Table of contents:
- What is Crohn's disease?
- People with Crohn's disease are prone to depression
- How to control depression while suffering from Crohn's disease?
Basically mental and physical health are closely related. For example, when you feel nervous, you often feel nauseous and even have a stomach ache. So, even so with inflammatory bowel disease which is caused by an autoimmune disorder or what is called Crohn's disease. Quoted from WebMD, research proves Crohn's disease is closely related to depression. Is it true that prolonged depression can cause this inflammatory bowel disease?
What is Crohn's disease?
Crohn's disease is a chronic autoimmune disease causing intestinal inflammation that occurs along the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus. However, this condition most commonly occurs in the small intestine (ileum) or large intestine (colon). The cause is most likely due to the reaction of the immune system and also heredity.
Symptoms that are usually felt when you have Crohn's disease include:
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Abdominal pain and cramps
- Bloated
- Mouth sores
- Bloody stool
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
People with Crohn's disease are prone to depression
As mentioned earlier, physical and mental health are closely related, including in people with Crohn's disease. Poor mental health has a negative effect on the health of a person with Crohn's.
It is known that about 60-80 percent of people who suffer from Crohn's experience depression. If you have Crohn's disease, you are more likely to develop depression when the disease is active and causes symptoms that are severe enough.
This chronic autoimmune disease can also make you depressed because it is debilitating and painful enough to decrease the quality of life. Conversely, Crohn's symptoms also often get worse when you don't control depression.
Reporting from Healthgrades, in the intestines there are trillions of good and bad bacteria that affect the immune system and help regulate mental health. The good bacteria will help the immune system to function properly. In addition, good bacteria also produce serotonin, which is known as the comfort and pleasure hormone.
Meanwhile, bad bacteria can kill good bacteria, causing a compromised immune system and encouraging inflammation which is one of the main causes of Crohn's disease and depression.
Several studies have also shown that high levels of harmful bacteria in the gut can increase inflammation, making people more agitated, stressed, and depressed. Inflammation can also cause Crohn's symptoms to worsen.
How to control depression while suffering from Crohn's disease?
Maintaining mental health by controlling depression can help relieve symptoms. Feeling happy without stress helps maintain your physical health. For that, you need to make several efforts to control depression, such as:
- Looking for someone to talk to such as family, partner, or friends to listen to your complaints.
- Join a group of people with Crohn's to share stories and experiences and ensure that you are not alone.
- Take an antidepressant that your doctor prescribes to help stabilize your mood.
- Do various things that you like as an antidote when you feel stressed about your condition.
- Eat foods that contain good bacteria (probiotics) to reduce inflammation which can relieve symptoms.
- Seek professional help to find suitable therapy to reduce depression.
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