The consequences of depression are detrimental to health. Nervousness and irritability lead to the release of hormones into the blood that increase arterial pressure and blood sugar levels, suppress the immune system, inhibit digestion, and worsen your health.
Anyone who has experienced depression, either alone or in front of loved ones, knows how hard it can be. The world seems dark and full of danger. Any activity, from getting dressed in the morning to driving a car, requires exhausting effort. Everything is difficult and bad.
Considered in the past to be simply a weakness, or even a whim, depression is now recognized as a real health disorder that affects millions of people around the world. It is diagnosed in both adults and children.
Although the biological causes of depression are not entirely clear, scientists believe they are partly related to an imbalance in the brain of certain neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. Factors such as: excess weight, bad dream, Not healthy eating.
It is important to distinguish between severe (clinical) and light form depression. Mild ones are usually called simply spleen (spleen). Bouts of bad mood are normal and even necessary, especially when a person is faced with failures or losses. Sometimes people are sad for a while and even feel unhappy without any reason. apparent reason. This is also normal. However, if melancholy haunts you for at least two weeks or begins to interfere with everyday activities, perhaps we are talking about.
In the latter case, a person is characterized by melancholy, a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness, or constant worry. He ceases to be interested in his previously favorite activities. To others characteristic symptoms include anxiety, irritability, lack of energy, insomnia, weight gain or loss, digestive disorders and physical pain.
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Consequences of depression
AND deep depression, and a short bout of blues is a heavy physical and mental burden for the body, especially for immune system.
Research shows that it noticeably weakens during periods of low mood. Because a person has incredibly strong psychosomatic connections or interdependence of physical and mental states. These two sides of the individual are inseparable. In other words, whatever your mood, such is your health.
This is confirmed by a study in which the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), one of the markers of inflammation, were determined in the blood of elderly people. It turned out to be higher than that of their peers with a normal mood. It is known that excess IL-6 over a long period of time increases the risk of many chronic diseases, including cardiac ischemia, osteoporosis, diabetes and some types of cancer.
With depression, the level of natural killer cells and T-lymphocytes decreases - immune cells, attacking and destroying foreign microorganisms. Experts say people who are depressed are more likely to develop shingles, a painful rash that occurs when a weakened immune system reactivates the chickenpox virus that lies dormant in the body. nerve nodes dorsal roots of the spinal cord.
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When a child is moping
It is completely unnatural when children lose interest in their favorite games and activities and are constantly in an irritated, sad and tearful state. And this is the first thing a parent should pay attention to in order to prevent the development of severe depression and subsequent illnesses, and then not resort to long-term treatment.
Sometimes children develop hyperactivity and syndromes of anxiety and attention deficit due to the blues. All this gives them a lot of difficulties.
Adults should be aware that a child suffering from depression is more likely to use alcohol, drugs, or smoke than their healthy peers. This makes the treatment process for depression more difficult, longer, and can lead to suicidal behavior.
Early diagnosis and frank, confidential communication with the child will help avoid such complications.
The consequences of depression cause irreparable harm to the body and are practically incurable. But the good news is that depression itself is treatable. For this purpose, antidepressants are prescribed, which help the patient cope with everyday responsibilities and at the same time strengthen his immunity.
Antidepressants do not help everyone. This is well known to psychotherapists who make a diagnosis and provide adequate treatment aimed at eliminating all factors that activate the mechanism of depression.
Feeling depressed, persistent Bad mood, negative thoughts: every person has encountered this at least once in their life. Similar conditions are reliable signs of depression.
Depression is the most common mental disorder today. However, despite the fact that its danger has been proven, a lot of people do not consider this state illness, preferring not to take any measures.
But how dangerous are such feelings? And how to recognize depression?
Types and causes of depression
Depression does not occur out of nowhere. When a person’s life is filled with bright, pleasant colors, he is unlikely to think about bad things and become depressed. Depression and melancholy occur when life path any problems arise that are difficult for a person to cope with.
Depression often manifests itself during various life troubles: problems in the family, at work, as well as personality disorders. Changes occur in the consciousness of the individual, often without his awareness. How severe the depression will be depends on what triggered it. The exact causes of depression are not known. However, it has been revealed that the onset of the disease is influenced by:
- somatic diseases;
- seasonal lack of light;
- substance abuse;
- in women it can be a prenatal or postpartum condition.
It has been revealed that depression occurs in women much more often than in men due to differences in hormonal structure.
Types of depression
Depressive illness is divided into:
– Exogenous.
In this case, it is caused by some external irritant (disease loved one, dismissal, other undesirable external phenomena)
– Endogenous.
This condition is caused by internal personal problems
It is believed that depression caused by external factors is more dangerous than endogenous.
