What you need to know about depression? Psychology of depression

Treatment with psychological methods does not always help, and depression can lead to suicide. Suicides wipe out one city like Krasnodar from the face of the Earth every year: about 800 thousand people die of their own free will every 12 months.
How to distinguish symptoms of depression from short-term mood changes and find a solution?

“I don’t really believe in your blues. If you’re lazy, you’re exhausted,” this phrase is said to anyone: victims of spring vitamin deficiency, and sufferers preparing to step off the bridge into the underworld. How to distinguish one from the other? What is the psychology of depression in its true meaning? Why do some people get rid of it by getting a cat, starting a new job, or inventing a hobby, while others cannot even be saved by antidepressants?

How to get out of depression with the help of psychology? How to patch up a mental wound and heal pain?

Depression in psychology and in life

According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression. This is approximately the same number of people living in all states of America combined.

WHO experts note that people suffering from depression are often misdiagnosed in psychology. Because of this, some are left alone with pain without the necessary psychological help, while others, who are overcome by a bad mood, are mistakenly prescribed antidepressants.

Why is it so difficult to distinguish symptoms of depression from short-term mood changes?

Types of depression in psychology

“Come on, I’m completely depressing. Let’s go to a more fun club,” the girl says to her friend, suggesting they go to another bar. There they will be cheered up by more lively dances and “depression” will disappear.

The concept of depression in everyday life refers to any unsatisfactory state. But in psychology it is customary to distinguish between types and stages of depression. Otherwise, how can we distinguish between frustration due to the dullness of everyday life, fear of death, or a serious condition after the loss of a loved one? What type is it classified as? What about mental deviation due to somatic reasons? So a multi-stage gradation of types of stress and depression in psychology has been created, and tests have been compiled to identify them.

Those who are looking for a way out of depression in psychology can quickly become confused in this diversity. In fact, all types of depression and, accordingly, methods of getting rid of the disease are precisely and definitely distinguished in system-vector psychology:

depression can only occur if there is;
in the remaining vectors there are bad states of a different kind.

And this division provides the main advantage: the opportunity to understand the real cause of depression and get an answer to the main question - how to get out of depression.

Depression or “fat freaking out”?

People have learned to sympathize with those whose bodies hurt: an arm, a leg are broken, or a fatal disease has been diagnosed. “Fracture of the spine of the psyche” - you won’t see such a diagnosis in a medical record. Those who do not have pain in their souls do not always understand people who look for ways out of depression in psychology textbooks.

“What are modern teenagers missing? Dressed and shod, provided with smartphones and tablets. And they think about suicide,” is often heard in discussions. And about a depressed person, even if not in books on psychology, but in everyday life they openly say: “He’s freaking out.” “Why is he showing off? It is designed the same way - two arms, two legs. Live and be happy. You just need to get busy and philosophize less, and there won’t be any depression.”

Anatomically, people are indeed structured similarly: the same organs and body parts. A person does not know what the psyche “looks like,” but this is not a reason to assume that its structure is the same for everyone.

Psychology of depression: how the soul works

Explaining the causes of depression, the System-Vector Psychology training by Yuri Burlan reveals that the human psyche is made up of combinations of vectors: a set of innate properties and qualities.

Vectors and their combination determine the function that a person performs in the general “organism” of humanity. Just as the liver, heart or spleen in the body has its own task, so the properties of a person are intended to be useful to society. When a person with a sound vector is not connected with society and does not realize his potential, he suffers a malfunction, a “dislocation” of the soul, his life becomes meaningless. This failure is called depression in system-vector psychology.

The owners of the remaining vectors, explains system-vector psychology, do not have depression, but stress, grief, bad mood - a condition that can be corrected in ways available in the material world.

What is the difference between sound vector depression?

The fundamental characteristic of the owner of the sound vector is the desire to comprehend the secrets of the universe. They usually say about such people: they live in their own world, on a special wave.

