What Are the Symptoms Of Dysthymia?

Depression is a symptom of neurosis. It is a disease caused by dysfunction of the body caused by excessive use of the brain, mental stress and physical exertion. It includes insomnia, anxiety, anxiety, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, neurasthenia, neurovomiting and many other conditions.

[yu yù zhèng]

Depression is a symptom of neurosis. It is a disease caused by dysfunction of the body caused by excessive use of the brain, mental stress and physical exertion. It includes insomnia, anxiety, anxiety, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, neurasthenia, neurovomiting and other conditions.

Definition of depression

Depression often manifests as difficulty falling asleep, and sometimes can fall asleep, but wakes up after 1 to 2 hours, and it is difficult to fall asleep after waking up. Some do not sleep all night; restless, uncontrollable

Depression

Live in fear of no clear object or content, or intimidating painful experience. Some people show depression as the main symptom, depression, sadness, low self-esteem, a significant decrease in interest in daily activities, and even loss. Some people are suspicious. They always suspect that others are saying bad things about themselves. They are worried that they are not good for their health, but they cannot control themselves. Excessive attention to your body (including various physiological changes). Some patients manifest themselves as being forced to think of something or something and unable to control themselves. Neurasthenia symptoms include mental fatigue, sluggish response, inattention, memory loss, work and study can not last, headache, loss of appetite, laziness, etc.

Depression can be caused by the following factors: stressful life, upset stomach, headache, insufficient fitness, poor diet, sugar, mononuclear leukopenia, thyroid disease, endometritis (associated with depression in women), any severe physical illness Injuries, allergies. Some people become more depressed when winter days are short and long. Depression is a recurrent disease that can occur at any age, but it is more common in early middle age and is more common in the elderly. Depression results from disturbances in the areas of the brain that regulate emotions. Most people can deal with daily emotional tension, but when this stress is too large and beyond the scope of their adjustment capabilities, depression may arise.

In addition, depression is also closely related to the person's personality. The personality characteristics of this patient are generally introverted, lonely, sentimental and dependent. Depression is very harmful to people. It will completely change people's understanding of the world and relationships, and even end their lives with suicide.

If depression patients are full of depression and do not seek medical treatment in time, the result is that about 10% of patients are suicidal, and some patients even become the protagonists of domestic violence or child abuse. But this does not mean that depression must be terminally ill, at least at present, it can be completely treated by psychological treatment, drug treatment and other means.

Depression diagnosis

The first step in treating depression is to do a general health check. A full-body health examination should include a medical history of individuals and family members, as well as a complete physical and psychological examination to determine if language and thinking patterns have been affected. Depression is a disease that is difficult to diagnose. Most people with depression rarely seek help from a doctor, because depression is generally considered to be a personal shortcoming, and patients believe that over time, the symptoms of depression will disappear, or they will not be able to get help from others . Even when they turn to a doctor, they often cannot be diagnosed with depression. As a result, only a few people with depression can receive appropriate treatment. Depression is a real disease, not a weak personality, nor does it go away by itself. Identifying depression is important, and it also encourages patients to seek treatment.

Negative effects of depression

The adverse effects of depression not only occur on patients, but also on their families and friends. Seriously, it may prevent the victim from living a normal life, hinder work, study, eating and sleeping, and cannot enjoy any kind of happy activities. Indeed, depression can make people feel powerless, with nearly 12% of patients reported as feeling powerless. On the other hand, depression can also increase the financial burden on individuals, families, or the entire community. Part of the financial burden is obvious and can be calculated, but some cannot be estimated. The economic burden that can be estimated includes the demand for health and social services, unemployment, reduced productivity, impacts on family members and caregivers, varying degrees of crime and potential public safety hazards, and negative effects of resignation.

Links between depression and other diseases:

In addition to some physical diseases, such as stroke and cancer, which can cause anxiety, there are also some mental diseases that are complicated by depression, such as: general anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), and whether patients are diagnosed and treated early. Other conditions are of great help in the recovery of overall health.

Depression Treatment

Depression is a common mood disorder. In a broad sense, it is a mental illness. It is characterized by a high prevalence, a high relapse rate, a high disability rate, and a high fatality rate. It is known as the "first psychological killer".

