Often a depressed mood is accompanied by feelings such as unexplained anxiety and despondency. Some patients feel these feelings physically, like a bodily discomfort. There are three main signs of overt depression: worsening emotional state, slower thinking process and slower motor skills.
In the modern world, depression occupies a special place among mental disorders. In terms of frequency of cases, it has no equal
– one in ten people over 40 years of age is susceptible to this disease. Depressive symptoms are twice as common in women as in men, and after age 65, the incidence triples. In childhood and adolescence (10–16 years), depression is observed in 5% of cases, and overall data on the prevalence of depression in young adults reaches 40%. Of undoubted concern is the fact that it is in adolescence that various manifestations of mental disorder lead to suicide.
Severe depression causes
Severe depression usually occurs for two reasons: psychological and physiological.
For psychological reasons, depression can develop as a result of stress or any traumatic situation. This could be the death of a loved one or relative, physical or moral violence, a terrible disaster in which a person became a participant, and many others. Usually, after two months, the depressive state can go away, but without proper help it drags on and severe depression can develop.
A number of seemingly insignificant unpleasant life situations present in a person’s life for quite a long time can become a source of constant stress. Lack of material resources; work that doesn't bring you joy; forced living with unpleasant people; deterioration in the quality of life due to any chronic disease - all this can be attributed to a constant stressful situation.
Severe depression can develop due to frustration - a condition in which a person constantly feels that his desires are impossible to fulfill.
An existential crisis can simultaneously act as both a cause and a manifestation of depression. It is expressed in the loss of life goals, a feeling of the meaninglessness of existence, and an imbalance of harmony.
The physiological causes of depression have completely different roots. Alcohol and drug use, menopause, cerebrovascular accidents, severe fatigue, chronic diseases, lack of proper nutrition - this is just a small list of physiological disorders that can lead to severe depression. An important fact is that depression rarely develops for any one reason; often several factors lead to it. And successful treatment is only possible if all the causes of this mental disorder are taken into account.
Severe depression symptoms
The fact that a person is severely depressed is determined by the following symptoms: depressed mood, decreased performance and activity, constant feeling of fatigue, inability to concentrate on anything, constant self-flagellation and guilt, low self-esteem, thoughts of suicide, a gloomy and hopeless look for your future, insomnia or, conversely, severe drowsiness, loss of appetite.
The clinical picture of severe depression is as follows: a person experiences a persistent feeling of melancholy every day; his mood is depressive; signs of psychomotor retardation are observed; he cannot concentrate his attention on anything; sexual desire decreases; in the morning the patient feels tired and exhausted due to the fact that he cannot sleep normally at night. Manifestations of severe depression also include a feeling of suffocation and discomfort in the chest, complete apathy, pessimistic views of one’s future (a person always expects an accident to happen), lack of will, inability to make any decisions, constant drowsiness and a feeling of laziness.
Classification of depression and its types
There are two main types of depression:
- exogenous (the disorder is caused by environmental influences, for example, the death of a loved one or loss of a job);
- endogenous (the disorder is caused by an internal conflict, the cause of which in most cases remains unclear).
Clinical
Clinical depression is the “classic” form of the disorder. It is placed in the case when all the symptoms are clearly expressed and represent a holistic picture of the disease, but there is no opportunity to study the details and diagnose the type with greater accuracy.
The disease develops gradually and consistently. At the peak, a person is depressed all the time and feels mentally and physically exhausted. Behavior and way of thinking change radically - inexplicable anxiety, fear, and despair appear.
Important! Possible thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts.
Diagnosis is made when all symptoms are observed for at least 14 days.
Chronic
The main difference from the clinical one is the length and severity. Symptoms are milder, but appear over a period of 2 years or more. A person can lead his usual lifestyle - communicate with family, go to work, however, his mood is always noticeably depressed, his former hobbies are no longer of interest, and the company of new people is frightening.
Problems with physical condition help to more accurately determine the diagnosis - insomnia, loss of appetite, lack of performance, regular headaches, decreased libido, changes in behavior.
Important! With chronic depression, the menstrual cycle may be disrupted.
Chronic depression makes a person more withdrawn and detached from the rest of the world. Suicidal thoughts and intentions appear.
Bipolar
Bipolar (manic) is the most severe type of depression. The disorder is transmitted through heredity or arises against the background of other mental disorders.
The main feature of the bipolar type is a sudden, causeless change in mood. In the first period of time, the patient is irritable, depressed, refusing communication and his own hobbies. Slow speech and lack of physical and mental activity may be present.
The second period is radically different from the first - the person is in a state of euphoria, talks a lot, laughs, makes plans, cannot sit still, always working on something. The period of bright activity is usually less long-term.
Important! At the height of the disease, hallucinations, attacks of aggression or delusions may occur.
