Depression has a great impact on the body and its effects appear on many body systems. in fact, some depressed people will have physical symptoms as their main concern when seeking help for depression. Here are some of these effects:

Sleep

Sleep is profoundly disturbed in depression. Depressed people may have difficulties falling and initiating sleep. Or they may have difficulties maintaining sleep; sleeping only for 2-3 hours then getting up unable to return to sleep. The most prominent sleep disturbance in depression is early waking. People get up earlier than their usual time and remain awake afterwards.

on the other side, some people may experience the opposite when depressed. They can find themselves sleeping too much and have a lot of shut-eye during the day.

Headaches

Chronic daily headache is common in depression. People may wake up with headache or may develop it progressively over the day. Research shows a link between depression and migraine. depressed people are three times more likely to be depressed according to one study, while people with migraine are 5 times more likely to develop depression.

Appetite and Weight

Appetite and other vegetative body functions could be markedly affected in depressed people. Loss of appetite is common and could result in unintentional loss of weight. Some depressed people may manifest the opposite — increased appetite and increased body weight.

Depression is also linked to eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

Sexual Functioning

In depression, people may lose their interest in sex and show low desire and drive. Moreover, some antidepressants have negative effects on performance. If you are taking medications for depression and you experience sexual dysfunction take it to your doctor and discuss it with him.

Restlessness

Agitation and restless are frequent symptoms in depression. people can feel distressed and can be irritable with bad temper. Men are more likely to get this type of what is called psychomotor agitation.

Digestion

Depressive people exhibit a number of digestive problems. They may feel uncomfortable after eating, or acidity and burning. They may feel distension and bloating. Some may have frequent diarrhea alternating with constipation. Nausea and even vomiting are also reported.

Back pain

Back pain is a frequent occurrence in depression. Lower back pain is the most common but neck pain is also as common. It was found that depressed people are 4 times more likely to have back- or neck-pain

Body Aches

Depressed people have body aches all over. Muscle aching, joint pain, and even mild tenderness at some points are prominent features. It could pain pain and tenderness in shoulders and neck, aching in bones and joints , or tenderness on bony prominences. Depressed people in general are 3 times more likely to get some regular pain. But notice that people with some chronic pain condition are too at higher risk of developing depression

Chest Pain

Chest pain can be a symptom of some serious illness like heart or lung disease, but it can be seen in depression too. In addition to that, depression increases the risk of heart disease and also people with heart conditions are more likely to get depressed.

Exhaustion and easy fatigability

Fatigue is a prominent symptom in depression. People feel lack of energy, motivation and drive. Exerting some efforts becomes a very hard task. Feeling tired all the time is the norm in many depressed people.

People could have rested enough and slept enough but they found themselves lacking the energy to do their usual tasks and day-to-day activities.

The Way Out

To treat all these you have to treat your depression. With depression treatment all symptoms improve.

Seek professional help and consult your doctor or psychologist and stick to the treatment modality they advised.

Consider modifying your daily routines and behavior by making schedules for regular pleasant activities.

consider exercise. Exercise will not alleviate depression by itself but will help a lot according to research. Exercise can also ease fatigue and improve sleep.