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in western countries. The incidence of lifetime depression is between 6% and 8%. With the aging of the population, the incidence of depression in people over 60 years of age Up to 20% to 50%. 65% to 80% of patients will have serious suicidal ideation, 45% to 55% will have suicidal or suicidal behaviors, and life-long suicide mortality is as high as 15% to 25%. According to the World Health Report 2002 published by the World Health Organization, depression has become the fourth largest disease in the world, and by 2020 depression may become the second largest disease after heart disease.

A domestic survey in 2012 showed that the public mental health problems in the country are not optimistic. More than 26 million people have different levels of depression, but most people do not realize that they have depression, but that they have depression. Ninety percent of the patients did not seek help from professionals such as counselors and psychologists!

The treatment of depression is mainly three types of treatment methods: psychological treatment, drug treatment and physical treatment. Let us introduce these three treatment methods separately.

I. Psychotherapy

It is suitable for the consolidation and maintenance treatment of mild to moderate depression without negative concepts in the acute phase, and the control of the symptoms in the acute phase of various types of depression, which can be performed simultaneously with drug treatment. Psychotherapy requires patients to have a certain understanding and ability to persevere and tolerate the pain caused by the symptoms during the treatment to a certain extent. In fact, it is not suitable for everyone. Prevention of relapse of depression.

1. Counseling and venting: The patient s situation before seeking psychological treatment is ununderstood and unexplained. Therefore, the doctor must be caring, compassionate, and quietly listening, so that the patient knows that his pain has been accepted as reality. ; Is a common psychological treatment of depression.

2.Avoid contradictions and misunderstandings when talking with patients;

3.Don't lose confidence due to treatment difficulties, and be patient enough to lead the patient through the onset of disease;

4. Depression patients do not accept reality and take positive action: Morita therapy regards "let's do what is right" as an attitude to life, and through positive actions, achieve success and joy;

5. Healthy personality and self-improvement: Psychoanalytic theory believes that the emergence of depression is a lack of a basic sense of security, and it turns frustration into anger directed at itself, which leads to depression and depression. So let patients understand their own psychological dynamics and illness, and insight into their own response patterns to difficulties to promote the growth of personality.

6. Social support: Social support, spiritual support from family, friends, and classmates can change patients' poor cognition and improve their adaptability, which can help improve interpersonal relationships. Family therapy is very important. Acute or long-lasting depression will affect family life, and the family members' response to the patient will directly affect the prognosis. The doctor should first let the family know the symptoms, course and treatment of the disease. The patient's symptoms must be recognized, and understanding, patience, and formal treatment are needed. Disease has its own laws, and it is not feasible to try to improve the mood by changing the environment. This will only make the disease worse. Social support is particularly important in the psychotherapy of depression.

Drug treatment

The characteristics of drug treatment are relatively fast onset and relatively definite effect, which is suitable for patients with moderate and severe depression. Antidepressants are currently the main drugs for the treatment of various depressive disorders, which can effectively relieve the mood of depression and the accompanying anxiety, tension and physical symptoms, with an effective rate of about 60% to 80%.

1. At present, the first-line antidepressants include SSRI drugs, such as paroxetine, sertraline, fluoxetine, citalopram, fluvoxamine, etc., commonly known as "five golden flowers". Minor, especially anticholinergic and cardiac adverse reactions. Common adverse reactions include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, constipation, diarrhea, dry mouth, tremor, insomnia, anxiety, and sexual dysfunction.

2. SNRI drugs, such as venlafaxine and duloxetine, have positive effects on SNRI, have a faster onset of action, and have significant antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. It is also effective in refractory cases. Common adverse reactions include nausea, dry mouth, sweating, fatigue, anxiety, tremor, impotence, and ejaculation disorders. Blood pressure may increase slightly in some patients at high doses;

3. NaSSAs (NE and specific 5-HT antidepressants), such as mirtazapine, have good antidepressant, anxiety and sleep improvement effects, fast oral absorption, fast onset of action, and small anticholinergic effect , Has a sedative effect, has little effect on sexual function, and common adverse reactions are sedation, drowsiness, dizziness, fatigue, appetite and weight gain;

4. Bupropion, a weak inhibitor of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine reuptake, has no inhibitory effect on monoamine oxidase, and is suitable for depression and bipolar depression. The advantage is that it has little effect on weight and sexual function. Common adverse reactions are: agitation, dry mouth, insomnia, headache or migraine, nausea, vomiting, constipation, tremor, and sweating.

