😅 and it does go far beyond what you might’ve originally thought. Our mental illnesses very much impact us physically too.
Have you noticed any of this happening to you?