Severe degree of depression. Very severe depression. Major depression as a complex mental illness

The disease can occur against the background of various factors - mental trauma, imbalance in the body, stress.

All segments of the population are subject to depression, regardless of gender and age, material and social status. Getting out of depression on your own is almost impossible. Therefore, at the first signs of such a condition, it is necessary to immediately seek help from a psychotherapist.

Causes of severe depression

Depression can manifest itself for various reasons, which are classified by origin into physiological and psychological. Physiological reasons are:

  • various types of poisoning - alcohol, narcotic, drug;
  • hormonal imbalance;
  • unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle;
  • head injury;
  • cardiovascular diseases.

Psychological factors include:

  • mental trauma arising against the background of disasters, wars, loss of loved ones, physical violence;
  • stressful situations provoked by poverty, chronic diseases, unbearable work, life with hated people;
  • personal crisis or existential, characterized by internal discomfort, anxiety and loss of the meaning of life;
  • a state of frustration as a result of the inability to satisfy one's desires and needs.

Depression is always caused by a number of reasons. Rarely there are cases when the disease manifests itself under the influence of only one cause. If all of them are taken into account, success in treatment is guaranteed.

Symptoms of depression

The state of depression is divided into 3 stages according to the degree of severity. With a mild disorder, the patient is engaged in habitual activities, but is constantly in a depressed mood. At the moderate stage, there are disorders in which a person is no longer able to engage in daily activities. With severe depression, the patient cannot cope with himself and with the tasks set. All stages of depression are related to affective disorders and differ in their symptoms and clinical picture.

Symptoms of severe depression affect both the nervous system of a person and his physical condition. The patient's level of vitality decreases, chronic fatigue is observed, sleep and appetite are disturbed. It is very difficult for a person with such a disease to concentrate his thoughts and attention, remember information and make any decision. There is a feeling of helplessness, uselessness, emptiness. The patient is constantly in despondency, renounces the outside world, isolates himself. A person's self-esteem decreases, suicidal thoughts, self-flagellation appear. In addition to psychological disorders, there are physical symptoms: heaviness between the ribs, headaches and pain in the heart, stomach problems, psychomotor disorders, there is no need for sex.

There are several types of severe forms of depression: melancholy, anxious and apathetic. The melancholy form is characterized by hopelessness, lack of aspiration, worsening of the morning state, heaviness in the chest, retardation of movements and insomnia during the second half of the night. The apathetic form is characterized by the manifestation of passivity and laziness, drowsiness and inactivity. With anxious depression, mental anguish, agitation, deterioration in the evening, sleep disturbance in the first half of the night are observed. The patient is in anticipation of trouble.

Signs of the disease are manifested in apathy, indifference, unwillingness to do anything, lack of strength. Depression can change the biochemical processes in the brain, which provokes laziness. Loss of interest in the world and people. The patient experiences fear and anxiety, mood worsens and energy is significantly reduced. With disorders over a long period, a person can no longer fight mental anguish and painful condition. There are delusional thoughts about a meaningless existence, an obsession with punishment and deliverance of loved ones from custody of oneself. All this provokes thoughts of suicide.

How to cure severe depression?

In a state of deep depression, the patient cannot find a way out on his own. Relatives and relatives, if symptoms of the disease are detected, should consult a psychotherapist and be patient. People suffering from depression themselves cannot decide on such a move because of their lethargy and indecision.

The treatment of severe depression is a rather lengthy process, which includes combination therapy using antidepressants and tranquilizers, as well as psychotherapy.

Due to the high risk of suicide, the patient will need the help of a psychotherapist, clinical psychologist and psychiatrist.

The stage of deep depression is treated with antidepressants, which gradually and slowly improve the mood and increase the patient's activity. Pharmacotherapy also includes the use of hypnotics and tranquilizers, which can relieve internal tension, get rid of anxious feelings and eliminate insomnia.

Along with drug therapy, psychotherapy is no less important. Together, these methods allow you to permanently get rid of the disease. The use of non-pharmacological methods increases the effectiveness of the use of drugs. In psychotherapy, there are several methods by which you can get out of a depressive state: cognitive-behavioral, family, interpersonal and psychodynamic therapy. Treatment is selected by a psychotherapist for each patient individually, based on the symptoms of the disease.

People suffering from deep depression and severe inhibited reactions need treatment in special psychiatric clinics. The help of inpatient clinics lies in the fact that a change of scenery favorably affects the patient, a decrease in the load in a hospital regimen, and the connection of interpersonal relationships breaks. It is very difficult to treat such patients. It is important to find an approach, even if the patient does not make contact and remains indifferent.

When a person begins to feel more independent and liberated, thinking is restored, activity and mood improve, it is necessary to return him to the previous rhythm of life. For this, there are various training programs. Favorably on depressive patients are classes where patients can do something with their own hands. In addition to the main treatment, general strengthening therapy is used - walking, massages, thermal procedures, listening to music.

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Major depression as a complex mental illness

Severe depression as a complex mental illness is characterized by a person's feelings of depression, longing, emotional discomfort, pessimism and indifference. Approximately 20% of people on the planet are prone to depressive disorders, but some do not even think about the presence of such a disease. That is why it is very important to know the causes, symptoms and treatments for this disease.

There are two main groups of causes of severe depression: psychological and physiological. Causes of a psychological nature are various stresses, mental trauma, for example, the death of loved ones, problems at work and in personal life, divorce, and so on. As a rule, after some time this state of mind disappears, but in some cases it remains for months and develops into a disease.

Today, every person, to a greater or lesser extent, is subjected to frequent stress. This may be a poor financial situation, conflicts at work, rudeness from a stranger, traffic jams, and so on. And childhood traumas, for example, poor education or bullying by peers, significantly increase the possibility of a serious illness.

Among the psychological causes, frustration and an existential crisis are distinguished. Frustration is a state of mind, which is characterized by the impossibility of fulfilling one's desires and hopes. And an existential crisis arises because a person loses the meaning of life and a sense of harmony.

