This article is about how to get rid of depression on your own, without the help of pills or doctors. If you have already read my blog, then you know that all my articles are based on personal experience. I write about how I got rid of lack of discipline, bad habits, learned to deal with stress and control emotions. I take all these tips from my personal practice, and not from books and textbooks. And this article is no exception.
This article reflects only my personal experience I do not pretend that these truths can be applied to any experience without exception.
And the methods of this article in no way claim to replace qualified psychotherapy in combination with medication methods of treatment. If you find yourself depressed, then I highly recommend contacting a qualified, good specialist.
And the information in this article will help you get acquainted with the view of the problem, understand which methods should be resorted to, and also in it you will find effective techniques self help.
I'll tell you my story in a nutshell.
The story of my illness
Several years ago I suffered from the so-called and even went to the doctor with this problem. Against the background of panic attacks, some kind of despondency, chronic pessimism, despair, dissatisfaction with life, high mental sensitivity and even tearfulness began to develop. No one gave me such a diagnosis as depression, probably because there was no one to diagnose it - I did not communicate with doctors on this issue (although I tried to "treat" them for panic attacks).
But I have observed many symptoms of this ailment. I didn’t feel bad all the time: this state of psychological discomfort came in attacks. At the same time, there were problems with sleep: and, it happened, I was thrown on the bed, as soon as I fell asleep, as if a sudden discharge of current passed through my body. To eliminate all these symptoms, I began to drink alcohol, which later developed into a chronic habit.
Symptoms of depression provoked difficulties at work and in. Apathy and a lack of purposefulness gave rise to laziness, and sudden outbursts of irritation or despondency reflected badly on the people around me.
How does depression appear?
It happens that some unpleasant event, for example, the death of a relative, causes depression. And it happens that this ailment manifests itself as if for no reason. In fact, there is always a reason, it’s just either hidden, or there are many reasons. For example, a person may experience depression due to constant stress, fatigue, alcohol consumption, family problems, lack of goals and aspirations, etc. All these things together can form a psychological background favorable for the development of depression.
Many people may think that depression caused by some single, non-recurring event (death of a loved one) is a less hopeless case than the same disease, but provoked by repetitive circumstances (stress, constant nervous fatigue, personality traits, etc.) ...
After all, sooner or later, the memory of misfortune will begin to fade, and life will begin to fill with new meaning, new pleasures, and along with this, grief and depression associated with it should disappear. But it doesn't always work that way. An unhappy event can only become a "trigger" of depression for a person who, due to various factors, was predisposed to it.
This is similar to how a draft causes a cold in a person with weak immunity... This is not to say that the draft alone caused a cough and a sore throat. The air from the open window only provoked the disease, and the prerequisites for its occurrence already existed due to weak immunity.
Even if a cold passes after a week, then after that a person still runs the risk of getting sick if he falls under the rain or under a draft.
Such a "draft" for the appearance of depression can be some kind of misfortune in the life of a certain person. Like a lingering illness, depression can weaken the immune system and increase the risk of developing the disease in the future.
So it was with me. I used to be a very sensitive and stress-susceptible person. At one point, intense stress triggered my panic attacks and associated depression. If my psyche were more stable and stable, then I would react to this situation more calmly and it would not cause such grave consequences for me. But I was what I was ...
After a few years, I had already forgotten about this stress, the memories of those events ceased to be painful, I began to take it easier. But the depression and panic attacks didn't go away. Because these ailments even more "shattered" the already painful psyche. When I forgot about that stressful situation, I still continued to suffer from sudden attacks panic, bad mood and pessimism.
I used this example to draw a very important conclusion about the nature of depression. I believe that most often, the causes of this disease are in the person himself, and not in external circumstances. I am not going to extremes. Naturally, there are things that can crush and make even the most powerful people suffer. But, in most situations, depression is a consequence of your mental state, physical health, nervous sensitivity and worldview.
And some situations in the outside world can only trigger something for which there were already prerequisites.
My method is to strengthen the immune system
While antidepressants and tranquilizers can have a positive effect on the symptoms of depression, they cannot be dispensed with!
Even if your depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, there are other ways besides pills to restore this balance. It has been proven that even psychotherapy, various practices of working on oneself, changes the chemical balance in the head. That's it!
Moreover, although I cannot deny the necessity of using medications, it has been proven that psychotherapy and work on oneself have a much more lasting and lasting effect. That is, the pills will relieve the symptoms. But if you want to strengthen your "psychological immunity", to reduce the likelihood of recurrence of depressive episodes in the future, then you need to be sure to study and work on yourself!
In order not to have a cold, you need to temper, keep your body in good physical shape, and not just drink all kinds of drugs. The same goes for depression. It is necessary to stabilize the emotional background, strengthen the nervous system and learn to look at things differently. This is my method.
This helped me not only to get rid of depression and panic attacks, but to be sure that it does not happen again. And even if it happens again, I can handle it on my own. I will not depend on the arbitrariness of these attacks unknown to me and tremble at the mere thought that they will return as it was before. Let them come back - I know what to do.
However, in some cases, drugs are needed. They are needed simply to literally "put a person on his feet", to help him start working on himself, to undergo therapy. This is just some kind of pharmacological support, but not the treatment itself. This must be understood. But if your case is severe, the medication method cannot be neglected!
But you just don’t need to see it as a panacea and limit yourself only to drugs: pills are just your temporary assistant in the service of therapy. Be sure, in addition to pills, you need to carry out activities to work with the psyche on their own or better under the supervision of a psychotherapist.
Getting rid of depression - starting to work on ourselves
I turn to the practical part of the article and the description of those tips that will help you get rid of depression and strengthen your mental immunity.
Eliminate negative ideas
There are some ideas that make it very difficult to recover from bouts of mental blues. I must say right away that these ideas are false and you need to get rid of them. Further I will focus on each of these ideas.
Idea 1 - I am depressed because I am such a person (nervous, sensitive,), this is how I am made and I can not do anything about it.
There is no more destructive delusion for the development of personality! You are depressed, not because you are who you are, but because you have not done anything to change! Every person is capable, every personality has a huge potential for positive metamorphosis.
In order to stop experiencing depression, many people will have to work on themselves and even change their outlook on things. Get ready for this. It is not that easy, but it is certainly possible. This is confirmed by my experience and the very fact of the existence of this site.
Idea 2 - I am depressed because some circumstances of my life are to blame (I live in a bad country, I have no money to buy myself, everything I want, I am surrounded by idiots, I have no girlfriend / boyfriend , my parents did not like me, etc.).
This is also a pretty dangerous delusion. When you feel bad, you are overcome by despondency, your brain tries by all means to find the cause of the situation. The search for a cause precedes determining a way out of the current situation, which is why many people cling to these supposed reasons as lifebuoys. This helps them to realize that they know why they are suffering and know how to end this suffering.
This instills in them a sense of control over the situation. They think: “if I change my job or place of residence, my depression will stop, I know what to do, now I am suffering, but then, when I move to a new country, divorce my wife, buy myself a yacht, everything will be fine”. This is how hope appears. Therefore, depressed people are extremely reluctant to part with such ideas.
The brain begins with great zeal to sort out those circumstances that cause discomfort and bring them under the causes of depression. It can be difficult for us to abstract from our perception and understand that the whole point is in this very perception.
A negative view of things, negative emotions, constant resentment and despondency bring an extremely strong distortion to our view of things. You can look at the world through rose-colored glasses, or you can observe it, on the contrary, looking through glasses with dull, gray glasses.
Depression makes things look different from what they are to normal, pure perception. We begin to pay attention to the bad sides of life, our shortcomings seem huge to us, the problems are insurmountable, and our whole life is a series of meaningless suffering.
If you are depressed, your perception is illusory, erroneous, and does not reflect the actual state of affairs. It doesn't matter that you are under the influence of a drug! Don't believe this perception! We need to change it!
If you cannot be happy with what you have, then you cannot be happy under any circumstances! Wherever you go, no matter what woman you find, no matter how much wealth you have, your negative perception will remain with you.
And you can't run away from him just by moving to another place! But if you change your perception, you may understand that the conditions in which you live are not so bad, your friends are not so terrible, but in life there seems to be something worth living for! Nothing in the world around you will change, just your views will change!
In my life, for example, there are still things that do not suit me and that I want to change (for example, working conditions, lack of my own living space). But these things no longer make me unhappy, because I myself have become different, although earlier it seemed to me that it was because of these things that I felt bad.
When I try to convince people that the whole problem is in themselves, in their perception of life, I run into an insurmountable barrier. They begin to demonstrate a violent reluctance to part with the idea that the causes of their depression are rooted in some external circumstances. After all, their hope is based on this idea, a false, unfounded, illusory hope!
Of course, it is necessary to change in life, that which does not suit her. But, first of all, you need to start with yourself!
Idea 3 - Depression is a purely psychological illness.
This is not true. Depression is also related to the condition of your body. Bad habits, fatigue, stress can lead to the appearance of this ailment. And exactly the opposite: exercising, keeping your body in good shape, and getting regular rest can help prevent depression.
Stop looking for the causes of your unhappiness only in some lofty matters: in the feeling of existential emptiness, loss of Faith, etc. Also pay attention to how your body feels, whether it is healthy enough and whether it is getting all the vitamins it needs to function.
Practice Inner Balance Meditation
Meditation helped me to get out of the pool of despondency and pessimism, to find joy and faith in myself. I have long forgotten about depression and panic attacks. Meditation calms and stabilizes the psyche, gives a good mood and relieves stress. Laboratory studies of meditation have shown that the practice of meditation affects the brain, increasing the activity of electrical alpha waves, at the frequency of which the brain begins to work. This activity promotes a calm, relaxed state.
Regular meditation can help with depression, although it cannot be said that it will help everyone. Even if with the help of them it will not be possible to completely get rid of this ailment, then practice will help you to more easily endure these attacks and somehow control them.
In my opinion, meditation is one of the most effective and safe means to get rid of blues, nervousness, anger and anxiety. Many people greatly underestimate the effect of this practice and believe that it will not help them.
When I advise people who are suffering and cannot understand themselves to start meditating, they respond to these tips for easy bewilderment. They do not say this directly, but most likely they think this way: maybe meditation will help me feel calmer, better control my emotions, but will it save me from what I am unhappy about? Is practice able to attract money, which I so lack for happiness? Is it with her help I can find the woman of my dreams, without whom I feel bad?
Many people think so and in the end, remain in the belief that meditation is not for them, and it will not solve their problems. Thinking like that is a mistake. It is more important for these people to maintain faith in their own prejudices, in which they used to believe, than to try something else and try to help themselves in another way. This line of thought is a consequence of the presence in the head of the false idea number 2, which I wrote about above.
You are most likely not unhappy because you live in a bad country and do not have enough money for an expensive car that your neighbor has. Happiness and unhappiness depend more on your inner state than on external circumstances, I wrote about this in my article.
Meditation is a great way to put your psychological and emotional state in order, to look at the world with a sober and unclouded look, and not through gray lenses.
When you remove your illusion points, your values may change. These will no longer be the ideals on which you base your faith in deliverance from suffering. Now you can believe that without a huge bank account you will not be happy, but if you understand your desires well, gain a sense of inner comfort and a sense of independence, you will understand that the value of life lies in something completely different!
Through practice and self-knowledge, you can realize that the deepest treasure of life is contained in life itself, in the very fact that you live and breathe, and not in the possession of some things.
A bank account is also good, but it is not the main thing. You will achieve this someday if you try, but first you need to find happiness within yourself.
Meditation can change your outlook on things, teach you to notice its good sides in this life, see joy in the little things, and through introspection and reflection come to realizing your true goals.
Practice taught me all this, and I hope it will teach you too. Feelings of inner comfort, contentment, optimism, and calmness are what regular practice leads to.
I am sure that depression will be very difficult to manifest in such a state of mind and feelings.
I started meditating, hoping that the practice would help me eliminate depression and panic attacks. But she gave me immeasurably more than just getting rid of depression and anxiety! I realized my weaknesses and shortcomings, began to work on myself, strengthened my willpower, became more sociable and cheerful, and gained control over my desires and emotions.
Attention! Meditation has no immediate effect! Depression won't go away right away! Only regular, long-term practice (preferably under the supervision of a psychotherapist) can help you!
Depression may worsen in the first weeks of practice. This is fine. Some antidepressants have a similar effect when a person is just starting to take them. If the unpleasant effect does not last long with continued practice, meditate less or stop meditating altogether.
In order to get rid of depression through meditation, it is not enough to just sit, meditate and wait for the depression to go away on its own. Meditation is not an end in itself, it is just a tool. How to properly use this tool to cope with depression and at the same time not harm yourself, I describe in the article. If you want to start meditating, this article is a must-read for you!
Strengthen your body
Depression can be caused not only by the psychological aspects of your personality. Your mental health is highly dependent on your physical health. You are unlikely to get rid of discouragement if you frequently drink alcohol, smoke, chronically lack sleep, and lead a sedentary lifestyle.
