Depression is a persistent mental disorder that negatively affects how a person feels, thinks and acts. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses.
In a pathological sense, it implies the presence of sadness, pessimism, low self-esteem, which can often be combined with each other. Depression also causes a lack of enjoyment from things that used to be pleasant, and sudden mood swings and the occurrence of negative thoughts can even lead to suicidal behavior. This condition significantly reduces the functional capabilities of a person both professionally and socially. Thus, depression causes severe suffering, which can eventually lead to suicide.
Susceptibility to depression
Depression can affect every person of any age and gender, although according to statistics it is more common in women. As with other mental illnesses, children can also suffer from depression, although the signs and symptoms may differ from those of adults.
And even though anyone can develop depression, there are some risk factors that exacerbate this condition:
first degree relatives of people with severe depression have a 2-4 times higher risk of developing this disorder compared to the general population;
adverse life events, such as divorce, unemployment or the loss of a loved one, are known provoking factors of severe depression;
some personality traits, such as low self-esteem, pessimism, or a high level of self-criticism, also increase the risk of depression;
in the case of this type of depression, as a major depressive disorder, one of the factors is also a genetic predisposition.
According to WHO, depressive disorders correspond to one of the main mental health problems worldwide, with an estimated 300 million people suffering from this pathology.
Symptoms of depression
Symptoms of depression are numerous and may include:
constant feeling of sadness;
loss of interest or pleasure from ordinary activities;
increase or decrease of appetite;
sleep disorders, the appearance of insomnia or, conversely, an increased need for sleep;
loss of energy or initiative, as well as a persistent feeling of fatigue;
slowing down motor skills or speech;
feeling guilty or devalued;
difficulty concentrating;
suicidal thoughts;
persistent physical symptoms, such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems that do not respond to traditional treatment.
It is difficult for a person to cope with his own motivation if the daily routine is based on stressful events, constant fatigue and malaise, but depression makes even pleasant activities trivial.
Thus, activity is replaced by periods of inactivity, and self-isolation becomes the best choice for a person. The usual sadness from depression, according to experts, is distinguished by the frequency and intensity of the feeling: if it persists for more than 15 days without interruptions, perhaps your melancholy has a diagnosis. Gradually, interest in classes disappears, including what a person likes. Everything becomes not interesting, not enjoyable, including sexual activity. The red light turns on when little by little you realize that you do not want to participate in family meetings, social events, family life, even with the closest people, creating a secluded life with increasingly limited social contacts. Often such solitude is firmly rooted in life to the point that a person stops leaving the house.
The feeling of an empty head, difficulties with concentration, indecision, inattention make it difficult to make decisions in situations. Any routine of everyday affairs becomes an excessive effort, and therefore all things are postponed for another time, for later, which further upsets the person.
Another warning sign of depression is a negative opinion about yourself, that you feel less important, about feeling helpless and useless. There is a feeling that no one cares about you or you feel like a "burden in other people's lives" and that everything that "goes wrong is your fault."
However, it is necessary to find out the source of this helplessness. Firstly, an open dialogue with people you trust can make it easier to find an explanation, but diagnosis and psychological help are more than necessary in this process.
A change of mood, not only sadness, but also that constant irritability, when literally everything becomes a reason for irritation, and sometimes an aggressive reaction, can be a sign worthy of attention.
Too much (or too little) sleep and lack of feeling (or excessive) hunger are common symptoms of depressed people. It is important to pay attention to whether there is any obvious reason - for example, even ordinary anxiety can change the quality of appetite and sleep - or whether these difficulties have arisen together with other signs mentioned above.
In addition to psychological signs, depression indirectly attacks the body, which reflects the general distress associated with pain or dysfunction, for example, it can be:
accumulated tension in the muscles of the shoulders and neck;
colic, diarrhea or heartburn;
chest pressure;
headaches.
These signs are indirectly related to the disease, but many ignore the physical symptoms, although in fact they can help in the diagnosis of depression.
Learning to know oneself, to notice mental triggers that cause depressive changes in their own behavior, is an important process so that a person is not a hostage to his own emotions, but learns to deal with everyday problems decisively.
It is noteworthy that ignoring the symptoms and the disease itself will not make them disappear. On the contrary, there is a high probability of deterioration of the condition, which will lead to serious problems such as chronic depression and deepening sadness, which, in turn, can increase helplessness, develop painful thoughts and even lead to suicide.
Depression can happen to anyone. Despite the presence of determining risk factors, depression can affect anyone at any age, so you should not be afraid to feel guilty and not seek help if you notice these symptoms.
To diagnose depression, symptoms must be present for at least 2 weeks. For example, a person with a mild depressive episode is likely to have some difficulties in maintaining their normal professional and social activity, but will not be completely unable to engage in it.
However, a person with a severe depressive episode will most likely not be able to continue their professional activities or other normal social activities. This global inability arises not only from cognitive dysfunction, but also from a lack of interest and pleasure in doing the usual things.
In severe cases, life for a person no longer makes sense, has no purpose, simple existence becomes painful, and the patient seriously thinks about the possibility of suicide.
It is important to understand that these clinical conditions are not a "weakness" of this particular person, but rather a mental disorder, and therefore he needs to be provided with adequate medical and therapeutic care.