New Year's Eve is a very deceptive time. On the one hand, we are all waiting for a miracle, but on the other hand, we understand that some things will remain in the past, and it cannot be corrected or returned. This is where depression can “overwhelm” us, the insidiousness of which lies in the fact that it will do this without warning, leaving us alone with fear and pain.
The head of the GMS Clinic psychogenic disorders clinic, psychiatrist Roman Glebovsky told the online magazine Posta-Magazine about what depression is, how it appears, who is at risk and how to survive this difficult illness.
...Time disappeared, and so did the light. It became dark, empty and scary inside. Desires, needs and meanings - everything disappeared. Just like the colors, the world around me suddenly became equally gray. I wanted to die, nothing more. I still wanted to cry all the time. Just like that, without any reason. My depression lasted for several months, several years have passed since then, and I still remember that period with horror and every time I begin to pray that it will not happen again.
“If previously it was believed that depression was some kind of seasonal changes, now many studies indicate that in large cities with a population of one million people there is no such seasonality. That is, depression can happen to any of us at any moment,” Dr. Glebovsky told me.
I listened and remembered how this happened to me. It was as if I had been turned inside out, deprived of all my desires and values, leaving me without support and protection. The support of friends, the love of loved ones, interesting projects at work - nothing helped. Pain, hopeless melancholy, sadness and a feeling of hopelessness accompanied me everywhere and did not leave me for a minute. I had to seek help from a specialist and start taking antidepressants, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it through - I didn’t have the strength to fight. Antidepressants became best friends for the next couple of years - they helped return the joy hormone serotonin to normal. Which, as it turned out, due to a hormonal imbalance, suddenly stopped being produced in my body.
Types and causes of depression
Depression can be organic, not related to external factors. At some point, the amount of endorphin hormones in the body decreases (serotonin, melatonin, treptophan), and the causes of such depression are most often physiological: age-related and vascular changes or some kind of physical injury.
There are also endogenous depressions, which may be based on stress, a tense family situation, loss, divorce, quarrels, problems at work, or lack of adequate sleep and wakefulness. But it is the correct sleep pattern that provides us with the necessary amount of joy hormones - endorphins, which “protect” from this unpleasant disease.
“If we sleep little and poorly, then the so-called “evil hormones,” destroyers—nurochlamines, nuroadrenalines, adrenalines—increase,” Roman Glebovsky continues the conversation. — Every person has an emotional limit, including a mental limit. There is no onset of depression without signals. There are always some harbingers. They can be different, ranging from a decrease in appetite or changes in taste characteristics, to a decrease in libido in women and potency in men.”
Depression
Atherosclerosis
Thyrotoxicosis
Rheumatism
Arthritis
Gastritis
18426 January 30
IMPORTANT!
The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. To make a diagnosis and properly prescribe treatment, you should contact your doctor. Depression is one of the most common mental disorders.
The criteria for a depressive episode are a daily decrease in mood that occupies most of the day, significantly different from the person’s usual state, for two weeks or more, an obvious decrease in interest and pleasure in activities usually associated with positive emotions, increased fatigue and motor retardation.
To the above symptoms you can add the following:
- decreased attention;
- loss of appetite;
- insomnia;
- decreased self-esteem;
- thoughts about one's own guilt;
- suicidal thoughts.
Types of depression
- Psychogenic depression develops as a reaction to traumatic events.
- Endogenous depression is caused by changes in the levels of hormones and neurotransmitters.
- Exogenous depression occurs with various somatic diseases, as a result of brain damage and with the use of psychoactive substances.
- Hidden (“masked”) depression manifests itself in the form of a somatic illness.
Causes of depression
The greatest difficulty is in diagnosing hidden, otherwise latent, depression.
When diagnosing it, it is important to exclude the presence of any organic diseases. After all, such depression has many manifestations, with which patients turn to general practitioners, cardiologists, neurologists, etc. However, examinations do not reveal any organic pathologies.
The most common form of such depression is cardiac. Patients feel excruciating pain in the heart area, palpitations, weakness, dizziness, but when undergoing a cardiac examination, no abnormalities are detected.
The abdominal variant is also common, in which pain occurs in any part of the abdomen, nausea, and loss of appetite.
The skin variant is characterized by redness and changes in skin sensitivity, the appearance of eczematous rashes, increased sweating, itching, often local (for example, itching of only the palms or legs).