Alcohol and other drugs (including antidepressants) provide only temporary relief, but in the long term, they only exacerbate the situation and increase the chance of further developing depression. and .
Physical activity Sports exercise not only strengthens your body and improves your physical tone, but also improves your mood, relieves fatigue and stress. Sport is a natural antidepressant. Sports can raise the level of endorphins ("happiness hormones") in your brain, causing joy and euphoria.
This way of lifting your mood does not have the side effects of depression, insomnia and decreased sexual function, like many antidepressants. A side effect of sports as a mood-enhancing agent is a healthy body.
If you are not yet involved in sports, then start doing at least exercises in the morning and light jogging. If running is still difficult for you, take long walks on fresh air... Pay attention to how short exercise and walking improve your mood and overall well-being. Track this effect, feel it, and memorize it so your brain associates pleasure with rewarding activities like sports.
I am sure that yoga classes are great for coping with the mental blues, and besides, they are very useful for your body. Try it!
Lack of vitamins, junk food can also greatly affect your psychological state, so try to eat right: go to fast food less often, eat less junk, like sausages or chips.
Develop willpower
The key to successfully dealing with depression is strong willpower. Without willpower, you cannot. Instead of jogging, you will stay grieving at home. Instead of regularly practicing meditation, you will choose an easier way: go to the doctor and ask him to prescribe more pills for you.
Without willpower, you will not be able to pull yourself together and say to yourself: “Let me feel bad and don’t want to do anything, but I will still get out of bed, wipe this suffering face off my face and will do what will help me get rid of depression forever ! "
Depression is "fueled" by your lack of will, weakness, and laziness. It grows and gets stronger on these qualities by leaps and bounds! If you can't say no to your weaknesses, if you can't hold yourself back when you feel like complaining about life, if you can't bring yourself to forget about the discouragement when you have to work, then it will be difficult for you to eradicate depression.
When I began to actively fight depression (for a long time I did not make any active attempts to fight), I discovered one remarkable property of willpower.
Sometimes I lay down and suffered from another attack of the blues: I didn't want to do anything, I just wanted to whine and complain. At one point, I realized what to do. I realized that you can't follow the lead of these desires, but you need to do the opposite! If, because of despondency, you want to lie down and complain, you need to get up and do something, for example, clean the house, do other things. If you want to complain about a friend's life or just infect him with your despondency, then instead of this you need to stretch a smile on your face and say something good, pleasant!
This is not easy at first. There is a very strong resistance, as if you are walking against an incredible wind, which blows your body in the opposite direction. But as soon as this resistance is overcome, a wonderful relief appears, even some kind of triumph! A triumph of willpower! Fear and despondency are receding! You feel powerful and in control!
Willpower is one of the most powerful tools for achieving great success in combating both depression and panic attacks and with other types of blues.
That is why the effect often goes away with the end of the antidepressant intake - the ailment comes back again. And why shouldn't he come back if you haven't learned anything, if you haven't increased your mental immunity, if you haven't eliminated the very prerequisites for the onset of depression, but only just struggled with the symptoms?
If you are weak, prone to anxiety and anxiety, and do not know how to control your feelings, then the pills will not cure you of this! You will remain the same, and at the same time there will be the risk of another blues.
Strengthen the nervous system, learn to relax
This can be attributed to physical health, but I'd better write about this in a separate paragraph. Anxiety, nervousness, irritability - all these are prerequisites for the onset of depression. In addition to physical wellness treatments that strengthen the nervous system, learn to control and control nervousness.
Learn stress management and relaxation techniques.
Learn to control emotions, watch yourself
Negative emotions can also be a source of discouragement. Anger, envy, irritation, hatred, pathological - all this poisons your personality, making it more prone to despondency. Learn to control yourself and free yourself from negative experiences.
Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself.
Stop complaining about life! Stop telling your friends how unhappy you are - they have enough of their own problems. It only poisons your mood and sets you in a tone of self-pity. Try to concentrate on positive aspects life. There are people whose life is much more difficult than yours. There are those who live in conditions of constant danger to life, deprivation and hunger.
I assure you that if you have enough food, water, housing and some kind of health, then this is almost all you need to be happy! Learn to rejoice in what is, and not to be sad about what is not!
Train yourself to endure the blues and mental pain, do not identify yourself with this state. Act and behave as if he is not there, forget about him, ignore him, do not let him take over you. This state is simply a chain of chemical reactions that take place in your brain. And it is in your power to control this state.
Crying and complaining and constantly thinking about how unhappy you are with depression will only make your illness worse. After all, depression is not only the state of your body, it is also all your experiences associated with it. The disease itself is not so scary when you start to suffer because of it and wind your worries, unhappy thoughts and fears on top of it!
Even a common cold with fever goes away easier if you do not feel discouraged, do not whine and wait for recovery. Think of depression like a cold. Be patient, this is just a temporary state of the brain. Things are not so terrible around, the situation is not so hopeless. The fact that everything is bad, the illness makes you think - do not succumb to it!
Getting rid of depression - improving the external conditions of life
I already wrote about how important it is to work on yourself and change your outlook on things in order to stop feeling blues. But, our external conditions of existence can also affect your psychological state. True, these conditions are not as important as many of you are used to thinking. What's more important is what's inside. And so that you do not forget about it, I will remind you of this in each of the points that I will list below.
Create comfortable living conditions
If many people live in one small room, then this can cause feelings of psychological discomfort. And it's not even about the people themselves, but about their number. No matter how good the relationship in a team or a family is - crampedness, lack of privacy can greatly spoil the mood and interfere with good rest.
If you have the opportunity, move to a larger room, move from your parents to a separate apartment (or dacha). Let this apartment be small and located far away, but housing will be more comfortable if you live, say, with one wife than with your wife and parents.
Probably those of you who have problems with housing will now think to themselves: “Oh, that's it! That is why I am unhappy! " No, not only because of this.
Even in the absence of comfortable housing, you can find your happiness! It's also about you. If you do not yet have the opportunity to change your living conditions, then work on yourself, develop your qualities, this will help you more firmly endure adverse life circumstances.
Even if you have your own living space, create coziness and comfort conditions there. Clean up the house, get a pet if you don't have one. Better cat... Better yet, two cats. Or a cat and a dog.
An animal won't make you happy right away, but a four-legged friend can help relieve stress, relieve loneliness, and improve your mood.
Find the right job
Don't like your job? Change it! Don't like working at all? Create your business and organize it so that it does not take a lot of time and effort! Think about what you want from life. Maybe it's time to start moving towards something, and not sit and passively contemplate how year after year nothing changes, and all your dreams melt like ice in the sun?
If you find your life purpose and begin to move towards it, then it will fill your life with meaning and give you the joy of existence. After all, some way will open for you, you will cease to live without any purpose! Lack of meaning in life and frustration of hopes can provoke discouragement.
What is stopping you from moving towards your dream? Most likely, only your inner limitations: laziness, fear and doubt. Begin to slowly realize your wildest desires. Study, read, communicate with people, learn about all the possibilities that exist in this world.
Working 5/2 at an unloved job, as they say, “everyone” is not the only life alternative. There are many other opportunities, you just need to learn about them, and not sit back and wait for these opportunities to find you on their own. Move and learn new things, explore different options, make plans.
But it's not just about work.
Even engaging in activities that do not bring pleasure, you can find your happiness!
But all the same, you need to strive for the best! So start looking for new opportunities!
Update: I will explain the above provision a little. Lack of purpose is not always one of the causes of depression. It is rather a consequence. Therefore, finding and finding a goal is not always a panacea for depression. It's hard when nothing pleases you, nothing inspires you. A person who is prone to chronic depression is not encouraged by opportunities to somehow improve their life. Everything is equally bad for him.
To find your goal, you need to work on yourself, engage in meditation, achieve at least some kind of inner balance. You don't have to start by trying to find an incentive when you feel bad and not attracted to anything. Start with yourself. Purpose and incentive are secondary.
Find the right life partner
Look for a way out of your loneliness. Find the right match for you. I cannot teach you how to search suitable partner how to decide on an acquaintance - all this is the topic of separate articles. The only thing I can advise is to choose a person who will be strong, balanced, balanced and without unnecessary cockroaches in your head.
If you are a subtle, sensitive nature, prone to experiences, then you do not need to meet with a person of the same character! Maybe he will be close to you in spirit, but you will not learn anything from him, just as he will learn from you. His and your shortcomings will develop within your union.
It's a bit like incestuous marriage. When people who are in family ties give birth to offspring, it turns out to be weak and inferior, since it inherits the weaknesses and defects of the father and mother. But people who are not relatives are much more likely to have healthy children.
Therefore, you do not need to choose a person with the same shortcomings as yours. Your union will inherit your weaknesses and will be fragile and short-lived and will become a source of new suffering.
But don't forget that even alone you can find your happiness!
Get out more often to nature
I recommend calm, measured rest for those who suffer from depression. It is better to relax in quiet places than to drown in the bustle of a noisy resort. If you just try to distract yourself from depression through unbridled fun, parties and alcohol, it will not do any good, it will only harm.
Learn to enjoy nature and peace, walk in parks and forests, go to the country house. Stay alone with yourself more often, try to understand yourself, listen to yourself! Fresh air, peace and quiet work wonders!
But do not forget that even in a noisy city you can be happy!
Concluding remarks
The work, as you can see, will have to be done a lot. You can't get off with pills alone. If you decide to take antidepressants, then combine them with other therapies that I described above. Meditate every day, develop willpower, learn a positive outlook, exercise. I can't imagine how you can get rid of depression without changing yourself!
Approximately 30% of 70% of those who read this article to the end will heed the advice and begin to follow my recommendations. The rest will become lazy, they will think that my advice does not suit them, because I do not know their grief, their deep existential troubles and, therefore, I cannot help them in any way, but meditation and yoga are generally some kind of shamanism.
Some of these people, perhaps, will even agree with me, think "yes, this is all true that Nikolai writes." But things will not go beyond this tacit consent, because what I advise requires patience and diligence. Agreeing with my provisions will not prevent someone from rushing to the doctor for pills, simply because it is simpler than anything else and does not require effort.
5-10% of 30% will begin to methodically follow my advice, actively fight depression, go in for sports, yoga and meditation. The remaining 20% go to a couple of workouts, try to meditate and quit right away, seeing that these remedies did not bring instant relief and are given with difficulty. They may start using pills and alcohol, or they may just continue to suffer.
These 5-10% of persistent and patient people will feel that their condition has improved over time. Not only will the depression go away, but they will see improvement in other areas of their lives. Volitional qualities will strengthen, communication with other people will become easier, the body will gain strength and health, and the mind will become more calm.
For some of these people, depression will go away forever, the other part will learn to control and tolerate it, the symptoms will become less intense, the disorder will begin to manifest less often, and the fear of new attacks will pass.
I have given this rough forecast not to steal hope from you. I did this to show that everything is in your hands, not in the hands of the doctor who treats you, not in the hands of the person who writes encouraging articles, not in the hands of the pharmacists who develop your medicines.
It depends on you whether you will suffer or defeat your nemesis - depression. Will you resist or just passively accept fate. Nobody can help you until you yourself want to.
Neither I nor anyone else can force you to do something, I can only guide and give advice, everything else is in your hands! Forward! Take action!
Attention! This article does not urge you to refuse the help of a qualified specialist! Someone can get rid of on their own, but not all. If you have strong symptoms depression, I recommend not to postpone and as soon as possible go to a good psychotherapist to a doctor who will not only prescribe drugs (if necessary), but will also conduct therapy sessions with you!
Depression and emotional overload have become an integral part of our life. The psychological discomfort that stress brings us often leads to depression, chronic fatigue, and often leads to the development of serious diseases.
Depression is a mental condition associated with mood disorders that make a person feel depressed. Depression is characterized by a variety of symptoms, both physiological and mental, that can vary in severity.
Depression
Unfortunately, this concept has become a part of our life. The name of the disease is derived from the Latin word deprimo, which means "to suppress", "to suppress". Depression is becoming the scourge of our time. Too many stress factors in our life affect a person, which sometimes leads him to a state where melancholy, apathy and detachment rolls over, he does not want to communicate, nothing brings joy and pleasure, sleep and appetite are disturbed. Many people explain this condition by the accumulated fatigue, the tense rhythm of life, stress and believe that to eliminate the symptoms, it is enough just to rest. And it really helps a lot at the beginning of the process.
But you need to remember that similar symptoms should not be neglected if they are observed for two weeks or longer, otherwise, with the progression of the condition, a severe neuropsychiatric illness may develop - deep depression. It will be impossible to cope with it at home.
Officially, according to statistics, depression occurs in 15% of women and 10% of men, but most often, even in moderate severity, people do not go to the doctor with this symptom. Although if you conduct a survey, you will rarely find someone who has not experienced this condition.
