Can Depression Cause Weight Gain?

Many people assume that depression makes you lose weight as you forget about eating and sleeping and wallow in despair and self-pity. But the truth is far more complex, and surprisingly, depression can heavily contribute to weight gain as well.

There’s a deep link between depression and an increase in inches and weight for a variety of different reasons and factors. Some are more straightforward, others more complex. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Often medications make you gain weight

Many depression medications can cause significant weight gain because of the way they impact your body. Not only do they have physiological effects like slowed metabolism and increased appetite, but they may also have certain medical properties that increase weight retention and gain. Many people can expect to put on an average of 10 lbs. when taking antidepressants, especially without countermeasures to balance that.

Your body has a skewed response to pleasure

When your brain’s pleasure center is so deeply affected by depression, it may be harder to enjoy foods that bring that response. As a result, it’s easy to overdo consumption and eat more to compensate for the lack of flavor, texture, or enjoyment on its own. Many of us will have a hard time coping with this, and overeating, unfortunately becomes harder to detect.

Binge and emotional eating are common

Speaking of overeating, another common side effect of depression itself is that you’re more prone to binging and emotional eating to cope with these difficult, challenging, and intense feelings of loss, hopelessness, sadness, and more. Many turn to comfort foods, including starchy carbs, fried items, sugary drinks and desserts, and other foods that increase weight, as a way to feel good and experience more pleasure.

Our systems slow down when we’re depressed

Despite how complex and intelligent our bodies are, conditions like depression can throw our systems into whack. Not only do many people struggle with slow metabolism due to depression and poor eating, but other hormones such as cortisol may be elevated and cause our bodies to store fat.

Depression is by no means straightforward, and it’s not as simple as saying it makes you fat or thin. People cope with it in different ways, and having professional help is key to getting better.

You can work on addressing the root cause of your issues with Rekha Shrivastava’s hypnosis services in Pittsford and Rochester, NY. At Blossom Hypnosis, we offer hypnosis-based weight loss programs, among other concerns that clients bring. Learn more by reaching out to us today for a free consultation in-person or on Skype.

Not ready to schedule an appointment? Learn how self-hypnosis can start your recovery from PTSD and depression.