The causes of the development of exogenous depression can be traumatic brain injuries, neuroinfections, tumor and vascular diseases of the brain (atherosclerosis, strokes and cerebral infarctions), and atrophic processes.
Psychogenic depression occurs after exposure to psychological trauma, which is an individually significant stressful event.
Endogenous depression occurs as an independent disease, and can also accompany bipolar disorder, which is characterized by alternating phases of mania, depression and mental stability.
There are frequent cases of depressive disorders in people who use psychoactive substances and alcohol.
Somatic diseases that can lead to depression are divided into groups.
- Cardiac pathologies: myocardial infarction, arterial hypertension, chronic heart failure, arrhythmias.
- Endocrine disorders: diabetes mellitus, hypo- and hyperthyroidism.
- Gastrointestinal disorders: liver cirrhosis, colitis, etc., leading to impaired absorption and detoxification of harmful substances.
- Rheumatic diseases: rheumatism, systemic connective tissue lesions, arthritis, etc. are accompanied by severe pain and require long-term treatment.
- Neoplasms, especially malignant ones.
Postpartum depression is worth considering separately.
The development of this condition is facilitated by features of the postpartum period: hormonal changes in the body occur (the concentration of female sex hormones decreases), and the volume of circulating blood decreases.
Deterioration in health after childbirth, problems with breastfeeding, and changes in appearance have a significant impact. Depression develops in 10% of primiparous women from the 2nd to the 6th month after birth and is manifested by symptoms characteristic of all depression: motor retardation, worsening mood, tearfulness, changes in appetite. A feature of postnatal depression is a decrease in a woman’s interest in the child, irritation from the need to care for him. It is very important to diagnose this condition in a timely manner and undergo a course of treatment, since it is the child who suffers first.
Which doctors should I consult if I have depression?
In most cases, with depression, they seek help from a doctor, , , , depending on the cause of the complaints. Many patients avoid seeking help from a psychiatrist or psychologist. However, specialists in the field of psychiatry and psychology not only diagnose the causes of depression, but also help to cope with the depressive state.
Diagnosis of depression
A doctor of any specialty can suspect depression. However, diagnosis of depression is possible only by a psychiatrist who will conduct a survey and analyze the data obtained. To exclude organic pathology in masked and exogenous depression, depending on the symptoms, the doctor may prescribe a set of laboratory and instrumental examinations:
- clinical blood test;
Symptoms of depression
A person is designed in such a way that he rarely pays attention to the signs, to what the harbingers of the disease are trying to “tell” him. It can last a month or a little more, and then the pain just bursts out, and with it what you have been holding back for so long and trying not to notice.
“A depressed person is immediately visible: tired skin, lifeless, empty eyes, decreased performance, conversations about how everything is bad, that he is tired, that he can’t do anything, that nothing is needed, that nothing is interesting. A person loses interest in life, it’s as if a cell is growing around him, beyond which he does not want to go,” says the doctor.
If you do not provide timely help to a person suffering from depression, a funnel of pain can drag him to the very bottom. Psychologists call this state “winter of the soul,” when positive feelings and emotions seem to freeze and you become deaf to the outside world. But this is not the end of life, it's just winter. It’s as if she’s testing the strength of her desire to live.
Diagnosis and treatment of depression
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To identify the disease, experienced specialists use short questionnaires - screening tools to identify symptoms: anxiety, anhedonia (loss of pleasure in life), suicidal tendencies. Thanks to this, it is possible to determine whether the patient has chronic depression, symptoms and methods of treating depression, what form it is and its severity.
To fully understand the picture of the disease, the doctor needs to become familiar with the symptoms that indicate depression, and not another psychological disorder.
To treat depression, you can contact the following specialists:
- Psychiatrist - treatment of depression with hypnosis, medications for acute mental pathologies - schizophrenia, mental retardation, epilepsy, as well as other less severe illnesses - neuroses, depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.
- Psychotherapist - treatment is carried out through special therapy, which involves explanations, conversations, and searching for solutions to problems together with the patient.
- Psychologist – advises the patient, cannot prescribe medications or examinations. Clinical psychologists use modern testing methods to identify problems that cause psychological disorder.
The main directions of therapy in treatment are psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, social therapy.
