In 2005, the famous CCTV host Cui Yongyuan exposed himself to depression, making the topic of “depression” once heated up, however, in the eyes of most people, depression, apart from being a topic of discussion, is still a term that has nothing to do with them. It seems to exist only in a distant place.
The real situation is much more serious than people’s impression. Depression has been described as the “common cold of psychopathology” because of its frequency and because almost everyone has experienced it at some point in their lives. Studies show that 21% of women and 13% of men suffer from depression at some point in their lives. The number of people suffering from depression has exceeded 340 million worldwide and is expected to become the second most common human disorder after heart disease by 2020, with the prevalence rate on the rise. In China, the prevalence of depression continues to grow. Surveys show that the prevalence of depression in China is about 3-5%, and there are already more than 26 million people suffering from depression. Among depressed people, 10-15% are likely to eventually die by suicide.
Symptoms of depression
Depression is classified as mild, moderate or severe according to the severity of its symptoms. Depression is mainly characterized by a depressed state of mind. The degree of depressed state of mind varies and can range from a mildly poor state of mind to sadness, pessimism and despair. Patients feel heavy, life is meaningless, happy, depressed, spending days like years, painful, and can not allocate themselves. Some patients may also experience anxiety, agitation, nervousness and restlessness. If at least four of the following symptoms persist for more than two weeks during this period, it is recommended to seek medical treatment.
1. Loss of interest in daily activities and no sense of enjoyment.
2. Significant loss of energy and a persistent feeling of fatigue without a cause.
3, psychomotor retardation or agitation.
4. low self-evaluation, or self-blame, or feelings of guilt, which may reach the level of delusions.
5. difficulty in association, or a significant decrease in the ability to think for oneself.
6, recurrent thoughts of death, or suicidal behavior.
7.Insomnia, or early awakening, or excessive sleep.
8, loss of appetite, or significant weight loss or excessive eating.
9.Significant loss of sexual desire.
Most depressed patients have a daytime and nighttime change in their state of mind. Early in the morning or morning into a low state of mind, afternoon or evening gradually improve, can carry on a short conversation and meals. The incidence of diurnal variation is about 50%.
Negative effects of depression
In the eyes of a depressed person, the whole world is like a black veil, gray and depressing. Depression seriously affects a person’s study, work and life. It negatively affects the person’s body, thinking, feeling and behavior. Thought-association processes are inhibited and the mind is not spinning, reactions are slow, speech is less and slower. The slow thinking makes the body’s various activities become unenthusiastic and energetic, and people become lazy and rigid, unwilling to participate in the outside world and activities that they are usually interested in, preferring to stay alone and mull it over. If the symptoms of depression are not treated systematically in time, it will turn into chronic depression. Chronic depression can also lead to a range of life problems, including increasing unexplained absenteeism from work, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and a decline in physical condition.
Many people who are depressed have a combination of significant physical symptoms, which often make them more troubled. Most notably, the more depressed a person is, the more likely they are to lose sleep, and the more insomnia they experience, the more depressed they become.
People who are depressed often feel depressed and hopeless, and feel like they have fallen into a deep abyss and are always unhappy. They begin to distance themselves from their family and friends and are reluctant to contact people.
Patients with depression fall into a “negative cognitive pattern” and are prone to self-blame and self-guilt. They think that they are making mistakes every day, that they can’t do anything, and that they are always causing problems for others. In severe cases, they may also think that they live is a disaster for others. Let’s say there is a patient who believes that he is responsible for all the car accidents that happen in society every day. This is a typical delusion of self-crime. Such a state of mind develops to a point where the disturbance of mood can go beyond the fear of death. Suicide is the most serious consequence of depression. More than 60% of depressed patients have had suicidal wishes or behaviors, and 15% of depressed patients eventually die by suicide.
The high rate of recurrence is another dangerous aspect of depression. The natural course of the first episode of depression is about six months to two years, and the risk of relapse is as high as 50% for patients with two episodes, 70% for patients with three episodes, and 90% for patients with three episodes, even if they are in remission without treatment.
Long-term follow-up studies have found that depression, if left untreated for a long time, will produce irreversible damage to the patient’s central nervous system, with significant deficits in cognitive function, making treatment more difficult, and resulting in so-called disability. Among the world’s top ten major diseases that disable or incapacitate people, five are mental illnesses, of which depression ranks first.