The main physiological causes include physical fatigue, exhaustion of the body, traumatic brain injury, alcohol or drug abuse, poor sleep and nutrition, hypovitaminosis, and a sedentary lifestyle. Severe depression is due to several factors from different groups, not just one. Given all these reasons, one can hope for effective treatment.

Symptoms of severe depression

Symptoms of this mental disorder include:

A sick person cannot think at the same level, all his actions become inhibited, he is not interested in his former hobbies, he becomes very indecisive. The clinical picture of this disease is differentiated by the main affect. It is characterized by the affect of experiences, melancholy, lethargy, hopelessness, sleep disturbances, and so on.

Severe depression is characterized by severe anxiety, which manifests itself in the constant expectation of future misfortune, mental pain, lack of oxygen, especially bad mood in the evenings and poor sleep in the first half of the night. Apathetic depression is also possible, when a person becomes passive and lazy, does nothing and sleeps in bed for days on end.

The first symptoms of severe depression are considered to be a lack of strength in a person to perform any work, lack of desire, indifference, and laziness and apathy are frequent additions to the clinical picture. Depression is accompanied by physiological changes in the body.

So, in the brain, the ratio of the hormones serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine changes significantly. Their insufficient amount leads to a decrease in vital energy, mood and the appearance of apathy. It is increasingly difficult for a sick person to force himself to do something, so he spends boring days in bed.

If at the first stages of such a disorder you do not start taking medications, then the depression will only intensify, turning into a severe one. In addition to thoughts of suicide, she is characterized by manic fear, constant anxiety, so it is very difficult for such a person to live and work in a team.

Expectant mothers especially need to take care of their psychological health, because severe symptoms of the disorder can lead to illness in a child or even to a miscarriage. Therefore, you should immediately consult a doctor at the first symptoms.

Severe depression and suicide attempts

Severe depression as a complex mental disorder is characterized by a suppressed instinct for self-preservation. That is why, when the signs of depression reach their peak state, many people have thoughts and even suicide attempts. According to statistics, if a person does not treat the disorder and suffers from it for more than 5 years, then suicide attempts are observed in 15%. They arise because of a feeling of defenselessness and doom in the patient, and also because of the unwillingness to burden relatives with their problems. If a person loses the meaning of life, then the appearance of such thoughts is only a matter of time.

Severe depression and suicide attempts are even characterized by the development of a suicide plan. If a person's mood improves, then he does not leave thinking about him. Lonely people who do not have a person who is able to listen to him and help him are most susceptible to such thoughts. Also, if a person had relatives or acquaintances who committed suicide, then this further increases the risk of premature death.

In order to prevent the transition of the disease into a chronic form, it is necessary to begin its immediate treatment. The first thing to do with signs of depression is to go to the doctor.

Treatment for severe depression

In the treatment of human mental disorders, individual and family psychological studies are used. The psychologist carefully studies all aspects of the patient's behavior, for example, the manner of his communication, relations with his spouse, children, parents, emotions that arose after parting, accidents, improper upbringing, and so on. If the symptoms of the disease are quite severe, then it is necessary to undergo an examination by a neurologist, do an MRG, EEG to identify possible skull injuries, intoxication.

After choosing a psychotherapist, there is a drug treatment of severe depression. The most common drugs are antidepressants Remeron, Valdoxan, Coaxil, tranquilizers Alzolam, Mezapam, Reladorm, Alprazolam and others. But the appointment of such drugs occurs only after a thorough study of all the symptoms that accompany the disease.

The body is examined for the possibility of an allergic reaction to drugs. Also, if a person has high blood pressure, then not all medicines can be prescribed to him. This means that in no case should you take drugs for depression on your own.

Symptoms, Causes and Consequences of Major Depression

Severe depression is the most complex form of depression. Signs of the disease are manifested in behavior, physiology, emotional sphere. How to diagnose and cure this disease, not to let it ruin a person's life?

Major Depression: What is it?

Depression is a disease of the 21st century. This has been confirmed by studies by scientists around the world. According to the severity, severe, moderate and mild forms are distinguished.

Severe depression is a complex, multifaceted mental disorder, a serious illness that affects the communicative sphere, ability to work, and general physical tone.

This form is considered the most critical and has physiological, behavioral, mental, emotional manifestations. According to statistics, severe depression is a common disease in developed countries.

Causes

A person is prone to depression regardless of their social and financial status. Researchers classify the causes of depression according to the nature of their origin.

Physiological

  • poisoning or overdose of drugs, alcohol, drugs;
  • cerebrovascular accident.
  • overwork;
  • injuries (mainly craniocerebral).
  • cardiovascular diseases;
  • hormonal abnormalities, irregular sex life;
  • sedentary lifestyle;
  • improper nutrition.

Psychological

  1. Stress is the body's reaction to a factor that disrupts the stable state of the nervous system. Very often, stress factors are troubles at work or school, family difficulties.
  2. Frustration is a state that arises as a result of a discrepancy between the desired and the actual, the effect of unfulfilled hopes.
  3. Mental trauma is damage caused to a person as a result of a single or repeated exposure to adverse factors: physical or sexual violence, death of a loved one, presence at the time of violence, disasters.
  4. An existential crisis is a personality conflict that arises as a result of the loss of the meaning of life, goals and priorities, inner harmony.

Modern scientists have conducted a number of studies, as a result of which models of the main factors of severe depression were identified:

  1. The bio-psycho-social model considers the causes of depression as a complex: disorders of health, physiology, psyche and social realization of the personality. A prime example is postpartum depression. Here we can talk about a change in the social role of a woman-mother, and about biological, hormonal changes, and about mental changes - the emergence of a sense of responsibility for the child, fears of making a mistake and harming him.
  2. The biological model names hormonal disruptions and other neurochemical processes as the main causes of severe depression.
  3. The psychological model puts stress factors, problems in communication in society and in the family in the first place.
  4. The social model considers severe depression as a consequence of social exclusion, high competition in society, a difficult economic situation, and political and economic instability.

Symptoms and signs

How does major depression manifest itself? The symptoms of severe depression are very multifaceted. The most typical manifestations are as follows.

How does autumn depression manifest itself in women? Read on.