Cooperation and trust in the doctor are noted as a necessary condition for the effectiveness of treatment. It is important to strictly follow the prescribed treatment regimen, visit your doctor regularly, and give a detailed report of your condition.
How to help a depressed person
But without winter there is no spring, and every test is given to a person so that he becomes stronger and wiser, so that he feels the taste of life and appreciates it. But in moments of depression, it is extremely important that loved ones do not give up, that they react, sympathize, provide help and support.
“I first try to work with depressed and anxious-depressive patients through psychotherapy. I try to find reserves in the person himself, in the family, in changing the circle of friends and redirecting thoughts, to give him something new. Ignite an inner fire in the patient that will help him live and move on. Because neither you, nor me, nor anyone can live without this fire,” shares Roman Vladimirovich.
If a person close to you does not want to see a specialist, but you still see symptoms of depression, try to help him using simple methods. Spend more time in the fresh air, go horseback riding or to the dolphinarium, go on a trip, drink wine, go to the movies. Try to get him to eat more sweets - this promotes the production of endorphins. But if all this does not help, you should definitely contact a psychotherapist.
How to determine if you have depression?
Pathology may appear after experiencing stressful situations. If there is no disorder, after the problem is resolved, the person returns to a good mood. But when the cause has been eliminated, and the person continues to feel apathy, depression and loss of strength, it is necessary to seek help from a specialist. Performance may also decrease.
You can determine the presence of depression yourself, but you should not self-medicate even at an early stage of development. This should be done by a doctor, since self-medication can only make things worse.
Depression in women often occurs postpartum, as their lives change dramatically, and sleepless nights add to their fatigue. This is where breakdowns and apathy appear.
When the pathology is in an advanced form, a person experiences the following symptoms of depression - not only bad mood and impotence, but also persistent disorders of the nervous system. There are also symptoms such as: a significant decrease in self-esteem, maladjustment in society, despondency and loss of interest in any events.
Physiologically, appetite changes, intimate needs and energy decrease, sleep and intestinal functions are disturbed (constipation, weakness, fatigue during physical and intellectual stress are observed), pain in the body (in the heart, in the muscles, in the stomach).
The patient exhibits signs of depression such as loss of interest in other people, a tendency to frequent solitude, refusal of entertainment, use of alcohol and psychotropic substances.
Mental signs of depression include difficulty concentrating, concentrating, making decisions, slowness of thinking, a pessimistic view of the future with a lack of perspective and thoughts about the meaninglessness of one's existence, suicide attempts, due to one's uselessness, helplessness, and insignificance.
Remission
The human psyche has an amazing property - it can self-heal as long as the body lives and breathes. With the right approach and treatment for depression, you can quickly learn to live and breathe again. At first hesitantly, then more and more confidently. Then the understanding will come that the “winter of the soul” was needed in order to bring spring and summer back into life, learn to listen to your heart, love simple things, smile at the sun and every new day, enjoy food and communication with your loved ones. Enjoy the little things that you simply didn’t have time for before. Love life in all its manifestations.
Source: posta-magazine.ru
Stages of depression
Like many psychopathic conditions, depression has certain stages of development.
- The first stage is called denial, and at this stage the person continues to live a normal life, as if nothing had happened. For example, in the event of the loss of a loved one, in denial it is common to talk about them in the present tense, to keep their things and photographs, as if this person is about to return. In general, the patient is unable to accept reality due to the activation of compensatory mental mechanisms.
- At the second stage, along with the understanding that it is pointless to deny what happened, feelings of resentment and anger come. Often, the patient begins to look for those to blame for what happened and throw out his negative emotions on them.
- The third stage is called “bargaining,” at which the negativity is dulled, and the person begins to look for ways to get out of this state, listens to loved ones, and goes to a specialist if necessary. In general, they are trying to correct the situation.
- And only at the fourth stage does “depression” itself come, as it is. This is the most dangerous period, because in it a person begins to fully understand the situation and falls into despair, called depression. The pain during this period is felt in full force.
- The final stage is acceptance, at which comes the realization that the past must be left in the past. Many begin to look at their lives and loved ones in a new way, finding solace in family or work. Having gone through all the previous stages, a person accepts life as it is, realizing that fighting what cannot be corrected is pointless.
