The main causes of depression and similar conditions:
- Loss of loved ones, pets;
- Loss of important relationships;
- Accidents, disasters and other life-threatening situations;
- Moving to another city, changing jobs, changing social circles;
- Even seemingly positive changes in life such as marriage and the birth of a child;
- Systematic conflicts at work or at home;
- Disappointments, betrayals, collapse of hopes and plans.
Everyone probably encounters periods in life when joy disappears somewhere. Only some people can cope with and survive this period with relative ease, allowing themselves to be sad, complain to friends, get angry at others and begin to feel joy again, while others get stuck in dullness and despondency for many weeks, months and even years.
Signs of Depression
“Loss of joy” in psychological language is called depression . Signs of depression include:
- Depressed mood for more than 7-10 days;
- Decreased vital activity;
- Loss of appetite;
- Sleep disturbance;
- Poor health – lethargy, apathy, drowsiness, disturbances at the level of the gastrointestinal tract;
- Decreased sexual desire;
- Inhibition at the level of feelings and thoughts.
Such a psychological difficulty can be either mild in nature, easily amenable to psychological correction, or be a mental illness (in medical language it is called endogenous depression). Most often, depression is caused by purely psychological reasons, when the help of a clinical psychologist or psychotherapist is required.
Treatment of depression
If your mood is very low, it is important not to postpone your visit to a specialist, but to seek help in a timely manner. At the first meeting, the specialist will conduct a psychological diagnosis , after which he will determine the necessary methods of psychological assistance. It is very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of depression on your own, since special psychological defense mechanisms operate in the human psyche that do not allow a sober assessment of the situation, understanding the causes of the problem, or looking at the circumstances objectively. Our psyche is created in such a way that it distorts the perception of reality in a certain way, based on our upbringing, experience, habits and stereotypes.
It is important to know that traditionally in medical institutions all types of depression are treated with psychotropic drugs. In the case where depression is caused by psycho-emotional reasons (and this is the overwhelming number of requests), this approach has proven to be ineffective, because the very reason for the development of the disorder is not eliminated, but only the external manifestations of depression are artificially muffled. As a result, some time after the end of treatment, depression returns again. In addition, the use of psychotropic drugs entails side effects. Therefore, in addition to taking medications (antidepressants), qualified psychotherapy is very important.
Manifestations
Symptoms that signal internal troubles in a person are quite recognizable. You can try hard not to notice them for a while, but then they will flood into your consciousness as an uncontrollable wave. Let's take a closer look at the signs of this depressing state.
Feeling empty
The person is pierced by fatigue and ever-increasing anxiety. The feeling of emptiness occurs due to a strong waste of internal energy. Strength gradually runs out and is not replenished. It seems that there is nothing good ahead, only disappointments and endless suffering. People stop setting realistic goals for themselves and don’t even see the opportunities available. They live under constant pressure from others, in fear of seeming not good enough for any significant achievements.
Constantly depressed
Throughout the day I am tormented by a feeling of hopelessness. Thoughts get confused, clump together, and a negative perception of one’s own “I” is formed. It becomes difficult to understand where this oppressive feeling comes from, but it really suppresses, makes you doubt your existing abilities. Apathy and insomnia often occur. It becomes difficult to switch to everyday life. Experiences and negative memories endlessly overwhelm me.
Feeling of own insignificance
It manifests itself in the inability to cope with the problems that have piled up. Even minor difficulties cause despondency and melancholy and contribute to the formation of psychological defense. The feeling of tension turns into a feeling of insignificance, the impossibility of correcting the current situation. It seems that the whole world is collapsing before our eyes and there is nothing bright left in it. A person is not able to look at himself from the outside, to sensibly assess the position in which he finds himself.
Reluctance to move towards something new
I literally want to withdraw into my inner world and slam the imaginary door. There is a reluctance to learn something new, receive and share information. Communication also becomes something difficult, causing unpleasant feelings. It seems that danger lurks everywhere, even loved ones want to deceive and set you up. On this basis, relationships with relatives often deteriorate and absurd suspicions are formed. A person closes himself off from everyone in his own shell and does not want to show his true face.
Who helps with depression at the Ember center and how?
At the Ember Psychology Center, when working with psychological (neurotic) depression, specialists do not use medications, but use special psychological techniques to activate the body’s natural resources. Thus, during sessions with a clinical psychologist, the very cause of the problem is eliminated, which prevents the return of depression.
Prokhorova Irina Yurievna , experience over 20 years. Leading specialist of our center, has been working at Ember since 2013. Effectively solves customer problems, finding his own approach to each. She has extensive experience working with various types of depression. Consults in the office on Novocherkassky Prospekt. Participates in holding consultations and writing conclusions based on survey results.
You can view prices for consultations with a psychologist and other services of our center here .
