PART 3: Chronic Illness and Mental Health: Comorbidity

Comorbidity

Chronic Illness and Depression can be Comorbid

Comorbidity in the context of medicine is the presence of one or more additional conditions often co-occurring with a primary condition. It describes the effect of all other conditions an individual patient might have other than the primary condition of interest and can be physiological or psychological.

Just as someone with chronic illness may not have depression, comorbidity of depression with chronic illness is possible and must be ruled out! 

Many people confuse the social isolation, inability to hold a job, and drifted relationships from friends and family as signs of serious depression when really this is a common trend and harsh reality for those with chronic invisible illness. 

People don’t understand that I miss activities and cancel plans because I physically can’t go.

It’s not because I’m depressed! 

It can be confusing, because I may look depressed sitting on the couch, hair messy, recovering all day, but really, I just don’t feel good enough physically (not mentally) because of my medical diagnosis and its symptoms.

It has nothing to do with my emotional state.  

Poor treatment from health care workers is intensifying this problem. 

The reality is many invisible illness sufferers have perfectly normal tests results and lab work. 

MRI’s and CT’s come back unremarkable, and nothing shows on radiographs 

They show up to their doctors’ appointments looking half decent with no physical abnormalities.

SO, if the tests are normal, then the symptoms must be “all in the person’s head,” right? 

Then the question arises: Can people truly be suffering when traditional testing can’t find the cause? 

MOST PEOPLE SAY NO, THEY CANT!

And as a result, these patients are labeled as being high maintenance, and their own physicians may not believe that they are truly ill. 

This also applies to SUICIDE and its true cause. 

It’s important to properly diagnose clinical depression and examine suicidal ideation for people who suffer from chronic illness.  

Interestingly, NOT all people in the chronic illness community who die by suicide are clinically depressed.

It is critical for healthcare workers to understand that individuals with chronic illnesses often do not present with the same symptomatology when it comes to suicide. Whereas most people in the general population who are suicidal tend to have comorbid depression, people with chronic illnesses may not present this way. 

They can be suicidal without depression.