Systemic vector psychology notes that depressed people with the sound vector tend to regard any events as useless vanity. They don't care about the worries of our world. They drown themselves out with mind-blowing rock music, hide in sleep for 12-16 hours, or, conversely, suffer from insomnia and secretly dream that the world will go to hell.

In depression, sound people go so far as to blame the body as the only source of their mental pain. They weakly sense his needs: they may forget to eat, and may not immediately realize the cold or heat. The psychology of their stress and depression is such that no material joys can fill their spiritual emptiness. They would be happy to live in their fictional world - eternal and perfect, but their body “gets in the way”: it forces them to look for food, go to work, and communicate with other people.

At the same time, a person with a sound vector feels like in a corked bottle - fenced off from people. It is no coincidence that one of the symptoms of the endogenous type of depression in psychology is a feeling of derealization. The world around us in this state seems illusory.

In a state of extreme mental suffering, sound people come to the erroneous idea of suicide. They think that by allegedly getting rid of the body, they will find peace.

How to get out of depression: system-vector psychology will tell you

How to help a person get out of the pool? How to put a “dislocated” idea of the world back into place? How to learn to live joyfully?

Man is a social being. He is happy as long as he fulfills his purpose in the social organism. Until now, people with a sound vector have found themselves in physics, music, psychiatry, and programming. They fulfilled the role assigned by nature and were rewarded, in the words of system-vector psychology, with a balanced state of brain biochemistry.

The world is developing. Inanimate and plant nature are studied down to the smallest particles. Humanity is ready for new meanings, to understand how the psyche and the universe work. This is the task of people with a sound vector. In search of an answer to this request, they suffer from their lack of fulfillment in the “body” of humanity. How can psychology help people who are lost in the labyrinths of erroneous thoughts get out of depression?

The solution to the problem of sound depression and stress is shown by the system-vector psychology of Yuri Burlan.

How to get out of depression on your own

The implementation of the sound vector is impossible in isolation from society. The inner “I” is a part, not a whole. Modern sound engineers have to discover how people interact with each other, creating a single indivisible structure, and thereby heal the diseases of the social organism. This is how their natural task is expressed today. When they do it, they don’t ask questions about how to cope with bad conditions or how to survive a difficult period. They are engaged in a joint “drawing of a bridge”, which is then thrown between the individual “I”s of people. And this will unite humanity.

It is important for a person with a sound vector to understand the psychology of those around him, to understand what is happening in the world, where we come from and where we are going, in order to see a way out of depression. And this is the most difficult thing for a sound engineer. Although he naturally has the inclination to feel the state of another person as his own, he was created to be focused not on himself, but on the other. System-vector psychology by Yuri Burlan answers all questions about the human psyche, including the question of how to get out of depression, helping to understand and deeply understand yourself and other people, and find your place among them.

Using system knowledge, . Here's what people who completed the online training have to say about it.

You can learn more about system-vector psychology and get rid of stress and depression at free online lectures. .

The article was written based on training materials “ System-vector psychology»

Depression is a disease of our time

Research from all over the world shows that depression, like cardiovascular disease, is becoming the most common illness of our time. It is a common disorder that affects millions of people. According to various researchers, up to 20% of the population of developed countries suffers from it.

Depression is a serious illness that sharply reduces ability to work and brings suffering to both the patient and his loved ones. Unfortunately, people are very little aware of the typical manifestations and consequences of depression, so many patients receive help when the condition becomes protracted and severe, and sometimes it is not provided at all. In almost all developed countries, health services are concerned about the current situation and are making efforts to promote information about depression and its treatment.