The sooner you take action, the sooner you will cope with depressive moods without letting the disease develop. And traditional medicine has enough means for this.
Depression is a disease of the soul. It most commonly affects the elderly and women between the ages of 30 and 40. Depression usually manifests itself in states of deep depression. People of different ages and status can show signs of depression. People strive for social status, they want to be successful and respectable. If they fail, fail to achieve their goals, a person may fall into despair, it is hard to experience failure, and as a result, depression develops.
Severe psychological trauma - the loss of a loved one, the breakdown of a family, a serious illness - can also lead to a state of depression. Such shocks can cause various psychological disorders, but physiological cause they have one - a lack of endorphin in the body. This hormone is responsible for good mood, comfort and quality of life.
According to the latest research, depressive conditions can be caused by metabolic disorders or hormonal disorders, deposits heavy metals in the brain, as well as the influence of radiation (terrestrial, technical, cosmic).
But if you're just in a bad mood, don't rush to diagnose yourself with depression. Depression is not just a bad mood, but a whole series of negative emotional states lasting more than two weeks: bad mood, melancholy and despair; lack of interest and pleasure in familiar things; anxiety and irritation, maybe a sense of guilt, a pessimistic outlook on the future, self-doubt, apathy, withdrawal, insomnia, a change in appetite, and so on.
What happens in the body with depression?
What is this strange disease or condition - depression? What's going on in the body? Why do headaches appear in parallel with mood changes?
In fact, depression is a way of protecting the brain from overexcitation, a kind of response from the body to stress. But a negative state of mind deprives a person of initiative, and he simply does not have the strength to eliminate the causes of depression. The circle is closed, the disease has to be seriously treated, without the help of strangers, the patient cannot cope with the disease paralyzing the will. The condition of the internal disc-fort is often accompanied by a throbbing headache.
Brain changes.
It is known that during depression there is a change in the function of several brain neurotransmitters and their receptors.
Previously, most researchers focused on serotonin and norepinephrine. There was even a hypothesis that depression is a consequence of the lack of activity of these particular substances. It has now been established that this assumption is very simplistic and that many other neurotransmitters are likely to be involved in the development of depression.
Who is depressed?
In any arbitrary period of time, approximately 10-15% of the population of any country suffers from degression. moderate, and 2-3% - a severe form of this condition. Every year, about 10% of the population experiences depressive disorder, although the majority of cases remain undetected.
Typically, depression develops around the age of 30, women suffer twice as often as men. Other important factors contributing to the development of depression include living in large cities, poverty, poor education and loneliness.
Another group of people with an increased predisposition to depression is young mothers. In the first six weeks after giving birth, about 10-15% of women become depressed, requiring treatment medical care.
Causes of depression
This state can develop gradually, under the influence of chronic stress, then it is easier to stop it in time, but it can also come suddenly, with a strong shock: the loss of a loved one, unexpected dismissal from your favorite job, serious illness, family breakup, financial ruin, major professional failure, etc.
The psychological causes of depression, in addition to stress, can be unforgotten childhood fears and experiences and psychological trauma. Vascular atherosclerosis impairs the blood supply to the brain, therefore, signs of a depressive state in the elderly appear more often. Depression is one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, various forms of anemia, infectious diseases, a consequence of hormonal changes in the body after childbirth or as a result of menopause. Symptoms of depression also appear with prolonged use of pain relievers, drugs for the treatment of heart and hypertension.
It provokes the onset of depression and the dark season - due to a lack of ultraviolet radiation and just bright light.
Psychiatrists have tried many times to develop criteria that distinguish explainable episodes of depression caused by external factors, such as traumatic life events (reactive, or neurotic, depression), from those that occur spontaneously and are more dependent on the internal state of a particular person (endogenous depression). Although the idea of classifying depression on this basis seems rather tempting, initial assumptions that reactive depression is less severe and forms a distinct disease type are not always supported.
There is reason to believe that in each individual case, the development of depression is due to a certain combination of various internal and external factors.
Genetic factors play an important role (especially in the case of bipolar disorder), as well as such hormonal changes like elevated cortisol levels and impaired secretory function thyroid gland.
Adverse events, especially those associated with the loss of loved ones or a serious illness, can also serve as a trigger for an attack of depression. A person's internal vulnerability to such events can increase under the influence of certain life circumstances... This can be, for example, a bad relationship between parents or their divorce, which a person saw in childhood, lack of work, poverty or low self-esteem.
Many factors that increase a person's vulnerability to depression include inadequate social support and an inability to maintain close relationships with others.
What is depression?
Depression attacks can be solitary or recurrent (with intermediate periods of normal mood).
In both of these cases, we are talking about unipolar depression, since the change in mood occurs in only one direction. Some people, however, suffer from depression as part of their manic depressive syndrome; This type of disorder is called bipolar disorder. It is characterized by alternating manic attacks and periods of depression. Although most of the symptoms of unipolar depression are seen in bipolar depression, it is assumed that there are some differences between the two conditions.
Classification of depression.
In addition to differentiating between unipolar and bipolar depression, the classification of this disorder is based on its severity, the presence or absence of relapses, and psychotic symptoms. Very rarely, depression is so severe that a person loses a sense of reality and suffers from delusions and hallucinations.
Mild depression.
Anxiety, fear, and obsessions are especially common in patients with a bout of mild depression. In fact, mild depression is not just a less severe form of the disease, as the name suggests, but a very special type of condition. Its other hallmarks are a tendency to develop initial insomnia (difficulty falling asleep, followed by too long morning sleep), increased appetite and the presence of some somatic manifestations. The pattern of mood changes during the day may differ from patient to patient, usually worsening towards the evening.
Psychotic depression.
Timely identification of the symptoms of psychotic depression is extremely important, since it is a very severe form of the disease in which a person begins to lose a sense of reality. Symptoms of this type of depression are usually associated with the patient's mood: delusions, often associated with illness, death, punishment, guilt, or persecution; less commonly, hallucinations, usually auditory. The latter are usually extremely unpleasant and anxious - for example, the patient hears a voice that accuses him of something, calls for suicide, or confirms the person's low self-esteem.
A common symptom of mild and psychotic depression is insomnia. Chronic sleep deprivation can exacerbate symptoms of chronic fatigue.
Depression symptoms.
Before proceeding with the provision of medical care, it is necessary to find out what form of depression the patient suffers, and only then try to get rid of it. A suitable treatment method can be selected according to the type of disease.
Diagnosing depression seems at first glance to be a very simple task, but in practice, making a diagnosis can be very difficult.
The main symptoms of depression are persistent depressed mood, anhedonia (loss of pleasure from previously pleasant activities), loss of interest and motivation for life. Depression also causes noticeable changes somatic functions, thinking and behavior.
It is very important to distinguish between depression and ordinary sadness, which is a normal response to bad news or serious life trials, such as the loss of loved ones or a serious illness. To confirm the diagnosis of depression, in addition to depression, other characteristic symptoms of this disorder must also be observed to one degree or another. The severity and length of periods of depression are also important in diagnosing depression.
General stress or anxiety often makes a person feel bad. However, this does not automatically mean depression.
Difficulty digestion, diarrhea or constipation, breathing difficulties, heart palpitations, and circulatory problems are often accompanying signs of depression.
Somatic manifestations.
Somatic and somatovegetative disorders are especially pronounced during severe depression.
These include: sleep disturbances, usually accompanied by early awakening, loss of appetite, weight loss, decreased sex drive, persistent fatigue, headaches and muscle pain, and psychomotor disorders- slowing down of movements, speech, thoughts, or, in rare cases, agitation (agitation).
The mood is often depressed in the morning and rises during the day. With very severe depression, which is life-threatening, the person completely refuses to eat or even drink.
Mental manifestations.
Depressed people have a hard time imagining the future and often have obsessive thoughts of suicide or self-harm.
Difficulty concentrating and memory impairment may occur; in some cases, especially in the elderly, these disorders are so severe that depression can hardly be distinguished from senile dementia. Other symptoms of depression include gratuitous fear, anxiety, phobias, obsessions, irritability, agitation, and dysphoria.
Behavioral symptoms.
Depression reduces a person's ability to function normally in Everyday life both socially and at work. A person can begin to avoid leaving the house, self-isolate, neglect himself. People with severe depression are easily recognizable by their facial expressions and movement patterns.
Depression must be distinguished from an adaptive response (a psychological response to life events such as being fired, divorced, or moving), which often results in a person's mixed feelings of anxiety and depression. However, none of these signs is strong enough to make a clear diagnosis of anxiety disorder or depression. In addition, I am absent during the adaptive response! somatic manifestations accompanying depression.
Personality disorder.
Borderline personality disorder is a type of mental disorder characterized by the manifestation
throughout life, inadequate patterns of behavior, relationships and knowledge that cause suffering to the patient himself or those around him.
Its hallmark is emotional instability. People suffering borderline disorder individuals usually complain that they do not get joy from life, and also suffer from depression and thoughts of suicide.
It is very difficult to distinguish a person whose bad mood is a consequence of abnormal personality traits from a patient suffering from a panic disorder, which is superimposed by depression. In fact, even trying to make such a distinction can only oversimplify an extremely complex issue. In practice, antidepressants are prescribed for a person who meets the criteria for borderline personality disorder and is clearly depressed.
Perhaps some other disease is very similar in symptoms to depression.
Other disorders that are clinically very difficult to distinguish from depression include: generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic schizophrenia (the main symptom of this disease is the smoothing and dulling of emotions), hormonal disorders (Cushing's syndrome and underactive thyroid gland), cancer , malnutrition and post-viral asthenia syndrome.
Symptoms of depression should be distinguished from those that may result from thyroid dysfunction.
How to avoid depression?
Depression is a mental illness. She dictates behavior, paints the world in black colors, deprives one of the desire to live. That's why psychological support and prevention methods are so important in the fight against depression. It can be just a conversation with a psychologist, the beginning of any activity, even the simplest housework, communication with nature, with animals, with art - everything that can awaken love and joy. The road out of depression is not easy. Let's talk a little about what can really help get rid of it.
What Causes Depression? What distorted life attitudes allow consciousness to fall into this terrible condition? Knowing the causes will help many to avoid the disease.
In order not to have to treat depression, as well as to prevent it, it is important to realize that an adult does not need to work over and over to be respected by his superiors, this is just a consequence of the psychological transfer of a child's way of earning the love of parents.
It is necessary to learn to refuse a task if it is obvious that there is not enough strength to complete it.
As a defense against this ailment, you need to have a source of joy in life that will keep you from heavy thoughts, will bring you out of the state of melancholy.
Have animals at home, but from among your loved ones. Someone is closer to cats, some dogs, and some fish. Do handicrafts, growing flowers, any hobby. In other words - animal therapy, art therapy, nature therapy - and the like.
Do yoga, jogging - any physical activity, at which endorphins are released. And your mood will be on top. All this will create protection against depression.
Learn to breathe with a smile!
A smile, even a mechanical one, can fight depression. It is noted that even just raising the corners of the mouth gives the effect of relieving depression. Well, when a smile comes from within, then complete harmony comes in the soul.
A breathing exercise with a smile looks like this:
1) close your eyes, imagine the amazing beauty and aroma of a flower, rejoice and smile at it;
2) breathe in this aroma with full breasts, filling the breath with an involuntarily arising smile of bliss. Retain this smile and feelings in yourself;
3) now exhale and direct the smiling stream first into the heart, then into the head, then through all the vessels, then into the thyroid gland, because they are the first to suffer under any stress;
4) with each inhalation, try to make your smile widen, and with each exhalation, imagine how all the unsmiling particles leave the organs, purifying them and filling them with energy, forcing you to smile in response;
5) open your eyes and try to keep the state of a smile as long as possible.
Do this breathing every morning and evening for 10 minutes - and you will not be afraid of depression, and your sleep will be healthy and sound. "
About the benefits breathing exercises for the nerves we have already said. You can use all the remedies that are recommended for neuroses against depression: gymnastics, massage, acupressure, water treatments, spa treatments - all this perfectly resists depression. Just support your nervous system and you will be fine!
Depression treatment
During a period of depression, you need to see a specialist, but you should not get too carried away with various antidepressants.
You can get rid of depression only with complex measures: lead healthy image life, find new interests, give up watching heavy films.
All types of water procedures are very effective: shower, sauna, bath, dousing and wiping cold water... Before going to bed, it is advisable to take warm baths, adding pine needle extract or essential oils to the water. Acupuncture, massage (including acupressure), aromatherapy using toning essential oils, soothing and toning herbs, and some food products help to relieve depressive conditions. There are many folk methods fight depression, some we will talk about in more detail.
The first and the most important step in helping patients with depression, it is an assessment of the severity of the disease and the risks that the patient has in terms of self-neglect and suicidal thoughts.
Most people with depression receive antidepressant medication under the supervision of their doctor. general practice... However, in some cases, specialized mental health services, including psychotherapy and behavioral therapy, may be needed to recover from depression.