Physiological

  • disruption of the digestive system;
  • pain in the muscles, heart, headaches;
  • high fatigue, drowsiness or insomnia against the background of general weakness;
  • appetite disorders;
  • lack of sexual desires.

emotional

  • a state of despair, melancholy, sadness;
  • sharp mood changes;
  • constant self-flagellation - blaming yourself for all the failures, an aggravated sense of guilt;
  • insensibility - a person is not able to rejoice, enjoy;
  • heightened sense of anxiety, danger;
  • loss of interest in what is happening around.

Behavioral

  • lack of work activity, lack of initiative;
  • the use of alcohol, psychotropic substances;
  • unauthorized social isolation, solitude;
  • refusal of outdoor activities, walks, entertainment.

The first 3 groups of causes are visible from the outside, but the last one does not always manifest itself openly.

Thinking

  • feeling of uselessness;
  • pessimism, gloomy perception of the world;
  • thoughts of suicide;
  • inhibition of reactions;
  • it is difficult for a person to concentrate, to make a decision.

Borderline signs are hallucinations that develop against the background of other mental disorders.

Forms

Reactive is the most common and simplest form of depression. Mostly, it exists in mild or moderate forms. Any event acts as a factor: moving, dismissal, death of a loved one, divorce, ruin.

What unites all these factors is the loss of something. It goes into a severe form in cases of lack of qualified assistance.

  1. Postpartum depression is caused by a complex of causes, often becomes severe. After childbirth, physiological and hormonal changes occur, there is a reassessment of values ​​​​and one's social role. There is no single factor, there is a complex of reasons.
  2. The manic-depressive form is characterized by a relapse of symptoms, there are periods of excitement. The danger of this form is that it is often overlooked, explaining mood swings as fatigue, stress, or a bad temper.
  3. Severe depression on the background of schizophrenia: acts either as its main symptom or as a consequence of other symptoms.
  4. The senile form is associated with age-related changes. In men it occurs later than in women. Most often, a person suffering from senile depression has not previously had other forms of this disease. Characteristic: removal from social contacts, withdrawal into oneself, low tone.

What can lead to

The consequences of severe depression can haunt a person for life:

  1. Depression without treatment can get worse and last for years.
  2. Loss of social position.
  3. Suicide attempts.
  4. Spillover to other mental illnesses.

To learn how to get rid of depression on your own, read the article.

What to do? Treatment

Remember: this disease must be treated! A patient with severe depression needs combined care. The main methods of treatment: drug biological and psychological.

  1. Biological therapy: the patient is helped to get rid of depression with the help of antidepressants prescribed by the doctor. While taking medication, regular visits to the doctor are necessary.
  2. Psychotherapy:
  • Psychodynamic therapy is based on helping to overcome unconscious conflicts. The therapist helps bring the conflict into the conscious realm and find a constructive solution.
  • Cognitive therapy is complex in nature, the patient is helped to deal with domestic and social difficulties, unconscious problems, and behavioral manifestations of depression.
  • Behavioral therapy focuses on current manifestations of depression: refusal to communicate, entertainment, lack of interest in activities.
  • Family therapy.
  • Group therapy.

Treatment of severe depression requires the use of psychoanalysis, existential, behavioral, body-oriented theories.

Video: How to cope

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How to recognize and treat severe depression?

Severe depression is a mental disorder in which, along with a constant depressive mood, a pronounced decrease in interest in everything that you used to like, and increased fatigue, suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem, excessive inadequate guilt, impaired appetite and a number of other signs are noted.

It must be understood that this condition is not laziness, not a whim of a person, but a dangerous disease that requires proper treatment!

To assess the severity of depression, they resort to additional research methods, special psychodiagnostic scales, the most accurate of which are the Hamilton depression severity scale, the Montgomery-Asberg scale, and the Beck scale.

Causes of severe depression

Why severe depression occurs in a particular person is one of the first questions a doctor will ask himself when communicating with a patient. From this will depend on further tactics of treatment.

The role of genetic, organic and socio-psychological factors in the development of severe depression has been reliably confirmed.

Genetic factors

A significant part of major depressive disorders are endogenous depressions. The latter arise due to a deficiency in the body of special substances called monoamines, which are involved in the regulation of emotions, cognitive processes, attention, and memory. These are the well-known norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine.

Depression can be one of the phases of bipolar disorder - a disease with a hereditary predisposition.

Socio-psychological factors

Some people are predisposed to depression. They are distinguished by uncompromisingness, straightforwardness, "overly serious" understanding of a sense of duty. The experiences of such people are affectively saturated, but at the same time they tend to inhibit the external manifestation of emotions.

Social factors that can lead to the development of depression are bereavement (death of a loved one, divorce, separation), lack of social support, when a person has to overcome everything on his own, there is no one to expect help from, financial problems, loneliness, various serious illnesses and related with them social problems, financial costs.

organic factors

Depression can be not only an independent disease caused by genetic characteristics or social problems, but also a secondary pathology, a complication of another nosology.

Cerebral stroke, Huntington's chorea, Parkinson's disease, thyrotoxicosis, hepatitis, cancer and many other pathologies can be complicated by the development of a depressive episode.

Signs to help diagnose severe depression

The current international classification of diseases of the 10th revision distinguishes 3 degrees of severity of depression (depressive episode):

  1. depressive episode of mild severity;
  2. depressive episode of moderate severity;
  3. severe depressive episode with or without psychotic symptoms.

The main symptoms of a depressive disorder are:

  • reduced, obviously abnormal mood for a given person, which persists almost all the time, for at least two weeks;
  • a distinct decrease in interest in activities that the person previously liked;
  • pronounced fatigue, lack of energy.

These symptoms (or at least 2 of them) are almost always observed in depression of any severity.

  • excessive unreasonable feelings of guilt or self-condemnation, it is these manifestations that can contribute to thoughts of suicide;
  • a gloomy, even pessimistic vision of the future;
  • feeling of self-doubt, low self-esteem;
  • recurring thoughts of suicide or even suicidal attempts (how to suspect the presence of suicidal thoughts in a person, during what periods the risk of a suicide attempt is greatest, you can read about this in the article “Suicide with depression”);
  • problems with concentration, the ability to think, the appearance of indecision;
  • appetite disorders (it can be either increased or decreased), combined with weight changes;
  • sleep pathology;
  • movement disorders, manifested in the form of lethargy or strong emotional arousal.

