Fatigue Cause Number Nine: Depression

Sometimes depression is at the root of fatigue. Depression affects twice as many women as men and often runs in families, starting between the ages of 15 and 30. Women can also get postpartum depression after the birth of a baby. Some people get seasonal affective disorder in the winter with feelings of fatigue and sadness. Depression is also one part of bipolar disorder.

According to Dr. Ronald Fieve, psychopharmacologist and professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, mood is a dominant aspect of life. In his book Bipolar II, Fieve explains that mood disorders are a large group of psychiatric conditions. Abnormal moods and physical disturbances—like changes in eating habits, sleep patterns and body motion, either speeded up or slowed down—dominate the picture.

While feeling low from time to time is normal, major depression needs medical treatment; it is a risk factor for suicide. This medical problem is usually recurrent, with repeated depressive episodes. With major depression, you might be in a depressed mood most of the day with little interest in normal activities, Fieve says. "Along with feelings of fatigue, you may eat too much or too little, oversleep or undersleep, feel hopeless and worthless and have other serious symptoms."

Fieve says the diagnosis of depression begins with a physical exam by a doctor. If a physical cause for the depression is ruled out, your doctor may prescribe medication or refer you to a psychiatrist or psychologist for a psychological evaluation.

While the specific causes of depression are unclear, depression is a highly treatable medical problem with antidepressant medications, psychotherapy or a combination of the two. In some cases, electroconvulsive therapy or ECT is used to treat patients who are unable to take antidepressants or who suffer from extreme depression.

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