Referral to a psychiatrist is necessary when there are doubts about the severity of the disease, there is a poor response to commonly used drugs for treatment, or recurrent episodes of depression.
It is very important for the doctor to collect information about all dramatic improvements in mood, as well as about bouts of depression. It should also take into account all the predisposing factors, as well as the mechanisms and events that cause, exacerbate and maintain this disease. All this helps to determine the correct path of treatment to prevent worsening of the condition and subsequent relapses.
Drug treatment
In recent years in the history of development medical science a step forward was taken in understanding the essence of depression. New antidepressant drugs have been developed, the effectiveness of which has been documented. Antidepressants are a specific, in their own way unique group of drugs. They are not tranquilizers, although they are often, without proper reason, classified in the same category as Valium or Librium, that is, as mild tranquilizers. Antidepressants differ in their chemical composition and purpose from tranquilizers. Antidepressant medications do not contain narcotic drugs, they do not get used to them. Antidepressants are not "over-stimulants" or "happiness pills." But they relieve emotional pain and many of the biological symptoms of depression, such as sleep disturbance and anhedonia.
Some are strongly against antidepressants. There is a perception that you cannot rely on a chemical product when it comes to emotional pain. Alcohol and some tranquilizers provide temporary relief, euphoria, or desensitization. It's on a short time takes a person away from everyday difficulties. However, when a little later the action of the glass or pill disappears, you are back to square one. With drugs - antidepressants, the situation is different. Treatment with antidepressants results in lasting changes, returning your brain to a state of natural and normal functioning.
Although different types of antidepressants have different mechanisms of influence on the brain, their overall effect is the same: they balance the functioning of neurotransmitters in the human brain, restoring harmony in its work. Antidepressants don't work quickly. In most cases, it takes ten to twenty days before some improvement occurs in the patient's condition. It is this period that is necessary for the beginning of the restoration of the biological function of the brain. During this time, patience and perseverance are required.
Antidepressants are used to treat depression at all levels of severity. In general, the indicator of the effectiveness of these drugs is quite high (60-70%). Taking antidepressants for 6 months after the first bout of depression is healed can significantly reduce the risk of relapse.
The most commonly used drugs are those belonging to the group of tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (to the last group refers, for example, fluoxetine). These drugs are thought to have a pharmacological effect by affecting the synthesis of neurotransmitters and their receptors, although the exact mechanism of their action is still unclear.
Tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have side effects, but neither usually causes unpleasant or unbearable sensations. It is very important that the patient knows that although side effects may be felt shortly after starting treatment, the clinical effect of the drug occurs much later (after 2-6 weeks), therefore, some persistence is necessary when taking it.
Combined treatment
Antidepressants can be used to treat depression alone or in combination with other drugs: either with other antidepressants or with other types of drugs.
An example of a combination treatment for depression is the use of lithium to enhance the effects of antidepressants. This therapy can be used to treat depression that does not respond to antidepressant medication alone. Lithium can be used for long-term treatment, preventing recurrence of the disease in unipolar depression, as well as preventing both depression and mania in bipolar disorder.
Patients with recurrent seizures (especially if they have a family history of severe depression or the disease develops at an early age) are shown long-term preventive treatment reducing the risk of subsequent relapse.
Medications belonging to the group of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are widely used to treat depression. One of the most famous drugs in this group is fluoxetine.
Other therapies, cognitive therapy
In some cases, especially when mild form illness, psychological counseling may be sufficient to overcome depression without the need for psychotherapy or medications.
The use of psychotherapy in the treatment of depression has significant positive effects. The most studied method of this type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This type of therapy was originally used to treat only depression, but has become more widely used over time.
In the short term, cognitive therapy is as effective in treating depression as medication. Moreover, it may be even more effective as a preventive agent for disease recurrence. In practice, it is often used in combination with medication.
It is important to emphasize that you can use cognitive therapy methods for treating depression on your own at home - this will not diminish the effect of them in any way.
Read more in our special material.
Treatment of severe forms of depression
Electroconvulsive (electroconvulsive) therapy is used to treat the most severe forms of depression, especially when emergency care is required (for example, if a person refuses to drink or eat) or drugs do not work or cannot be used.
For psychotic depression, antipsychotic drugs can be used at the same dosage as for other psychotic illnesses (such as schizophrenia).
Herbs can help relieve depression
Herbal infusions and tinctures are the most common folk remedies for depression. There are herbs in nature with very strong antidepressant properties. The most famous of them are St. John's wort, passionflower, Chinese magnolia vine, but there are others.
Many synthetic drugs are created as chemical imitations active ingredients these herbs.
Therefore, before rushing to medicines at the first signs of a decadent mood, it is worth seeking help from Mother Nature. We will now tell you about the herbs that traditional medicine uses with great success to get rid of depression.
St. John's wort
The people endowed this plant with the terrible name "St. John's wort". Indeed, some of the animals that ate this herb often fell ill and died. But not all, but mostly albinos. It turned out that the reason for this phenomenon was a substance - hypericin, contained in St. John's wort. It increases the sensitivity of the white, unpigmented areas of animal skin to the sun's rays. It is especially dangerous for countries where the sun's rays are especially aggressive.
But thanks to hypericin, St. John's wort affects the level of serotonin in the central nervous system, which is responsible for a good mood. At the beginning of its intake, patients have a slight sedative effect, which then leads to an improvement in mood and inner comfort.
In Russia, since ancient times, St. John's wort was called a herb for a hundred diseases, this plant was included in almost all fees.
St. John's wort has many medicinal properties for somatic diseases, but later scientists discovered and confirmed by research that this plant is able to heal and mental illness... It is a powerful natural antidepressant.
Studies determined that the effect of St. John's wort extract was comparable to that of the antidepressants imipramine and amitriptyline, with much fewer side effects.
It was found that those who used St. John's wort decreased depression by 63%, and those who used a conventional antidepressant by 58%.
Most doctors now believe that the animal should not be used for severe depression, but research refutes this opinion.
When high doses of St. John's wort were given to patients with severe depression, it had the same effect as standard antidepressants.
The patients were divided into two groups: one group received approximately double the dose of St. John's wort, and the other received a high dose of the antidepressant Elavil. As a result, both drugs gave the same effect, only in the group where St. John's wort was taken, there were no side effects. True, the results were not widely publicized.
Regular use of St. John's wort relieves feelings of anxiety, fear, irritability, feelings of loneliness, fatigue.
In addition, St. John's wort has a tonic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, diuretic, antispasmodic effect.
And St. John's wort also improves lipid (fat) metabolism and serves as an excellent antioxidant, and therefore is indicated for the prevention of atherosclerosis, ischemic heart and brain disease, heart attack and stroke, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.
Apart from increased sensitivity to sunlight, no side effects of this plant are known. Even with prolonged use, St. John's wort is well tolerated.
Hypericum infusion recipe:
parts of the plant such as leaves and flowers are used for cooking. It is necessary to pour 1 teaspoon of dried flowers and herbs of St. John's wort with boiling water in a volume of 200 ml and let it brew for 10 minutes. It is necessary to drink healing tea 2-3 times a day for several months. A fresh portion should be brewed for each meal. The manifestation of the action begins about a month after the start of taking the herbal decoction.
But remember that the plant is strong and requires strict adherence to the dosage and timing of this natural cure for depression.
St. John's wort tea: 2 teaspoons with the top of the herb, pour 1/4 liter of water and heat to a boil. Strain after a few minutes. Drink 2-3 cups of tea a day.
Treatment with this tea should be carried out systematically over several weeks.
Tincture of St. John's wort: 10 g of dried herbs are poured with 50 g of 70% alcohol and insisted for 10 days. After pressing, the tincture is ready for use.
Infusions and solutions using this plant have contraindications and require maximum care when taken, so it is better to consult a doctor.
John's wort should not be used in combination with synthetic antidepressants, otherwise you may get the opposite effect.
Chinese lemongrass.
One more strong grass from depression is lemongrass chinensis.
Chinese lemongrass copes well with worries, torments of the soul, insecurity, and also raises the mood of life.
In pharmacies, an alcoholic tincture of lemongrass berries is sold, which is recommended to be consumed with a decrease in performance, loss of strength, sluggish mood and other depressive deviations. The dosage is 20-30 drops, 2 times a day. In especially severe cases, with very high workloads, increased emotionality, allowable rate can be increased to 40 drops at a time.
"Dimkov's hat".
This method of treating depression was proposed by the Bulgarian healer Petr Dimkov (Dynov), and this recipe is popularly known as "Dimkov's caps".
"Hat" has anti-stress properties, normalizes the autonomic nervous system and metabolism, is used for vegetative-vascular dystonia, palpitations, stress, neuroses, depression.
The recipe for the compress is as follows: take 1-1.5 kg of raw potatoes, rinse them, peel them and grate them on a fine grater, you can grind them in a blender or through a meat grinder. Add 50-75 g of raw milk to the resulting mass and leave for 30 minutes. After that, squeeze the mass a little and put it on a cotton cloth with a layer of 1 cm, and then wrap your head. A fur hat is put on top, turned inside out with fur, you can tie it with a woolen scarf.
The "hat" is done 1-1.5 hours before bedtime. There are 10 such procedures, every other day. Subsequently - according to health. "Cap" can be used for the prevention of the above diseases. In this case, a 4-time cycle of procedures is recommended, each course of which is carried out during the off-season. If desired, treatment can be carried out monthly.
How the tool works is anyone's guess. Here the point is in the psychological mood, but also in the fact that for some time the head is, as it were, isolated from the outside world and heavy thoughts.
Dimkov's hat is a tool that allows you to relieve stress, normalize the heart rate and even relieve a person of unreasonable melancholy and neuroses.
Why potatoes? Because potatoes are unique in general. If you apply the gruel to the sore spot with edema, the edema disappears. Potato starch for diarrhea acts instantly and reliably. The chemistry of the action, of course, is not known, but the effectiveness is unambiguous.
Passionflower, or passion flower.
There is such a medicinal plant - passionflower, which is popularly called passion flower. And all because he is able to return passion to a person - the ability to feel, rejoice, love. In a state of depression, all feelings are dulled in a person, it is as if he is in the shell of inaction and insensibility. And this amazing herb frees from such a shell, returning the colors of emotional experiences, the ability to rejoice and feel happiness.
Passion flower takes only third place in the rating of sedatives, since it does not have a very pronounced effect, but it perfectly helps to cope with the feeling of growing anxiety. Anxiety is usually treated with antidepressant medications, but passionflower is just as good, if not better.
Though chemical composition medicinal raw materials have not yet been fully studied, healing properties Plants have been noticed and appreciated since antiquity. The Incas, for example, brewed a soothing tea from it. Ready-made Passion Flower preparations are very popular in Latin America, the USA and Western Europe. The antidepressant properties of this plant are primarily used. Passion flower preparations are included in many pharmacopoeias of the world as a natural tranquilizer.
The plant is used in the form of infusions, decoctions, tea, alcohol extracts, biologically active food additives and even in the form of soothing chewing gums. Passionflower is included in the composition of tinctures and preparations for the nervous system: from neuroses and depression. It has a therapeutic effect on nervous disorders, and above all on agitation and exhaustion. It is also an effective anticonvulsant.
Unfortunately, in pharmacies it is not very easy to find the plant itself or an extract from it. It is more often found with chemical additives, which, perhaps, increases the strength of the effect, but reduces safety.
It is problematic to buy this plant in pharmacies in its pure form, but if it is possible, then prepare the medicine as follows: pour 200 ml of boiling water over 1 teaspoon of herbal collection. After 10 minutes of infusion, the solution must be filtered - and can be consumed.
Passionflower is contraindicated in angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis of the vessels of the brain and heart. The effectiveness of passionflower tincture depends on its quantity. Doses should be selected individually, depending on the degree of the nervous disorder.
Myrtle.
If you begin to feel a sense of longing and loneliness, if you feel depressed, then try taking a bath with myrtle leaves and flowers. You can also add flowers to tea, and rub the leaves of the world with your hands.
It is useful to inhale the smell of myrtle, it not only perfectly balances the psyche, but also enlightens the consciousness, improves working capacity.
To calm your nerves, try putting dried myrtle in small bags and hang several of these in your bedroom, car, or wherever you work.
Myrtle bath recipe. Mix 3-5 drops of myr-that essential oil with 1 tbsp. spoon sea salt, yogurt or cream and add to the bath with a water temperature of + 36-39 ° С.
And it is also very effective to do massage with myrtle oil - a wonderful way to get rid of depression and neuroses. This procedure is carried out by preparing a mixture consisting of 15 g of base fatty oil (olive, jojoba, peach or avocado) and 4-6 drops of myrtle oil.
Depression is defined as the inability to experience joy in life, depression, and the predominance of negative emotions. Anxious thoughts do not allow a person to live fully, forcing him to suffer and worry every minute. Therefore, you need to know how to get rid of depression. It is necessary to achieve success in life. The negative thoughts that a person keeps in his head, constantly re-experiencing them, lead to severe stress, which weakens the nervous system.