Psychotic signs of depression

Psychotic manifestations that may be signs of severe depression:

  • delusional ideas - unlike schizophrenia, which is characterized by delusions of a fantastic nature, with severe depression, delusions of guilt, relationships, denial, nihilistic delusions (the patient claims that the world has stopped or the internal organs have stopped working), hypochondriacal delusions (the patient is confident in the presence of a serious illness, although in fact there are no signs, he is completely healthy);
  • hallucinations;
  • depressive stupor - immobility, stupor.

Somatic signs

In severe depression, so-called somatic symptoms will almost always be present, which are optional in a mild to moderate depressive episode.

Somatic symptoms of severe depression:

  • waking up in the morning 2 hours or more before the usual time;
  • mental state worse in the morning;
  • a significant decrease in appetite;
  • lack of reaction to activity, an event that in the past must have caused it;
  • weight loss (5% or more of last month's weight);
  • decreased sex drive.

Not every patient can have all of the listed symptoms of severe depression, sometimes due to a depressive stupor or severe emotional arousal (agitation), a person cannot talk about the manifestations of the disease that disturb him, in which case the information that close people can tell is very important, how attentive they are were.

Consequences of a major depressive episode

A severely depressed person is unable to lead a normal life, work, take care of himself, take care of himself or anyone else. As they say, exists, but does not live.

This disease is an unbearable burden not only on the person himself, but also on his family, society as a whole. That is why this condition needs treatment. Waiting for a person to come out of severe depression on their own is extremely imprudent. So you can wait for the dangerous consequences of severe depression - suicide attempts.

Suicide: when is it possible?

As a rule, patients with severe depression are lethargic, inhibited. Despite the presence of suicidal thoughts, they do not have the strength to embody these thoughts.

There are 2 dangerous periods when the chances of committing suicide attempts are highest: the onset of depression and the moment of exit from it.

At the initial stages of a depressive episode, the mood is already painful, the patient may be visited by various bad thoughts, and motor inhibition is not yet very pronounced. During such periods, it is necessary to carefully monitor the person so that he does not do something irreparable.

A similar situation occurs a couple of weeks after the start of treatment. The first symptoms that begin to improve with treatment for severe depression are movement disorders. Negative thoughts, causeless guilt, a pessimistic vision of the future pass a little later. During a minor improvement, patients can put into practice everything that they had time to think about at the peak of depression. So during this period, maximum control is also necessary not only over the actions of the patient, but also over one's own words, so as not to say anything superfluous, not to provoke a person to any actions.

The support of loved ones, their care is necessary for depression of any severity, so I recommend reading the article "How to help a person with depression" in order to know how to support such a person, what can be said in his presence and what is not worth it.

Women experience depression a little differently than men. That is why I have devoted a separate article to this topic.

Treatment for severe depression

How to get out of severe depression? Is it possible to do it yourself? These questions are most often asked by patients and their relatives.

The first thing to do is to see a doctor. It must be understood that severe depression is a serious mental disorder that not only negatively affects the patient's life, but can also lead to dangerous consequences.

Such a disease without competent and complex treatment does not go away.

In one of the articles, I already described the steps that need to be taken to get out of depression. These measures are very effective in mild or moderate depression, but in severe form of the disease they are, unfortunately, powerless or ineffective. It is impossible to do without medical treatment.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are medicinal substances that contribute to the normalization of the mental state. They eliminate the motor, somatovegetative, emotional manifestations of depression, thereby helping a person to return to the previous pre-painful state.

The choice of drug depends on a number of factors:

  • existing symptoms;
  • concomitant diseases;
  • effectiveness of treatment in previous episodes (if any);
  • the level of prosperity of the patient - if the financial situation of a person is not high, then it is pointless to prescribe him effective, but expensive drugs that he will not be able to take as much as he needs.

The main groups of antidepressants used to treat severe depression are:

  • serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (venlafaxine);
  • selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (paroxetine, fluvoxamine, sertraline);
  • tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, imipramine) and others.

Tranquilizers and neuroleptics

Another group of drugs that are actively used in the treatment of severe depression are tranquilizers (diazepam, clonazepam). These substances stop anxiety, sleep disturbances, emotional tension.

If psychotic manifestations are present, then there is a need to prescribe antipsychotics. They help eliminate crazy ideas, hallucinations. In the treatment of depression, preference is given to atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine.

Psychotherapy

To get out of severe depression, it is necessary not only to take the drugs prescribed by the doctor, it is necessary to eliminate the external factors that caused this condition. Of course, it is not always possible to completely eliminate them, but you can change your attitude towards them, accept the current situation, if nothing else remains. It is best to work in this direction with a psychotherapist.

Psychotherapy is most effective in cases where socio-psychological factors are leading in the development of the disease. It is very difficult for a person himself to understand himself, his problems, complexes, relationships with other people, but a psychotherapist will help to look at the problem from the other side and find the right way out.

After watching this video, you will learn how depression and self-esteem are interconnected, a look at this problem by Jacque Fresco, designer and futurist, organizer of the Venus Project.

In the complex treatment of depressive disorder, other non-drug methods of treating depression can also be used.

Prevention of depression and duration of therapy

How not only to cope with severe depression, but also to prevent its development in the future?

Treating severe depression is a long process. It is necessary to take drugs not for a week or even a month. It turns out that the best prevention of severe depression, recurrence of the disease in the future is the observance of the optimal treatment time.

Even if you feel practically healthy, this does not mean that you can stop taking your medication. You must carefully follow the doctor's recommendations.