Why do you get depression
The causes of depression are very complex. Modern medicine has proved that the onset of depression is the result of a combination of biological and psychosocial factors.
There are mainly the following factors.
1, changes in the level of neurotransmitters in the brain: such as 5-hydroxytryptamine transmitters. Seasonal affective disorder is a vivid example of understanding depression from a biological orientation, which means that transmitter levels can explain the seasonal onset of depression.
2. Genes and genetics: There is increasing evidence that the occurrence of depression is related to genetic factors, and that depression is closely related to family history. Studies have shown that if one parent has depression, the chance of children suffering from depression is 25%; if both parents are depressed, the prevalence of children increases to 50%-75%.
3, environmental triggers: today’s fast-paced society, the negative events in life, invisible pressure and the stimulation of triggering factors, poor cognition and personality traits are more common adverse environmental factors. Such as the death of a loved one, psychological setbacks, too much pressure from work and study, marital problems, changes in interpersonal relationships, changes in economic conditions, personal academic success or failure (especially during the period of middle and high school exams), etc. Any conditions in life that can cause strong mental stress, severe trauma or unpleasant emotional experiences can become factors that trigger depression.
4, personality: some people have depressive personality, such as introversion, pessimism, lack of self-confidence, easy to blame themselves, etc.. This kind of personality is often overly worried about the seriousness of the situation, and indecisive; it is generally believed that this kind of people are always few words, excessive composure, timid and fearful, overthinking; a little bit of trivial things will be sad and tears, over-sensitive to grief, compared with normal people whose grief lasts a long time, always very memorable but; every time indulge in difficulties and a sense of crisis can not be extricated, when encountering the great responsibility of things, not anxious to When it comes to important responsibilities, not anxious to do but full of sadness and anxiety, feeling that the future is bleak, no light, heavy heart. People with the above personality traits are more likely to suffer from depression.
5, physical disease: Some serious physical diseases, such as stroke, heart attack, hormone disorders, etc. often trigger depression, and make the original disease aggravated.
6, drug factors: for some people, long-term use of certain drugs (such as some high blood pressure drugs, drugs for arthritis or Parkinson’s disease) will appear depressive symptoms.
7, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse: In the past, researchers believe that depressed patients with the help of alcohol, nicotine and drugs to soothe depressed and anxious mood. But new findings show that the use of these things can actually trigger depression and anxiety disorders.
8, other psychosocial factors: poor parenting in infancy and early childhood affects neurological development; childhood upbringing and character development of their own personalities, etc. may become the cause of depression promotion.
Treatment and prevention of depression
Depression has been associated with “inability to think” and treated as a simple “thought problem” or “subhealth” rather than as a disease. Depression should be taken seriously, and self-regulation of mood and release of stress is essential to prevent depression. If depressive symptoms exist and have seriously affected social functioning, it is important to consult and treat them in a professional psychological hospital or psychology department. Timely detection and treatment are the prerequisites for recovery from depression.
Currently, the treatment of depression includes medication and psychotherapy. Professional psychologists often combine the two means to achieve good treatment results. Medications are used to stabilize the psychological state and increase physiological motivation, while psychotherapy provides a way to find out the cause of depression and discover your power to cure it. Mild depressive symptoms can be well recovered by psychotherapy and increased physical activity, while moderate and severe depression must be treated with medication. Professional psychologists have a range of approaches to stabilize with physical methods of mood regulation and with medication. In fact, depression is a common chronic disease, just like taking antihypertensive medication for high blood pressure or glucose-lowering medication for diabetes.
There are many types of antidepressant medications, and different medications are suitable according to the individual’s constitution. The psychiatric community generally emphasizes that depression needs to be treated with medication in a timely manner, in adequate amounts and with a full course of treatment. Generally, it is recommended to continue taking medication for 3-6 months after the symptoms of the first illness disappear, 3-5 years for the second relapse, and lifelong medication is recommended if there are more than 3 relapses.
As you can see, early detection and treatment of depression is very important. The treatment of depression is not difficult, the key is to face its existence and find the right solution.