Does depression make you feel cold
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The Relationship Between Depression and Feeling Cold
Depression and Physical Sensations: Feeling Cold
Depression and Increased Cold Sensitivity
Research indicates that individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) often exhibit altered pain perception, including increased thresholds for cold pain. A study comparing unmedicated MDD patients with healthy controls found that those with depression had a decreased sensitivity to cold pain, suggesting a higher threshold for feeling cold pain. This implies that while individuals with depression might not feel cold pain as intensely, their overall perception of cold could be altered.
Cognitive Impairments in Depression: Hot and Cold Cognition
Depression is associated with significant cognitive impairments, which are categorized into "hot" (emotion-laden) and "cold" (emotion-independent) cognition. Cold cognitive impairments, such as difficulties with memory and attention, are reliably present in depression and can persist even after remission . These cognitive deficits might indirectly influence how individuals perceive physical sensations, including temperature.
Depression and Common Cold Susceptibility
A study examining the correlation between depressive symptoms and the common cold found that individuals with depression were more likely to report symptoms of the common cold. This was true even after adjusting for various confounding factors such as age, marital status, and lifestyle habits. While this study does not directly link depression to feeling cold, it suggests that depressive symptoms can influence physical health and susceptibility to illnesses that might involve feeling cold.
Cold Showers as a Potential Treatment for Depression
Interestingly, exposure to cold, such as through adapted cold showers, has been proposed as a potential treatment for depression. The hypothesis is that cold exposure activates the sympathetic nervous system and increases the release of neurotransmitters like noradrenaline, which could have an anti-depressive effect. This suggests a complex relationship between cold exposure and depressive symptoms, where controlled cold exposure might actually alleviate some symptoms of depression.
Conclusion
While depression does not directly cause individuals to feel cold, it is associated with altered pain perception, including increased thresholds for cold pain. Additionally, cognitive impairments in depression might influence how physical sensations are perceived. Moreover, depressive symptoms can increase susceptibility to illnesses like the common cold, which might involve feeling cold. Interestingly, controlled cold exposure has been proposed as a treatment for depression, highlighting the complex interplay between depression and cold sensations. Further research is needed to fully understand these relationships and their implications for treatment.
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