Depression is a disease of the whole body. Typical signs of depression

The manifestations of depression are very diverse and vary depending on the form of the disease. We list the most typical signs of this disorder:

Emotional manifestations

melancholy, suffering, depressed, depressed mood, despair
anxiety, feeling of internal tension, anticipation of trouble
irritability
guilt, frequent self-blame
dissatisfaction with oneself, decreased self-confidence, decreased self-esteem
decreased or lost ability to experience pleasure in previously enjoyable activities
decreased interest in surroundings
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 with the fear of appearing incompetent in public places

Physiological manifestations

sleep disorders (insomnia, drowsiness)
changes in appetite (loss or overeating)
bowel dysfunction (constipation)
decreased sexual needs
decreased energy, increased fatigue during normal physical and intellectual activity, weakness
pain and various unpleasant sensations in the body (for example, in the heart, in the stomach, in the muscles)

Behavioral manifestations

passivity, difficulty engaging in goal-oriented activity
avoidance of contacts (tendency to solitude, loss of interest in other people)
refusal of entertainment
alcoholism and abuse of psychoactive substances that provide temporary relief

Mental manifestations

difficulty concentrating, concentrating
difficulty making decisions
the predominance of gloomy, negative thoughts about oneself, about one’s life, about the world in general
gloomy, pessimistic vision of the future with a lack of perspective, thoughts about the meaninglessness of life
thoughts of suicide (in severe cases of depression)
presence of thoughts about one’s own uselessness, insignificance, helplessness
slow thinking

To be diagnosed with depression, some of these symptoms must persist for at least two weeks.

Depression needs to be treated

Depression is often perceived both by the patient himself and by others as a manifestation of bad character, laziness and selfishness, promiscuity or natural pessimism. It should be remembered that depression is not just a bad mood (see manifestations above), but a disease that requires the intervention of specialists and responds quite well to treatment. The sooner the correct diagnosis is made and the correct treatment is started, the greater the chances of a quick recovery, and that depression will not recur again and will not take a severe form, accompanied by a desire to commit suicide.

What usually prevents people from seeking help for depression?

People are often afraid to see a mental health professional because of perceived negative consequences:
1) possible social restrictions (registration, ban on driving and traveling abroad);
2) conviction if someone finds out that the patient is being treated by a psychiatrist;
3) fears of the negative impact of drug treatment, which is based on widespread, but incorrect ideas about the dangers of psychotropic drugs.

Often people do not have the necessary information and misunderstand the nature of their condition. It seems to them that if their condition is associated with understandable life difficulties, then this is not depression, but a normal human reaction that will pass on its own. It often happens that the physiological manifestations of depression contribute to the formation of beliefs about the presence of serious somatic diseases. This is a reason to contact a general practitioner.

80% of patients with depression initially seek help from general practitioners, and the correct diagnosis is made in approximately 5% of them. Even fewer patients receive adequate therapy. Unfortunately, during a regular appointment at a clinic, it is not always possible to distinguish between the physiological manifestations of depression and the presence of a true somatic disease, which leads to an incorrect diagnosis. Patients are prescribed symptomatic therapy (medicines for the heart, for the stomach, for headaches), but there is no improvement. Thoughts arise about a serious, unrecognized somatic illness, which, through a vicious circle mechanism, leads to worsening depression. Patients spend a lot of time on clinical and laboratory examinations, and, as a rule, come to the psychiatrist with severe, chronic manifestations of depression.

II. SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT DEPRESSION

Main types of depression

Depression often occurs against the background of stress or long-term severe traumatic situations. Sometimes they occur for no apparent reason. Depression can be accompanied by somatic diseases (cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endocrine, etc.). In such cases, it significantly complicates the course and prognosis of the underlying somatic disease. However, with timely identification and treatment of depression, there is a rapid improvement in mental and physical well-being.

Depression can occur in the form of single episodes of illness of varying severity or occur over a long period of time in the form of repeated exacerbations.

In some patients, depression is chronic, lasting for many years without reaching significant severity.

Sometimes depression is limited mainly to physical symptoms without clear emotional manifestations. However, clinical and laboratory examinations may not reveal any organic changes. In such cases, consultation with a psychiatrist is necessary.

Modern ideas about the causes of depression

Bio-psycho-social model of depression

Modern science considers depression as a disease, the origin of which is contributed by various causes or factors - biological, psychological and social.

Biology of depression

Biological factors of depression include, first of all, specific disorders of neurochemical processes (metabolism of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, etc.). These disorders, in turn, can be hereditary.

