How to overcome depression?

Mild depression (minor, subclinical, subsyndromal, subdepression) is a form of the disease in which the symptoms are smoothed out, the manifestations are not enough to make a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Despite the subjective deterioration in the quality of life due to dysthymia, a person retains the ability to work, the ability to self-care and normal functioning in society.

Psychiatrists and psychotherapists successfully diagnose and treat subdepression. Make an appointment by phone and bring joy and pleasure back into your life.

Causes

Mildly expressed affective disorders arise under the influence of many factors. Their development is facilitated by:

• Other mental disorders. Neuroses, hysteria, increased anxiety, PTSD and other neurotic level disorders complicate everyday life and cause mental suffering.
• Somatic pathologies. Diseases of internal organs, especially severe or numerous ones, significantly limit activity and adaptation capabilities, cause a feeling of hopelessness and anxiety for the future.
• Personal characteristics. Perfectionists, unbalanced, highly sensitive, suspicious, anxious people, people with a tendency towards codependent relationships or an increased need for control are predisposed to the development of mild situational depression.
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• Stressful situations. Prolonged psycho-emotional overload has a bad effect on the state of mind, causes fatigue and eventually leads to exhaustion.
• Brain lesions. Subclinical depression is more often found in patients who have suffered a trauma, stroke or infectious disease of the brain in the past, suffer from cerebral circulatory disorders due to atherosclerosis, or have other damage to the central nervous system.
• Other reasons. An increased risk is observed in the presence of pregnancy pathologies in the mother, severe complicated childbirth. The disease most often occurs in people who have undergone major operations or suffer from chemical and non-chemical addictions.

In adolescents, changes appear against the background of sharp hormonal fluctuations, aggravated by emotional experiences. The greatest influence on the formation of subsyndromal pathology is exerted by other mental and somatic diseases, which are detected in 70% of patients. Subdepression often results from undertreated clinical depression.

Classification

Taking into account the etiology and characteristics of the course, the following types of mild depression are distinguished:

• Residual. It proceeds chronically, exacerbations are replaced by incomplete remissions, but recovery does not occur. More often observed with insufficient treatment of major depressive disorder.
• Post-adaptation. Neurotic symptoms predominate: anxiety, guilt, emotional lability. Becomes the outcome of reactive depression.

• Senile. It is detected in elderly patients, provoked, supplemented and aggravated by age-related changes in the nervous system.
• Somatized. The most common. Physical manifestations prevail: tachycardia, shortness of breath, constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, hand tremors. There is concern about health.
• Characteristic. Predominantly negative experiences are found throughout life. Patients have difficulty getting along with people, suffer from increased sensitivity to the opinions of others and intolerance to criticism. Possible hypochondria.

Symptoms

A low mood background, a tendency to gloomy thoughts and pessimistic statements predominate. Characterized by dissatisfaction with life, increased criticism of oneself and other people, and loss of strength. Sleep is shallow, intermittent, with frequent awakenings and nightmares. Appetite is reduced.

Due to their insignificant severity, the signs may remain unrecognized and be attributed to high stress, overwork, unfavorable external circumstances or personal characteristics. The first three factors may play a role, but are not necessarily present and in this case are not the cause of situational reactions, but a triggering factor for depression. When assessing individual characteristics, it is worth proceeding from behavior over a long period of time - if a person has changed at a certain moment, this does not speak of character, but of illness.

Symptoms such as fatigue, drowsiness, irritability, egocentrism, and a previously uncharacteristic tendency to conflict behavior testify in favor of dysthymia. Emotional fluctuations, boredom, melancholy, and unreasonable feelings of guilt are noted. Fears become actualized (often groundless), and the level of anxiety increases.

A person becomes slow, inhibited, indifferent, and lacking initiative. The ability to empathize decreases. The need for dramatization and hypochondriacal manifestations are determined. As a rule, 1–2 signs are clearly presented in the clinical picture, the rest are not clearly expressed and may go unnoticed.

How to overcome depression?

The widely held belief that depression is a problem exclusively in the modern world is not true. The question of how to overcome depression was asked by humanity a thousand and a hundred years ago. In Europe, depression was called the word “melancholy,” which was coined by Hippocrates, several centuries BC.

As for the term “depression” (from the Latin depressio - suppression) , its history goes back only about one and a half centuries. Over the centuries, countless treatises and instructions have been written on how to overcome depression, but, of course, not knowing the nature of the depressive state, people were not able to provide help to those who really needed it.

Cannabis-based narcotic substances, actively used to treat depression at the beginning of the 19th century, caused some excitement and euphoria in the patient, but the effect was short-lived, after which the person’s condition sharply worsened.

Ignorance of how to overcome depression today often leads a person to seek salvation in drugs and alcohol. But you should know and always remember that alcohol affects chemical processes in the brain, not reducing, but on the contrary, provoking further development of the disease, sometimes in more severe forms, and sometimes adding alcoholic depression to the primary one.

A sane person who has been tormented for a long time by feelings of causeless melancholy and anxiety should understand that only a psychiatrist or psychotherapist can provide qualified assistance. Fortunately, the question of how to overcome depression has now been well studied and is within the professional competence of doctors.

At the same time, there are conditions that are popularly called depression, but have either a short-term manifestation or have nothing to do with mental illness in the clinical sense. It also happens that a sick person is prejudiced against visiting a psychotherapy office, thinking that he himself will find a way to overcome depression. As a rule, until a person realizes the reality of the threat to health that depression poses, he uses all possible ways to get out of a depressed state on his own.

If the depression is not very “advanced” and the patient really wants to get rid of it, then it is quite likely that it will be possible to “get out of it” if you know how to defeat depression using available means. The main thing is to follow the immutable rule - do not use potent medications without a doctor’s prescription in order to avoid side effects.

