"I'm depressed" - how often we make such a diagnosis in the conversations and statuses of social networks, it's worth the bad mood for a while to take over our consciousness. Meanwhile, the state of depression - this is not a minute irritability or melancholy, but quite a disease. About what signs indicate a similar problem, what are the types and causes of depression, and how to find a way out of it, you will learn from this article.
Causes of Depression
The causes of depression can be related both to external factors (chronic obstructions at work, constant stress and fatigue, stresses, bad luck, severe psychological trauma) and internal disorders in the body (peculiarities of neurochemical processes, hormonal failures, brain traumas, chronic disease).
Symptoms of Depression
Considering that sometimes depression can be masked for other diseases accompanied by pain syndrome (most often - in the chest or abdominal cavity), it is not difficult to guess that it is difficult to diagnose. However, there are basic signs of depression:
- apathy, depressed mood, sadness. Although sometimes depression is accompanied by a constant state of anxiety;
- feeling of chronic fatigue, fatigue;
- decreased self-esteem;
- absent-mindedness, slowness of thinking;
- sleep disturbances (most often patients complain of insomnia and drowsiness during the day), as well as digestion (usually constipation);
Depending on the type of depression, there are specific signs. For example, overestimated self-esteem, megalomania, frequent change of mood are signs of manic depression, a severe but rare disease that affects only 1% of the world's population.
Scale and types of depression
Since depression is called the plague of our century, it is not surprising that scientists have developed a scale to determine the presence and extent of the disease. One of the most popular - the scale of Beck, which included the most common complaints of patients. The scale includes 21 categories of symptoms, each consisting of 4-5 statements. Having passed this test (today it is considered that the patient can do it himself), the expert calculates the result: are you depressed at the moment and, if so, what is its severity.
You can identify different types of depression: classical, neurotic, psychogenic, postpartum and seasonal. One of the most severe types of depression is endogenous. Its cause, as a rule, is a serious psychological trauma, and the main danger of endogenous depression is possible suicide attempts associated with constant self-flagellation.
Getting out of depression
In case of an easy degree of depression, you can try to cope with the disease yourself:
- combine physical activity (sports) with a full rest;
- practice meditation;
- Travel, look for new hobbies and hobbies;
- minimize the viewing of television and, in particular, advertising that imposes false values and reduces self-esteem;
- Eat fully, if necessary, take vitamin-mineral complexes.
If you were diagnosed with a severe degree of depression, you will need medical help for treatment. As a rule, we have the following treatment methods:
- psychoanalysis and psychological counseling;
- behavioral psychotherapy;
- Gestalt therapy (acceptance of responsibility for one's life, awareness of one's role and life potential);
- the appointment of antidepressants (in priority - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).