In the treatment of depression, there are 3 main phases, the observance of which is the best prevention of relapses of severe depression in the future:

  1. The active treatment phase (acute) lasts about a month. During this time, most of the symptoms of a mental disorder are eliminated in many patients, their mood improves noticeably, and even their ability to work is restored. If you interrupt treatment at this stage, then it is likely that after a while there will be a relapse of the disease, and the symptoms will return again.
  2. The stabilizing phase (ongoing) begins after remission is achieved. However, even a significant improvement in mental state does not mean that the disease has receded forever. It is necessary to continue treatment, take antidepressants, albeit in smaller doses. The duration of this phase is from 6 months to 1 year.
  3. The maintenance phase consists of taking the minimum dose of the drug necessary to control the course of the disease. The duration of this phase is determined individually.

I experienced severe depression myself: I couldn’t do anything, I didn’t want to live, my mood was constantly terrible, I even had thoughts of suicide several times, that in this way I would save myself and my family from all problems. I'm glad I didn't give in to those thoughts.

If it weren’t for the treatment in the Department of Neurosis, I don’t even know what would have happened to me. There I was prescribed antidepressants, they gave me a drip, and after ten days my condition began to improve little by little.

Vika, I'm glad for you that you were able to overcome severe depression. Thank you for sharing your positive experience.

When I remember myself only six months ago, it seems that I was a completely different person. I didn’t feel anything, I didn’t want to, I couldn’t do anything. It seemed to me that I had lost all feelings, that I was only interfering with my husband and children, that if I died, their life would only get better. True, I did not have the strength to commit suicide. Now I understand that I had a very severe depression. It's good that my husband insisted on treatment. In the hospital, they dripped me and gave me different pills to take, but thank God, 3 weeks after the start of treatment, I felt like a completely different person, as if I had returned to life.

Vika, I'm really happy for you!

In my life I had a chance to know all the horrors of severe depression. When there is no strength to do anything at all, when it seems that life is a real hell, and everything will only be terrible when you blame yourself for everything, everything, when you have no strength either for children or for your husband. Thanks to my husband for noticing my condition, for insisting on treatment, for supporting me all the time. And now I understand what edge I was on, and I feel much better.

Yes, I also felt this state. Moreover, it manifested itself in me for 3 years: in spring and autumn. Eternal weakness inside, everything fell out of hand, there was no strength to do anything, you didn’t want to see anyone and there was always no mood ... It was very difficult for me then.

Hello! For quite a long time I have been interested in the question - am I normal or not?

I am 25 years old, I live with my parents, mostly with my grandmother. I love my family and they love me very much. Everything seems fine, I'm happy, I had a happy childhood. It seemed that I should rejoice in my happiness. But it doesn't work. From childhood, as far as I can remember, I was terribly closed and uncommunicative, shy of everyone, although sometimes there were very few gaps. There were no friends. Rather, there were no permanent friends. They still don't exist. In children. kindergarten and early classes was very aggressive, pugnacious. Now, on the contrary, it is quite peaceful and harmless. However, since my school years, I began to notice that quite often (over the years this feeling grew) I was visited by some kind of melancholy, a feeling of hopelessness and vile destructive apathy. These negative experiences manifest themselves several times a year (although I did not follow any pattern in the manifestations). But during the “lulls” there still remains an unpleasant feeling that “it” has not left me - “it” is always there, invisibly present and waiting for the right moment to settle in my head again. “It was and is, but joy and fun (although it seems to me that I have ceased to experience these wonderful emotions, or I feel, but somehow not consciously) even if they are not for long. Almost constantly haunted by a feeling of loneliness, incomprehensibility, abnormality. I don’t tell my relatives anything about this (I don’t understand why, I’m probably embarrassed), and I don’t tell anyone what’s going on inside. In my school years I read books, as a student I tried to play sports seriously. I even competed several times, I really liked it, so many emotions and experiences! But in addition to these positive moments, there were frequent, very frequent injuries, and they told me that this sport (Muay Thai) is not mine, it will cripple me. I felt it myself. As a result, I gave up training. I can't complete anything. Everything that I could call my hobby, sooner or later I abandoned it. The loneliness and alienation that haunted me again covered me. And to get rid of them at the age of 21, I started smoking hashish and marijuana. No, they did not save me from this, on the contrary, I was even more deeply immersed in my experiences being in the “trip” states. It seemed to me that this is exactly what I needed all my conscious life, anyway, because I will die soon and no matter how. And in the absence of grass, I drank alcohol and reached the point that to this day I can’t part with it completely. In adolescence, abnormal thoughts visited, for example, I wanted to become a maniac, and Jack the Ripper was almost an idol. Now this is not there, but sometimes I think, maybe I'm not a person at all? Well, that is, a bodily shell, yes, but really? Who am I? How can I continue to live? Well, I will definitely work (especially since I dreamed of this job and found it with difficulty). And what else? Why if I'm happy, I don't feel it? Why is there no joy in life? Why am I like this after all? I am sure that I will never get married, will not start a family like all normal people and will not have time to grow old. Thoughts of suicide visited me, but I coped with them. Sometimes I fantasized about standing in a hemp field dousing myself with solvent and burning myself. The skin burns - I'm alive, my eyes burst and flow - I'm alive ...

In physical terms, I seem to feel fine, I eat with pleasure, I just get up badly and periodically I have a slight malaise during the day.

My memory used to be crappy, but now it’s all scattered, not terribly attentive, I forget everything, I lose everything. They said in childhood I had something like encephalopathies and disorders of the emotional-volitional sphere. Now it doesn't seem to be.

Andrei, first of all, you need to stop using drugs. Nothing good will come of this! The source of positive emotions must be sought elsewhere - in travel, in a hobby.

You can turn to a psychotherapist or psychologist so that a specialist can help you understand yourself, your experiences.

Now I am in the deepest depression. At the next attack, she almost threw herself out the window, her husband stopped her. My parents hate me, I don't have a single person with whom I could talk. My husband does not want to support me. I think I'll go to a psychiatrist tomorrow, otherwise I'll commit suicide in a fit of passion, and I have two children.

Hope, you urgently need to see a psychiatrist.

I also suffer from terrible depression. And what is characteristic is that it repeats every six months. The most terrible condition is that I have lost interest in life. i work as a cleaner. but it doesn’t mean that depression should go away. in this state i work very hard though. i always think that there are no people like me. sometimes it seems to me that i wind myself up. but at times. all the same, it’s probably a disease. I don’t know, I’m lost, please tell me. I have a family, a husband, two children.

