Can Depression Affect Your Ability to Talk and Think?

All too often, we deal with depression on our own. Many people think of depression just as a state of mind, and don't ever tell their physicians. Depression is an illness; it is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Because the brain is so complex, we all may experience depression in different ways.

Depression can manifest in many ways. Some of the most common symptoms of depression are feeling fatigued, insomnia, weight gain, weight loss, loss of concentration, feelings of hopelessness, feeling irritable, feeling hopeless and helpless, and loss of interest in things that once gave pleasure. There are other symptoms that relate to depression that aren't so commonly known. For instance, if you lose the ability to speak, or form words in your head, or to actually use the muscles to verbally say the words, you might possibly be depressed.

The inability to speak is called aphasia. Aphasia can be very frustrating and scary for the person that experiences it. You must never assume, if you lose the ability to speak, that it is caused by depression. It is important that you be evaluated by a neurologist, because aphasia can be caused by strokes and problems other than depression. If you have been fully evaluated by a neurologist, and nothing is clinically wrong with you, your inability to speak could be caused by depression.

There are different types of aphasia. The different types are expressive, receptive, global, anomic and progressive aphasia. I have periods of expressive and anomic aphasia. Expressive is where you cannot express yourself verbally. Anomic aphasia is where you can't find the words to speak. On rare occasions I also have receptive aphasia. Receptive aphasia is where you can't read the words on the page. I had to quit singing in the choir at church because during practice the words would look like a foreign language. I did not recognize the words. It's happened a few times since quitting the choir.

Global aphasia is the most serious of all. With Global aphasia you can't speak, or interpret language, and you may not even be able to read the written word. This type of aphasia is more likely to occur in a person who has suffered a stroke.

The first time I lost the ability to speak I thought I was having a stroke. My family was scared to death. My mouth and tongue wouldn't move to form the words. My tongue hung out of my mouth and I had no control of it. Besides the physical part of not being able to speak, I also lost my ability to form words in my mind. It was like the light was on in my head, but no one was home. This lasted for a few minutes, and then it subsided and I was able to talk again. However, it came right back within a minute or two. My family drove me to the non-emergency clinic at first, because it was closer. The doctor there told me he thought I was having a stroke, and to go to the ER. At the ER, I had a number of tests, including a CT scan of my head. I was admitted to the hospital for a couple of days, and I was even checked to see if I could be having seizures. After all was said and done, it was decided that the aphasia was triggered by depression.

Aphasia, triggered by depression, can manifest in different ways in the same person. Sometimes, when it happens to me, I can't speak because I have no words. It's almost like I have forgotten how to speak. After it passes, I can talk again. Other times when it happens, I don't have the motor control to talk, but I know I want to say. When this happens, I can write what I want to say. However, when I lose my cognitive ability, I can't type or write what I want to say, because I just don't have any thoughts or words in my mind to express. It's like I am silenced, because I have no words in my head.

People, who periodically lose their cognitive abilities with depression, can't just snap out of it. I had to go to a psychiatrist to discover that my aphasia is manifested by anxiety. Many people living with depression symptoms have periods of anxiety. That anxiety may come in the form as social anxiety or general anxiety. I rarely even know that I am anxious, because I don't feel anxious. I just lose the ability to speak and think. It happens a lot when I am in conversation with people. I can be on the phone with a friend, just having a conversation and I can feel it coming on. I usually have time to tell the person I'm talking to that I'm having difficulty, and we say goodbye before I go silent. It happens a lot when I am talking about what is going on at work. Even though I am used to it, it's very frustrating, but I know there is nothing that is going to change things.

If you have noticed that at times you have no cognitive function, and you can't speak, try not to panic. See your doctor or go to the ER immediately for a diagnosis. If the doctors can't find anything clinically wrong with you, your aphasia and loss of cognition could be due to depression or anxiety.

Sources:

Depression

Aphasia