Psychology of depression

Scientific research has identified the following psychological factors for depression:

a special style of thinking, the 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 the life around us and one’s future in a negative light
a specific style of communication in the family with an increased level of criticism, increased conflict
increased number of stressful life events in personal life (separations, divorces, alcoholism of loved ones, death of loved ones)
social isolation with few warm, trusting contacts that could serve as a source of emotional support

Social context of depression

The increase in depression in modern civilization is associated with a high pace of life, an increased level of stress: the high competitiveness of modern society, social instability - high levels of migration, difficult economic conditions, and uncertainty about the future. In modern society, a number of values are cultivated that doom a person to constant dissatisfaction with himself - the cult of physical and personal perfection, the cult of strength, superiority over other people and personal well-being. This makes people worry hard and hide their problems and failures, deprives them of emotional support and dooms them to loneliness.

III. HELP FOR DEPRESSION

The modern approach to the treatment of depression involves a combination of various methods - biological therapy (drug and non-drug) and psychotherapy.

Drug treatment

Prescribed to patients with mild, moderate and severe symptoms of depression. A necessary condition for the effectiveness of treatment is cooperation with the doctor: strict adherence to the prescribed therapy regimen, regular visits to the doctor, a detailed, frank report about your condition and life difficulties.

Antidepressants.

Proper therapy can, in most cases, completely eliminate the symptoms of depression. Depression requires treatment from specialists. The main class of medications for treating depression are antidepressants. Currently, there are various drugs in this group, of which tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, melipramine) have been used since the late 50s. In recent years, the number of antidepressants has increased significantly.

The main advantages of new generations of antidepressants are improved tolerability, reduced side effects, reduced toxicity and high safety in case of overdose. Newer antidepressants include fluoxetine (Prozac, Profluzac), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Cipramil), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Fevarin), tianeptine (Coaxil), mianserin (Lerivon), moclobemide (Aurorix), milnacipran (Ixel) , mirtazapine (Remeron), etc. Antidepressants are a safe class of psychotropic medications when used correctly as recommended by a doctor. The dose of the drug is determined individually for each patient. You need to know that the therapeutic effect of antidepressants can appear slowly and gradually, so it is important to have a positive attitude and wait for it to appear.

Antidepressants do not cause addiction and the development of withdrawal syndrome, unlike drugs from the class of benzodiazenin tranquilizers (phenazepam, Relanium, Elenium, Tazepam, etc.) and Corvalol and Valocordin, widely used in our country. In addition, benzodiazepine tranquilizers and phenobarbital, which are part of Corvalol and Valocordin, with long-term use reduce sensitivity to other psychopharmacological agents.

Main stages of therapy.

1. Determination of treatment tactics: choosing an antidepressant taking into account the main symptoms of depression in each patient, selecting an adequate dose of the drug and an individual treatment regimen.

2. Carrying out the main course of therapy aimed at reducing symptoms of depression until they disappear, restoring the patient’s previous level of activity.

3. Carrying out a maintenance course of therapy for 4-6 months or more after general normalization of the condition. This stage is aimed at preventing exacerbation of the disease.

What usually interferes with drug treatment:

1. Misconception about the nature of depression and the role of drug treatment.

2. A common misconception about the absolute harm of all psychotropic drugs: the emergence of dependence on them, a negative effect on the condition of internal organs. Many patients believe that it is better to suffer from depression than to take antidepressants.

3. Many patients stop taking it if there is no immediate effect or take medications irregularly.

It is important to remember that numerous studies have been conducted confirming the high effectiveness and safety of modern antidepressants. The toll depression takes on a person's emotional and material well-being is not comparable in severity to the minor and easily treatable side effects that sometimes occur with antidepressant medications. It should be remembered that the therapeutic effect of antidepressants often occurs only 2-4 weeks after starting treatment.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is not an alternative, but an important addition to drug treatment for depression. Unlike drug treatment, psychotherapy involves a more active role for the patient in the treatment process. Psychotherapy helps patients develop emotional self-regulation skills and subsequently cope more effectively with crisis situations without falling into depression.

