According to an estimation, one-third of the population who are a victim of depression are more likely to develop chronic illness and diseases. If an individual stays depressed for a long time, the severeness of illness increases and the stress leads to the development of chronic diseases. In the case of African Americans, there’s a constant cloud of stress, sadness, and stress that affects their mental well-being leads to stress, and puts the individuals at an increased risk of developing chronic diseases.

However, seeking family services can help you combat depression and prevent the development of chronic diseases.

Family services being casework that guides families to be responsible for whatever is happening in their lives and help them come out of situations that they are not able to do themselves.

Before looking at how family services can play a vital role in preventing chronic diseases in African Americans, we’ll first look into what chronic diseases are, what depression is and how are they connected.

What is a Chronic Disease?

Chronic disease is a type of disease that lasts for an extended period of time and can’t be cured entirely. The prominent examples of chronic diseases are HIV/AIDS, diabetes, arthritis, and kidney and heart diseases, etc. These conditions can be improved through time, but if not given attention, can get even worse. Nowadays, chronic diseases are getting very common in people around the world, and one of the most common reasons is none other than depression.

What is Depression?

Depression has become a prevalent word and a common disorder. It is a feeling of constant sadness, hopelessness which does not permit you to carry out your daily activities as efficiently as you once used to. Its symptoms can range from minor to severe. It does not result from a single event in someone’s life but can result after several deadening events and factors.

Now that you have to know what chronic disease and depression are, it would be much easier for you to understand how both of them are linked and how depression can lead to chronic diseases.

The Link Between Depression and Chronic Diseases

You must have heard the word depression with chronic illness a lot of times. There is a keen connection between both of these words. In some cases, depression appears to result from chronic diseases. On the other hand, in most patients, it has been observed that depression has been causing chronic diseases. You must be wondering how this can happen; let’s dig out.

Diseases and health problems are not caused by bacteria or viruses every time. Many people do not realize that most of the time, several conditions are caused by depression. The stress and the negative feelings disable the immune system, making you more susceptible to getting sick. Depression results in many sorts of infirmities. When the overall health gets impacted along with the immune system losing its efficiency, you are more at risk of becoming a victim of these chronic diseases.

Too much negativity and stress wreck your physical and mental health. It has been observed that individuals who suffer from depression for extended durations like in the case of African Americans, often suffer from chronic diseases. Research shows that the effects of psychological illness are severe. It can promote inflammation in the body, which can promote the development of several chronic diseases and can cause serious harmful effects. These chronic diseases can be any of these; diabetes, heart diseases, kidney diseases, etc. The most commonly occurring chronic diseases are heart diseases and diabetes – both of which are quite common all around the world.

The Need for Family Services

Family services like African American Family Services help the head of the families to take the responsibilities of their family members and their mental and physical health. By seeking family services at the right time, the harm that the prevalent negative feelings can be reduced, and a sense of compassion can be generated. Through seeking family services, betterment in one’s life can be assured. It is statistically proven that a lot of individuals who sought family services ended up being more joyful and relaxed than ever before. These statistics demonstrate that seeking family services at the right time before it’s too late is a wise choice and can result positively. If you haven’t thought about seeking family services yet, you better visit www.aafs.net and start thinking about it for the sake of your and your family’s well-being.