5. For some patients with obvious anxiety and sleep disorders, you can use some benzodiazepines (sedatives) drugs or some new sleep aids such as zolpidem and zopiclone. For some patients with severe symptoms, even with psychotic symptoms, antipsychotic drugs can be combined.

Third, physical therapy

Including modified electrical shock (MECT) treatment and repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment.

MECT should be the first choice for patients with severe negative suicide, depressive stupidity, and MECT for patients with intractable depression. MECT treatment is effective and effective. 6 to 10 times is a course of treatment, but the drug is still needed to maintain treatment after electroconvulsive treatment. Common side effects include short-term memory loss, headache, nausea, and fatigue.

rTMS treatment is a new type of physical therapy. It has been gradually applied in psychiatry in China in recent years. It is suitable for some patients with refractory depression (combined with rTMS during drug treatment). For some mild to moderate depression without negative perceptions Yes, it can be performed at the same time as drug therapy, but patients who have received MECT treatment can receive rTMS treatment at least 1 month after MECT is discontinued.

In terms of physical therapy, Wenqun Psychological Network reminds you that you must be careful during the purchase process of some of the instruments such as stabilizers that are currently being described in the world, and do not listen to them to avoid being deceived. It is good to understand scientific and effective treatment under the guidance of professionals!

The dangers of long-term depression

Negative depression

Melancholy can lead to negative thinking, pessimism and self-blame, inferiority, as if looking at the world with colored eyes, feeling that everything is difficult and desperate for the future. The patient sees himself as worthless, exaggerates insignificant mistakes and shortcomings, feels sorry for others, family members, and society, and considers his sins to be a bad guy. Some patients still feel alive and meaningless living in the world and suffer in vain. Only one death can escape the sea of suffering and be relieved.

Reduced depression

It usually manifests as thinking difficulties, and the efficiency of mental labor decreases significantly. Techies or white-collar workers who have always been quick-thinking suffer from depression and find it difficult to do daily work, let alone be creative. The scores of students who usually do well in learning have dropped significantly. When talking about their subjective experience, many patients said: The whole mind is like a bucket of paste.

Depression affects the brain

Causes dizziness, memory loss, and sleep disturbances. Research data show that the proportion of patients with depression with these three symptoms is as high as 97%, 93%, and 99%, respectively. The crux of the problem is that the concentration of a substance called catecholamine in the brain increases, causing the cerebral blood vessels to contract, resulting in ischemia and hypoxia in the brain tissue, and then symptoms such as dizziness.

Depression disorder sleep disorder

Patients with depression often have refractory sleep disorders, with an incidence of up to 98%, manifested as insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, early awakening, sleep rhythm disorders, and poor sleep quality. Patients with depression wake up early, especially at 3 to 5 in the morning, when their mood is low and the risk of suicide is greatest.

Depression- induced physical illness

Once a person is associated with depression, he is twice as likely to have a heart attack and three times more likely to suffer a stroke. Depression can change the body's autonomic nervous system. Mainly loss of appetite, weight loss, loss of libido, constipation, impotence, amenorrhea, fatigue, etc. Physical discomfort can involve various organs, and symptoms of autonomic dysfunction are more common.

Depression shortens life

A 40-year study found that deaths from dysfunction caused by depression are as high as those from cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Depression Impairs Social Function

After suffering from depression, it is usually manifested as difficulty thinking, sleep disturbance, decreased appetite, and obvious decrease in the efficiency of mental labor, making it difficult to perform daily work, let alone creative work. It also reduces the human immune function, delays the recovery time of chronic diseases, slows down physiological activities, reduces social work and physiological capabilities, and decreases sexual function.

Depression increases the burden on families

The quality of family life is affected. Due to recurrence, repeated medical treatment, self-injury, suicide, and depression relapse control are much slower. Withdrawal from the sudden withdrawal of antidepressants is physical discomfort, and may also lead to a large number of laboratory tests for clear reasons, resulting in increased medical costs, wasted medical resources, occupational abilities and physical activity and social adaptation bad. Increased negative family events.

Depression increases suicide risk

Among patients with recurrent depression, 1 in 7 commits suicide, and 70% of suicide cases have depression. Studies have confirmed that 50% to 70% of suicide deaths are due to depression, and 15% of depression patients eventually die by suicide. People call depression the number one mental killer in humans because no one has a high rate of suicide.

