Symptoms and Treatment of Depression

Symptoms and Treatment of Depression

DEPRESSION

Mood disorders

The phenomenon of depression is presumably the same age as the emergence of human civilization. The mental condition, formerly called melancholy by Hippocrates, has been treated as a disease since the boom of medicine in the 19th century. Depression, by definition, is a moody, sad state in which the world seems desolate and difficulties seem insurmountable.

Feeling bad or depressed?

We often think that when we are sad that this is already a sign of depression, we are depressed. However, sadness is not depression.

Depression is an illness, a mood disorder, while sadness is a transient condition, an emotion. In the diagnosis of depression, sadness is only one symptom. The most significant difference is in the time course and the depth of the condition. That is, sadness, malaise, if normal, goes away in a few days, up to a few weeks, while depression lasts for more than two weeks, but even months, for some types, years.

Thus, we can only talk about depression if certain typical symptoms occur at the same time.

Mania and depression?

In the diagnosis of mood disorders, we distinguish the condition characterized by a depressive episode from the so-called manic illness.

The essence of the disorder, formerly known as manic depressive psychosis, is that in addition to major depressive episodes, the so-called also the mania phase. If the mania develops completely, we speak of bipolar I disorder, if only hypomanic states replace depression, bipolar II. it's a mess. Bipolar disorder may be caused primarily by biological factors, and is also treated primarily with drug therapy.

Symptoms of depression

Symptoms of depression appear in several areas, so we can identify emotional, motivational, behavioral, cognitive, and physical symptoms.

Emotional symptoms: sadness, malaise, unhappiness, self-hatred, inability to love.

Motivational symptoms: the person’s interest diminishes, they don’t feel like anything - “it makes no sense to cut into another pathetic day”.

Behavioral symptoms: productivity, activity decreases, often just lying in bed, complaining of lack of energy, slowing down. It is characterized by a hunched posture and soft speech.

Cognitive - thinking symptoms: a person with depression sees themselves infinitely negatively, the world, his future, pessimistic, hopeless, his ability to concentrate weakens. It is characterized by a negative self-image. Your thinking is influenced by “MUST”, it doesn’t matter what you have. He lives in the past and in the future, not in the present.

Physical symptoms: headache, indigestion, weight loss or obesity, dizziness, sleep disturbance - difficulty falling asleep or waking up at dawn and unable to fall back asleep. It is characterized by constant fatigue.

In the descriptions for categorizing psychiatric illnesses, not all of the symptoms listed here need to be met to talk about depression, but more than half of the complaints must be present to diagnose depression.

Hidden Depression

Frequency of mood disorders

 The population is approx. 10% experience major depression at least once in their lifetime. The incidence of bipolar disorder is 1-1.5%.

Background

 Depression is a multifactorial disease, ie the simultaneous appearance of several factors can lead to the development of the disease. There is some degree of genetic determination in the development of depression, as twin studies have found that if one member of an identical twin pair is depressed, there is a 43% chance that the other member will also be depressed. For dicotyledonous twins, the rate is 20%. Depression is more likely to occur in an individual whose parent, one or both, is depressed, has an anxiety disorder, or may be an alcoholic. In general, depressed individuals have a cold, dismissive, empathetic, critical family milieu in their childhood. In addition to negative key childhood experiences in early childhood, the presence of stressful life events as well as thinking disorders affecting information processing can also be a determinant in the development of a depressive episode.

Also read: Mental Health

Consequences

The saddest consequence is a suicide attempt or completed suicide. Unfortunately, 7-15% of depressed individuals commit suicide. The most important aspect of this is the degree of hopelessness. Depression can improve and disappear in a few months without treatment, but in cases without treatment there is a high probability of relapse.

Treatment

In case of recurrent severe depression, medication in the form of antidepressants is justified and unavoidable. These medicines affect the substances that stimulate the brain (neurotransmitters), especially noradrenaline and serotonin.

Psychotherapy is also a justified and effective intervention. Cognitive therapy in our Department of Psychotherapy has been proven to be an effective method of treating depression.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for depression

The first therapeutic protocol for the cognitive therapeutic approach was developed to treat depression, about half a century ago. Aaron T. Beck’s cognitive theory is based on the assumption that an individual’s adaptive or inadaptive behavior is the result of information processing and reporting processes. The basis of this process is the so-called basic schemes. According to Beck, basic schemas are cognitive structures that consist of organized bundles of attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions about objects, events, and relationships, are organized based on an individual’s early experiences, and show relative stability throughout life. If the basic schemas formed as a result of early negative experiences form a distorted perception of reality, perceptual errors are created that cause the individual to think unrealistically negatively about himself, the world, his future, and his relationship with others. This way of thinking is also available in action in everyday life. The main goal of cognitive therapy is for the patient to recognize these thoughts and develop a more realistic, realistic view of specific events. In addition, the cognitive behavioral therapy method focuses on enhancing the activity of the depressed individual, developing problem-solving strategies, and preventing relapses.

In summary, the main goal of psychotherapy for depression is to increase positive emotions and decrease negative ones.