In the treatment of depression, three approaches have proven to be the most effective and scientifically proven: psychodynamic psychotherapy, behavioral psychotherapy and cognitive psychotherapy.

According to psychodynamic therapy, the psychological basis of depression is internal unconscious conflicts. For example, the desire to be independent and the simultaneous desire to receive a large amount of support, help and care from other people. Another typical conflict is the presence of intense anger, resentment towards others, combined with the need to always be kind, good and maintain the goodwill of loved ones. The sources of these conflicts lie in the patient's life history, which becomes the subject of analysis in psychodynamic therapy. Each individual case may have its own unique content of conflicting experiences, and therefore individual psychotherapeutic work is necessary. The goal of therapy is awareness of the conflict and assistance in resolving it constructively: learning to find a balance of independence and intimacy, developing the ability to express one’s feelings constructively and at the same time maintaining relationships with people. Behavioral psychotherapy is aimed at resolving the patient’s current problems and relieving behavioral symptoms: passivity, refusal of pleasure, monotonous lifestyle, isolation from others, inability to plan and engage in purposeful activity.

Cognitive psychotherapy is a synthesis of both of the above approaches and combines their advantages. It combines work with current life difficulties and behavioral symptoms of depression and work with their internal psychological sources (deep ideas and beliefs). The so-called depression is considered as the main psychological mechanism of depression in cognitive psychotherapy. negative thinking, which is expressed in the tendency of depressed patients to view everything that happens to them in a negative light. Changing this way of thinking requires careful individual work that aims to develop a more realistic and optimistic view of yourself, the world and the future.

Additional forms of psychotherapy for depression are family counseling and group psychotherapy (but not just any therapy, but specifically aimed at helping depressed patients). Their involvement can provide significant assistance in treatment and rehabilitation.

What usually prevents you from seeking psychotherapeutic help?

1. Low awareness of people about what psychotherapy is.

2. Fear of introducing a stranger to personal, intimate experiences.

3. Skepticism that “talking” can have a tangible healing effect.

4. The idea that you need to cope with psychological difficulties yourself, and turning to another person is a sign of weakness.

In modern society, psychotherapy is a recognized, effective method of helping with various mental disorders. Thus, a course of cognitive psychotherapy significantly reduces the risk of recurrence of depression. Modern methods of psychotherapy are focused on short-term (10-30 sessions depending on the severity of the condition) effective assistance. All information that the psychotherapist receives during the session is strictly confidential and remains confidential. A professional psychotherapist is specially trained to work with difficult experiences and difficult life situations of other people, he knows how to respect them and provide assistance in coping with them. Every person has situations in life (for example, such as illness) that he cannot cope with on his own. The ability to ask for help and accept it is a sign of maturity and rationality, not weakness.

Helping loved ones overcome depression

The support of loved ones, even when the patient does not express interest in it, is very important for overcoming depression.

In this regard, the following advice can be given to relatives of patients:

remember that depression is a disease that requires sympathy, but in no case should you plunge into the disease with the patient, sharing his pessimism and despair. You need to be able to maintain a certain emotional distance, all the time reminding yourself and the patient that depression is a transitory emotional state
Studies have shown that depression is especially unfavorable in those families where many critical comments are made towards the patient. Try to make the patient understand that his condition is not his fault, but a misfortune, that he needs help and treatment
try not to concentrate on the illness of a loved one and bring positive emotions into your life and into the life of your family. If possible, try to involve the patient in some useful activity, rather than removing him from activities.

Compiled by the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation

Candidate of Psychological Sciences A.B. Kholmogorova, Candidate of Medical Sciences T.V. Dovzhenko, Candidate of Psychological Sciences N.G. Garanyan

Symptoms

For depression, two main symptoms and at least three additional symptoms must be present. Main symptoms:

Depressed mood, regardless of circumstances, for a long time (two weeks or more);
Anhedonia - loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities;
Severe fatigue, “loss of strength”, characterized by the stability of this state (for example, within a month).

