Depression how to cope – outline

How to get out of severe depression

Depression is a painful decline in mood. Severe depression is a condition when symptoms reach the greatest severity and affect a person’s daily life: it is difficult or impossible to study, work, and socialize.

A severe depressive state is characterized by low self-esteem, feelings of guilt and even suicidal thoughts. Physical condition is disturbed: weight decreases (less often – increases), sleep is disturbed, and there are unpleasant painful sensations in different parts of the body.

In the brain, albeit temporary, but quite pronounced changes in the biochemical and physiological processes of the nerve cells take place: disturbances in the ratio of excitation and inhibition processes, changes in neurotransmitter metabolism, etc.

Recovery from severe depression requires the help of a doctor. Depressive conditions are treated by psychiatrists and psychotherapists. Only a doctor has the necessary knowledge in the field of psychology, physiology and biochemistry of the body, and knows the mechanisms of depression development.

Each depressed person has his own individual combination of causes and mechanisms of depression development. The doctor finds them out and selects therapeutic tools accordingly: medications, diet, rest, sleep, isolation from external stimuli, psychotherapy, physical therapy etc.

Recent research in the field of neurophysiology has shown that severe depressive states are characterized by significant, but often completely reversible changes in the brain and mental state.

The most important thing to know is that depression (even severe depression) is a reversible condition!

What are the dangers of severe depression?

Behavior changes. From simply avoiding one’s normal activities, to changing lifestyles, depressed people fall into sects, extremist organizations. From discontinuing self-care to suicide attempts.

Loss of habitual social ties: dismissal from work, the breakup of the family, loss of friends. What with the course of life was formed around the person, forming his environment, severe depression is destroyed.

General exhaustion: dystrophy, weight loss, metabolic disorders.

Development of psychosomatic diseases: cachexia (weight loss), skin rashes, choking attacks, gastrointestinal disorders (constipation, diarrhea), disorders of temperature regulation, increased sweating, hypotension or hypertension and many other disorders.

How to get out of severe depression?

The first step is to contact a specialist psychiatrist or psychotherapist. The second is to follow his recommendations. Good specialists can be found in clinics that are licensed and certified to provide care in the areas of psychiatry and psychotherapy.

Most depressive conditions can be treated at home. After all, being admitted to a psychiatric hospital is already a psychological trauma for many. A large proportion of those who suffer from severe depression do not seek help precisely because of the fear of being admitted to a closed psychiatric ward! It is necessary to find an opportunity for active treatment of severe depression outside the hospital.

One of the solutions is day hospital treatment: a patient comes to the clinic where a doctor will talk to him within an hour or two, the doctor will prescribe procedures (physiotherapy, IVs, biofeedback therapy), psychotherapy sessions will be conducted and then he can go home.

Hospitalization is only required when behavioral control, intensive pharmacological treatment, and when there is a risk of suicidal behavior are needed.

What conditions are conducive to recovery from severe depression

Isolation or restriction from external stimuli. Taking a sick leave (or a certificate of disability for a student). Work stress only exacerbates severe depression.

Adherence to sobriety. Even alcohol-containing remedies (Corvalol, Valocordine, tinctures, balms) should be excluded.

Getting enough sleep. Fall asleep before midnight, wake up without an alarm clock (as much as your body needs).

Nutrition should contain sufficient proteins and vitamins.

Do not darken (except at night) the room in which the patient is. An abundance of bright light promotes recovery from a severe depressive state.

Regular water procedures: a cold shower in the morning and a warm bath in the evening.

The ROSA Clinic is a treatment center for severe depression. We will be glad to help you. Both counseling and treatment.

Depression

The term “depression”, as the whole complex of depressive disorders is called in medicine, indicates a serious disturbance of human activity and loss of interest in the outside world and in one’s own life. Determining the exact cause of depression can be difficult, since several factors can be involved: hereditary, physiological, neurological and psychosocial. It is possible to make an accurate diagnosis after studying the patient’s medical history. The course of treatment involves a combination of several methods: conservative, psychotherapeutic, and other activities.

Etiology of the disease

Classification of depression according to the current edition of the manual of mental disorders implies a division into the following groups:

• major depressive disorder;
• Chronic depressive disorder;
• Depressive disorder with a specified or unspecified etiology: premenstrual disorders, depression due to health disorders, consequences of taking psychoactive drugs.

Most cases of depression have a clear age correlation: adolescence or age 20-30. Because of the peculiarities of the psyche, women are more prone to depressive manifestations, the exact causes of this phenomenon have not yet been established. One or another depressive symptom occurs in 30% of patients seeking medical care. Fewer than 10% of those who come in for treatment have signs of major depression, which requires competent medical intervention.

The state of demoralization associated with unpleasant events in the patient’s life differs significantly from clinical depression. There are a number of characteristic signs indicating temporary psycho-emotional difficulties, which pass within a few days without specific treatment:

• Mood deterioration manifests itself in flashes and is not of a permanent, protracted nature;
• as events change, the person’s mood improves, and the mental state returns to normal;
• Mood drops may alternate with cheerfulness and stable well-being;
• The patient does not have suicidal ideation, self-loathing, or feelings of worthlessness.

If the patient is prone to depressive states in demoralization, individual signs of major depression may be observed. But even they do not make it possible to speak of a disease requiring immediate help.

Causes of depressive states

Experts link the manifestation of depression to environmental factors and genetic predisposition. However, they invariably point to the impossibility to name the exact cause of the illness. Official medicine recognizes a hereditary trace in more than half of the cases diagnosed: first-line relatives and identical twins. According to popular theories, malfunctions in the hypothalamus, pituitary gland or adrenal glands, which produce hormones important for humans, may affect the development of depression. Disturbances in the interaction of these organs can cause prolonged depressive states.

