Depression and Weight Gain
Physical & Mental Health

Is there a link between depression and weight gain? There certainly is. While some depressed persons endure drastic weight loss, others actually gain weight.

Dr. Orison Swett Marden was America's first self-help author and in his book “Keeping Fit,” he enlightened readers about how physical and mental health was directly related. In fact, he believed emotional wellbeing couldn't exist without physical wellbeing, and vice versa.

This was somewhat of a new idea in the 20th century, when he was writing, and it was also a powerful one.

If people realized that all parts of their body and mind are connected and affect each other, then they suddenly had the keys to living a happier and healthier life.

In “Keeping Fit,” Dr. Marden gave practical and accessible advice about what foods to eat and how precisely to nurture the body, so as to nurture the mind and spirit too. He explained, in other words, how depression and weight gain (and other physical problems) almost always go hand in hand.

Here's how it works. When we harbor persistent negative thoughts, then it will indeed affect not only our actions, but are health – despite our actions!

Perhaps due to our mental state, we'll start eating unhealthy or not getting enough sleep and that will of course eventually show a link between depression and weight gain. However, even when we think we are making good health choices in diet and exercise, emotional troubles can still adversely affect our body.

Stress, after all, weakens the immune system and can even decrease the rate of our metabolism.

So, this is really the key to understanding why depression and weight gain (or loss) often go together. Moreover, when we make bad choices about diet and exercise, we will often feel emotionally troubled – even if we don't' know why.

While improving one part of our life can help us in other arenas, it's important that we have a grasp on both our mental and physical states – because for you to thrive as a human being, you must be all-around healthy!

If you want to learn more from the consistently insightful teachings of Dr. Orison Swett Marden, you can listen to five of his books online with the Leadership Series For Successful Living.

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