Additional symptoms:

Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, anxiety and/or fear;
Low self-esteem;
Inability to concentrate and make decisions;
Thoughts about death and/or suicide;
Unstable appetite, marked loss or gain of weight;
Disturbed sleep, the presence of insomnia or oversleeping.

Depression is less common in children than in adults. Symptoms in children are:

Loss of appetite;
Sleep problems (nightmares);
Problems with grades at school that were not observed before;
Temperament problems: withdrawn, sulky and/or aggressive.

In adolescents, drug or alcohol use may also be an indicator.

Story

The modern concept of depression is similar to the older concept of melancholia. The concept of melancholy comes from “black bile,” one of the “four moods” described by Hippocrates.

The Ebers Papyrus (one of the most important medical treatises of ancient Egypt) also contains a short description of depression. Although the information on the papyrus is full of ritual rites and intricate recipes for exorcising disease-causing demons and other evil spirits, it also indicates a long history of empirical practice and observation.

Depression in neurology and neurosurgery

Links

Overcome depression, anger and resentment forever. Steve Pavlina
Depression - word usage problems. Treatment of depression
The production “Return” - other people’s stories of despondency help to get out of your own depression.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Depression (psychology)” is in other dictionaries:

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Depression is a serious illness that reduces ability to work and brings suffering both to the sick person and to his relatives and friends.

People know very little information about this disease: about the types of depression in psychology, its manifestations and the consequences of this condition; because of this, help is often provided at the wrong time, namely when the depression has already become protracted and severe. Or such help is not provided at all.

In almost all countries, health services are very concerned about statistics that indicate that the number of people suffering from depression is constantly increasing. Doctors and psychologists are trying to give people as much information as possible about depression and how to deal with it.

Types of depression in psychology

Types of depression based on the reasons for its occurrence are divided into three types:

1. Somatically caused depression. It is directly related to physical injuries, such as brain damage, and its occurrence may also be associated with other specific diseases or taking antipsychotic medications.

2. Psychogenic depression. Its occurrence is possible if a person has experienced any stress, for example, divorce, death of a loved one, loss of a job. This includes involutional depression, which is associated with the onset of old age of the patient, and anxious depression, when the patient has constant internal anxiety.

3. Endogenous depression. When it appears, there are no apparent reasons. Often the acute stage of depression becomes chronic. This type of depression includes anesthetic depression (the patient feels alienated from emotions, he completely lacks a sense of empathy), depressive derealization (the patient feels the unreality of the world, it seems to him that people are inanimate), depressive depersonalization (a person loses his own “I”, and at the same time decreases pain sensitivity threshold).

Symptoms of depression

The patient feels guilt, melancholy, despair, anxiety, and lack of self-confidence. He is constantly in a depressed mood, expects something bad, becomes irritable, and often blames himself for everything. His interest in the world around him decreases, and there is a decrease in self-esteem. He stops enjoying things that he used to enjoy.

A depressed person worries about the fate of his family and his own health.

The sick person has disturbed sleep, loss of appetite, intestinal functions are disrupted, sexual desire decreases, he gets tired very quickly, and constantly feels weak.

A person increasingly shows passivity, avoids the company of people because he is not interested in being around them, and refuses a variety of entertainment. Drinking alcohol begins to become a habit for him, as it brings temporary relief.

It is very difficult for the patient to concentrate, to concentrate his attention, and it is difficult for him to make decisions. He constantly sees life in dark, negative colors, and even thinks badly about himself. He believes that a terrible future awaits him; he believes that life is meaningless.

A person with depression may also be constantly haunted by thoughts of suicide because he does not feel needed or significant. A person's thinking slows down.

If at least half of the above symptoms coincide, and this has lasted for at least 2 weeks, then this means that the diagnosis is confirmed.

