Depression: symptoms, signs, treatment and causes of depression

Depression.info - adaptive block - content top

What is depression

In medical and psychiatric practice, it is defined as a mental disorder. It includes the main three factors from which the diagnosis comes:

• Anhedonia (decreased mood);
• Thinking disorder;
• Motor retardation.

Naturally, there are many more symptoms and they can manifest themselves individually in each person. This so-called “triad” is the basis from which further study of the depressive state proceeds.

Depression has been known for a long time; Hippocrates called it “melancholy” and tried to find methods to combat it. He recommended opium tinctures, encouragement for the patient, and also noted the connection between mood changes and the seasons and weather.

Depression is a disease that affects not only the emotional and cognitive sphere, but also affects physical health. Hence the importance of starting timely treatment. However, there are a huge number of methods, including very controversial ones. The peculiarity of depressive disorder is that therapy should be selected individually. For some patients, psychological methods are sufficient, while in severe cases medications are prescribed.

Prevention

The main preventive measure that can save a person from developing the consequences of a depressed state is timely treatment of depression. In order to promptly recognize the development of a severe mental disorder, relatives must be attentive to the condition of the family member. If a loved one has signs of incipient depression, or there were some prerequisites for its occurrence (illness, stress, personal tragedy, etc.), then it is advisable to persuade him to visit a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.

The doctor's prescriptions must be followed, and medications must be taken in the order specified by him. But even this is advisable to be controlled by someone close to you. In a state of depression, a person is often inclined to be irresponsible about his health.

You cannot treat depression on your own. Most folk remedies are effective only as symptomatic therapy. They can reduce the symptoms of insomnia, help lift your mood during the day, and increase performance, but they are unable to eliminate the cause of these symptoms.

To adequately treat depression and prevent its severe consequences, it is necessary to take medications and psychotherapy methods, which are prescribed only by a specialist.

Reasons for appearance

Psychotherapists and doctors divide the reasons why the disorder occurs into several types:

1. Biological. The balance of hormones in the human body can be disrupted. In addition, depression often accompanies many serious illnesses. Biological factors also include disturbances in neurochemical processes, for example, the production of normal levels of serotonin and norepinephrine. All this disrupts the functioning of the body and affects not only the internal state, but also the emotional background.
2. Social. Poor living conditions, problems at work, in the personal sphere can also trigger depression. Low earnings cause constant stress, dissatisfaction with life, and decreased self-esteem. As a result, there is a constant depressed mood and complaints, which can ultimately lead to the development of chronic depression.
3. Severe stress. Finding yourself in a difficult life situation often has a strong impact on a person. The loss of a loved one is one of the reasons for the development of this disease. The individual cannot come to terms with the fact that a loved one is not around, and gradually withdraws into his own experiences.
4. Personal. People with certain personality traits are more prone to developing depression. This may be lack of self-confidence, a weak type of nervous system (melancholic), psychoasthenic syndrome, gullibility, strong emotional dependence on another person.

Particularly noteworthy is the connection between depression and alcohol and drug use. They can be both a consequence and a cause. Some people, trying to hide from difficult experiences, try to drown out emotions with the help of alcohol, however, this only aggravates the course of the disease, further leading to dependence on certain substances. There is also another side: at first alcoholism appears, and against the background of drinking alcoholic beverages or their sudden withdrawal, a depressive disorder develops.

Getting out of depression on your own

Some forms of depression can be treated without medication. For this purpose, the following measures are used:

• identifying the root cause of depression;
• analysis of the factor that led to the disorder;
• eliminating the cause;
• working with destructive thoughts;
• auto-training.

The cause of depression can be one event or several at once. To accurately determine the provoking factor, an analysis of all the events that occurred is required. To increase the effectiveness of such analysis, it is recommended to keep a diary where you note all your thoughts and reflections. This will need to be done daily, paying special attention to those points that worsen the condition. This will help you understand what exactly is causing your depression.

