Depressive syndrome is a painful condition caused by a number of physical and mental abnormalities and characterized by diverse clinical manifestations. Depression is not always, as many people believe, expressed only in depression, apathy, melancholy and melancholy. This disease can often be accompanied by autonomic disorders, gastrointestinal lesions, and endocrine pathologies. In some cases, these manifestations are so pronounced that they can overshadow the affective disorders of the syndrome itself. Depressive syndrome is a serious illness that requires timely professional treatment.
Unipolar disorder
Major depression, also known as unipolar or major depressive disorder, is characterized by persistent feelings of sadness or lack of interest in external stimuli.
Unipolar means the difference between major depression and bipolar depression. Bipolar refers to a state that fluctuates between depression and mania. Unipolar depression focuses solely on the negative emotions and symptoms you may have experienced.
Fortunately, depressive syndrome is well known in the medical community. It is easily treatable with a combination of medication and talk.
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Statistics
The lifetime incidence of depression is more than 20-26% for women and 8-12% for men. Many do not seek re-treatment. The average age of onset is 32 years. It is important to note that women suffer from major depression more often than men.
However, this is a serious problem for both sexes. If left untreated, it can have fatal consequences. Fortunately, there is good news. About 80% of patients who seek treatment for severe depression experience improvement within four to six weeks of starting medication, psychotherapy, support groups, or a combination of these treatments.
Depressive paranoid syndrome
Depressive-paranoid syndrome is an acute course of a patient’s depressive state accompanied by acute delirium. With the development of an acute form of the disease, a person develops hallucinations, catatonic type disorders, as well as automatism at the mental level.
There is no specific reason why this syndrome may occur. The most common is the development of schizophrenia, and the formation of a paranoid complex acts as a consequence. In second place are strong experiences that create serious stress.
Four stages of development of depressive-paranoid syndrome can be distinguished:
- Development of a pessimistic outlook on life, loss of sleep and appetite, lack of sexual desire
- The emergence and development of suicidal tendencies, as a person loses the meaning of life
- An obsessive desire to commit suicide appears and it is impossible to convince a person otherwise
- At the last stage, a person develops persistent delusions. There is a certainty that he is to blame for all the troubles.
The development of paranoid depression occurs gradually and over a long period - about three months.
Causes
Depression can be a consequence of genetic and psychosocial factors.
A depressive syndrome usually follows a trigger in a genetically predisposed person. This is usually due to a combination of factors rather than a single cause. Reasons include:
Genetic factor
Certain genes predispose a patient to developing depression. They are usually inherited from their parents. Variations in the serotonin transporter gene or DNA sequence G1463A have been associated with depressive syndrome. Patients with inherited forms usually have parents suffering from the condition. However, it is not necessary that everyone with a family history will get the disease.
Floor
Women are more often affected. They are more likely to recognize it and seek treatment.
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Character traits
Certain character traits predispose one to it. These include low self-esteem, excessive anxiety, negative thinking, feelings of overdependence, and feelings of superiority over others.
The above factors cannot be eliminated, but understanding that these conditions may be behind depressive syndrome can help you better manage the condition.
Stress
Any condition that causes stress at work or at home can cause the syndrome. These include loss or stress. Family factors such as unhappiness in marriage, divorce also lead to stress. The child gets stressed at school, which leads to anxiety syndrome. Thus, it is necessary to identify the cause of stress and, if possible, eliminate it. A person should be taught to cope with stress.
Chronic diseases
Chronic illnesses, especially those associated with pain and the inability to function or express oneself, lead to anxiety. These include conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, which limit movement, and potentially life-threatening conditions such as severe heart disease and cancer.
Learning problems lead to anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. Some hormonal problems such as hypothyroidism, perimenopause are associated with it. With hormone replacement, these conditions can be controlled without the need for antidepressants.
Childbirth
Hormonal and physical changes after childbirth predispose the mother to low mood. This occurs from 2 weeks to 6 months after birth. New mothers should receive adequate support to cope with depression in the postpartum period.
Loneliness
Living alone increases the chances of suffering. Such people should be encouraged to spend more time in the company of family and friends.
Alcohol
Alcohol stimulates a person for a while, but later causes depression. Some depressed people try to drown their sorrows in alcohol, which leads to further deterioration of the condition. Adequate counseling and abstinence from alcohol help these people cope with their condition.
Medicines
Drugs that cause depression include prednisone, some antibiotics, antihypertensive drugs:
- methyldopa;
- clonidine;
- beta blockers.
Antiparkinsonian drugs such as levodopa, interferon treatment, birth control pills.
With some drugs, such as lamotrigine, topiramate, and gabapentin, depression can become severe enough to lead the patient to commit suicide. A list of medications must be obtained from the patient.
Substance abuse drugs such as cocaine also cause mood problems.