Svetlana, given that you have symptoms of the disease on a regular basis, you need to constantly take antidepressants.

Try to find the competent psychiatrist who will pick up to you treatment. And remember that only constant treatment in your case will alleviate the symptoms of the disease, allow you to lead a normal life.

The last 2.5 years in constant tension, she began to eat poorly, lose weight, and for the last two months it’s generally terrible, then the child’s tests, then my tests are bad, then cytology, but thank God everything is fine, and then my husband went to another and this the day everything changed, I just stopped eating, no appetite, in the morning and at lunchtime I have some kind of stomach in my stomach, it’s bad, I can hardly force myself to get up, it’s hard, nothing is interesting, life has lost all its charms. A psychiatrist prescribed Gidosepam 0.2 1/2 twice a day and Prodep, began to eat without disgust in the evening, but the former came to work and again it became even worse.

Marina, for starters, you should pull yourself together. You are alive, healthy, you have a child.

Of course, it is very difficult if a loved one betrays, but you can handle it! You can't loosen up! You can not drive yourself into a swamp of self-pity.

Talk to a psychiatrist, it may be worth increasing the dose of Prodep, or it has not yet begun to work (the effect of this drug appears only after 2-3 weeks). And if on an outpatient basis it is not possible to improve the condition, then you can combine drug treatment with psychotherapy or go to the hospital.

Paranoia is a rare psychosis, the only manifestation of which is the gradual development of systematization.

P.S. In continuation of my previous comment. I wrote it with t...

Do I have any feelings or emotions at all? What is in me...

Hello, please tell me, my brother thinks that he is being bullied, will give birth ...

Mental illnesses. Schizophrenia. Depression. Affective insanity. Oligophrenia. Psychosomatic illnesses.

Very severe depression

Excessively good drives a person crazy, literally or figuratively. The savior of the world is a man who has fallen into a deep depression, who is characterized by the desire to remake everyone and thus save. The more panic he saves his neighbors, the more seriously they need to think about his own salvation.

If a person is engaged in the re-education of people, then he feels painful symptoms in the upper abdomen. By this sign alone, he could have guessed that he was the savior of the world, if he had not guessed about it before. When we save other people, we first of all save ourselves – spiritually. The swollen upper abdomen just shows the extent to which a person doubts himself and fights with himself. To do or not to do, to be or not to be - these are the eternal questions that arise before a person who does not know what to do. He knows what he would do, but people are demanding something else. The stronger a person's inferiority complex is developed, the more he obeys other people's desires. Most often, gossips are engaged in correcting the world.

The solution to the problem of saving the world should begin with the mother. He who desperately tries to save his mother tries to save the whole world, but he fails, just as he fails to save his mother. Therefore, try to worry less about your mother, and you will see that the world does not need saving at all.

Religion is the classic example of the savior of the world. The idea of ​​religion is excellent, but blind adherence to it leads to where we are now - in the dead end of materialism.

Everyone has stress, but not everyone is stressed.

Everyone gets depressed, but not everyone gets depressed.

Apathy happens to all people, but not everyone falls into apathy.

If stress has not had time to outgrow a person, it has no power over a person. Who cares that stresses do not grow without measure, he remains himself even in times of crisis. He does not succumb to the panic that people with pathologically heightened impressionability fall into, because he correctly assesses the situation.

Hypersensitive people are able to see what was in previous lives, as well as what will be. And only one thing they do not feel - time, because in order to feel time, a person must have time. And a person who has fallen into depression does not have it. If he had time, he wouldn't be depressed.

The best way to provide psychiatric or psychological assistance to a person who has fallen into depression is to let him talk, cry, shout out. Unfortunately, there are only a few such psychologists and psychiatrists - not everyone is able to endure this from morning to evening. Fortunately, life has a fallback option, namely: LEARN TO SPEAK TO YOURSELF, LISTEN TO YOURSELF, TALK TO YOURSELF.

Simply put, The cause of depression is the fear of revealing your negative attitude in front of people.

We are talking about a double fear that holds the fifth chakra in a vice, and more specifically, the thyroid gland:

1) fear that attracts the bad;

2) fear, which firmly holds this bad to itself.

Guilt is a fertile ground for the growth of all bad things, including diseases. If a bad feeling of guilt is not yet very serious, that is, if the state of depression is not yet severe, then a person’s despair arises easily, and he just as easily splashes out his bad feelings, thereby opening the way to physical illnesses. Any physical illness is essentially a consequence of depression. The disease is preceded by an attack of despair. The onset of the disease, in turn, exacerbates depression. If a person knew and believed that illness is a consequence of his mistakes, an instructive lesson sent down by God that needs to be learned, then his depression would not deepen.

The worse a person's opinion of himself, the more persistent the despair he experiences. This means that instead of a physical disease, he will get a disease of the central nervous system. Constant despair after all and there is depression. Despair is nothing more than a desire to be free from emotions generated by one's own feelings. The result of such a desire is a person who feels one thing, thinks another, says a third, does a fourth, and gets what displeases him.

Depression, or depression, is a serious mental illness. More precisely, it is a disease characterized by a twilight state of mind, bad mood, loss of love of life, gloomy mood, expectation of the worst, loss of efficiency. The farther, the greater the number of people who easily fall into despondency, and humanity is increasingly searching for means to remove this state.

In fact, all the tools used in the fight against depression, only exacerbate the feeling of guilt. Since they cause resilience - repressed depression turns into apathy - it seems that the fight against depression is going well. No wonder people who are in deep depression give the impression of immensely happy people.

With depression, a person is depressed, oppressed, dejected, constrained, infringed. Those who constantly feel like they are under pressure are desperately trying to find a way to get rid of the pressure, hence the name of this condition - depression. To cure depression, you need to remove the damper and give vent to repressed emotions. It should be, but how do they act in life? They do just the opposite.

CLASSIC DEPRESSION MOTTO: I HAVE BEEN GOOD TO OTHERS, NOW LET THEY DO GOOD TO ME. Thus, depression is an unbearably heavy feeling of guilt for living other people's lives and not living your own.

