Overview

Lack of vitality, unwillingness to get out of bed, bad mood for a long time, and even unwillingness to live are all signs of depression. Depression has a negative effect on the health and general well-being of a person. That is why it is so important to get medical help from a specialist in time.

How to determine the presence of depression?

Pathology can appear after experienced stressful situations. If there is no disorder, after the problem is resolved, a good mood returns to the person. But when the cause is eliminated, and apathy, depression and loss of strength do not leave the person, it is necessary to seek help from a specialist. It may also decrease performance.

You can determine the presence of depression on your own, 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 aggravate everything.

Depression in women is often postpartum, as their lives change dramatically, and sleepless nights add fatigue. This is where frustration and apathy come in.

When the pathology is in advanced form, then a person has the following symptoms of depression – not only a bad mood and impotence, but also persistent disorders of the nervous system. There are also symptoms such as: a significant decrease in self-esteem, disadaptation in society, despondency and loss of interest in any events.

In physiological terms, appetite changes, intimate needs and energy decrease, sleep and bowel function are disturbed (constipation, weakness, fatigue during physical and intellectual stress are observed), pain in the body (in the heart, in muscles, in the stomach area).

The patient shows 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 in 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 their uselessness, helplessness, insignificance.

Causes of depression

The appearance of the disorder is not influenced by age category or social class. Most often, depression appears against the background of stressful negative situations, with constant failures – then a person falls into despair from the inability to somehow influence the course of events.

But in addition to the social factor, severe psychological trauma can also lead to the development of depression, for example: family breakup, death of a loved one, a serious illness that affects not only the patient himself, but also his relatives.

The likelihood of depression increases with changes in hormonal levels: during adolescence, after delivery, with the onset of menopause, and also in old age. It can affect the emotional and physical level.

Another factor is brain damage and somatic pathologies. Often depression affects patients who have had a stroke, suffering from a chronic lack of blood circulation in the brain, after a traumatic brain injury.

The causes of depression can manifest themselves as a result of the side effects of drugs (benzodiazepines, corticosteroids).

Types of depressive states

• Neurotic – people with low self-esteem, insecure, straightforward people often suffer. They constantly feel a sense of injustice, and apathy arises from this.
• Clinical – bad mood, loss of energy, problems with appetite and sleep. Often there is a tendency to suicide. This clinical picture can last at least 2 weeks.
• Vegetative – manifested by such signs as tachycardia, a drop in blood pressure, tinnitus.
• Psychogenic – develops after severe psychological trauma – divorce, loss of a loved one, dismissal from work, betrayal, etc. Accompanied by mood swings, anxiety, excessive sensitivity.
• Masked – often the disease manifests itself secretly. Apathy, solitude and a decrease in interest in life can only appear as negativity and fatigue accumulate.
• Asthenic – the condition is manifested by fatigue, sleep disturbance, emotional imbalance due to accumulated difficulties, stress, physical and psychological stress.
• Postpartum – usually occurs 10-14 days after delivery. A young mother shows an increased sense of excitement for the baby, and constant lack of sleep and fatigue worsen the situation even more. In addition, the hormonal background also affects the state of the mother.
• Somatogenic – attacks occur due to disturbances in the endocrine system, the formation and growth of neoplasms, both benign and malignant.
• Alcoholic – depression is accompanied by excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.
• Bipolar – the patient is changing euphoria depressive, manic disorder. But in the period between these phenomena, caused by various factors: stress, loss of means of popularity, etc., a person lives an ordinary life and does not show symptoms of the disease.

How does depression develop in stages?

First, the patient has a depressed state, which he himself attributes to fatigue, a hard working week, drinking alcohol and other reasons. At the same time, he wants to retire from others and at the same time is afraid to be alone.

Then the stage of acceptance arises: the awareness of the dangerous state comes, the problem worsens, the intensity of negative thoughts grows, the body and the immune system fail.

The third stage – in the absence of adequate therapy, the patient loses control over himself, aggression increases.

Diagnosis and treatment of depression

To identify the disease, experienced specialists use short questionnaires – screening tools to identify symptoms: anxiety, anhedonia (loss of pleasure from life), suicidal tendencies. Thanks to this, it is possible to determine whether the patient has chronic depression, symptoms and treatments for depression, what form and severity it is.

To fully understand the picture of the disease, the doctor needs to familiarize himself with the symptoms that indicate depression, and not another psychological disorder.

For the treatment of depression, you can contact the following specialists:

• Psychiatrist – treatment of depression with hypnosis, drugs for acute mental pathologies – schizophrenia, mental retardation, epilepsy, as well as other less severe ailments – neurosis, depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.
• Psychotherapist – treatment takes place through special therapy, which provides for explanations, conversations, and the search for solutions to problems together with the patient.
• Psychologist – advises the patient, cannot prescribe medications and examinations. Clinical psychologists use modern test methods to identify problems that caused a psychological disorder.

The main directions of therapy in treatment are psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, social therapy.

A necessary condition for the effectiveness of treatment is cooperation and trust in the doctor. It is important to strictly follow the prescription of the therapy regimen, visit the doctor regularly, and give a detailed account of your condition.

Drugs for the treatment of depression

While it has a negative effect on a healthy person, in a patient with a psychological disorder, sleep deprivation, on the contrary, brings the psyche back to normal.

Moderate or mild depression requires the appointment of drugs on a light, natural basis (herbal).

Where to get tested and treated for depression in Krasnoyarsk?

If you or your loved ones show signs of an emotional disorder, you should immediately contact a specialist. Since depression can lead to dangerous consequences:

• isolation from society
• deterioration in appearance
• relationship problems
• low performance or its complete absence
• sexual problems