Video materials on the topic of the article

Depression is a mood disorder, that is, a complex of mental disorders associated primarily with the emotional sphere. This disorder is characterized by various emotional disturbances in which people experience sadness, anxiety, guilt, anhedonia, that is, the loss of the ability to experience pleasure, or apathy, a state where a person experiences neither negative nor positive emotions. In addition, depression is characterized by certain disturbances in the area of thinking. For example, people with depression may find it difficult to concentrate and perform purposeful mental activities that involve concentration. When people are depressed, they have difficulty making decisions. They have dark thoughts about themselves, about the world around them, about people.

Depression Research

Manifestations of melancholy were described back in Antiquity. Hippocrates coined the terms “mania” and “depression.” At the end of the 19th century, German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, the founder of the Kraepelin school, first described manic-depressive psychosis. Later, they began to distinguish between unipolar and bipolar forms of depressive disorder. In modern concepts, manic-depressive psychosis is called bipolar disorder. In addition, we can talk about the so-called neurotic depression, which can affect people who do not suffer from mental illness, but have psychological difficulties that predispose them to depression. Manic-depressive psychosis was described a long time ago, and now this concept is considered outdated. In the modern world, the diagnosis of “depressive episode” is more common, which can have varying degrees of severity.

Causes of depression

Modern ideas about depression are described within the framework of biopsychosocial models. The causes of depression are never clear-cut. Biological factors for depression have been confirmed by genetic studies, but the contribution of genetic factors is generally low. Neurochemical studies show that people prone to depression have abnormalities in the metabolism of neurotransmitters that contribute to the communication between nerve cells and the passage of electrical impulses.

The psychological causes of depression can be summarized in two main ways. First of all, these are violations of self-esteem and self-respect - introjective variants of depression, in which a person has a certain idea of his own “I” as unworthy of love and respect. In this regard, various types of compensatory behavior are formed. For example, this may be expressed in a personality trait such as perfectionism. In this situation, a person can accept himself only when he is ideal, other people evaluate him ideally, and the products of his activity have no flaws. If a person’s life and activity are aimed at confirming a good attitude towards oneself, exhaustion depression sets in. That is, if all activity is aimed at achieving results, a person loses mental energy, which is formed through the experience of positive emotions: joy, pleasure, interest. Such mechanisms of depression are more common in men.

Another direction in understanding the psychological causes of depression is problems in close relationships. When a person needs another person to feel alive and able to adapt to reality, he tends to merge with the other person and reduce the distance as much as possible. In such cases, a person experiences himself through another person. This tendency to depend on relationships can lead to depression. In such relationships, the partner often feels suffocated. They don’t leave him any space; they lean too close to him. Such relationships often fall apart, and the person who needs this merger feels it as a loss of himself.

Manifestations of depression

Melancholy can be felt physically, in the form of squeezing in some parts of the body. Most often people talk about chest tightness. There is a concept of vital melancholy, when a person feels that something is bad, but does not understand what exactly. He does not experience loss, does not suffer from separation from a loved one, but experiences a state of life's melancholy. Patients with this symptom often say that they just feel bad and complain of a depressed mood.

Anxiety is a feeling of internal tension, the expectation of something negative. Anxiety often accompanies depression, but can also occur independently. With depression, anxiety can occur in addition to sadness and depressed mood.

Anhedonia is a state in which a person is unable to experience pleasure from things that previously made him happy. For example, a patient with depression says that previously he would give half his life for a fishing trip, but now he doesn’t even want to think about it. This is a consequence of anhedonia, a distance from everything that previously touched.

People most often experience apathy through their own passivity. Apathy is the most severe manifestation of depression, because this condition is difficult to treat with psychological methods. With apathy, nothing moves a person emotionally, either in a bad or a good sense. In a state of apathy, a person wants to lie in bed, he has no emotions, nothing motivates him, there are no motives.

Sleep and appetite. Emotions are psychological phenomena that have a large physiological, somatic component. They have a cognitive component at the experiential level: before we feel something, we interpret what is happening. When the emotional state is unfavorable, the functions of the autonomic nervous system, which controls the internal organs, are disrupted. A person experiences a variety of physiological symptoms: appetite disturbances in one direction or another, sleep disturbances. Internal tensions make sleep shallow or prevent sleep entry.