Depression Disability

Depression patients have poor physical function, and the loss of labor is five times that of non-depression patients. More than half of the patients with depression have completely lost their ability to work and live, cannot work, and cannot handle household chores. ^[1]

Depression Treatment

Although depression patients have no hobbies and interests, they have a persistent mind, which can be used. Through perseverance, he develops self-confidence and desires for other things, so that he will gradually become motivated. This kind of patient needs the warmth and care of his family. No warning can be used to stimulate him. The purpose is to relieve the symptoms of depression, effectively treat the symptoms for more than six months, and restore the original normal life function. Depending on the effectiveness of the treatment, the disease will be alleviated to varying degrees, and some may be only a partial reduction in symptoms.

Patients with depression will have considerable differences and treatment effects due to their severity. Depending on the needs of different patients, antidepressant medications, psychotherapy or comprehensive treatment will have different effects.

Antidepressant

Antidepressants are medicines that can be used to relieve depression symptoms that can be purchased with a prescription. Researchers estimate that about 50% to 60% of people with depression can be controlled and relieved through medication. At present, it mainly includes western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Western medicines are mainly tricyclic antidepressants, such as paroxetine, mianserin, etc., which can quickly suppress depression, but cannot be removed from the root, and the possibility of relapse is relatively large. With Chinese medicine, with the development of Chinese medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine has also begun to emerge in the treatment of depression, such as Zhang Yiqing. In short, at present, Western medicine and Chinese medicine are the most effective treatments for depression.

Non-drug therapy

Psycho / psychotherapy or "talk" treatments, including cognitive / behavioral therapy, personal therapy, psychoanalytic therapy, and supportive psychotherapy, are often used to treat depression. Electrical spasm therapy (ECT) and recently developed alternative ECT transcranial magnetic head stimulation (TMS, a non-traumatic magnetic stimulation outside the brain) can be provided to severe patients as effective treatments.

Depression nutrition and diet therapy

Studies have found that food significantly affects Naolang's behavior. Eating is the most common cause of depression, for example, poor eating habits and frequent snacks. The nerve impulses in our brain that govern our behavior are affected by the food we eat. Dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline are all nerve impulses. When serotonin is secreted by the brain, the brain is in a resting and relaxed state. When dopamine and norepinephrine are secreted, we tend to think, move quickly, and are more alert.

Depression eats more sugar

Eating sugars seems to have a stabilizing effect on the brain. Polysaccharides can increase the amount of tryptophan in the brain, and therefore have a stabilizing effect. If you are nervous and want to relax, you can eat more sugar. If you are tired and want to cheer up, eat more protein. The diet should include fresh fruits and vegetables, soybeans and their by-products. Insufficient dietary polysaccharides (complex sugars) can cause serotonin loss and depression.

Depression Supplement Protein

The protein promotes the production of dopamine and nephrin-adrenaline, thus increasing alertness. Eating protein with essential fatty acids and sugars can increase alertness, and salmon and white fish are good sources. When the diet combines these two nutrients, the brain is in balance. A turkey sandwich made with whole wheat bread is a good combination: turkey is rich in protein and tryptophan, while whole wheat bread provides complex sugars (ie, polysaccharides). Depressed people can boost their spirits by ingesting foods rich in protein and tryptophan, such as turkey and salmon.

Avoid foods rich in saturated fats; pork or fried foods, such as burgers, fries, can cause slow movements, slow thinking, and fatigue. Fat inhibits the synthesis of nerve impulses in the brain and causes blood cells to agglutinate, leading to poor blood circulation, especially in the brain.

Depression supplements

Tyrosine

It is also a substance required for brain function. This amino acid may be good for those who have been emotionally stressed for a long time. If your diet contains this amino acid, some uncontrollable emotional conditions may be avoided. When you are upset, try to take 1000-3000 mg of tyrosine in the morning and take it on an empty stomach. After 30 minutes, take vitamin B with breakfast.

Tyrosine is converted into nephrin in the brain. This chemical enhances the positive mood and gives us motivation and motivation. The vitamin B complex helps the body metabolize aminoglutamic acid, especially B6.

Note: The body responds more quickly to simple sugars (complex sugars). After simple sugar is supplied with energy, you will quickly feel tired and depressed.

Vitamin D group

Vitamin B group and vitamin B6, D12, 100 mg each 3 times a day, it is necessary for normal brain function. Anti-stress vitamins to help people with depression. If you have severe depression, use the injection only as directed by your doctor.

