Depression May Be Caused by Inflammation

by Nina

Burning House by Marc Chagall*

“Inflammation is our immune system’s natural response to injuries, infections, or foreign compounds. When triggered, the body pumps various cells and proteins to the site through the blood stream, including cytokines, a class of proteins that facilitate intercellular communication. It also happens that people suffering from depression are loaded with cytokines.” —Tim De Chant

The first thing I did after I read a short article Depression May Be Caused by Inflammation was write to Ram. After all, Ram has written more than once about the dangers of chronic inflammation (see Chronic Inflammation and Yoga: Combating the Fiery Killer and Yoga’s Healing Powers), but he never mentioned depression as a problem that could be caused by inflammation. Here is his reply:

"Yes, I saw this item this morning and it does not surprise me. Inflammation is now thought to be the underlying event for a number of health issues including Alzheimer's, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, thyroid issues, arthritis, etc. What was once thought of as a novel and protective mechanism for the hunter-gatherers has now gone haywire thanks to modern interventions/lifestyle that has extended the median life span.”

So with that nod of approval, I decided to look more into the matter. After all, if yoga can help with chronic inflammation and depression is caused by chronic inflammation, then practicing yoga for chronic inflammation could be helpful to people suffering from depression. So, what are scientists saying about how is depression connected to chronic inflammation? An article in the Guardian Is depression a kind of allergic reaction? put it this way:  

“Both cytokines and inflammation have been shown to rocket during depressive episodes, and – in people with bipolar – to drop off in periods of remission. Healthy people can also be temporarily put into a depressed, anxious state when given a vaccine that causes a spike in inflammation. Brain imaging studies of people injected with a typhoid vaccine found that this might be down to changes in the parts of the brain that process reward and punishment. Depression may be triggered by an immune response.” 

And because these scientists are now thinking that depression may be a side effect of inflammation, they are exploring new treatments that address the inflammatory symptoms of depression with positive results. For example, a study The cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor celecoxib has therapeutic effects in major depression: results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled, add-on pilot study to reboxetine in Molecular Psychiatry concluded that an anti-inflammatory medication had therapeutic effects for depression.

But as Ram wrote in Yoga’s Healing Powers, a regular yoga practice is also effective for reducing chronic inflammation. He said that yoga:

1. Brings down the levels of stress hormones that promote inflammation
2. Lowers the levels of a number of pro-inflammatory molecules in the body
3. Reduces a subset of pro-inflammatory molecules called cytokines

Yes! Yoga helps reduce those pesky cytokines, which are exactly what the scientists are thinking may be responsible for triggering depression, as well as reducing inflammation in general. And, stress, which promotes inflammation, has also been long thought to be a factor in depression, as Timothy McCall wrote in Stress, Your Health, and Yoga.

So I’m going to make the leap and say if you want to reduce chronic inflammation and lower your levels of cytokines to help depression: focus at least some of your practice on stress management (see The Relaxation Response and Yoga). In general, supported inversions (see All About Supported Inversions) are particularly good for people with depression because you can keep your eyes open while practicing and don’t need to focus internally, which can lead to brooding. 

But, as always, you should experiment to find out what works for you, and if you enjoy restorative yoga or guided relaxation or breath work, go for it. In general, the way you practice yoga should probably depend on the type of depression you have, rajasic or tamasic. See Tamasic and Rajasic Depression for further information.

I came to the conclusion that yoga for depression should include stress management practices a long time ago because I had two bouts of agitated depression that both followed periods of sustained stress. And since I’ve learned to manage my stress levels with yoga, I’ve managed to avoid any more episodes (going on 20 years now!). Of course, until recently, I only had what scientists call “anecdotal evidence” and the wisdom of my yoga teachers to back me up. Now it’s great to have a possible scientific explanation as well!

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