Having become concerned with the task of how to overcome depression, first of all you need to try to keep your body and consciousness in good shape.

If a person is aware of the problem, then he is quite capable of resisting depression, not going headlong into it, but striving to receive as many positive emotions as possible.

• People trying to find a way to overcome depression need to communicate with friends, family and loved ones as often as possible.
• if for some reason this is problematic, then try to pay more attention to yourself: give yourself a nice gift, no matter what it is, a trinket you like or a thing that you have long dreamed of having.
• Minimize the amount of time you have to spend alone with yourself. Instead, go to the cinema or theater and treat yourself to something tasty and unusual.
• Some experts who know how to overcome depression recommend a radical change of environment - this could be renovating an apartment, replacing furniture, or, say, a tourist trip.
• try to put off “for later” all those things that you hate. Focus on the positive, although it is difficult, but do not engage in self-flagellation and self-deprecation, gather your thoughts, call on all your remaining strength of spirit to help.
• remember only the good things that happened in your life - this will increase your confidence in your abilities. Remember that in this situation you need change.
• In addition to the above, you can look for some kind of antidepressant diet on the Internet or chat on forums with similar interests.
• think about the last time you listened to good music or read an interesting book; if it was a long time ago, then urgently fill in these gaps. As one of the heroes of the famous film “The meeting place cannot be changed” said: “... do, well, do at least something, don’t sit around...”

In the vast majority of cases, along with the question of how to overcome depression, another one arises - how to overcome insomnia, this constant companion of depression, with negative thoughts that exhaust the soul and creep into the head. Any adult knows that sleep is the best cure for a bad mood, and the quality of sleep largely determines the quality of life. This means that the problem of how to overcome depression may well disappear if sleep becomes regular and adequate.

In some, more complex cases, depression may be accompanied by increased appetite or, on the contrary, its absence, an unreasonable feeling of guilt and even the inability to make any decisions. In these situations, the answer to the question of how to overcome depression lies purely in the medical plane and, most likely, it will not be possible to do without the help of doctors. Self-medication for such severe symptoms of depression is fraught with very negative consequences.

You can spend months and even years tormented by the question of how to overcome depression, but it is reliably known that the desire and help of loved ones is not always enough; it is better to turn to a specialist.

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Diagnostics

The examination is carried out by a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. The diagnostic value of testing is low - the results of questionnaires often do not reveal a mild form of depression. Taking this into account, the main role in determining the nature of the pathology is played by a detailed conversation, studying the life history and identifying predisposing circumstances.

If there are somatic complaints, it is necessary to contact specialists of the appropriate profile to exclude endocrine, cardiac, gastroenterological, neurological and other pathologies. Additional studies are prescribed taking into account the detected disorders and may include laboratory tests and imaging techniques (ultrasound, CT, etc.). The recommended mandatory minimum scope of examination includes a general blood test, determination of thyroid hormones, serum iron, and sex hormones.

Signs

The following are symptoms of severe depression:

• Sleep disorders: difficulty falling asleep at night, insomnia, waking up in the morning, nightmares;
• Feels tired during the day and performance is significantly reduced;
• Inhibited;
• Weight changes: the patient loses weight, or vice versa, weight gain occurs;
• Decreased libido;
• Hallucinations, delusions;
• Reduced self-esteem;
• The patient feels and behaves insecurely;
• Blames himself and expresses self-deprecating ideas;
• A man sees his future in dark colors and bleakly;
• Having thoughts of suicide

If you notice these symptoms, do not delay - the disease will not go away on its own, contact a specialist.

Cost of services

This list does not contain all prices for services provided by our clinic. The full price list can be found on the “Prices” , or by calling: 8(969)060-93-93. Initial consultation is FREE!

Treatment of severe depression

It is advisable to begin treatment of severe depression with the weakening and relief of the main symptoms.

The use of antidepressants brings a noticeable improvement in condition and mood. In severe cases, drug treatment in a hospital is necessary. The most effective use of pharmacotherapy is in combination with psychotherapy. Psychotherapy can be carried out in group, individual and family forms.

New treatments such as biofeedback and transcranial magnetic stimulation are also effective for major depression.

In addition to the main treatment, restorative therapy is indicated: walks in nature, massage, etc. The approach to the patient plays a huge role. Patients often show irritation and anger. It is very important that a person with depression receives proper treatment from a doctor.

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Treatment

The main method of treatment is psychotherapy. The direction is chosen taking into account the characteristics of the patient’s character, life history, and the presence of mental disorders. During the work, the patient, together with a specialist, finds the causes of negative experiences, gets rid of unnecessary restrictions, and learns to react to external stimuli in a new way.

Previously, it was believed that subdepression was difficult to treat with antidepressants. Nowadays the approach has changed. There are reliable studies showing the effectiveness of tricyclic antidepressants and SSRIs. The duration of the course is determined individually and is at least six months.

To normalize sleep, sleeping pills, tranquilizers or sedatives based on herbal ingredients are recommended. When memory and cognitive abilities deteriorate, nootropics are used. The state of mild depression can be corrected by changing your daily routine, eating a nutritious diet, regular exercise and spending time in the fresh air.

With timely initiation of therapy, the prognosis is favorable. To prevent dysthymia and prevent relapses, reasonable planning, building friendly relationships in the family and at work, and expanding your social circle are recommended. It is worth thinking in advance about possible ways to support and self-support during difficult periods or when strong experiences arise.

The psyche of each person is unique. The specialists at the Leto clinic know how to deal with depression and will select the appropriate option for any type of dysthymia. Registration is carried out by phone. 8(969)060-93-93.