Depression is a depressed mental state of a person that must be dealt with.
Identifying depression is not always easy. Relatives and relatives think that a person's mood is simply spoiling. But depression differs from a bad mood by the duration of the course (the mood cannot be bad for more than three days). A bad mood can be easily corrected by simply chatting with friends, having a delicious dinner, or watching a comedy. If such events did not affect your mood in any way, then you should think about the incipient depression.
Depression can last for a very, very long time.
There is a certain classification of depressive conditions, according to the results of which treatment is prescribed. It is presented in the table.
| Types of depression. | Description. |
| Classic. | This is the most common type of depression. She is accompanied by sadness, depression, complete apathy, loss of interest in communication and life. A person cannot normally concentrate on his thoughts. |
| Neurotic. | Develops after prolonged stress. It is characterized by tearfulness, sleep disturbances, headaches, and frequent low blood pressure. A person constantly complains that others and the whole world do not understand him, people treat him unfairly. There are bouts of self-pity, irritability. |
| Psychogenic. | This form is characterized by the presence of suicidal thoughts, melancholy, fear, lethargy. The condition develops for a reason drastic changes life for the worse. The provoking factors can be: the death of a loved one, the loss of a job. Depression develops rapidly, it becomes obvious to the person himself and to his environment. |
| Endogenous. | This is a kind of deep depression. It develops due to violations of biochemical processes in the brain. At the same time, the person does not realize that something is wrong with him and does not accept any help. There is complete apathy towards everything around and life. A person completely withdraws into himself, does not make contact, sometimes he just lies and looks at one point. Only a doctor decides how to get rid of deep depression. |
| Postpartum. | It is manifested by anxiety, indifference, tantrums, negative attitude towards the child. It occurs in women whose pregnancy was difficult or the child is undesirable. |
| Circular or seasonal. | It is characterized by a bad mood, sadness, apathy, thoughts about the transience of life. Such depression occurs in autumn and winter, but sometimes it has an individual character. |
Any type of depression should be treated immediately
Getting rid of depressive thoughts: general principles
In order to figure out how to recover from depression, you need to understand the source of its occurrence. To do this, experts advise you to take a blank sheet of paper and write down all your fears, worries, problems that constantly bother you. Carefully re-read the entire list and think if there is any reason to worry about them. Then decide what you can do to get rid of depressing thoughts.
You should not try to drive your fears away from yourself. If they are already on a piece of paper, then these are the first thoughts that a person constantly carries in his head, they are already firmly rooted there and it will be quite difficult to get rid of them.
Before you relieve depression, you need to learn to abstract (distance yourself) from depressing thoughts. If nothing can be done, then when the thought begins to painfully creep into your head, you need to switch to important things (call family or friends, turn on music, watch TV).
IMPORTANT! It is always worth reminding yourself that all anxieties and fears are only temporary, some of them can be forgotten in a month or a year. Therefore, you should not waste your nerves on minor problems. Not a single person is immune from mistakes, falls. Therefore, any problem in life is not worth the spent health.
You need to learn to abstract yourself from bad thoughts.
How to get rid of depression on your own?
Psychologists often give advice on how to get rid of depression and start living. First, you need to acknowledge the fact of the problem. This is the right step. Then use the following tips:
- Socialize.
A person in a depressed state closes in on himself, stops communicating with people and generally leaves the house. This provokes even deeper depression. You need to overpower yourself and start actively communicating, attending public events. This will bring a positive into life, will allow you to think less about your problems.
- Monitor your appearance.
Often with depression, people stop taking care of themselves, keeping an eye on clothes, cleanliness of the body. It is even necessary to dress beautifully for yourself at home, comb your hair, take care of your body and face. You can try to change your image by visiting a beauty salon. This will allow you to get rid of negative thoughts and distract yourself.
- Pamper yourself.
Despite the oppressed state, you need to learn to rejoice in the little things in a new way, to find the unusual in the ordinary. You can just go outside, breathe in the fresh air deeply, look at the bright sun, a cat basking on the roof, listen to birds singing and life will already seem more beautiful. In addition, you can go to a cafe and indulge yourself with a cup of aromatic coffee with warm and delicious pastries.
- Workout.
This will certainly be a difficult, but effective way to quickly get rid of depression, the result of which will not be long in coming. Physical activity increases blood endorphin levels, makes the brain work differently, improves blood flow to organs, which helps to improve general condition person. You can start with simple gymnastics, cycling, playing sports. Team sports games also contribute to the social rapprochement of people.
- Get rid of negative thoughts.
Many psychologists advise putting a rubber band on your hand, and as soon as negative thoughts begin to creep into your head, you should pull the elastic band and let it go. This helps to stop the flow of negative thoughts.
- Be creative.
Modeling, drawing allows you to express yourself. When depressed, the person chooses dark colors for their works. You need to gradually change them to bright ones. This allows you to switch to a more positive perception of reality.
Creative activities can help improve mood and relieve depression
- Chat with optimistic people.
There are people who are able to enjoy life no matter what. If you have such friends in your social circle, then you need to talk to them as often as possible. They simply infect with their love of life, and can help get rid of depression. Gradually, there will be no trace of depressive thoughts.
- Find a hobby.
A hobby helps you to distract yourself, express yourself, and in some cases even helps you find a new job or just brings a one-time profit. A hobby makes you feel like a self-sufficient person. There are many courses on the Internet that allow you to choose a hobby to your liking.
- Create home comfort.
An uncomfortable home environment also causes depression. Quarrels with household members, an uncomfortable atmosphere at home, the inability to be alone with oneself, to fully rest and sleep often provoke anxiety, aggression, and despondency. In this case, the solution to the question of how to escape from depression will be to change the habitat, if, of course, there is such an opportunity. Otherwise, you need to work on yourself, not allowing domestic strife to provoke a deterioration in your psychological state. If it’s only a small living space, then you should more often put things in order there, have pets. Animals are good at relieving stress. One has only to look into the devoted eyes of a dog, or stroke the soft fur of cats, as life no longer seems so bland and depressing.
- Nature walks or noisy parties.
People suffering from depression are prone to mood swings. Therefore, you can get rid of it in different ways. Better to walk along the banks of a river or sea, listen to the lapping of the waves. Or relax in the forest, inhaling the aroma of herbs, mushrooms, enjoying the singing of birds and contemplation of nature. But sometimes a person is simply drawn to plunge into the noisy crowd of club parties. You can also go to the club, chat with people and unwind.
Preventing the Development of Depression
If a person regularly becomes discouraged, then this is a reason to think about how to avoid depression. There are effective techniques for this:
- Meditation is the restoration of inner balance.
Meditation helps many people to find the joy of life, faith in themselves, allows you to learn how to get rid of depression and bad thoughts. It calms the psyche, gives a good mood, relieves stress. According to laboratory studies, during meditation, the activity of alpha waves, at the frequency of which the brain works, increases. The result is relaxation and serenity.
But many people mistrust the practice of meditation, as they believe that this technique will only help to relax for a while, but will not solve their problems, because of which they are deeply unhappy. They are accustomed to blaming their problems on anyone: on the government, utilities, relatives, friends, simply on fate, but they themselves do not want to do anything about it.
They are not entirely correct. The concept of happiness or unhappiness depends entirely on the inner state of a person. With the help of meditation through self-knowledge, you can change your inner criteria for values, look at the world with a sober look.
Meditation helps you learn to appreciate the little things in life, to see joy in them, and not just in an expensive car and having a large bank account. Meditation will return a sense of inner comfort, optimism, self-confidence, calmness, but only after regular practice.
- Development of willpower.
Depression is, as it were, fueled by lack of will, forcing a person to lie on the bed and do nothing to improve their situation. And if you succumb to despondency, give up, then no one and nothing will be able to help. It is necessary to "wake up" your willpower. If you want to cry to someone in a waistcoat, sit in a chair and give yourself a blues, then you should try to do household chores: do a light cleaning, throw out unnecessary things. At first, it will seem incredibly difficult to force yourself to get up and start working. But it will gradually become more interesting, and the apartment, which has been transformed due to cleaning, will add optimism to life. After he managed to overcome himself, a feeling of euphoria arises, anxiety and despondency recede, a person feels control over the situation and his strength.
Antidepressants, as a way to get away from depression, do not contribute to the development of willpower, on the contrary, they relax a person. He just tosses the pill in his mouth and waits for everything to work out by itself. Antidepressants will not teach you to step over yourself, try to fix something. Therefore, after you stop taking them, depression returns again.
Developing Willpower Prevents Depression
- Self-control and emotional control.
It is necessary to learn how to get rid of negative emotions, because anger, irritation and envy give rise to despondency and depression. Stop complaining about your life and blaming yourself and others for your problems. This only sets the person up for self-pity, which provokes despondency. Better to try to concentrate on good sides life and think about people who are even worse now. You can also help such people by donating unnecessary items or transferring funds to charitable organization... The consciousness that you are doing someone better your mood improves, your soul becomes happier.
- Change jobs more often.
According to statistics, more than 90% of the population experiences constant depression due to their work. Conflicts with bosses, gossip of employees, a small salary all this provokes depression. The way out of the situation suggests itself. You need to either change jobs, or organize your own business, in which everything can be organized according to your own rules. You need to start moving forward, look for alternatives, and not sit in an unloved job and endure your bosses and colleagues. American psychologists advise changing jobs every 4-7 years, considering that this is The best way get rid of depression.
Setting a new goal and moving towards it will fill life with new meaning, make you forget about depressive states. The main difficulty that you will have to face while moving towards your goal is overcoming laziness, fear of a new business, doubt in your abilities.
Depression due to work is a fairly common type of illness.
- Learn to forgive both yourself and others.
How to get rid of depression caused by feelings of guilt? Sometimes a person suffers from remorse for decades, losing interest in life, engaging in self-flagellation. In this case, it takes a lot of effort, because the feeling of guilt reaches out to the person, forcing him to painfully remember the past. It is necessary to come to terms with the situation, try to forget it, if it is already impossible to change anything. This will help free your thoughts of negativity. Psychologists believe that pessimists attract setbacks and problems. You need to try not to lock yourself in your thoughts, not to look for only negative everywhere.
Thus, getting rid of depression is a rather difficult task and a lot of work will have to be done. Do not rely entirely on the effects of antidepressants. This will not be sustainable. It is better to combine taking pills with psychotherapy, meditation and other methods described above.
Depression accompanied by a number characteristic symptoms- unwillingness to live, loss of interest in the world around, rapid fatigue and many others. If you find yourself showing signs of a depressed mood, then you need to start fighting this problem as soon as possible.
What is depression
Depression is commonly referred to as a mental illness that is accompanied by a mood disorder.Types of mental disorder
Mental disorders are very diverse and most often young and old people are exposed to completely different types. Let's list some of them. In the elderly:- Paranoia; Insanity; Alzheimer's disease.
- Anorexia; Deep depression; Drancorexia; Bulimia; Neurosis; Hysteria.
Symptoms and signs of depression
1. Depression. Most often, you are in a very bad mood, and this has been going on for more than a week. At the same time, there are often no special reasons for such a state of health. 2. Apathy. You have lost interest in activities that previously could seriously captivate you. You do not strive for new knowledge and are indifferent to almost everything that happens around. 3. Closure. You prefer to communicate with other people as rarely as possible, and if possible, avoid their company altogether. 4. Anxiety. This feeling accompanies you quite often, and, as a rule, you are not able to determine its nature. 5. Thoughts about death. From time to time you think that nothing would change in the world if you passed away. And in general, even close people, in your opinion, would not be very worried about your death. 6. Changes in appetite. You have started to eat differently from how it was not long ago, and this affects your weight. Now you eat very little, or vice versa - "sweep away" everything that you see in the refrigerator. Most often, you do not control this process - you simply forget about food or even do not even notice how you regularly chew something. 7. Sleep disturbance. Here, too, there can be two extremes - you either suffer from insomnia and cannot fall asleep for a long time, or you fall into a deep sleep, which usually lasts the main part of the day. 8. Self-doubt. It seems to you that you look bad, uninteresting, not charming, or simply stupid. 9. Tearfulness. A careless word accidentally dropped can bring you to tears. However, from time to time you cry even without someone's "interference", but out of general powerlessness.The causes of the depressive state
1. Parting with a loved one. You may have experienced significant stress some time ago when you separated from someone with whom you had a serious relationship or marriage. It is possible that directly during the period of separation you were in control, but suppressed emotions still make themselves felt. 2. Non-reciprocal love. Long time you tried to achieve the location and reciprocity of the person with whom you were in love, but in the end you realized that all your attempts do not lead to a positive result. 3. Death of a loved one. You have experienced a serious emotional upheaval after a loved one passed away. 4. Learning problems. You are a student, and you have problems assimilating the material, many gaps, difficulties in communicating with other students or teachers. Studying gives you more negative emotions than positive ones. 5. Problems in the professional sphere. You feel that you are not fulfilling your profession properly. Perhaps you doubt the correctness of the chosen path, or you do not know at all what type of activity is right for you. 6. Financial difficulties. You have debts, you just recently "got out" of them, or you just barely have enough money, and more often than not you are constantly forced to limit yourself, refusing what you want. 7. Health problems. You may have experienced the loss of a child or are facing some kind of serious illness. We can also talk about ailments that have appeared in a loved one. It's hard for you to find mutual language with the other half, parents, children or other close relatives.