Choline and inositol or lecithin

100 mg twice daily. It is important for brain function and nerve impulses. Not suitable for bipolar disorder.

L-tryptophan

It can increase the synthesis of serotonin, which is very helpful in alleviating the symptoms of depression. It is rich in tryptophan in some foods; such as turkey, chicken, fish, lentils.

Early symptoms of depression

What are the early symptoms of depression? Depression is mainly characterized by low mood. During this period, there are at least four of the following symptoms, which last more than two weeks. It is recommended to seek medical treatment.

1. The degree of depression is different, ranging from mild depression to sadness, pessimism, and despair. The patient felt heavy, life was boring, he was not happy, he was gloomy, and he lived like a year, suffering and suffering, and could not help himself. Some patients may also experience anxiety, irritability, and nervousness.

2. Losing interest is one of the common symptoms of depressed patients. Lose the enthusiasm and fun of your previous life and work, and become interested in everything. You can't experience the joy of family, disregard your past hobbies, often live alone behind closed doors, alienate relatives and friends, and avoid socializing. Patients often complain of "no emotion", "numb emotion" and "can't be happy".

3. Loss of energy, fatigue, weakness, washing, clothing and other small life issues are difficult and strenuous, and can not help. Patients often describe their condition as "mental breakdown" and "disheartened ball".

4. Self-evaluation is too low: Patients often overly degrade their ability to view their present, past and future with a critical, negative and negative attitude. Strong self-blame, guilt, sense of worthlessness, sense of worthlessness, helplessness, and the concept of self-guilt and suspicion may appear in severe cases.

5. Patients showed significant, persistent, and general depression, difficulty in attention, memory loss, mental retardation, obstruction of thought, and slow action, but some patients showed restlessness, anxiety, nervousness, and agitation.

6. Negative pessimism: the heart is very painful, pessimistic, and hopeless. Feeling life is a burden and not worth nostalgia. Solving with death can produce strong suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

7. Physical or biological symptoms: Depressive patients often have biological symptoms such as loss of appetite, weight loss, sleep disturbance, sexual dysfunction, and mood diurnal fluctuations, but they are not common in every case:

Loss of appetite and weight loss: Most patients have symptoms of loss of appetite, poor appetite, and delicious foods are no longer tempting. Patients do not think about tea or tasteless food, and often have weight loss.

Sexual dysfunction: Reduced sexual desire can occur early in the disease, impotence may occur in men, and loss of sexuality in female patients.

Sleep disorders: The typical sleep disorder is early awakening, which is 2 to 3 hours earlier than usual. After waking up, she does not fall asleep again and falls into a sad atmosphere.

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Depression is a common mood disorder. The main symptom is a significant and lasting depression, accompanied by corresponding changes in thinking and behavior.

Diagnosing depression is not difficult, but the patient's performance is not typical. As the core depression symptom, it is often hidden in other psychological and physical symptoms. as a result of.

Be alert to the following warning signals:

1. People are upset at happy events. I often feel depressed and frowning for small things for no reason.

2. Lost interest in past hobbies, even hobbies, and daily activities.

3. Life becomes lazy, does not trim the borders, feels comfortable with the situation, and does not think aggressively.

4. Long-term insomnia, especially characterized by early awakening, lasts for weeks or even months.

5. Thinking becomes dull and difficult to resolve in case of problems.

6. Always feel inferior, often blame, always regret the past and lose confidence in the future.

7. Feeling suspicious, always suspecting that you have a serious illness. Although various inspections are carried out continuously, it is still difficult to explain its suspicion.

8. Memory decline, often lost three.

9. Bad temper, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.

10. Frequently flustered and uneasy.

11. Frequent anorexia, nausea, bloating or diarrhea, or symptoms of stomach pain, but there are no obvious organic changes during the examination.

12. Some patients lose their appetite for no apparent reason.

13. I often feel tired, lack energy, and can't do my job properly.

14. Indifferent, hard to be interested in everything around him, unwilling to speak, and not want to do anything.

15. I feel headache, low back pain, body pain, but can't find the organic cause.

16. Social activities have been significantly reduced, unwilling to associate with friends and relatives, and even live behind closed doors.

17. Lost interest in sex.

18. I often feel involuntarily empty, and I feel that there is no value and meaning in survival.

19. I often think of topics related to death.

If one of the above 19 cases is particularly serious, or if several of them appear at the same time, it is likely to be a symptom of depression. We must be vigilant.