Conventionally, all provoking factors can be divided into two groups:

1. Reasons that the patient cannot correct in any way, for example, the death of a loved one, the despotic nature of a person with whom he has to constantly be in contact. In this case, it will be necessary to change the attitude towards these factors. Auto-training will be useful for this.
2. Reasons that a person can change on his own. Correction of factors must be carried out with special care. For example, problems with the opposite sex can arise both due to lack of self-confidence and selfishness.

Many people suffering from depressive disorder have similar personality traits, such as:

1. Perfectionism. Due to the desire to obtain only an ideal result, a person ceases to be satisfied with what he has already been able to achieve. Therefore, he is constantly in emotional tension and does not feel satisfied with his own life.
2. Call of Duty. A patient with this characteristic also experiences negative emotions from not being able to do everything that he thinks he should. This may be an obsessive feeling that a person is obliged to be a professional and nothing else, or a woman who has become a mother strives to be a better mother.
3. Polar thinking. The condition is characterized by the fact that a person has a clear “all or nothing” principle, that is, there simply cannot be a middle ground.
4. Catastrophization. This condition is characterized by the fact that the patient tends to exaggerate all the negative events occurring in his life.

A person can have only one character trait or even several at once. But in addition to the methods listed above, people often resort to folk remedies to eliminate pathology. For this purpose, various herbs are used, from which decoctions and tinctures are made. Most often they replace sedative medications. Doctors also resort to physiotherapeutic procedures, for example, the Vitafon device is used for this purpose.

The first signs and symptoms of depression

Before prescribing treatment, the therapist must determine whether the person actually has a depressive disorder. Knowing the symptoms will allow the person himself to go to the clinic in time or help a relative who is showing signs of illness.

Depression should be distinguished from extreme fatigue and exhaustion. Rest and proper nutrition help with fatigue. With depression, there is a long-term depressed mood and the inability to lead a normal lifestyle.

Main symptoms of depression:

• Depressed state, loss of interest in the world around us, observed for a long period of time;
• Decreased self-esteem;
• The appearance of anxiety, groundless fear for one’s life;
• Irritability, aggressive behavior that occurs suddenly and without reason;
• Eating disorders: loss of appetite or, conversely, its sharp increase;
• Decreased thought process, problems in forming thoughts, solving simple life problems, slow thinking;
• The desire to avoid any type of activity, including recreational activities, is one of the symptoms of depression;
• Slowness, falling into a stupor - observed in severe form;
• “Mask of suffering” on the face - due to the constant feeling of negative emotions, the facial muscles get used to being in a certain position;
• Heart pain, tachycardia, headaches;
• Disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract.

Particular attention should be paid to prolonged depression of mood and loss of activity. The patient ceases to be interested in daily affairs, work, he is not interested in close people and relationships with them. An attempt by other people to improve one's mood leads to irritation, aggression, or withdrawal. What used to be a pleasure ceases to make sense for a depressed person. It seems to him that everything in this life is lost, nothing can be changed, people treat him incorrectly and do not understand his condition.

Chronic depression can lead to thoughts of suicide, which is why it is so important to start treatment early. Being in a negative state further aggravates brain biochemistry and hormonal levels, so long-term and severe depression may require drug treatment and observation by a psychiatrist.

"Depression" or "depression"? Fashion disease

Every person has encountered depression in their life, this condition is known to almost everyone, since in the modern world there is no escape from stress and anxiety. It is human nature to worry, to solve current life problems, and in cases of failure, to get nervous and fall into a gloomy mood. And the world around us, painted with the dark colors of this condition, seems simply unbearable.

Stages of development

Like any disease, depressive disorder does not develop immediately, but gradually. The rate of development may vary depending on the situation and the personal characteristics of the patient.