The relationship between depression and stress
Stress and depression are directly related to each other, and very often one does not exist without the other. As you know, a stressful condition, which can be caused by many factors, is accompanied by nervous exhaustion... Negative emotions that have had to be experienced over a long period, as a rule, lead to depression. An exception can be very stress-resistant people who are able to ignore many negative factors.To prevent stress from turning into depression If you understand that you are faced with a stressful situation, but do not want it to lead to a depressive state, follow some rules that will help you get out of this situation with the least emotional loss.
- Avoid interacting with people who make you feel negative or who are trying to start up unpleasant topics of conversation. Avoid unnecessary complaints when dealing with others and follow a proper daily routine. Try to fall asleep no later than ten or eleven o'clock in the evening, and wake up before eight in the morning. Don't ignore your meals, and don't forget to rest. It is important for you to receive positive emotions... Even if you are busy with work, set aside time for communication with loved ones and for entertainment that interests you. Find a way to avoid overwork. If you have too much work, then you need to find a way to get rid of some of the responsibilities or change the field of activity - overwork can seriously undermine your health. Even if you cannot find a lot of time to meet with friends, then you must find half an hour a day for a leisurely walk in the fresh air - alone, with a loved one or walking your dog.
How to quickly cure depression
Serious depression cannot be overcome very quickly, but in general, if you start fighting it right now, you will start living a completely different life within a few weeks.
Treating depression yourself at home
- Switch to loved ones. Lately, you have been so immersed in thoughts about your own state that you began to forget that there are people who need your support and attention and who want to see you in the same state. Start spending time with your loved ones - go all together to interesting events, spend your evenings in a cozy circle with tea and homemade cakes, watch and discuss movies and the like together. Treat yourself to gifts. Surely, you often deny yourself any pleasant purchases, justifying it by the fact that the thing you like is “not so necessary” to you, or by the fact that you already “have something to do with money”. You still need to periodically make exceptions, acquiring things that can sincerely please you. Get vivid emotions. Depression often becomes a companion to a monotonous lifestyle. Perhaps this situation has been going on for a long time, and it was he who caused your condition, but it may be different - the monotony and unwillingness to enrich life with new events appeared after some stress. Be that as it may, this needs to be changed. Every week the city hosts many exciting events - horse riding, film screenings, exhibitions, master classes and much more. Let yourself be part of an exciting event Travel. Some people who have suffered from depression admit that just one trip helped them get rid of this problem. Perhaps you once dreamed of visiting a certain city, but then dropped this thought. It is possible that travel was not at all included in the sphere of your interests before. However, you can discover many wonderful places and experience tremendous emotions by choosing a tour of your liking.
How to get rid of severe and prolonged depression
If depression lasts more than a year, and you cannot force yourself to follow any recommendations, then you need to make an appointment with a psychotherapist. Often, people in such a condition cannot physically take advantage of this advice, because they need to look for a specialist, call the clinic, make an appointment, and the like. Share your problem with a loved one, and ask for help - let him find you a psychotherapist, make an appointment and accompany you to him.How to overcome a disease once and for all
By following the above tips, you can get rid of depression permanently. However, since such a nuisance has already happened to you, then you need to realize that you are in a kind of "risk zone", and another serious stress can once again plunge you into a depressive state. To prevent this from happening, apply these recommendations not only when getting out of depression, but also later - in your daily life.Is it possible to die from depression
Depression alone is not fatal. That is, apathy, reduced ability to work, tearfulness and other symptoms cannot lead to the death of a person, but there is another problem. A person who is depressed thinks very pessimistically. He considers himself unnecessary, superfluous and irrelevant everywhere. The longer and deeper the depression, the more often the patient may think that it would be good to end all suffering in one fell swoop and begins to see his salvation in suicide. This happens only with a very severe form of depression, and in order to get out of it, you need serious help from loved ones or specialists.What works best for depression
How to be treated with antidepressants
If you decide to improve your condition by using antidepressants, keep in mind that this will not completely cure your depression. You can suppress the symptoms of the disease for a while, but not get rid of it. Dosage drugs can only be established by a specialist, in no case do it yourself, otherwise this approach can only harm you. If you want to get rid of depression, do not rely only on medicine, because you have been overcome by "mental illness". Communicate with loved ones more often, confidentially telling them about your problem.Therapy and psychotherapy
Many people underestimate the help of psychotherapy, but this industry is actively developing. Specialists use the following types of psychotherapy: cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic and interpersonal. The first will help to correct your thinking from negative to positive, the second helps to resolve internal conflicts, and the last one makes it clear what became the main source of the problem for you. For some, family or group therapy can help - you may find it easier to solve a problem based on positive examples from others or solving family problems from the inside.Preventing future depression
To prevent depression from returning, try to limit yourself from the factors that cause it. Many people who do charity work or just an interesting hobby are less prone to depression than others. Find an activity that you enjoy and truly captivate, and in the end it can always distract you from sad thoughts.
Depression from Latin translates as depressed human condition. This is a special mental disorder and therefore it is very important to know how to get out of depression on your own or with the help of specialists. After all, it is characterized by a decline in vitality and mood, pessimistic an assessment of the world around you, including yourself, inhibited the state of motor and intellectual development, somatoneurological disorders of the nervous system.
Depression is characterized by symptoms such as as an underestimated self-esteem of one's personality, various cognitive properties associated with their own destruction and detachment from the external environment.
The person who is in depressed state differs from other people in the prevalence and variety of underestimations of his personality.
So, from this article you will learn:
- What is depression, melancholy;
- Types and signs of depression (postpartum depression, etc.);
- Depression symptoms in women and men;
- How to get out of depression - 10 tips on what to do and how to get rid of it yourself;
- etc.
What is depression, how to get rid of it and how to get out of this state, read further in the article. Types, symptoms and signs
Depression- this is quite common mental illness today. Doctors often equate it with a cold, since, according to statistics, in percentage terms, these diseases are much more common than others.
You can often hear the phrase “ I am depressed"From an absolutely healthy person. This is mainly used by people who feel failed in any life endeavors.
But despite their failures, a person continues to live in a familiar environment, without making any changes in his life.
From another point of view, the person who actually suffers depressive disorders constantly experiences depressed state and feeling of helplessness and alienation who do not leave him for a second, does not notice his painful condition, or rather, he simply does not want admit oneself sick .
This fact significantly violates the ability of people to adequately relate to the world around them, prevents them in communicating with colleagues at work and with your family, since there is no, or the ability to logically and adequately assess this or that vital important situation.
Today, depression is one of the major public concerns... This is primarily due to the increase in this disease among people.
The urgency of this problem in Russia, according to psychologists, is associated with the economic crisis in the country. People do not have confidence in the future, do not understand in the current conditions, are worried about their future and the future of their children, in this regard the amount of stress among the population increases.
Depression is hard enough to detect, which influences a more in-depth study of this disease and the causes of its occurrence.
Results only scientific research will help create the most relevant approach and diagnosis of depression and the implementation of related care for people who are concerned about stressful situations and other psychological disorders.
2. What is melancholy 😟?
Melancholy is a disorder of the human psyche, which is accompanied by a number of characteristic symptoms.
These include: inability to relive joyful events, a certain degree of diminished thinking, lack of good mood, lowering an active life position.
People in a state of melancholy prone to negative reasoning about life and others, they have a pronounced pessimistic mood in relation to real events.
People with this condition lose any interest in their employment, they have lack of appetite, own self-esteem is underestimated. (We already wrote about how to raise our self-esteem in the article -? ")
Today, melancholy occurs in almost half of the population. According to statistics, after the age of thirty, approximately 70% women suffer from this ailment.
The likelihood of developing mental disorders and adolescent children is also quite high.
Today, medicine is excellent at helping with the treatment of this condition. How to recover from it is described in detail below.
An important point!
Before starting treatment, it is important to correctly clarify the diagnosis. That the disease is precisely depression, and not an ordinary blues, which happens in the spring or a typical mood swings and temporary life difficulties.
Serious intervention of specialists and correctly selected medicines require biochemical, and psychosomatic the consequences of the disease.
The opinion that depression is 21st century disease, is erroneous from the point of view of experienced doctors. Since this disease was known and widespread enough in the distant past. Medieval healers defined depression as the last and worst stage of melancholy.
In ancient times, this disease was treated with opium tincture, mineral healing waters, cleansing enemas, and full-fledged and long sleep.
The causes of depression are usually complex disorders of the nervous system, the factors of which are internal or external influences on the human psyche.
3. The main causes of depression 📝
- Alzheimer's disease.
- Increased stress on the brain due to prolonged stress.
- The use of drugs.
- Psychological trauma, such as the death of a relative, loss of a job.
- Climatic or seasonal factors such as spring or winter.
- Excessive physical or mental stress.
- Iatrogenic type of depression. Excessive use of drugs.
- Various head injuries.
- Separation from a loved one.
- Changing of the living place.
- (the habit of putting off important things for later).
It is not uncommon for a person to become depressed for no reason. According to experts in such situations, an important factor is impairment of normal neurochemical functions in the human brain.
4. Signs of depression in women and men 📚 - symptoms of "disease"
The states of depression of a person manifest themselves in a rather diverse way, while, in most cases, they affect the body as a whole. Carry out for specialists accurate diagnosis diseases help exactly complex symptoms, and this in turn contributes to the appointment correct and effective treatment.
The doctor can prescribe certain medications, as well as concomitant therapy, only conducting a general diagnosis of the patient's mental disorder.
As a rule, the physiological signs of a state of depression differ in the individual characteristics of the organism.
For example, most people loss of appetite, and for some, on the contrary, it is significantly increases during the period of illness... The same feature applies to problems with high-grade sleep person. One patient may suffer from insomnia, and the other- constantly wants to sleep and suffers from a feeling of fatigue around the clock.
Symptoms of depression are divided into several groups based on concomitant symptoms.
Symptom number 1. Emotional manifestations of depression in humans
- The interest in life and the world around us decreases or disappears.
- Increased irritability, even for no particular reason.
- Depressed mood, feelings of melancholy and despair.
- Feelings of helplessness and guilt in any situation.
- Low self-esteem.
- Anxiety and panic state.
- Anxiety, for example, for their loved ones.
- Inability to be content with previously favorite hobbies.
- Expectation of a disaster and other unforeseen events.
- Loss of emotional sensitivity.
Symptom number 2. Physiological manifestations of depression in humans
- Painful sensations of a psychosomatic nature. For example, arms, legs, stomach, heart, head, etc. hurt.
- Disturbed or absent sleep.
- Low efficiency.
- Disorders of the human digestive system.
- Increased fatigue, even with minor physical exertion.
- Increased appetite, or complete lack of it.
- Decreased sex drive, up to the onset of impotence (in men).
- Weakness with any physical activity.
Symptom number 3. Significant changes in human behavior
- Alcohol abuse.
- Tendency to loneliness and not a desire to communicate with people around.
- Lack of desire for entertainment and hobbies.
- The use of psychotropic and narcotic substances to improve mood.
- Passive life position.
- Replacing important, necessary and urgent matters with a waste of time.
- Preference for a sedentary or recumbent lifestyle.
Symptom number 4. Cognitive disorders of the human nervous system.
Difficulty making any independent decisions.
- Loss of clarity of thought and inability to focus on something in particular.
- Loss of the ability to concentrate your thoughts.
- Lack of attention.
- Recurrent thoughts of committing suicide.
As in the example with any disease, be it a cold or a cough, if you do not start timely treatment of depression with the right drugs, the patient's condition will worsen daily.
At the same time, the number of symptoms of the disease and their severity increase, which can even lead to suicide ystvm patients, especially if considering depression in adolescence.
It is not uncommon that the thinking of a sick person is so critical that they can easily be mistaken for a person's dementia, instead of a serious mental disorder associated with a neglected state of depression.
Often the disease is accompanied by an increased attraction of one's own attention to life's problems. A patient, usually, completely sure that he has mental or somatic disease.
For the doctor to be able to correctly diagnose and prescribe the appropriate treatment, a stable ( not less than 14 days) the presence of any of the above signs of depression in a person.
5. The main types of depression 📑
1. Endogenous depression
Endogenous depression is a severe disease. She brings a lot of suffering like the sickest person, and his family and all the people around him.
To detect an endogenous type of depression in a person, there are certain symptoms.