What is depression and its signs
Depression is a mental disorder accompanied by low mood, loss of the ability to experience positive emotions, and thinking disorders in the form of negative judgments. Symptoms of depression include:
- A wide range of anxiety states (anxiety, despair, low self-esteem);
- Constant fatigue, sadness, lethargy;
- Lack of interest in anything, complete indifference;
- Change in behavior, isolation from the previous social circle;
- Addiction to bad habits;
- Disturbance in sleep patterns and appetite.
A person constantly experiences negative emotions towards himself, tends to self-flagellation, mistakenly believes that he is useless to society, and is completely confident in the absence of prospects in the future. People with initially low self-esteem are most prone to depression. Every day we live becomes painful for those suffering from this disease. Due to the lack of meaning in performing daily tasks, there is a refusal to do anything. There is a constant, nagging feeling of boredom. In a severe form of the disease, a person becomes aggressive, irritable, and gloomy.
“Two fingers in the mouth has become commonplace”
Anna P.'s first episode of bulimia occurred at the age of 15.
“I have such a body constitution that even if I weigh very little, I don’t look thin. When I was a teenager, I hated myself for it. I read on some forum about “two fingers in the mouth” (artificial induction of vomiting. - Ed.). I understood that this was not normal, but I wanted to lose weight more. It probably seemed to me that I wouldn’t sit down and would be able to stop in time,” shares Anna.
By the age of 17, she was feverishly counting calories: before eating or drinking something, the girl compared how much “fat” the snack would bring her.
“Two fingers in the mouth” had become commonplace by that time. You are always on water and lettuce leaves, roughly speaking, and then you see a cake. And as they say: spark, storm, madness. You find yourself eating this cake with a soup spoon in your hands. At such moments you feel hatred towards yourself, it seems to you that years of effort have gone down the drain. And you go vomit, it seems like the only way out,” she recalls.
Anna's mother sounded the alarm when she learned that she was not getting her period. This happened after an appointment with a gynecologist.
“She screamed that I was a fool and would lead myself to the grave. I cried. Now I understand what she was probably worried about, but at that moment I thought that even my periods were a public property. They dragged me to the doctor, he diagnosed “anorexia,” the girl falls silent.
A couple of months after that quarrel, Anna turned 18 and moved out: her father agreed to pay for the housing on the condition that the girl continue the therapy she had started.
Now Anna is 22, she is still trying to come to terms with her body.
Collage: Anna Lukyanova
“I try not to look at my friends’ photo shoots, not to subscribe to celebrities’ Instagrams and anything like that. I'm afraid to see myself as less than ideal again. Well, that is, I know that I’m not perfect, but when people around me are too, it’s somehow easier,” she admits.
The girl tries to eat three times a day and has even learned to please herself with cakes without feeling guilty.
“Not in boxes, of course, but I no longer hate myself for some “basket” or pie,” she explains.
“If we talk in general about such cases, then the first thing that needs to be dealt with is contact with a significant object, we are talking about the mother. The second is suppressed aggression and the impossibility of separation. The third is insufficient intrinsic value. As a rule, girls who suffer from anorexia have a mother who tries to control everything or strongly invades personal space. And to put it in a very exaggerated way, in order to gain autonomy, the girl refuses food and life. This is a method of separation,” explains psychotherapist Anna Chernigova.
How depression manifests itself
Below is a general portrait of depressed people:
- Women between twenty and forty years of age are more often exposed to this disease;
- Most likely one of the parents, or worse, both, died when they were little;
- The person is divorced and does not have a permanent life partner;
- Perhaps there was a difficult birth, and the child is being raised without a father;
- If the patient’s relatives were depressed due to mood changes;
- There was a desire to do something to oneself for no good reason;
- The man buried his spouse;
- There were troubles along his life's path;
- There is an addiction to alcoholic beverages, painkillers, and worse, drugs;
- For a long time he drinks hormonal drugs, sleeping pills-barbiturates, reserpine;
- Basically, a person suffering from a psychological disorder tries to distance himself from the world around him and becomes uncommunicative. No one comes to see him, and he tries not to communicate with anyone; his friends are becoming fewer and fewer. They do not spend free time with him and do not care for him;
- Something happened to him of a personal nature: a disagreement with close friends or family;
- Does not have a high level of education;
- He has no interest or passion for anything;
- Stops believing in anything.
