Depression's Physical Toll: How it Impacts Chronic Disease
Apr 01, 2025•11 min
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Episode description
Story at-a-glance
- Aside from being a mental health issue, depression also speeds up the onset of chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and arthritis, making them appear years earlier than expected
- People with depression are significantly more likely to be hospitalized for serious physical conditions, with some illnesses requiring up to five times more hospital visits compared to those without depression
- Depression causes chronic stress and inflammation, which damage your body at a cellular level, weakening your immune system, increasing blood sugar issues and accelerating disease progression
- Poor sleep and gut health disruptions in depressed people worsen both mental and physical health, leading to higher rates of infections, digestive problems and metabolic disorders
- Breaking the cycle of depression and disease requires addressing the root causes with appropriate sun exposure, gut-supporting probiotics, deep sleep, stress management and mitochondrial support
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