These primarily include: inability to fall asleep in the evening, and early awakenings at dawn, lack of interest in the outside world and society.
There are also external signs of this type of disease.... These include: elevated condition anxiety, systematic presence of causeless sadness and longing, depressed state of a person.
Minor signs of endogenous depression in a patient are: slow motion, constant stoop, quiet and hesitant speech.
The external features of such people are lifeless dull hair, as well as an earthy and gloomy complexion.
Characteristic signs the presence of an endogenous type of depression in a person is slow thinking and reasoning, absence focus and attention, memory problems, absolutely no no desires and interests.
Advanced forms of this serious mental illness lead to a deterioration in the general condition of the patient, there is apathy towards the world around and society as a whole. Patients characterize their well-being, in the form of heaviness in the soul, a depressed state, similar to the length of a serious illness and other similar symptoms.
People with this disease usually , with indifference apply to all surrounding citizens including closest relatives... They lock themselves in their inner world and reflect only on their difficult life destiny.
Such patients try to distance themselves from the social position in society in all possible ways.
2. Manic depression
There is a group of people who, during the course of the disease, appear megalomania, inappropriate behavior in a given situation, wanton mood swings, for example, sudden onset of joyful emotions, or, conversely, sadness... This type of human mental disorder is called manic depression , in other words, bipolar mental disorder .
This disease makes people irritable, overly active and rather self-confident.
Manic depression can take many forms.
The initial stage of this human mental disorder is a mild form of the disease, called - cyclothymia . Citizens suffering from this type of depression experience constant change mood. They can devil any reason to cry or laugh. The initial stage of mania (mild form) appears.
The most dangerous is bipolar , in other words, major depression. At the stages of exacerbation of this serious mental illness, a person develops obsessive thoughts about committing suicide, and during the manic phase of depression, all bad thoughts instantly disappear, clarity of reason and sobriety of mind appear. In addition, these patients are unable to anticipate dangerous consequences own deeds.
Not uncommon dysthymia diseases ... It is a depressive nerve, the most easy stage depressive disorder of a person. Otherwise they call her minor depression or minor depressive disorder of the human nervous system. This includes postpartum depression , which is described in detail below.
In its various manifestations, depression is a condition of a person in which he disfigures himself in society. Not a single person is immune from diseases of a depressive disorder of the nervous system.
The state of depression can hit absolutely any person century a, old and young, idle people and divorced or never had a family the poor and millionaires... By the way, we also wrote in the last article.
In the life of every citizen, such events may arise that will certainly lead him to overvoltage and stressful situations, which are the initial stage of a depressive disorder of the human nervous system, especially if unpleasant events simultaneously overtake the psyche or their systematic sequence follows.
When applying for psychological help women, in most cases, it is found and diagnosed major depressive disorder nervous system, compared to cases of seeking help from male patients.
Experts in this regard have the opinion that women more often recognize their condition as a serious illness and rush to visit a doctor, and men try to heal on their own, so they rarely go to the hospital.
But, as a rule, such depressive experiences as loneliness, helplessness, sadness and other mental disorders, more common in female patients ... In such states of depression in men, instead of the qualified help of a specialist, they prefer to drown out their sorrows and hardships with the help of alcoholic beverages or other substances that can temporarily improve mood and give imaginary self-confidence.
3. Masked depression
The stage of such depression, which proceeds unnoticed by the people around, is called disguised, or latent depression... Experts regard it not as an independent disorder of the human nervous system, but as a result alcoholism or adopting other psychotropic substances raising the mood. In such a situation, men practically don't ask for help .
A person's depressive disorder can manifest itself in a wide variety of forms. In certain situations, the states of depression in people differ in their severity. In some, such a state is clearly visible to others, while another category of people hides their psychological state from outsiders.
Easy, depression appears in a situation if, against the background of certain symptoms in a person of a decline in strength and mood, he finds the strength to do his daily work and his usual activities.
Moderate Depression is when a combination of the symptoms of a mental disorder prevent you from doing your daily work properly.
Severe depression, this is when a person has all the signs of a disorder of the nervous system and they are noticeable to others, as well as all these symptoms, completely prevent a person from doing everyday activities and work.
4. Clinical depression
Clinical depression in other words is called big or mono polar depression... This form of disorder of the human nervous system is the most common today.
Entitled " Clinical”Means the presence of a single extreme position in the range of emotions. It is characterized with only one kind of patient mood, for example, sad or depressed.
In most cases, this mood does not go away during the day, and also causes insomnia, decreased appetite, mental anguish and pain, lack of joyful emotions, inability to focus on anything.
In a similar state, patients usually, consider themselves useless to anyone, and consider their position in society or at work as absolutely meaningless and useless. Such people have a very low self-esteem.
The opinions of specialists, in the opinion of the occurrence of a state of depression in people, are divided..
Some doctors believe that the disease is directly related to abnormal processes in the human brain. In most patients, the tendency to such a disease is hereditary.
Other reasons include the following factors: stressful situations, postpartum period in women, death of relatives, feelings of guilt and helplessness, various stressful situations.
Doctors distinguish between 4 main groups of depression symptoms:
- Mood disorders... People have unreasonable obsessive thoughts about their guilt in something, there is a feeling of loneliness and despair, they are constantly in a state of melancholy.
- Volatile behavior... A person completely withdraws from communication with others, it is difficult for him to concentrate his thoughts, a vague thought.
- Physical manifestations... Change in body weight, disturbance or complete lack of sleep, systematic pain in the head area.
- Complex mental disorders... The simultaneous presence of several of the above symptoms of depression.
The patient himself is not able to adequately assess his own well-being, since the symptoms of a person's mental disorder can manifest themselves in different ways, and can be expressed to a greater or lesser extent.
A depressive state completely affects the mental attitude of citizens, clear thinking deteriorates to a large extent.
6. The main signs of depression 📋
Experts identify two main signs of depression.
These include: lack of interest in the joyful events of the surrounding world, a persistent feeling of melancholy and depression, and extreme stage diseases, this is complete indifference to all the people around and everything that happens in the world and the public. Constant feelings of sadness and depression, feeling of hopelessness and lack of understanding of the meaning of one's own life lead not just to sadness and tears, but to sharp mental painful diseases.
When depressed, most people withdraw into themselves and do not want to communicate with others... In the process of such a psychological illness of a person, attraction to the opposite sex disappears, difficulties appear in achieving an orgasm and an erection.
During depression changes the physical state person. He differs from others in a slow gait, quiet speech, stoop, in medicine this condition is called psychomotor retardation the patient.
But there are also situations when people have an absolutely similar physical condition. They are characterized by accelerated and restless movements, speech is loud and fast. This state is called - psychomotor agitation .
State of depression much affects people's feelings and their thinking... Usually, all thoughts of patients are directed towards negative moments of life... Pronounced, difficulty concentrating on a specific issue, difficult thinking, a person has problems with memory, absent-mindedness, confusion of thoughts.
In such a state, the feelings and thoughts of a person do not reflect reality. The patient experiences an anxiety state, has low self-esteem, is surrounded by his own fear, guilt and feels useless to anyone.
Psychological feeling dissatisfaction with yourself and own life often aggravated by all sorts of manifestations: the patient periodically has not only thoughts about suicide , but also his attempts, or developed plans to commit suicide.
Major depression comes in several forms.
Psychopathic depression, in the process of which hallucinations and delusions appear in the patient, the number of suicides increases significantly and treatment is required under the supervision of specialists.
Atypical depression when a mixed picture of the above symptoms is expressed.
Postpartum depression, observed in women after childbirth.
Dysthymia
Minor depression is called dysthymia. This is a lingering mental disorder of a person, which is accompanied by a lack of joyful events in life and emotions.
Dysthymia may last for several years... The accompanying gloomy mood of people in the process of such a disease often leads to the loss of work and family.
Previously, the treatment of dysthymia was carried out with the help of psychotherapy, but mainly psychoanalysis. There are other ways to get rid of this ailment. These include: interpersonal, cognitive, behavioral therapy... Most experts say that the best is mixed treatment with the simultaneous use of drugs and psychotherapy.
Spring depression - seasonal affective disorder
A special form of depression that occurs only at certain times of the year, such as in the fall or in the spring.
Many citizens who suffer from this mental disorder may feel great throughout the year, but they experience lethargy and depressed mood at one time or another.
According to statistics, such a disorder occurs more often in the fall and ends by the beginning of spring. But there are other categories of citizens who suffer from depression at other times of the year. As a rule, spring depression occurs in women, less often in men.
The symptoms of this disease are: fatigue, drowsiness, impaired appetite, decreased performance, inability to focus your thoughts on a specific issue, increased irritability, sense of anxiety, unwillingness to communicate with people around.
Seasonal mental disorder goes away, without any special therapy, with the onset of another season. People have a surge of strength and vitality.
Specialists today cannot answer definitely what exactly is the cause of such depression. Basically, they indicate a decrease in the level of the hormone of joy in people at a certain period of the year. Typically, this mental disorder is hereditary.
Bipolar depression (mania)
During bipolar depression, people have changeable mood ... It can suddenly go from joyful emotions to sad well-being, or vice versa. On average, this category of patients has an absolutely normal mood, despite the systematic changes in it during the depression phase.
During exacerbations, a person exhibits symptoms similar to those of major depression: excessive vigor, emotional excitement and increased self-confidence. Usually, such changes in people's moods are absolutely unrelated to current life problems.
The course of this disease disrupts the usual human activities, and causes difficulties in performing daily work.
Develop and develop bouts of bipolar depression can be completely unforeseen. People can experience all kinds of anxiety during the onset phase of a mental disorder. It is difficult for them to concentrate on anything, there is a feeling of guilt and alienation from the world around them.
There is also an opposite phase of mental disorder, as a result of which a person differs excellent well-being, elevated thinking abilities, is experiencing a surge of energy and is in an inexplicably high spirits.
In the process of increasing mania, the patient's excitement increases, and his actions can become completely unforeseen. Feelings of immeasurable joy can instantly change to resentment and anxiety.
For people with such depression, various failures and falls in life are unacceptable. They have excessive bouts of anger and exaggerated demands on the people around them.
The lack of a critical attitude to one's own state is a hallmark of mania.
In what situations is an overly joyful mood considered a sign of mania?
- The need for rest and sleep disappears.
- Instant change of thoughts.
- Feeling of greatness and high self-esteem.
- Obsession in communicating with others and increased talkativeness in general.
- The tendency to be distracted by extraneous elements that are irrelevant.
- Hobbies for something that will lead to further complications.
- Increased activity and acceleration of movements in all spheres of life.
Only in a situation where the above symptoms are expressed quite clearly, and also interfere with the normal existence of a person and his presence in public places, experts confidently put mania diagnosis and appropriate treatment is prescribed.
In severe cases, the unexplained self-confidence of a patient diagnosed with mania can gradually turn into delusions of grandeur. With such a psychological disorder, a person decides for himself that he has the ability to communicate with supernatural invisible objects and recognize their voices. Such behavior of patients is very dangerous for the people around them.
With mania, the speed of thinking of the brain increases significantly, physical activity patient, libido increases.
Other forms of bipolar disorder are rare. These include: accelerated circular disorder and morose mania.
Symptoms of the course of such diseases are similar to the above reasons for the psychological disorder of people.
7. What causes depression in women 🙍♀️?
There are several types of depression that women can develop.
These include:
- Agitated depression... The disease is associated with self-concern, loss of social status and self-criticism.
- Pathological form of depression... It is usually the cause of death of relatives and close friends.
- Alcoholic or narcotic... Occurs with excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages or psychotropic substances.
- Iatrogenic depression... It develops from the uncontrolled use of drugs, usually with a sedative or hypnotic effect, without a doctor's prescription.
- Somatic. It is caused by diseases such as a brain tumor, hydrocephalus, sclerosis, epilepsy, thyroid disease and others.
- Postpartum depression and depression in pregnant women.
All types of these mental disorders are accompanied by hormonal changes and other physiological processes in the body of women.
Postpartum depression
Mental disorders in women are significantly affected by surplus active substances in the body, which are responsible for the normal production of useful hormones that help maintain a person's mood in the norm.
Usually, depression in pregnant women or those who have given birth to a baby in the last six months, occurs and ends on their own, without any reason or medication.
But in the event that the signs of a mental disorder are sufficiently pronounced, immediate medical intervention and appointment are required. concomitant treatment... Statistically depressed after childbirth affects about 40% of women different age categories.
Postpartum depression Is a disorder of the nervous system that develops in women from 0 before 6 months after childbirth.
Recurrent disorder of the nervous system that occurs in about 15% women of childbearing age, is called pre-menstrual syndrome.
In the process of such a disease, women experience nervousness, sleep and appetite disturbances, a broken and depressed mood. This period lasts no more than two weeks and ends with the onset of menstruation.