Most people with depression also have physical symptoms such as sleep disturbances, pain, fatigue, upset stomachs, poor appetite, panic and shortness of breath, and symptoms of various systems. Patients with occult depression often do not have the typical symptoms such as depression, but they are dominated by physical discomfort. Its characteristic is that although there are many symptoms, it is mainly headache and insomnia, especially it is easy to wake up early. In addition, there is a circadian rhythm with a heavy diurnal evening light, and a seasonal rule with a heavy spring and autumn and light summer, and there are many anxiety emotions, and female patients' anxiety symptoms increase during menstruation.

Circadian changes: The patient's mood changes from day to night. Early in the morning or morning, the mood is low, and in the afternoon or evening, it gradually improves, and can talk and eat briefly. The incidence of diurnal changes is about 50%.

Care for depression

Care for depression-What you need to know about depression

Family care for depression should pay attention to the following aspects:

1. Supervise medication: Pay close attention to patients' adverse reactions to the medication. Patients with depression often need long-term maintenance medication to consolidate the effect and prevent recurrence. If no special circumstances are found, the drug must not be stopped or the amount and composition of the drug can be deleted at will. When patients have some side effects such as dry mouth and constipation, they should do a good job of explaining in a timely manner, encourage them to drink more water, eat more fiber-rich foods, and exercise more. Severe constipation can choose senna, fruit guide, etc. Drug relief.

2. Watch closely for changes in the condition: Depression is the number one killer of mental illness. Patients have a very high suicide rate. The focus of home care is to prevent suicide. This requires family members of patients to be familiar with the clinical characteristics of the disease. It should also be noted that the symptoms of depression are usually heavy in the morning and light in the night, so suicidal behaviors occur in the early morning. Secondly, it is necessary to understand which patients are prone to suicide. Generally, during the onset of the disease, pessimism is extremely easy to occur due to low mood; of course, in the Patients in the recovery period may also commit suicide because of fear of discrimination. At the same time, the suicide methods of depression patients are mostly concealed, premeditated, and often give people a certain illusion, that is, smiling suicide. Therefore, when it is found that the mood of depression patients suddenly improves, do not take it lightly, it may be a red flag. Prevention should be strengthened. Patients with depression may also experience extended suicide or curve suicide. Care should be taken to strengthen the self-protection of caregivers.

3 Grasp the indications for improvement of the condition: Generally, the depression of general depression goes through three processes, firstly, sleep, eating well, and improved thinking; secondly, movements gradually increase; finally, emotional improvement. If the diet and sleep are poor, and the weight does not increase, it means that the condition has not improved. At this time, increased movement or good mood may be an artifact.

4 Good psychological care: Due to the poor mood and pessimistic self-responsibility of depression patients, they lack confidence in some things and hope to get psychological support from others. Family members should contact and talk with patients, provide encouragement and support, help them build confidence, and actively channel their negative emotions; family members should be patient to explain and persuade their pathological words and deeds, and try to meet their reasonable requirements.

5. Good life care: Depression patients have poor diet and sleep. They should pay attention to adjusting their diet and make more foods that patients usually like to eat to ensure that patients have a quiet and comfortable resting environment. For some people with mild illnesses, they can be encouraged to participate in pleasant and relaxing activities to cultivate their interest in life, such as reading newspapers, television, listening to music, planting flowers and birds, etc., and distract them to alleviate their illness.

Depression and depression: mental illness

Depression is neither narrow-minded, weak-willed, nor bad.

Like a cold, it is a disease

"Many people in the society, including my family and my leaders, don't think there is such a disease. They always think that depression is just not thinking about it, it's just being cautious, and it's too much to calculate." CCTV program host Cui Yongyuan felt deeply suffering. Depression is not understood by those around you.

Indeed, for a long time, people have often regarded depression as a problem of thought and emotion. Many depression patients, like Cui Yongyuan, feel that they are not understood by society. They have a sense of shame, and even avoid taboos. However, with the development of modern medicine, human beings have realized that depression is neither narrow-minded, weak-willed, nor bad. Like a cold, it is a disease.

Drug effect is better than enlightenment

Hu Peicheng, director of the Department of Medical Psychology, Peking University School of Medicine, introduced to this journal that depression is caused by monoamine neurotransmitter disorders such as serotonin (a substance secreted by the brain that causes mental relaxation and sleep). This is the same reason that an endocrine system disorder occurs after a person is stimulated.