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Severe depression is the most complex form of depression. Signs of the disease are manifested in behavior, physiology, emotional sphere. How to diagnose and cure this disease, not to let it ruin a person's life?

Depression is a disease of the 21st century. This has been confirmed by studies by scientists around the world. According to the severity, severe, moderate and mild forms are distinguished.

Severe depression is a complex, multifaceted mental disorder, a serious illness that affects the communicative sphere, ability to work, and general physical tone.

This form is considered the most critical and has physiological, behavioral, mental, emotional manifestations. According to statistics, severe depression is a common disease in developed countries.

Causes

A person is prone to depression regardless of their social and financial status. Researchers classify the causes of depression according to the nature of their origin.

Physiological

  • poisoning or overdose of drugs, alcohol, drugs;
  • cerebrovascular accident.
  • overwork;
  • injuries (mainly craniocerebral).
  • cardiovascular diseases;
  • hormonal abnormalities, irregular sex life;
  • sedentary lifestyle;
  • improper nutrition.


Psychological

  1. Stress- the reaction of the body to a factor that violates the stable state of the nervous system. Very often, stress factors are troubles at work or school, family difficulties.
  2. frustration- a state that arises as a result of a discrepancy between the desired and the actual, the effect of unfulfilled hopes.
  3. mental trauma- damage caused to a person as a result of a single or repeated exposure to adverse factors: physical or sexual violence, death of a loved one, presence at the time of violence, disasters.
  4. existential crisis- a personality conflict that arises as a result of the loss of the meaning of life, goals and priorities, inner harmony.

Modern scientists have conducted a number of studies, as a result of which models of the main factors of severe depression were identified:

  1. Bio-psycho-social model considers the causes of depression as a complex: disorders of health, physiology, psyche and social realization of the personality. A prime example is postpartum depression. Here we can talk about a change in the social role of a woman-mother, and about biological, hormonal changes, and about mental changes - the emergence of a sense of responsibility for the child, fears of making a mistake and harming him.
  2. biological model The main causes of severe depression are hormonal disruptions and other neurochemical processes.
  3. Psychological model puts stress factors, problems in communication in society and in the family in the first place.
  4. social model considers severe depression as a consequence of social exclusion, high competition in society, a difficult economic situation, instability - political and economic.

Symptoms and signs


How does major depression manifest itself? The symptoms of severe depression are very multifaceted. The most typical manifestations are as follows.

Physiological

  • disruption of the digestive system;
  • pain in the muscles, heart, headaches;
  • high fatigue, drowsiness or insomnia against the background of general weakness;
  • appetite disorders;
  • lack of sexual desires.

emotional

  • a state of despair, melancholy, sadness;
  • sharp mood changes;
  • constant self-flagellation - blaming yourself for all the failures, an aggravated sense of guilt;
  • insensibility - a person is not able to rejoice, enjoy;
  • heightened sense of anxiety, danger;
  • loss of interest in what is happening around.

Behavioral

  • lack of work activity, lack of initiative;
  • the use of alcohol, psychotropic substances;
  • unauthorized social isolation, solitude;
  • refusal of outdoor activities, walks, entertainment.

The first 3 groups of causes are visible from the outside, but the last one does not always manifest itself openly.

Thinking

  • feeling of uselessness;
  • pessimism, gloomy perception of the world;
  • thoughts of suicide;
  • inhibition of reactions;
  • it is difficult for a person to concentrate, to make a decision.

Borderline signs are hallucinations that develop against the background of other mental disorders.

Forms

Reactive is the most common and simplest form of depression. Mostly, it exists in mild or moderate forms. Any event acts as a factor: moving, dismissal, death of a loved one, divorce, ruin.

What unites all these factors is the loss of something. It goes into a severe form in cases of lack of qualified assistance.

  1. postpartum depression caused by a complex of reasons, often becomes severe. After childbirth, physiological and hormonal changes occur, there is a reassessment of values ​​​​and one's social role. There is no single factor, there is a complex of reasons.
  2. Manic-depressive form characterized by recurrence of symptoms, there are periods of excitement. The danger of this form is that it is often overlooked, explaining mood swings as fatigue, stress, or a bad temper.
  3. severe depression against the background of schizophrenia: it acts either as its main symptom or as a consequence of other symptoms.
  4. senile form associated with age-related changes. In men it occurs later than in women. Most often, a person suffering from senile depression has not previously had other forms of this disease. Characteristic: removal from social contacts, withdrawal into oneself, low tone.

What can lead to


The consequences of severe depression can haunt a person for life:

  1. Depression without treatment can get worse and last for years.
  2. Loss of social position.
  3. Suicide attempts.
  4. Spillover to other mental illnesses.

What to do? Treatment

Remember: this disease must be treated! A patient with severe depression needs combined care. The main methods of treatment: drug biological and psychological.

  1. biological therapy: the patient is helped to get rid of depression with the help of antidepressants prescribed by the doctor. While taking medication, regular visits to the doctor are necessary.
  2. Psychotherapy:
  • Psychodynamic therapy is based on helping to overcome unconscious conflicts. The therapist helps bring the conflict into the conscious realm and find a constructive solution.
  • Cognitive therapy is complex in nature, the patient is helped to deal with domestic and social difficulties, unconscious problems, and behavioral manifestations of depression.
  • Behavioral therapy focuses on current manifestations of depression: refusal to communicate, entertainment, lack of interest in activities.
  • Family therapy.
  • Group therapy.

Treatment of severe depression requires the use of psychoanalysis, existential, behavioral, body-oriented theories.

Video: How to cope

Severe depression is not only a complex, but also a very dangerous condition for a person.

Severe depression is a mental disorder in which a person is depressed all the time. He loses interest in the surrounding reality, a state of apathy sets in. What until recently brought joy is losing its value.

Causes

What causes moderate or severe depression? Such a question, most likely, will be puzzled by any doctor when a patient with a certain clinical picture addresses him. The whole path of treatment will depend on the conclusions made by the specialist in the future.