Depression. Symptoms in women. How to get out - advice from doctors and psychologists
8. Signs of depression in women 🙅♀️
Very often the onset of a state of depression directly associated with hormonal disorders in the body ... They affect the fertility of women of the appropriate age. In a woman's body, this period is divided into several stages.
These include: menstrual cycle , pregnancy and childbirth , climax... Peculiar changes hormonal background in the body occur in each of the listed periods. These features of the female body disrupt certain functions of the nervous system and, therefore, affect mental health generally.
Patients with such disorders of the nervous system experience mood swings depending on one or another phase menstrual cycle for 1-2 weeks.
Often, it leads to depression onset of pregnancy, regardless of whether it is long-awaited or not.
But, oddly enough, abortion, only in exceptional cases, can cause depression. The greatest likelihood of depressive disorders in women is the time of birth of the baby, this is not affected by which child was born.
Postpartum depression can be worn easy form a nervous disorder, or a severe form of depression, which may occur several weeks or months before childbirth.
Experts say that suddenly such depression cannot come, and this is due to the fact that female and previously had mental problems, but did not seek help from doctors.
A sharp drop in hormone levels also affects the psyche of women in labor. This condition is explained by the stressful situation associated with childbirth, as well as the occurrence new difficulties and responsibilities in your life, which are added with the birth of the baby.
Including, postpartum depression is directly related to unsuccessful childbirth, problems in the family, material unhappiness and other factors.
Not so dangerous for the occurrence of depression is menopause in a woman... Experts say that mental disorders during menopause are no different from depression, which can occur in any other life period.
The most susceptible to mental disorders are those categories of women who have previously experienced disorders of the nervous system.
Today, the facts of depression in young girls are quite common. (ages 14 to 29)... The risk of all sorts of mental illness in the younger generation prone to depression 4 times higher.
Girls at a young age during a period of nervous overstrain develop digestive disorders they are prone to overeating, or, conversely, completely refuse to eat... Such mental disorders often lead to all kinds of other diseases, and also significantly affect the physical development and health of the body.
If you refuse to eat, you can develop a serious illness called anorexia, which leads to a decrease in the resistance of a young organism and contributes to the occurrence of no less dangerous diseases, such as tuberculosis or pneumonia as well as others infectious diseases.
How can you help a girl cope with depression?
The general condition of the patient needs to be given sufficient attention. Since the problems associated with digestive system require prolonged treatment by a psychiatrist.
First of all, symptomatic therapy is carried out, which contributes to the overall strengthening of the body. Nutritionists select special food for the patient, and doctors monitor her overall well-being.
Treatment is most successful when started in a timely manner.
Stressful situations in women
The influence of various stressful situations on a woman's body causes a high percentage of depression diseases.
Stressful situations include:
- small child care,
- troubles and disappointments in personal life,
- lack of a life partner,
- loneliness.
Great amount divorced women suffer from depression.
Many women break up with their loved ones, which can lead to reactive depression, which is severe and requires long-term treatment.
Distinctive women are most likely to experience mental health problems because of their imbalance or overconfidence.
Reactive depression symptoms
- Self-criticism is heightened without any reason.
- Lack of interest in everyday life and the surrounding society.
- Poor memory and difficulty making independent decisions.
- Sleep disturbance and increased irritability.
- The presence of periodic obsessive thoughts about suicide.
- Constant feeling of tiredness.
- Headaches and general physical exhaustion.
- Increased heart rate, heart pain, and pressure problems.
Depression in citizens male is less common than in women. As is commonly believed, " men do not cry”, And it is this expression that they try to match in everyday life.
But such a statement does not save men from the occurrence of various mental illnesses, including all kinds of depression.
The main symptoms of depression in men are: inability to control their emotions, weakness, inability to independently overcome all kinds of life obstacles, problems in personal life.
According to experts, it is quite difficult for men to express their own emotions and feelings due to the usual shyness.
Usually Men do not discuss personal issues or difficulties in the workplace. They believe that they can independently overcome possible obstacles that, in one way or another, are present in their daily life.
Among men, few would consider seeing a psychiatrist for medication for mental health problems. Men also practically do not turn to psychologists for the required consultation.
Male depression - signs and symptoms
9. Signs of depression in men 🤦♂️
Among the main signs of detecting depression in men are the following:
- Systematic use of alcoholic beverages or various narcotic drugs.
- Addicted to gambling.
- Aggressive and unstable behavior.
The listed signs are only able to drown out a serious disease for some time, which requires immediate treatment.
Get out of depression with alcohol for example, no man can. In addition, the above signs of depression contribute to the deterioration of the psychological state and the difficult situation in society and the family. Depression and related symptoms should not be feared.
In the best way for a man, there will be a timely appeal to a specialist for help. Only a psychotherapist can help improve the quality of life and get on the path of recovery.
The same stressful situation in different men can cause the development of a complex form of depression, or get along with a minor mental disorder.
The following life troubles can become the reasons for stress:
- Dismissal from a permanent place of work.
- Unsuccessful relationships with women.
- Difficulties in personal life and family.
- All kinds of psychological tragedies.
- Assignment to perform a responsible and complex task.
- Material difficulties.
- Lack of purpose in life.
- Changing of the living place.
- Retirement age.
In addition, many cases of psychological disorder in men can be cited without any significant problems. apparent reasons the occurrence of depression.
It is important to note that in a situation where a person has previously had difficulties with emotional and mental state , then, in consequence, a minor stressful situation will be enough for the onset of a serious mental disorder and prolonged depression.
The factor of heredity is also important in the possibility of depression with little stress.
Experts say that the propensity for such a state is passed on from generation to generation, and in such a family it is very difficult, and almost impossible to avoid problems with mental disorders.
Children from such families require a special individual approach. Recommended limit them in possible ways from stressful situations, and if the slightest suspicion arises possible deviations v mental development, you need to immediately seek psychological and medication to specialists, in order to avoid serious complications and disastrous consequences.
10. Depression in men and women: what is the difference 📖?
From the above, it follows that men suffer from depression practically 2 times less often, compared to women. This feature, first of all, is explained by the high dependence of the body of women on hormonal levels.
Lability of the nervous system of women is another reason for such statistics. As well as the fair sex, emotional reactions are more pronounced. Often it is enough for a woman to say a rash word to develop a severe form of depression in her.
The duration of depression in men is significantly shorter in time, compared with the course of female psychological disorder. Depression in women usually lasts for several months and can last for years. Only with the right treatment can they get rid of this serious disease.
Despite the fact that depression in men is not as long-lasting, the illness can develop intensively and be more severe.
According to statistics, suicide attempts men commit more often than women. Since, the weak half of the population needs serious enough reasons for attempting suicide, rather than the loss of one or another interest in life.
Women, even during depression, can go to work and do their daily household chores, while men are practically unable to do this during a period of mental illness.
How to get rid of depression on your own - advice from psychologists. Depression treatment
11. How to get out of depression on your own - 10 psychologist's tips to get rid of depression 💊
The proven advice of psychologists will help and prompt how to get out of depression on your own when you don't have the strength to do anything.
Council number 1. Take responsibility.
Council number 2. Watch interesting and inspiring TV shows and movies.
Council number 3. Avoid solitude and loneliness. Communicate with the people around you more often. Attend interesting events. Find yourself a fun activity or hobby.
Council number 4. Allow yourself to accept help from other people.
Council number 5. Go to the spirit world.
Council number 6. Eliminate alcohol and other drugs completely. They negatively affect the state of the psyche of people and worsen it with each use.
Council number 7. Regulate your sleep. Only a long and healthy rest can restore the human nervous system.
Council number 8. Get exercise.
Council number 9. Do something selflessly for the people around you - show love for them and they will reciprocate.
Council number 10. Use affirmations.
12. How to deal with depression 💉?
In modern medicine, any, even the most complex forms of human mental disorders can be cured... It should be noted that treatment will be most effective if it is started at the first signs of the disease.
Today, it is difficult to avoid constant stress at work or in personal life, but the right medication will help you cope with life's hardships.
Only highly qualified specialists can help to avoid depression, this psychologists and psychiatrists.
One of the most common treatments for depression is psychotherapy... The doctor will help you learn how to properly communicate with people around you, change the negative style of thinking and behavior to a positive attitude towards life.
The specialist will help to normalize a person's emotional comfort and advise on how to avoid the recurrence of the mental disorder. In cases of a severe form of the disease, it is used electroshock therapy for patients. It is prescribed in situations where the patient, for whatever reason, does not take, or cannot take the necessary medications, or in cases where the patient's condition poses a threat to his life or the life and health of people around him.
The main drug treatment is application antidepressants ... Choose, advise and appoint who can only professional doctor.
Self-medicate Not recommended, and even, is strictly prohibited. Only a specialist can choose the right drug therapy, which is safe for the patient's health and the most effective in a particular case of a person's mental disorder.
During postpartum depression, the woman usually feeds breast milk your baby. In this situation selection of medicinal products must be especially careful so that the mother does not harm her little child during the treatment.
An improvement in the condition of patients is manifested in the first weeks of taking the drugs prescribed by the doctor.
But, it must be borne in mind that in order to achieve a good result of treatment, and its stability, as well as to avoid repeated mental disorders, to use drugs it takes at least six months, and in some cases, even several years.
13. How to get rid of depression on your own 📌?
In addition to drug treatment for depression, it is widely used today and is quite effective. aroma therapy... This is a great way to get rid of some types of mental health problems without medication.
This type of treatment for the disease will be ideal for women suffering postpartum depression , since not all medications can be used by them.
Aroma oils through the pores they penetrate into the human body and promote general improvement in well-being... With the help of such funds, you can improve your mood, since the aroma of oils has a positive effect on the human brain.
There are several ways to use aroma oil.... You can simply breathe them in the room, add a few drops while taking a bath, use essential oil during a massage.
There is a huge variety for getting rid of mental disorders aromatic oils. The most effective are: melissa oil, rosemary, lavender, orange and many others.
14. Treatment of depression: 2 main ways 💡
Depression is a serious medical condition and patients need complex treatment.
If stressful situations gradually go away on their own, then the diseases caused by them will never go away without a trace, if you do not start an effective, correctly selected complex treatment in time.
Today distinguish two main treatments for depression, this is self-treatment, or with the help of doctors.
Only the initial forms of the disease, which have minor symptoms and last for a short period of time, can be cured on their own.
Treatment by a specialist is the most preferred and effective option. Since getting out of depression on your own, when you have no strength to do anything, is almost impossible (or very difficult).
Doctors, usually, are not supporters of self-treatment of diseases, especially when it comes to complex mental disorders in humans.
Let's consider in more detail the most modern, safe and effective methods of treating all kinds of mental disorders.
It should be noted that, first of all, successful therapy depends on an established emotional contact between the patient and the psychotherapist. Only with a trusting and benevolent relationship will the result from the applied therapy not be long in coming, and it will also be stable and more pronounced.
The main directions of treatment:
- Hypnotherapy.
- Social therapy.
- Classical psychotherapy.
- Treatment with medicines.
- Electroconvulsive therapy.
Today experts are trying to use aggressive treatments for depression, namely, electroconvulsive or drug therapy , exclusively in serious health problems, when the mental disorder is complex and lasts long enough.
The main drugs for the treatment of psychological disorders are sedatives and various antidepressants. For each patient, doctors select drug treatment on an individual basis.
To achieve the best treatment result and its long-term effect, the desire of the patient himself to get rid of depression forever is of great importance.
In the process of rehabilitation, patients are obliged to strictly follow all the recommendations of doctors, as well as monitor their own behavior and try to establish friendly and trusting relationships with the people around them.
What can you do to prevent depression?
In order to prevent all kinds of psychological disorders in oneself, it is recommended to monitor the occurrence of initial signs of depression, and also try to get rid of them in a timely and effective manner.
If you think you have become irritable and hot-tempered, you notice mood changes, you lose emotional attraction to everyday activities, you have problems with sleep, then you urgently need to think about good rest, or a job change and other changes in your life.
Healthy and prolonged sleep is one of the most important conditions for getting rid of stress and improving your psychological and emotional well-being.
Correctly compiled daily routine also plays an important role in getting rid of the initial signs of depression.
15. Conclusion
In conclusion, the following should be noted:
Depressed is an heavy human mental illness... Its treatment must be taken with great responsibility. You cannot drown out all kinds of symptoms of the disease with the help of alcoholic beverages and various drugs.
If you find any signs of a psychological disorder in yourself, you need to urgently take action. The best solution in this situation is seeking qualified help from specialists.
This serious illness should not be confused with common mood swings or seasonal blues (such as spring depression). Depression differs in physiological characteristics that occur in the human body. It never passes without a trace, but only gets worse every day, and gradually from light form passes into a difficult stage.
Now you know how to get out of depression, what it is, how best to get rid of it, what symptoms and signs are in a person with depression, etc.
Never do not run the course of such a disease, and do not wait for it to go away on its own. Seek advice from a psychotherapist, and he will definitely help you!
Loading ...