Depression has 3 stages of development:
- dystrophy - a situation when a person is in a rather bad mood for a long time(about a year);
- A depressive episode is a condition characterized by more severe feelings. With prolonged depressive episode suicide attempts are often made;
- depressive disorder - diagnosis depressive disorder diagnosed when there is a recurrence of depressive episodes in a person’s life.
Based on the descriptions of the conditions, you can see how severe and dangerous depression can be and why it is important to take the disease seriously.
Signs of illness
It is not difficult to recognize a depressed person. He often speaks quietly, is withdrawn, depressed, and melancholic. The individual does not strive to communicate with others; he rather tries to isolate himself from the outside world.
Symptoms depressive illness can be:
Decreased mood, causeless sadness, excessive isolation.
Insomnia, lack of appetite.
Motor retardation.
Failures in thinking, decreased concentration.
Persistent low self-esteem.
Reluctance to live, loss of meaning in life and joy.
The identification of symptoms of depressive disorder, as well as their causes, is very arbitrary. They can be present either singly or simultaneously.
Depression can be confused with other illnesses. It can manifest itself as symptoms of a migraine, exhaustion, or some other disease.
Danger of disease. Consequences.
People often underestimate the danger of prolonged depressed states, believing that they do not carry great harm and are temporary. A visit to a psychotherapist is the last step that many are ready to take in the fight against constant melancholy.
And for some people, such depressed feelings do not leave for years. They consider constant sadness to be their character trait. Some people use such melancholy to justify any inappropriate behavior.
However, it is better not to joke with depression. Frequent, repeated depressed states affect the state of the body as a whole. A person cannot lead a normal life social life, becomes indifferent and apathetic. It is difficult for even the closest people to communicate with such a person.
What does depression lead to? Loss of taste for life, decreased self-esteem, and feelings of depression prompt a person to seek salvation in harmless substances such as alcohol. The use of psychotropic and other substances leads to a deterioration in health and the emergence of new serious diseases.
Conclusion: depression must be treated, otherwise it can have serious consequences for your health and for your entire life.
Treatment
A person may not always realize that he is depressed. But if you detect a prolonged depressed state, you need to consult a psychotherapist. A person can cope with depression at the initial stage on his own. However, this requires a clear understanding of the internal or external reasons depressed state.
For a more complex form of the disorder, only A complex approach. It consists of next stages:
– Taking medications.
Medicines must be prescribed by a doctor. It is based on the following factors:
- severity of the patient's disease;
- frequency of depression, whether it was previously diagnosed;
- the patient has a contraindication to the use of certain medications
– Psychotherapy.
This step is required. A psychotherapist will help a person understand the causes of depression. The doctor’s goal is to teach you to control your emotions. In psychotherapy, an important point is the trusting relationship between the doctor and the patient.
You need to start fighting depression when it first sets in. It is important to remember that the patient’s own efforts in treating depression are the most important. To get out of a depressed state, a person needs to constantly work on himself.
- don't take life important decisions during periods of depression, for example, divorce, real estate transactions; at this time it is difficult to adequately assess the decision made;
- do not expose yourself to stress and take care of your body and immunity; heavy physical activity is not recommended;
- do not isolate yourself, communicate with relatives and friends, like-minded people
- get rid of negative thoughts(it is important to learn how to switch them to neutral and optimistic)
- Let there be more pleasant little things in life: tasty food, dancing or favorite sports
A person's life cannot consist only of white stripes. When faced with troubles, it is important not to fall into despair, realizing that they are temporary. Depression – curable disease, the main thing is not to let everything take its course, not to withdraw into oneself, maintaining trust in the world.
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Prolonged depression appears after prolonged stress. In this state, a person feels worse every day.
Here are some of the consequences this condition can cause:
- obesity or, on the contrary, ugly thinness;
- “dull” eyes;
- bags under the eyes;
- fatigue;
- poor posture (usually stooping);
- unkempt hair, skin;
- for girls – lack of attractive makeup and manicure;
- appearance of bad taste in clothing, etc.
Signs and symptoms
In fact, there are many types of depression. Some are associated with some event (postpartum, a consequence of separation, etc.), others – with age (in a teenager, in older people, in the end, a midlife crisis). But the manifestations of this disease are almost always the same.
This condition has the following symptoms:
It is important to understand that for some people, the manifestation of some of the symptoms does not at all indicate the presence of a stressful condition. For them, it’s just a character trait and an acceptable way of life for them. In a person who is in prolonged depression, at least 80% of these symptoms can be noted.
How to treat
Psychotherapy
Most likely, a person with long-term depression will not be able to return to normal life on one's own. There are some specialists working to help cope with this condition and other mental disorders.