1. Initial stage. A characteristic symptom of depression at stage 1 is: depressed mood, decreased activity, and impaired eating behavior. Insomnia may appear and concentration may decrease.
2. Second stage. The condition is getting worse. A person is depressed all the time, interest in life is lost, the previous sensations no longer bring pleasure. A feeling of hopelessness and despair appears. In order to drown out a bad mood and emerging fears, a person can start drinking alcohol, which provokes an even greater development of a negative state. This can continue for up to several months. Relatives should definitely pay attention to the symptoms if they last more than 3 weeks.
3. Depressive disorder. Symptoms of depression occur regularly. Often coincides with seasonal events, such as spring. There is lethargy, loss of strength, impaired mental activity, stupor, complete loss of interest in life and things that previously brought pleasure. High probability of suicide. A person is no longer able to independently control his negative emotions; his perception of the world changes. Delusional ideas may appear about one’s own uselessness, that a person interferes with the lives of others and is useless in this world. At this stage, drug treatment is recommended, and in severe cases, hospitalization.

Depression in the medical sense of the word

But still, the word “depression” is more often found in medical topics as a kind of mental disorder, which is characterized by a person’s depressed state.

The occurrence of depression is typical for any age and any social group. This is due to the fact that every person strives for social well-being, external attractiveness, professional success, financial stability and independence. And when difficulties or obstacles arise on the way to these guidelines, a person may fall into despair. He takes failures hard, as a result of which depression develops. This mental disorder can also be caused by severe psychological trauma, for example, the death of a loved one, dismissal from work, family breakdown, or serious illness.

But sometimes depression can occur without any obvious reason. In this case, there are pathological changes in the functioning of the brain, in particular disturbances in the exchange of neurotransmitters.

Depression manifests itself in many different ways. A person experiences a whole list of feelings: sadness, anxiety, fatigue, the presence of negative thoughts, indifference to previously interesting things, loss of purpose, deterioration of concentration, weakening of social contacts, the emergence of attachment to alcohol or drugs. A patient with depression becomes irritable, loses interest in work, sex life, and often even in food. Such a person feels inferior, guilty for no reason, does not see the future, and has frequent headaches, muscle and heart pain.

Complications that depression can lead to

Depression can be mild or severe, but in either case it can lead to complications.

1. The quality of human life is impaired;
2. Social connections are disrupted;
3. Physiological changes appear in the body;
4. Severe and long-term depression can be one of the factors in the appearance of other diseases, for example, heart disease;
5. Weight is lost or, conversely, gained;
6. Sexual desire decreases.

Depression disrupts the natural flow of life. Strangers may not understand the seriousness of the situation in which a person finds himself. Inattention from loved ones further aggravates the condition.

Physical health is also affected. A constant depressed mood is a catalyst for the onset of diseases. People who are depressed often have headaches, pain in the heart, their immunity is significantly reduced, and therefore the body’s resistance to infections.

A person who is severely depressed may cause harm to themselves and others. More and more often thoughts arise about the uselessness and meaninglessness of life. If measures are not taken in time, this can lead to life-threatening consequences.

Treatment of this disease must begin as early as possible. The problem is compounded by the fact that it is often undetected in its early stages. A person thinks that he has simply hit a bad patch in his life, but close people, friends and colleagues attribute everything to a complex character. If you start therapy on time, you can avoid moving to a more complex stage and recover from the disease.

At the second, and especially the third stage, full assistance is required, and sometimes the use of special medications, which are selected by the doctor depending on the type of disorder, symptom and its severity.

Consequences of a severe pathological condition

Major depression can cause suicidal tendencies. The patient attempts to commit suicide while entering and exiting such a state.

As the syndrome develops, there is a negative assessment of oneself, one's future and past, suicidal thoughts, and motor retardation appears a little later. If the patient does not tell his family and friends about his problems, then they may not understand that he is falling into very severe depression. Under the influence of his experiences, a person may try to die.

At the peak of the deepest disorder, when the signs of the disease are pronounced, most people cannot commit suicide due to motor retardation. At the initial stage of treatment for depression, it is almost impossible to get rid of the disease on your own; the help of qualified psychologists is required.

When using antidepressants, the reverse process occurs gradually: first, motor activity returns, then the emotional state is restored. This time poses a threat to a person in terms of suicide attempts.

Who to contact if you suspect depression?

