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Writer's pictureDiana Psychologist

What exactly is Depression?

Updated: Aug 28, 2020

Depression "," stress "," frustration "- these words have become firmly established in our lexicon, but do we understand their true meaning?


My experience shows we do not always understand their true origins. This is especially true of the word "depression". Some call depression a low mood, others brush aside complaints about it, explaining the patient's condition with banal laziness. But what is it really? Let's figure it out.

Depression is a disruption in the metabolism of neurotransmitters in the cerebral cortex, and neurotransmitters are chemicals that affect our well-being and mood. Depression is a mental illness. This is the scourge of our time - a time when we cease to live a natural life. Agreed, a few of us get up at dawn to "feed" the chickens and milk the cows, then go to the field, and when it gets dark, goes to bed. Such people, as a rule, do not have depression. Depression is a disease of the inhabitants of big cities, people who drink, smoke, use drugs, live not quite healthy lives, work hard

and burn out.

Depression is preceded by lethargy - a decrease in vitality, when the world gradually fades, interests disappear, a person becomes apathetic.

The question is how to distinguish depression from fatigue and low mood. The main criterion is duration. An "episode of depression" can last six months. So if you are for a long time: several weeks or months - depressed, do not want anything, constantly get annoyed, often sad, cry, feel sorry for yourself and cannot get out of this state - most likely, depression is imminent, It will not pass by itself.

Many people think that depression can go away on its own - after all, it's not appendicitis or a bad tooth. But this is a dangerous delusion. Yes, there are forms of depression in which symptoms subside over time, such as reactive depression. Suppose a loved one dies, those bereaving experience acute stress. Stress disrupts the metabolism of neurotransmitters - for example, serotonin, the "hormone of happiness", and the state in this case is depressed-depressive. But time passes, the person pulls himself together, begins to live on, and the disease recedes.

But if there are no "visible reasons" for depression, most likely, it will not recede, and the condition will only worsen. One of the most severe manifestations of depression is when a person stops getting out of bed, sleeps in clothes, does not go outside, does not wash, does not brush his teeth, forgets to eat, does not talk, his room is dark, he lies with his teeth against the wall all day. This is a manifestation of clinical depression, which, as a rule, requires inpatient treatment - antidepressants alone at home are no longer enough. In this case, the person loses his ability to work and lives as a disabled person.

Self-aggression, self-rejection, self-pity, self-centered attitude, selfishness, environmental accusation is directly related to depression.

Depression also affects the work of the whole organism. The manifestations are very different: irritable bowel syndrome, cardiac diseases, psychosomatic and endocrinology.

So, if you cannot get out of the depression cycle, you should go to your doctor. The doctor will determine whether you have clinical depression, in which you cannot do without medical intervention and drug treatment, or it is enough to go in for sports, establish a regimen, diet, arrange your personal affairs on your own or with the help of a psychologist. The main thing is not to delay it.

However, self-diagnosis is not worth it, there are specialists for this - psychologists and psychiatrists. By the way, psychiatrists deal with depression as a disease.

A reasonable question arises, is it possible to avoid depression? Are there ways to prevent and combat this disease?

The best prevention of depression is constant monitoring of your condition, being “hear and now”.

If you feel, that waking up in the morning this World looks colorless, plane and your breakfast doesn’t have taste, this is an alarming signal that is important to listen to.



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