Here is a list of people who have the power to make a significant positive impact:
- psychotherapist;
- psychiatrist;
- psychologist;
- neurologist.
Everyone works in their own ways. Some bring you out of despondency with conversations, others with medications, others with hypnosis, etc. But you need to remember that you should go to them only if you have a sincere and overwhelming desire to cope with a severe form of apathy. Otherwise, the help of doctors will most likely be invisible.
Drug treatment
This situation will have to be dealt with with the help of special medications. Their action is aimed at calming nervous system, reduce susceptibility to irritating factors. 
However, such medications cannot be the only method of treatment. They are prescribed in order to dampen this condition in order to begin more effective subsequent work with the patient.
Please note that some drugs have a number of side effects. You cannot prescribe them yourself. Only a specialist can choose a comprehensive and beneficial treatment for you.
Homework
A person must first of all help himself to get out of prolonged depression. Listed below are the basic techniques that will enable you to make a big leap towards getting rid of this condition.
- Don't feel sorry for yourself. While a person sympathizes with his condition, he feeds his enemy - depression - with ever new forces. You need to be stronger, because life passes, and not in the best way, but everything can be fixed...
- Don't dramatize. Many people go through what can be called the cause of depression. It is necessary to come to terms with the fact that caused this condition and either try to correct it, or move on with life, depending on the situation.
- Don't sit idly by. If a person with such a problem locks himself in the house near the TV, nothing will happen. On the contrary, through certain time he will drown more and more in his condition. And if he goes out and begins to develop himself, move, work on himself, make new friends, communicate, then the problem will gradually begin to be forgotten.
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The word “depression” can be found quite often; some people use it without understanding what depression is.
So, depression - this is, first of all, mental disorder. Today, depression is one of the most common human diseases.
Depression is often confused with being in a “bad” mood, but what distinguishes real depression from low mood?
Typical symptoms of depression:
Emotional
Longing, suffering, depressed, depressed mood, despair;
Anxiety, feeling of internal tension, anticipation of trouble;
Feelings of guilt, frequent self-accusation;
Dissatisfaction with oneself, decreased self-confidence, decreased self-esteem;
Decreased or lost ability to experience pleasure from previously have fun;
Decreased interest in the surrounding reality.
Physiological
You notice disturbances in appetite and sleep/wake patterns;
You have reduced sexual activity and attraction;
Increased fatigue under normal loads, decreased energy tone, feeling of weakness, loss of strength;
Bodily symptoms - heart pain, migraines, skin and gastrointestinal diseases.
Behavioral
Passivity, difficulties in performing purposeful activities;
Avoidance of contacts, tendency to solitude, loss of interest in other people;
Refusal of entertainment;
Alcoholization, use of psychotropic substances.
Mental manifestations
Difficulty concentrating, concentrating;
The predominance of gloomy, negative thoughts about one’s life, oneself, and others;
Pessimistic vision of the future, lack of perspective, thoughts about the meaninglessness of existence;
Thoughts about suicide;
Thoughts about one’s own helplessness, insignificance, uselessness;
Slowness of thinking.
To make a diagnosis of depression, it is necessary to observe the listed symptoms for at least two weeks. Chronic depression can last six months or more. Depression varies in severity: from persistent low mood to severe conditions, in which a person cannot get out of bed.
Types, causes and treatments of depression
Psychotherapy for psychogenic depression is aimed at solving interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts and overcoming a stressful situation.
What happens if depression is not treated?
Depression is often perceived both by the person himself and by those around him as a manifestation bad character, laziness and selfishness, promiscuity or innate pessimism. It should be remembered that depression is not just a bad mood, but a serious emotional problem, a painful disorder, or even serious disease, so it is important to seek help from specialists in a timely manner.
What usually prevents people from seeking help for depression?
Possible social restrictions, registration with the PND;
Negative attitudes and critical assessments from others if someone finds out that a person is being treated by a psychiatrist;
Fear negative influence drug treatment, which is based on widespread but inadequate ideas about the dangers of psychotropic substances.
Untreated depression can lead to severe consequences. If a person suffers from depression for many years and does not seek help, treatment can be lengthy and difficult. People suffering from depression can eventually lose their jobs, lose friends, and destroy their families. Depressed people prone to abuse of alcohol and other substances. The most dangerous consequence of depression can be suicide attempts. Thus, contacting specialists of the appropriate profile (psychiatrist, psychotherapist) helps prevent negative consequences.
You should also remember that your own efforts are important in treating depression; without them, results will be achieved more slowly.
How can you help yourself?
1) Follow a daily routine: no matter how trivial it may sound, nevertheless, correct mode sleep and wakefulness, alternating work and rest will benefit you.