A significant role in the appearance of signs of major or chronic depression is played by the psycho-emotional state disturbed due to the problems experienced: divorce, loss of a loved one, financial losses. In the absence of a predisposition for severe mental disorders, these events do not cause prolonged depressive states. If, however, the patient has a propensity for anxiety, the risk of dangerous symptoms increases.

Speaking of women’s predisposition to depression, experts cite as causes:

• Exposure to daily stress due to high mental load;
• High risk of thyroid dysfunction;
• Hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle or menopause;
• increased levels of monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that contributes to the destruction of neurotransmitters that determine a patient’s mood level.

Against the background of clinical depression, the patient may show signs of somatic diseases: hormonal disorders, brain tumors, strokes, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

Symptomatic picture of the disease

Signs of depression depend largely on the nature of the disease and help specialists make an accurate diagnosis.

1. In a state of major depression, the patient is marked by a tired and sad appearance, lack of eye contact, unemotional, depressed and reserved speech. Eating and personal hygiene disorders are possible. Characteristic symptoms of depression also include decreased interest in favorite activities, insomnia, weight loss or dramatic weight gain, indecisiveness, inability to concentrate, obsessive thoughts of death or suicide, and lethargy.
2. In chronic depressive disorder, signs of the disease are observed for 2 years or more. The patient has anxiety, obvious personality disorders, increased criticism of himself or herself and others, withdrawal and low self-esteem. In addition, an increased fatigue, inability to concentrate, a feeling of hopelessness, insomnia or excessive sleepiness, weakness and bad moods are also indicative of a chronic condition.
3. On the background of premenstrual depressive disorder in women a week before the expected date of the beginning of the cycle there are sharp mood swings, anger and irritability, a state of anxiety and tension. Interest in habitual activity decreases, concentration of attention falls, increased fatigability and a feeling of depression are noted. Up to 6% of women of childbearing age suffer from the above symptoms of depression in women with PMS at different periods of life.
4. In depressive disorders with unexplained etiology, patients of both sexes show anxiety, characteristic manic syndromes (feelings of self-esteem, talkativeness or elevated mood), decreased emotional response to pleasant events, delusional or hallucinatory states, psychomotor retardation.

The symptomatic picture of different types of depression has an individual coloring in each patient. However, all individuals suffering from depression invariably share common features of a particular illness, which simplifies the diagnosis.

Complications of depression

The buildup of the pathological situation against the background of the patient’s refusal of professional help can cause the following dangerous phenomena

• An increase in the symptoms of depression;
• An increase in the incidence of depression;
• Prolonged illness, the duration of which increases as the attacks become more frequent;
• cases of double depression, when more “superficial” experiences are superimposed on severe psychological problems and develop stages of depression that are difficult to treat;
• difficulties with the selection of appropriate therapy, when the illness does not respond to classical methods of correction and requires the use of “heavier” drugs with a high risk of side effects.

Only a doctor can accurately diagnose the disease. Do not delay a consultation-call +7 (495) 775-73-60

Diagnosis of depression

The treatment of depression is the domain of a therapist, psychologist and psychiatrist and their collegial cooperation is optimal. Special questionnaires, patient and family complaints about characteristic changes in well-being and mood allow us to recognize the signs of depression and put an accurate diagnosis. While communicating with the patient personally, the doctor clarifies the duration of the course of the illness, and also delicately clarifies the occurrence of possible thoughts of harm to himself or others. Also, the accompanying pathological conditions must be studied: propensity to use alcohol and narcotics, smoking, inordinate feeding, etc.

Differential diagnosis of depression is of great importance in order to distinguish it from other similar psychiatric pathologies: bipolar disorder, anxiety, demoralization, signs of dementia, or hormonal disorders associated with thyroid dysfunction. At the same time, a number of clinical examinations are conducted: general blood tests, measurement of thyroid hormone levels, electrolyte balance, and the content of illicit psychotropic substances in the blood.

Methods of treatment

The course of treatment for depression includes:

• Medication treatment is developed taking into account the patient’s condition, reaction to previous courses and the risk of side effects. Drugs of the antidepressant group inhibit the action of certain hormones that contribute to the development of depression, and restore the hormonal balance in the body.
• Supportive treatment implies regular visits to a specialist to monitor the results of treatment, adjust the chosen course, get the necessary explanations, etc.
• Additional methods of treatment: psychotherapy, phototherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, methods of deep brain stimulation, etc.

If all the specialist’s recommendations are followed and the course is completed, stable positive results can be achieved within a few weeks while reducing the risk of recurrent depressive states.

Frequent questions about depression

How do I get rid of depression on my own?

Attempts to fight depression on your own usually end in failure and the appearance of signs of a deeper disorder. Only an experienced doctor will be able to determine the type of illness and choose the best treatment tactics. Folk remedies, uncontrolled use of antidepressants “on the advice of friends,” withdrawal into themselves only tighten the knot of the problem and may cause deeper mental disorders with a simultaneous deterioration of physical health.

What are the dangers of depression?

Voluntary refusal of a course of treatment with the intention to overcome the disease on their own can have the most severe consequences: the emergence of suicidal thoughts, deep mental disorders, the frequency of attacks, personality degradation in professional and family matters, the emergence of a tendency to alcohol and drugs. It is useless to treat all of these symptoms with ordinary methods and taking powerful drugs can cause side effects.

How can I beat depression?

It is important to understand that depression is not a temporary worsening of mood but a serious mental disorder. You will be able to cope with it only after taking a course of complex treatment that includes taking the prescribed medications and additional methods of correcting the psycho-emotional state. Treatment under the supervision of an experienced specialist will help to fully cope with the disease and reduce the risk of relapse even when exposed to negative factors.