Depression is a disease of our time

Studies from all over the world show that depression, like cardiovascular disease, is becoming the most common ailment of our time. According to the WHO, depression is more dangerous than diabetes, angina pectoris, arthritis, asthma - this is the conclusion based on a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is a common disorder that affects millions of people. According to various researchers, it affects up to 20% of the population of developed countries. Depression is a serious illness that sharply reduces the ability to work and brings suffering to both the patient and his loved ones. More often women suffer from depression - 70% than men 30%, of which 65% are socially advantaged. The growth of depression in modern civilization is associated with a high rate of life, an increased level of stress: a highly competitive modern society, social instability - a high level of migration, difficult economic conditions, uncertainty about the future. Modern society cultivates a number of values that condemn people to constant dissatisfaction with themselves - the cult of physical and personal perfection, the cult of power, superiority over others, and personal well-being. This makes people feel hard and hide their problems and failures, deprives them of emotional support and dooms them to loneliness.

Depression is an illness of the entire body in which a decreased mood persists, accompanied by a loss of pleasure and interests, changes in psychomotor skills and functional physical disorder, and lasts for at least 2 weeks.

The Psychology of Depression

Scientific research has identified the following psychological factors in depression:

• A particular style of thinking, so-called negative thinking, which is characterized by a fixation on the negative aspects of life and one's own personality, a tendency to see life and one's future in a negative light.
• Specific style of communication in the family with an increased level of criticism and heightened conflict.
• An increased number of stressful life events in the personal life (separation, divorce, alcoholization or death of loved ones).

Social isolation with few warm, trusting contacts that could serve as a source of emotional support.

Typical signs of depression

Emotional manifestations:

• longing, suffering, oppressed, depressed mood, despair;
• Anxiety, a feeling of inner tension, expectation of trouble;
• irritability;
• feelings of guilt, frequent self-blaming;
• dissatisfaction with oneself, decreased self-confidence, and lowered self-esteem;
• Decreased or lost ability to experience pleasure from previously enjoyable activities;
• decreased interest in the environment;
• loss of the ability to experience any feelings (in cases of deep depression);
• depression is often combined with anxiety about the health and fate of loved ones, as well as fear of appearing inadequate in public places.

Physiological manifestations:

• sleep disorders (insomnia, drowsiness);
• changes in appetite (loss or overeating);
• intestinal dysfunction (constipation);
• decreased sexual needs;
• decreased energy, increased fatigue during normal physical and intellectual activity, weakness;
• pains and a variety of discomfort in the body; (e.g., heart, stomach, muscle).
• Behavioral manifestations: * passivity, difficulty engaging in purposeful activity;
• avoidance of contacts (tendency to seclusion, loss of interest in other people);
• refusal to entertain;
• Alcoholism and substance abuse, which provide temporary relief.

Thought manifestations:

• difficulty concentrating, concentrating;
• decision-making difficulties;
• the prevalence of gloomy, negative thoughts about oneself, about one's life, about the world as a whole;
• Gloomy, pessimistic vision of the future with a lack of perspective, thoughts about the meaninglessness of life;
• suicidal thoughts (in severe cases of depression);
• the presence of thoughts about one's own uselessness, insignificance and helplessness;
• mental retardation. For a diagnosis of depression to be made, some of these symptoms must persist for at least two weeks.

Psychopathological and somatic symptoms of depression

• Depressed mood, lack of initiative
• Significant decrease in interests and enjoyment of life
• A pessimistic assessment of the future - "what's the point?"
• Feelings of worthlessness - the patient is at the mercy of events
• Feelings of guilt over the smallest of things
• Reduced self-esteem and self-confidence
• Recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, or suicide planning
• Irritation (sometimes anger) about the differences between the patient and others
• Loss of appetite, often a pronounced weight loss
• Fatigue, loss of energy
• Sleep disorders - early awakening
• Psychomotor retardation
• Psychomotor agitation
• Loss of libido, impaired sexual function (impotence in men)
• Constipation, headache, amenorrhea, feeling of discomfort, pain of different localization
• Feeling unwell and looking sickly

In severe cases, depression may be accompanied by psychotic reactions, including delusions of impoverishment, nihilistic paraphrenia with ideas of partial or complete absence of internal organs (such as blood or stomach, leading to complete refusal to eat), delusions of self-blame ("irredeemable sin")

Often people are afraid to see a mental health professional because of the perceived consequences:

1. Possible social restrictions (registration, prohibition to drive motor vehicles and travel abroad);
2. Convictions in case someone finds out that the patient is being treated by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist;
3. Fear of the negative effects of drug treatment, which is based on widespread, but incorrect, beliefs about the harms of psychotropic drugs.

The modern approach to the treatment of depression involves a combination of different methods of biological therapy (medication and non-medication) and psychotherapy, which is not an alternative, but an important addition to the medication treatment of depression (unlike drug treatment, psychotherapy involves a more active role of the patient in the treatment process).

A prerequisite for effective treatment is cooperation with the doctor:

• Strict adherence to the prescribed therapy regimen;
• Regularity of visits to the doctor;
• a detailed, frank account of his condition and difficulties in life.