This type of mental disorder requires regular observation in a hospital and drug treatment. The patient's further condition is also unstable, since relapses may occur or other mental illnesses may appear.
Masked
Masked depression is difficult to diagnose, since the symptoms are hidden by the appearance of somatic pathologies.
Bad mood, apathy and physical malaise can be attributed to vegetative-vascular dystonia, arterial hypertension, osteochondrosis and other similar diseases.
In the psychoanalytic concept, one of the symptoms of masked depression is hyperactive activity.
The patient does not want to accept the fact of depression, completely focusing on his own health, forgetting about family and work responsibilities, and self-care.
Important! Masked depression is difficult to treat due to the patient’s reluctance to take action. It is necessary to combine a visit to a psychotherapist and drug treatment that will improve the patient’s condition.
Psychotic
Psychotic depression develops due to a hereditary predisposition or brain injury. The main feature is the presence of hallucinations, delusions, mania or phobia. They are attached to the “classic” symptoms.
Unlike bipolar depression, in this case the person is constantly under the pressure of apathy and his own bad mood. The patient withdraws so much into himself that he simply does not want to discuss the problem or contact a specialist.
Important! Cases of suicide in psychotic depression occur an order of magnitude more often than in other types.
Neurotic
Neurotic depression is a mixture of a classic type of disease and neurosis. Most often occurs in people with a weak nervous system or a certain type of character.
The main cause of neurotic depression is a conflict or a stalemate from which the patient does not see a way out. Typical symptoms are mixed with signs of neurosis - headaches, digestive system problems, muscle and joint pain.
In most cases, the patient himself realizes that he needs help.
Atypical
With atypical depression, in addition to the main symptoms, there is an increase in appetite, constant drowsiness, a desire to cry, pain throughout the body, increased anxiety and panic attacks.
Important! For atypical depression, tranquilizers and mood stabilizers are prescribed to help eliminate panic attacks.
Postpartum
This type of depression can occur both after a normal, successfully completed birth, and after an interrupted pregnancy, miscarriage, frozen pregnancy, or stillbirth. The cause of postpartum depression can be a sharp hormonal surge.
Important! For mothers who have given birth for the first time, depression occurs after 2-4 months.
Postpartum depression is characterized by: increased emotionality, internal emptiness, anxiety, guilt, indifference, and sometimes even aggression towards the child.
Severe depression signs
If a person does not have the strength and desire to do anything, if he cannot force himself to do anything, and at the same time is constantly in a bad, depressed mood, then this indicates signs of a depressive state. Manifestations of depression also include constant laziness, which disguises apathy. The fact is that during severe depression, a person’s brain begins to work differently - its biochemical processes change, which leads to laziness. There are three main brain transmitters that are responsible for a person’s mood, energy and performance - dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. And when their work is disrupted, complete apathy sets in and there is a lack of energy to engage in any activity. In such cases, it is necessary to start treatment with special drugs on time, otherwise the person simply will not want to get out of bed in the morning and will completely lose interest in life. The consequences of severe depression can be very serious and negative for the patient - a constant feeling of fear and anxiety develops, eventually acquiring manic forms.
The course of severe depression in pregnant women deserves special attention. Since it often causes miscarriage. Therefore, at the slightest sign of depression, a woman needs to seek help from a specialist.
What dangers does depression pose and what are the ways to combat it?
A prolonged depressive state provokes a decrease in performance. The result of this can be problems in the professional field, and then a whole mechanism is launched. Depressed mood directly affects physical health: immunity decreases, diseases of internal organs occur. Poor adaptation to society can be one of the reasons for attempting suicide.
Treatment of low mood and severe depression produces results. This is the first rule that you need to know and remember. Because many people find it difficult to recognize their condition as a mental disorder, they rarely seek help from specialists. If you or your loved ones are faced with such a disorder, you can count on qualified help from our clinic staff. Apathy, depression and prolonged self-doubt are reasons to immediately seek help from a psychotherapist.
Severe depression and suicide
Severe depression is dangerous because the patient completely loses the instinct of self-preservation. A persistent feeling of melancholy, as well as constant pain tormenting his soul, makes him think about suicide. An overwhelming feeling of guilt, a feeling that he deserves punishment, a desire to free his loved ones, often push a person to commit suicide. According to statistics, 15% of people with mental disorders of unknown etymology become victims of suicide.
At the onset of the disease, the person is so weak, exhausted by severe depression, that he is unable to take any steps to take his own life. But as soon as this condition goes away, the patient may attempt to commit suicide. He will think through the suicide plan in detail, develop it, and try to create a deceptive impression that he has gotten better, without leaving the thought of committing suicide.
The most common cases of suicide are among lonely people with a history of somatic illnesses and people with a history of suicide in their family.
What should a person do if he has all the signs of severe depression? There is only one answer to this question: seek help immediately. If depression is not treated, it will become chronic, and this is fraught with very dangerous consequences.