If the patient has a mild form of the disorder, then you can seek advice from a psychologist or psychotherapist. It is important to know that a psychologist conducts an initial diagnosis and consultation. He doesn't prescribe medications. Contact a specialist who works with your specific problem.

A mild form can be treated at home by changing lifestyle, increasing activity, and changing diet. You can attend group or individual psychotherapy sessions. In advanced cases and life-threatening cases, placement in a hospital is possible.

If a severe form of depression is observed, then they turn to a psychiatrist who has the right to prescribe special medications. Additionally, it is advisable to be examined and exclude the presence of physiological ailments. We remember that many internal diseases, as well as changes in hormonal levels, can provoke the development of a depressive disorder.

What should you be afraid of?

With a deep form of depression, a person is constantly depressed. The quality of life noticeably decreases, and the ability to fully work and rest disappears. Intellectual and motor inhibition makes it difficult to interact with other people. Emotional emptiness does not allow you to really look at yourself from the outside and assess your condition.

Since it is almost impossible to get out of deep depression on your own, during this period the patient needs urgent medical care. In its absence, the disease can develop into schizophrenia. Some develop manic-depressive psychosis.

Against the background of depression, the following may develop:

• hepatitis;
• gastrointestinal disorders;
• thyroid dysfunction;
• cardiac ischemia;
• joint pain;
• osteochondrosis.

What else is the danger of deep depression? A person may develop suicidal tendencies. Seeing the whole world in a distorted form, self-flagellation, lack of desire to find a way out, emptiness give rise to thoughts of taking one’s own life.

Treatment

Treatment of depression involves drug therapy and psychological methods. Light sports, hardening, and lifestyle changes are useful.

Treatment depends on both the type of disorder and the symptom. For example, with postpartum depression, taking many medications is prohibited, since the young mother is feeding the child. When choosing medications, the type of disorder matters. Some drugs have a calming effect on the nervous system, while others are stimulants. That is why only a doctor should select medications based on the research conducted. Some drugs can be addictive, so they should be taken with caution and no more than the period prescribed by the doctor.

At home, you should include light fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and herbs in your diet. Daily morning exercises are useful - this will invigorate the body and set it up for activity.

The patient should not be left alone for a long time, but it is also not worth contributing to his depressed mood. It is important to find reasons for joy, even in small things.

Treatment of the disease largely depends on the reasons for which it arose. If this is severe stress, then psychological and psychotherapeutic methods of rehabilitation are useful. If this is a somatic disease, then first of all attention is directed to it. Psychotherapy is an additional method. The doctor will prescribe suitable antidepressants if necessary. They are divided into those having a sedative and stimulating effect.

Find out how to get out of depression on your own

The help of loved ones, their support, understanding the seriousness of what is happening and preventing the condition from worsening is also of great importance.

Thus, for the treatment of depression they use:

• Antidepressants.
• Psychotherapy.
• Maintenance therapy.
• Organizing a proper sleep, work and eating schedule.

How to protect yourself from depression?

1. It is quite possible to protect yourself from depression. It is necessary to observe a rest regime, learn to react correctly to stress, and not go into your inner experiences. As soon as symptoms characteristic of depression are felt: low mood, dissatisfaction with life, you should immediately begin to take certain measures.
2. It is important to preserve the body’s internal resources, rest on time and not overexert yourself. If you suffer from seasonal disorder, then measures need to be taken in advance. In autumn, we often lack sunshine, so try to organize at least as much light as possible indoors.
3. Regular physical activity is beneficial; it helps to activate the body, fill the organs with energy and maintain shape. Eliminating or reducing the consumption of alcoholic beverages is of great importance, as they provoke and aggravate the course of the disease. Social contacts, communication with friends, travel are useful.

Thus, monitoring your condition, as well as the condition of loved ones, helps you notice the alarming symptoms of depression in time and begin treatment. You should not put off going to the doctor, as a normal low mood within a few weeks can turn into a chronic form, which will require a more serious approach. It is important to understand that depression is a disease that worsens the quality of life, it changes a person’s personality and can lead to irreversible consequences. Timely treatment has a favorable prognosis, after which the person returns to a full and happy life.