The work of a psychologist is complex and sometimes invisible, but its result can change your whole life, because the result can be a new quality of life, a state when you don’t stand still and think about how to live further, but move forward, live, dream...breathe fully chest. Good luck to you on this exciting journey!
If you have depression, sign up for a consultation with a psychologist by phone or fill out the application form on the website.
I do not want anything! Sick of all! Nothing makes me happy. What to do?
I don’t want anything, I don’t know how to want, nothing makes me happy. Very often, these are the thoughts and emotions that appear in a person when something doesn’t work out, when a person experiences a persistent state of depression or apathy.
At the same time, physically you can feel generally healthy.
You may be depressed or subdepressed.
To find out if this is true or not, take the Professional Depression Test
Depression is an emotional state characterized by indifference to everything. Apathy is an indifferent, indifferent attitude towards something. These conditions are unpleasant, but if they arise, it is necessary to fight them.
You need to start with the simplest desires, with the desires of the body. Remember and cook dishes that you love or loved before. Don't eat mechanically, focus on the taste of the food, enjoy the taste, shape, consistency.
Surround yourself with visually beautiful surroundings. Take out and use dishes and things you use on special occasions. May your every day be “special”.
Clean up the house, throw out the trash, wash the floor. After cleaning, allow yourself to eat something tasty, drink a cup of coffee, and focus on the taste.
Particular attention should be paid to bodily practices, sports, dancing, and walks. The state of “I don’t want anything” is primarily a state of the body.. That is. your body has no desires.
There is an old joke: How to make a person happy? You need to take away from him what he has, and after a while give it back.
There is a deep truth in this joke: Everything is learned by comparison! In our case, this comparison must be given to the body. If your body has been in a monotonous mode for a long time, you need to shake it up and give it physical activity. And after this load you need to enjoy it and have a good rest. After a good rest, we guarantee that different desires will appear by themselves.
Reluctance to do anything and lack of interest in different areas of life is a signal that means that something needs to be changed in life. Perhaps you are tired of everyday routine affairs and worries, perhaps you are no longer satisfied with your hobby and what used to be interesting and important does not seem so now. You need to reconsider some aspects of your daily life.
Change your hobby or, if you didn’t have one, try to become interested in something. Doing other interesting things and expanding your interests and hobbies will make your life more fulfilling and bring a fresh perspective to it. Sometimes it is necessary to simply “go out into people” in order to develop a desire to do something and be interested in something. Go to a movie, a concert, a club, talk to people.
Filter your social circle, leave in it only those who are pleasant to you. It is important to always accept help from loved ones if they themselves talk about it. You should not refuse it, even if you are “out of shape.”
Don't torture yourself with constant self-analysis. The desire to constantly analyze yourself leads to the fact that you are chasing the same negative thoughts in a circle. It’s better to write them down on paper and ritually burn them (be careful not to start a fire at home). You need to act and change something in the real world; just because you think the same thing for the 20th time, nothing will change.
Try to find out the cause of your depression. Don't keep problems to yourself. No matter how bad you feel, you need to find strength and try to solve everything. Sometimes it is useful to give free rein to your emotions, spend more time in the fresh air. Find music that pleases you and listen to it. Listening to music you like stabilizes your emotional state, improves it and your mood.
Every person has ups and downs in their mood, periods of activity are followed by periods of hypochondria, a state of fatigue and a lack of joy in everyday life. But in order to get out of a pessimistic depressive state, when nothing interests you or makes you happy, you need to make a little effort on yourself.
If all of the above does not help, you need to do a little self-regression into your past. Remember what you wanted when you were a child? What did you want to do, what were you truly passionate about?
It may be time to make your childhood dreams come true! Don’t be afraid to seem funny or ridiculous, just do what you always wanted, but maybe in the routine of life you forgot about it. Go back to the times when you had desires, feel again like that person, that child, before whom the whole world is open.
Get creative. Draw, sing, dance, play instruments. Start with free lessons from the Internet.
Just please don't do anything illegal. Find ways to operate within the law.
Don't drink alcohol or drugs. Alcohol only brings short-term temporary relief, then it gets even worse. Check to see if you drink alcohol more than 1-2 times a month. If so, then perhaps your negative state is a consequence of alcohol consumption and it makes sense to reduce the volume and frequency of consumption.
Try to improve your sleep. You need to sleep at least 7 and no more than 10 hours. Lack of sleep weakens your nervous system, causing irritability and other problems.
Peace to everyone PS. If you are confused in relationships and life, and this article did not answer all your questions, describe the situation on the wall of the VKontakte group and receive a personal analysis and recommendations. Our qualified psychologist in Moscow, a psychologist in Shchelkovo, a psychologist in Chkalovsky in person or a psychologist on Skype anywhere in the world will also help you. Diagnostics is free. Convenient and strictly confidential.
Author of the article: psychologist Artyom Kirmichi
