Depression is dominated by a low mood that is out of proportion to the situation and can range from sullenness to grief and even malaise. In severe cases, psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions may occur. Anxiety and motor agitation are prominent in some cases.
Depression is most commonly caused by psychological and social factors; with the increasing pace of modern life, people are becoming more competitive and interpersonal relationships are becoming increasingly complex and indifferent. Objective mental stress and the ensuing psychological blows such as being on the list, unemployment, loss of love, job changes, family conflicts, divorce, loss of loved ones, and economic losses can lead to depression. The three main symptoms of depression are depressed mood, slowed thinking and motor inhibition. Depressed mood means not being happy, always sad, even pessimistic and despairing. A typical example is Lin Daiyu, who frowned and sighed all day and wept at every turn in “Dream of the Red Chamber”. Delayed thinking means that you feel that your brain is not working well, that you cannot remember things, and that you have difficulty thinking. The patient feels that her brain is empty and dumb. Motor inhibition is inactivity and laziness. Walking is slow, and speech is low. In severe cases, the patient may not eat or move and may not be able to take care of himself/herself.
It is not common for patients to have these typical symptoms. Many patients have only one or two of these symptoms, and the severity varies from person to person. Depression, anxiety, loss of interest, lack of energy, pessimism, and low self-esteem are all common symptoms of depression, and sometimes it is difficult to distinguish them from a general short period of bad mood. Here is an easy way to introduce to you: if the above discomfort is severe in the morning and partially relieved in the afternoon or evening, then it is more likely that you are suffering from depression. This is the rhythmic change of depression called day heavy and night light.
People with depression are depressed and pessimistic due to their low mood. In severe cases, it is easy to have suicidal thoughts. And, because the patient’s thinking and logic are basically normal, the success rate of implementing suicide is also higher. Suicide is one of the most dangerous symptoms of depression. According to research, the suicide rate of depressed patients is 20 times higher than that of the general population. More than half of the socially suicidal population may be depressed. Some unexplained suicides may have suffered from severe depression during their lifetime, only to be undetected in time. Since suicide occurs only when the disease has progressed to a certain level of severity, early detection of the disease and early treatment are important. Therefore, early detection of the disease and early treatment are very important for patients with depression. Do not wait until the patient has already committed suicide to think that he may have depression. Many depressed patients think of dying to relieve their pain. Patients often have thoughts and acts of death in order to end the pain, suffering and confusion.
Depression is mainly characterized by a depressed state of mind, slowed thinking and reduced volitional activity, with various somatic symptoms also present in most cases. Most depressed patients have somatic and other biological symptoms, such as palpitations, chest tightness, gastrointestinal discomfort, constipation, decreased appetite, and weight loss. Sleep disturbances are prominent, mostly difficulty falling asleep.
Depressive episodes can also present with hallucinations, depersonalization, dissociation of reality, obsessive-compulsive and phobic symptoms. Depressive pseudo-dementia can occur in elderly patients due to significant slowing of thought associations and memory loss, which can easily affect cognitive function.
Mild depression often has complaints of dizziness, headache, weakness and insomnia, and is easily misdiagnosed as neurasthenia. The latter has certain psychosocial factors before the onset of the disease, such as long-term tension and overuse of the brain, and the emotions are mainly anxiety and vulnerability, and the main clinical phases are emotional symptoms such as mental fatigue, nervousness, worry and irritability associated with mental excitement, and symptoms of physiological dysfunction such as muscle tension pain and sleep disorders. Self-awareness is good, passivity of symptoms is high, and treatment is eagerly sought. In contrast, depressive disorder is mainly depressed mood, accompanied by delayed thinking, low self-esteem, self-crime, desire to die, and biological symptoms (such as light mood around the clock, decreased appetite, libido, etc.), and often loss of self-awareness, not actively seeking treatment, which can be distinguished.
Occult depression is an atypical depression, mainly manifested by recurrent or persistent various somatic discomfort and vegetative symptoms, such as headache, dizziness, palpitations, chest tightness, shortness of breath, numbness of the limbs and nausea, vomiting and other symptoms, depressed mood is often masked by physical symptoms, so it is also called depressive equilibrium. Patients often do not seek psychiatrists but go to other departments. Somatic examination and ancillary tests are often not positive, and are easily misdiagnosed as neurosis or other somatic diseases. Symptomatic treatment is usually ineffective, and antidepressant treatment is effective.
The early symptoms of depression can be.
1, the degree of depressed state of mind varies, and can range from mildly poor mood to sadness, pessimism, and despair.
2, loss of interest is one of the common symptoms of depressed patients.
3.Loss of energy, fatigue and weakness.
4.Self-evaluation is too low.
5.Patients show significant, persistent and generalized depressive state, difficulty in concentration, memory loss, brain dullness, closed-mindedness and slow action, but some patients show restlessness, anxiety, nervousness and agitation.
6, negative pessimism, may produce strong suicidal thoughts and behavior.
7, somatic or biological symptoms: depressed patients often have biological symptoms such as loss of appetite, weight loss, sleep disorders, low sexual function and diurnal fluctuations in mood, which are common but not present in every case.
8.Loss of appetite and weight loss.
9.Decreased sexual function.
10.Sleep disorder: The typical sleep disorder is early awakening, 2 to 3 hours earlier than usual, not falling back to sleep after waking up, and falling into a sad atmosphere.
11.Diurnal variation: The patient’s state of mind has a change of heavy day and light night. Early in the morning or in the morning, they fall into a low mood, and in the afternoon or evening, they gradually get better and can have a short conversation and a meal. The incidence of diurnal variation is about 50%.
The treatment of depression includes treatment of the primary disease, medication, psychotherapy, diet modification, and exercise.