Depression symptoms
How does a person feel with depression:
There is a depressed mood, despondency, melancholy, a feeling of hopelessness, a depressed mood for a long period.
Fatigue and fatigue increase as a result of habitual or light exertion.
Decreased interest and ability to enjoy things that were previously satisfying.
In addition, signs of depression include:
- decreased ability to concentrate;
- low self-esteem and self-doubt;
- feelings of guilt and a tendency to self-deprecation;
- gloomy and pessimistic vision of the future;
- psychomotor retardation or agitation;
- sleep disorders;
- changes in appetite and weight.
Recurring thoughts of death and suicide, or attempted suicide are dangerous symptoms of depression.
The thinking of a person suffering from depression is characterized by the presence of irrational ideas, cognitive errors:
Excessive self-criticism or unjustified feelings of guilt – thoughts of your own worthlessness, loss of self-confidence, low self-esteem, a tendency to self-blame.
A negative vision of the present is a feeling of the meaninglessness of existence, ill will of the world and people.
A negative vision of the future is the expectation of problems, new shocks, failures and suffering.
The risk of developing a depressive disorder is significantly increased in the following cases:
- in old age due to the loss of the meaning of life (retirement);
- when adult children grow up and leave their parents in a child-centered family (“empty nest” syndrome);
- with the loss of a loved one.
Currently, the biopsychosocial model of the development of depression is generally recognized, according to which the causes of depression are social, psychological and biological provoking factors.
Social factors leading to depression:
- acute and chronic stress (loss, betrayal, divorce, various forms of domestic violence);
- loss or change of work;
- high psycho-emotional stress in professional activities;
- retirement;
- economic crises;
- political instability in the country.
Psychological causes of depression:
- the tendency to get stuck in experiences on adverse events as a property of temperament;
- non-adaptive coping strategies in overcoming stressful situations.
Biological causes of depression:
- neurobiological;
- immune;
- endocrinological changes in the body (pregnancy, postpartum period, menopause, hypo- or hyperthyroidism);
- asthenization of the body as a result of severe infectious diseases.
What Happens to Organism in Depression
Lack of serotonin manifests itself in increased irritability, aggression, sleep disturbances, appetite, sexual activity, and a decrease in the pain threshold. A decrease in the concentration of norepinephrine in the neurons of the brain leads to a feeling of increased fatigue, impaired attention, apathy, and decreased initiative.
Dopamine deficiency manifests itself in impaired motor and mental activity, decreased satisfaction from activities (from food, sex, rest, communication), loss of interest in cognition and learning.
Therefore, the drug approach in the treatment of depression is to prescribe antidepressants that regulate the release and interaction of neurotransmitters with receptors of neurons in the limbic system.