Diet
A diet deficient in vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin B12, which are essential for brain function, causes depressive syndrome. Mineral supplementation helps manage this type of condition.
Symptoms
There are a number of factors associated with the cause of depressive syndrome. Depending on the type, different symptoms may occur.
- Inability to think rationally and focusedly;
- Lack of interest in oneself and the environment;
- Complaints of excessive sleep, headache, loss of energy, anxiety, loss of sexual desire;
- Negative thinking with an inability to see positive solutions;
- Agitation;
- Restlessness;
- Inability to concentrate;
- Emotional breakdown on loved ones;
- Irritability;
- Refusal to communicate with loved ones, cessation of regular activities;
- Exhaustion, lethargy;
- Painful, suicidal thoughts;
- Weight loss, appetite or increase.
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In some cases, symptoms may be severe enough to lead the patient to commit suicide.
Types
You may be surprised to learn that there are many different types of depression. They can affect you, making everyday life difficult. Each type has different reasons.
They all include feelings of disinterest in activities you once loved and a general feeling of boredom. Divided into subtypes, called specifiers, which determine how long depression lasts and determine the characteristics of each type.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Classified as a disease caused by the season. Occurs most often during the winter months when sunlight is not as easily available. SAD can be effectively treated with light therapy. However, almost half of patients do not improve with light therapy alone. Counseling and medication are recommended.
Psychotic depression
Develops if you have hallucinations or believe in delusions that are not related to reality. The psychotic type can be caused by a traumatic event or if there has already been this form of depression in the past.
Postpartum depression
A common occurrence among new mothers experiencing hormonal changes after childbirth. The stress of raising a child and changes in your body can greatly affect your mood. Additionally, parents who adopt children also suffer from symptoms of postpartum depression.
Melancholic
People often show the most common signs including weight loss and decreased interest in activities they once enjoyed. The person experiences a depressed mood, similar to the loss of a loved one or intense grief. Atypical depression is directly related to mood and interaction with others. Symptoms include hypersomnia,
Catatonic
The person experiences motor and behavioral problems. You may be immobilized or have involuntary movements. It is a psychotic disorder that poses a significant risk to the patient's well-being, an additional barrier to treatment of the underlying disorder. Signs of catatonia seriously interfere with basic activities of daily life.
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Depressive hypochondriacal syndrome
Hypochondria is often classified as a psychosomatic disorder. As a rule, the patient does not show symptoms of the disease that could be confirmed by a diagnostic method. It is customary to identify several reasons as a result of which depressive-hypochondriacal syndrome may form:
- A person has experienced a situation of physical violence
- In childhood, a person suffered serious illnesses
- Individual specific features
- Hereditary predisposition.
People suffering from this syndrome feel confident that they have become hostage to a psychosomatic disorder or physical illness. Symptoms can vary widely, ranging from an ordinary feeling of fatigue to complete exhaustion and inability to carry out everyday activities.
Treatment
There are several treatments for depression. These approaches include psychotherapy, antidepressants, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and other somatic treatments.
ECT is generally avoided except in extreme circumstances, in favor of both psychotherapy and antidepressants.
A psychiatrist prescribes antidepressants, which vary for each person depending on individual needs. Most take 2 to 3 weeks to be effective. Therefore, it is necessary to take medications for at least a month, even if you do not notice any effect at the beginning.
If you find yourself experiencing any of the symptoms of depression, you should seek help. Talking to a psychologist is the first step to a happier and more fulfilling life.
Diagnosis of pathology
Only a specialist can diagnose a person. It is impossible to independently determine the disease by the presence or absence of symptoms. There are a number of techniques to help recognize a nervous disorder.
Standard methods:
- Luscher color test (determining the condition by the selected color);
- Zung scale (test);
- Hamilton scale (test questions to determine the severity of the disorder);
- Montgomery-Åsberg scale (test).
Definition of the syndrome according to the clinical picture:
- the presence of both anxiety and depressive symptoms;
- mental disorders are an inadequate response to the stress experienced;
- prolonged appearance of signs of nervous disorder;
- absence of causes provoking the disease;
- exclusion of other diseases.
Often a person does not know which doctor to see. First of all, he goes to the therapist. If the specialist does not detect any diseases, the patient is offered to be checked by a neurologist or psychiatrist.
The neurologist prescribes sedatives, which makes the signs of a nervous disorder disappear for a while. A psychiatrist prescribes psychotic drugs and tranquilizers that put a person into a state of half-asleep. By stopping using sedatives or antipsychotics, a person returns to his troubles.
He begins to suffer from panic attacks, anxiety, and his mood worsens. In this situation, it is best to immediately contact psychologist-hypnologist Nikita Valerievich Baturin. Only a specialist will be able to find the cause of causeless anxiety and help the client get rid of anxious-phobic depression.