There is a physiological change in the mental illness of depression, and this change can be verified through biochemical experiments. Hou Yezhi, chief physician of Beijing Anding Hospital, has been engaged in clinical medicine for depression for many years. When she diagnoses depression, she often tests patients for 24 hours to urinate, and observes the concentration of end products of these neurotransmitters. Urine tests have now become one of the important means of diagnosing depression.

After understanding the pathological reasons, various antidepressant drugs have come out one after another. Many patients find that the psychiatrist's countless words or enlightenments are not as effective as a small pill. Because of the birth of related drugs, people have new expectations for the treatment of mental illness.

Another physiological cause of depression is genetic factors. Xu Guangxing, a professor of psychology at East China Normal University, believes that if a parent has suffered from depression, you have a 15% to 25% chance of developing the disease.

This probability is higher than other people. This is because your genetic ability to withstand stress is lower than normal people, so the chance of developing this disease is greater than that of ordinary people. Huang Yueqin, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that modern medicine has proven that there are many susceptible genes in depression, and these genes are genetically predisposed.

Depression: Human Noble Nature?

Although depression as a disease plagues people's lives, some scholars think about it from a positive perspective.

From the perspective of evolutionary biology, emotions, like other physiological functions, are an appropriate response to environmental changes. Chen Rongxia, a professor of philosophy at the School of Political Science and Law of Shanghai Normal University, believes that mild depression may play an adaptive role, prompting individuals to accumulate strength during adversity and fall into reflection and introspection when quiet. This is like pain. Although it brings uncomfortable feelings, those who have lost their pain do not live in paradise. On the contrary, they have no way of guaranteeing their lives. They can sprint on the rubble ground. Holding a hot potato without giving up, you can imagine the results.

Not only that, but studies have shown that mild mania and depression are associated with vitality, creativity and charm. This gene can give individuals an innate advantage. So American psychologist Spiller said: "This disease often attacks those who are most ambitious, creative, and serious." Historical celebrities Newton, Darwin, Lincoln, Churchill, etc. have all suffered from depression. Taiwanese women The writer San Mao used her rich experience, full of passion, and beautiful style to describe the exotic style, but she was depressed when she chose to publish her works.

"All psychological pain is meaningful, all experiences are important to life, and psychological pain is a necessary stage for self-growth." Li Zixun, the chief physician of the Department of Psychology and a famous psychologist at China-Japan Friendship Hospital, pointed out that emotions Distress is a natural state of human existence, just like the replacement of day and night. Happiness and sadness, cheerfulness and depression all alternate in human life. He even put forward: "People who haven't thought seriously about death don't have a true and thorough understanding of life."

Therefore, "depression and living are human noble nature." Chen Rongxia said.

Common symptoms

1. Depression of the performance of mental movements: patients with significant inhibition of mental movements, difficulty in association, reduced speech, low speech, slow movements. Sometimes behind closed doors, indifferent affection, inability to learn, work, unable to take care of housework, severe cases do not speak , Don't move, don't eat, don't drink.

2. Slow thinking and reduced self-evaluation: the performance of thinking ability declines, patients often feel that their thinking is slowed down, their brains are not good, and their abilities are reduced. They often feel guilty and blame, self-evaluation is too low, and they are clearly studying and working OK, but dissatisfied with everything, describing some of his past mistakes and faults as heinous sins, and even thinking that his sins should be dead, is the main factor leading to suicide and self-harm, which is also a manifestation of depression one.

3.Emotional disorders: Patients have a bad mood: depression, or anxiety, irritability, restlessness; loss of interest in daily activities, loss of happiness, frowning all day, worry, diminished energy, often feeling persistent fatigue; thinking that living is meaningless, serious People feel hopeless and helpless, life is better than death, and life is like years. Most patients have the idea of ending their lives, and some once said, "If it is not because of parents, wives and children, they have already lived this life." Among them, there are indeed actions taken. The methods that cause bad results are also cruel.

4. Physical symptoms: With the development of depression symptoms, all biological and psychological pleasures are lost. Appetite is often poor, it often becomes thin, and there are various problems with sleep, and gradually the patient will become weak, Fatigue. The sexual life of patients with depression is also affected. Erectile dysfunction in men and sexual apathy in women are common phenomena. ^[2]