Behavior. At the behavioral level, depression manifests itself in passivity, avoidance of contacts, refusal of entertainment, gradual alcoholism or substance abuse.

Forms of depression

One form of depression is bipolar disorder. It manifests itself as a mood disorder that occurs with a phasic course. Phases are periods of time that last for weeks or months. In bipolar disorder, the phase of mania is replaced by a phase of depression. Mania is characterized by a positive mood. In this state, a person is full of plans, sleeps little, does not analyze obstacles, and commits rash actions.

There are significant genetic contributions to bipolar disorder. In neurotic depression, the genetic contribution is lower, and psychosocial factors play a more significant role. In this disorder there is no phase of mania, disturbances in thinking and reality testing, delusions or hallucinations. Treatment of neurotic depression largely depends on psychotherapeutic procedures.

Another form of depression is unipolar depression, which is a depressive episode. It can have three degrees of severity: mild, moderate and severe. This condition lasts for at least two weeks. If the depressive episode recurs, the diagnosis changes from depressive episode to recurrent depressive disorder, that is, to recurrent depression. A person can suffer from depression once in his life, or he can suffer from it twice a year.

In addition, there are forms of mood disorders such as cyclothymia and dysthymia. These are personality characteristics rather than a disease. Dysthymia is the ability of a person to be in a gloomy mood, to have a pessimistic picture of the world, but at the same time function all his life without ever turning to psychiatrists. The intensity of depressive symptoms in dysthymics is low, but continues for years.

Cyclothymia is dysthymia with the presence of phases in which the dysthymic phase is replaced by a phase of good mood and so on. It differs from bipolar disorder in that it is a characteristic related to a person's worldview and personality.

Treatment of depression

There are several psychotherapeutic approaches to treating depression. In particular, psychoanalysts work with depression. They are more focused on the analysis of early losses and traumas. One of the most effective is cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, authored by Aaron Beck. Beck's concept is called cognitive therapy for depression. The main theoretical premise is that a person has negative basic beliefs, ideas about himself, the world, his future, which keep him inside a depression.

A person follows a compensatory strategy of behavior in that he must be liked by everyone and must not make mistakes. These behavior strategies lead to exhaustion or frustration. In cognitive therapy, there are a number of techniques that are aimed at correcting these basic beliefs. More superficial beliefs are corrected first. A person learns to recognize these thinking errors. When he tests this in life, his basic beliefs gradually begin to adjust as well. He begins to accept himself to a greater extent as he is, ceases to depend on the opinions and assessments of others, allows himself to make mistakes and treat them adequately.

In addition, depression is treated with medication. It is known that half of the US population takes antidepressants. In Russia, this practice is also common, but much fewer people turn to psychiatrists. The history of domestic psychiatry during the Soviet period is quite repressive. There are prejudices in people's minds.

Depression must be treated comprehensively. If a person treats depression with antidepressants, his mechanisms of psychological coping with emotions do not mature. As a result, sooner or later he steps on the same rake.

Impact of depression on physical health

There are two mechanisms by which depression affects physical health. Firstly, there is somatization, in which we are not talking about physical health, but about the symptoms that a person experiences as violations of physical health. Often, with depression, a person experiences so-called psychalgia, that is, painful sensations in different parts of the body. However, medical research does not lead to any results. But a person systematically suffers physically: he may have a severe headache or, for example, a knee; In addition, there are stomach or heart pains.

Another mechanism is the effect of depression on health, on changes in body tissues that are associated with depression. Depression itself does not cause damage to internal organs. But a person who is depressed often leads an unhealthy lifestyle. Having a gloomy outlook on the state of things in life, he may not consult doctors or, conversely, consult too often. The physiological and biochemical components of depression have not been fully studied. As for psychology, there are also many blank spots here, in particular in the description of family and cultural mechanisms of depression. Scientists are trying to understand why, for example, in southern countries there are fewer patients with depression than in northern ones, but at the same time in India there are more people with depression than in the whole world.