Depression
About one-third of the people diagnosed with lupus have anxiety and depression. But, according to healthcare providers, clinical depression is different. The condition is often disabling, unpleasant, and prolonged. People with clinical depression experience hopelessness, helplessness, loss of interest in daily activities, and sadness. They may lose interest in the world around them, have indecision, memory problems, failure to concentrate, self-esteem, unrestful sleep, loss of appetite, and crying spells. Sometimes, they suffer cramping, indigestion, palpitations, and headaches.
Doctors consider patients clinically depressed when their symptoms disrupt their day-to-day existence for several weeks. Medical practitioners do not know the cause of depression. But believe that it could be a genetic component triggering the conditions in an individual. However, they already concluded that active lupus in the brain is not a cause of depression.
Experts believe clinical depression is due to the emotional drain caused by learning to cope with the chronic medical condition. For example, lupus is a combination of several conditions, and people with the disease must make adjustments and sacrifices to manage it properly. Further, some steroid medications like prednisone can induce clinical depression.