2) Avoid drinking alcohol, narcotic substances, reduce your caffeine intake.
4) Try to maintain communication with friends and loved ones, ask them for support, and not hide behind a mask Have a good mood. Masking requires energy and does not improve the condition.
5) Exercise everyday affairs without waiting for the depression to end. This, of course, does not mean that you should bring down on yourself the entire mass of things that you have left. Remember, “a bird in the hand is better than a pie in the sky,” therefore, set “tit” goals, not crane goals. Do your daily chores every day: self-care, try to cook your own food at least sometimes, do minimal exercise.
There are no barriers, many people who suffered from depression learned to cope with their condition and found new goals and meanings.
Remember that only those who are treated will recover from depression.
Prolonged depression has become a real scourge modern society. Exposure to constant stress, high pace of life, social and economic crises leads to the development of this disease, which affects all layers of society.
Most often it begins between the ages of 40 and 45, but there are cases of its development in adolescents. And among older people, the figure almost triples.
How to recognize depression?
Acute depression occurs in young and middle-aged people. Only recently a person was cheerful and active, and now he is losing interest in life, gets tired quickly, and does not show positive emotions.
Sometimes depression begins very early, in childhood or adolescence. IN in this case Even the person himself sometimes cannot identify this disease, and everyone around him considers this a feature of his character. Therefore, the patient does not consult a doctor, and the disease continues to progress slowly.
Symptoms of prolonged depression depend on the reason for which it develops, the most common of which are:
- Often this condition accompanies severe somatic disease(myocardial infarction, cancer, tuberculosis). All this time, the patient experiences enormous stress, especially when the illness is accompanied by severe pain. If physical state gradually worsens, then neuroticization of the personality occurs. In this case, depression resembles a hypochondriacal state (continuous fear for one’s life, fear of being a burden to others).
- Alcoholism. Usually to excess consumption alcoholism is caused by certain personal characteristics, which gradually worsen with the duration of alcoholism. In this case, depression worsens and suicide attempts occur.
- There are often cases of prolonged depression in women after the birth of a baby. This condition is called postpartum depression, and manifests itself in the form of predominantly associative thinking, loss of a sense of reality, decrease or loss of tactile sensitivity.
Common signs of depression
Despite multiple causes that can lead a person to prolonged depression, there are general symptoms of this pathology:
- sleep and appetite disturbances;
- lack of positive emotions, constant bad mood;
- feeling constant weakness, inability and unwillingness to fulfill their obligations;
- desire for solitude;
- decreased libido;
- distrust of people, refusal to accept help.
In order to understand whether a patient has prolonged depression, or whether it is simply a manifestation of certain character traits, one should carefully monitor him. Depression is diagnosed when most of the symptoms of this disorder are observed.
What does depression lead to?
If measures are not taken, this condition has very negative consequences:
- Deterioration of health. Loss of interest in life leads to a person starting to use drugs and alcohol. Exercising, walking and eating a healthy diet greatly undermines your health and leads to the development of serious diseases.
- The accumulation of negativity may end nervous breakdown, in which there is no control. The patient may then commit fatal actions.
- Deterioration in appearance. A person suffering from depression is characterized by severe asthenia, or obesity, external unkemptness, sloppiness, and a dull look.
The long course is pumped up by development mental disorders who are treated only by a psychiatrist.
Help for depression
If the disease drags on for a long time, then the person is no longer able to cope with it on his own. At such a moment, specialists (psychologists, neurologists, psychotherapists) come to the rescue. About how to treat prolonged depression Only a doctor knows, since there is no single recipe for this pathology.
To provide assistance in this situation, an integrated approach is used. And it is very important that the patient has a sincere desire to get rid of his problem, otherwise any methods will be ineffective.
At the first stage, it recommends taking medicines, which are aimed at eliminating irritability, normalizing sleep, and eliminating the influence of negative factors. 
After this, the psychologist helps the client gain self-confidence, see the positive sides of life, and understand his place in it. Work is carried out individually, or in the form of group classes.
A person suffering from such an illness must independently come to the conclusion that he needs to take steps towards recovery:
- Switch to a balanced and healthy diet.
- Ensure yourself a good night's rest.
- Use herbal medicine in the form soothing decoctions, baths for relaxation.
- Do exercises every day. Physical exercise promote the production of serotonin, which is so lacking in depression.
- Do your own thing appearance. Buy new clothes, change your hairstyle, makeup, think about your style.
- Do yoga, meditation, self-development.
The main thing with this problem is to stop feeling excessive pity for yourself, not to get hung up on your condition, and not to sit idly by.
Only in this case is it possible to overcome depression and return to life as a full-fledged member of society.