Today, we can confidently say that depression of moderate severity, as well as severe depression, occurs due to various factors:

  • genetic;
  • socio-psychological;
  • organic.

Considering in more detail the first group of possible causes of such a phenomenon as a severe degree of depression, it can be noted that the appearance of this type of depression is most often associated with a lack of unique and important substances in the human body:

  • norepinephrine;
  • serotonin;
  • dopamine.

Scientists managed to find out that depression in some cases does not just appear out of nowhere. Often, its appearance is due to the work of genes that are responsible for the appearance of depression.

In addition, there is a group of people who seem to be tuned specifically to a depressive state. They are most often characterized by uncompromisingness, excessive responsibility, obsession with a sense of duty and straightforwardness. It is in such people that in most cases severe and moderate depression is found.

In addition to all this, depression may not be an independent problem. There are cases when the symptoms of depression are considered as part of the clinical picture in another disease. We can talk about the manifestation of diseases such as:

  • Parkinson's disease;
  • thyrotoxicosis;
  • oncology;
  • chorea of ​​Huntington;
  • brain stroke.

The correct identification of the causes that provoked the onset and development of a severe form of depression makes it possible in most cases to determine the correct therapeutic path.

Symptoms

The clinical picture of a depressive state in a severe form of the disease is very indicative, therefore it is rather difficult not to notice the first signs of such a pathology. But close people still need to be especially attentive to each other, so that in the bustle of everyday life they don’t miss that a loved one needs support and help.

So, what are the symptoms that accompany a severe form of depression? Commonly reported signs of major depression include:

  • depression of mood for a long time;
  • unwillingness to engage in the type of activity that has always brought joy to a person;
  • lack of energy.

These three main symptoms accompany all types of depression. In addition, it is safe to speak about the presence of depression of any severity, if at least two of the above symptoms are observed in a person's behavior in combination.

Of course, when depression occurs, not only these signs appear. There are a number of additional ones:

  • a person experiences a constant, sometimes unsupported feeling of guilt;
  • pessimistic views on the future;
  • reduced self-esteem;
  • thoughts of suicide;
  • concentration disorders;
  • sleep disorders;
  • excessive emotional arousal or lethargy.

In addition, the symptoms of severe depression can be divided into 2 groups:

  • psychotic;
  • somatic.

The first group includes such manifestations as delusional ideas, hallucinations, depressive stupor.

In severe depression, somatic symptoms are almost always present, but, for example, in mild or moderate depression, such manifestations may not be present. So, this is an early awakening in the morning, as a rule, a couple of hours earlier than planned, a depressed state in the morning, a decrease or complete lack of appetite, weight loss, and a decrease in sexual desire.

Often, the patient may not have all of the above symptoms, or he is simply not able to adequately assess his own condition. For this reason, most of the information about the patient can be provided by close people who are close to this person and notice the slightest changes in his behavior and well-being.

Complications

People in a period of severe depression should be given appropriate attention and support, as dangerous consequences can occur. What is the danger of this condition?

Firstly, a person suffering from such a disorder loses the ability to lead his usual lifestyle, engage in his favorite activities, and even take care of himself.

Secondly, such a disease puts pressure not only on the person himself, but also on his family and relatives. After all, they are responsible for human life. Because prolonged depression can end in suicide.

Often, patients suffering from a severe form of depression do not have sufficient strength to realize their sad plans, but this possibility should not be ruled out.

Doctors note two particularly dangerous periods when a person may decide to commit suicide. This is the beginning of depression and the period of exit from this state.

At the initial stages of the development of a pathological condition, a person’s mood becomes painful, motor inhibition does not yet pass into the stage of inhibition, a person is simply not able to control his actions.

In the period of completion of depression, the patient is able to embody all the most painful thoughts that visited him during the period of maximum depression. Therefore, it is not necessary to leave the patient alone with his condition, but excessive guardianship can also do harm.

Treatment

A severe form of depression needs mandatory treatment, often people cannot cope with such an ailment on their own. Therefore, with signs of a depressive state or even suspicions of its presence, it is necessary to contact a specialist for help. After all, this serious mental disorder can result in dangerous consequences for a person. The very same treatment should be comprehensive, and most importantly - competent.

Drug treatment is often used, it is most often the key to a successful outcome. Among the drugs used in the treatment of severe depression, there are:

  • antidepressants;
  • neuroleptics;
  • tranquilizers.

Medicines, called antidepressants, normalize the psychological state of the patient. Eliminating various kinds of manifestations of a depressive state, these medications return a person to their usual way of life. It is antidepressants that form the basis of therapy.

Antipsychotics find their use in treatment in case of need to get rid of psychotic manifestations. These are primarily hallucinations, delusional ideas. Among the most commonly used antipsychotics are Risperidone, Quetiapine, Olanzapine.

Tranquilizers, in particular Diazepam and Clonazepam, can relieve the patient from anxiety, sleep disturbances and emotional tension.

Psychotherapy is of particular importance. Its use is especially useful when the leading factors in the occurrence of severe depression are socio-psychological.

The participation of a psychotherapist in the treatment of a depressive state is to help a person understand his experiences, look at the situation from a new angle, or, if it is impossible to change the current state of affairs, accept everything as it is and learn to live in these circumstances.

In very severe depressions with severe activity limitation or long duration, often with delusions of self-blame, the relief of distressing symptoms is the first therapeutic goal and is given preference.

In this most severe stage of depression, antidepressants can provide noticeable relief in a period of several days to several weeks. Psychopharmacological studies conducted by the so-called double-blind method have shown that most antidepressants bring a gradual, slow improvement in mood and increased activity of impulses in 2/3 of patients. Separate symptoms (great weight loss, early awakening, depressive stupor, obsessive thoughts, delusions of self-blame and severe states of fear) require various methods of treatment, but primarily psychopharmacotherapy. Patients also need hypnotics (benzodiazepine groups) to be able to rest at least a few hours at night, and neuroleptics (with a pronounced sedative effect) for depression complicated by delusions.

Patients are able deep depression and with severe lethargy, they need not only medicinal prescriptions. Due to feelings of hopelessness, inhibition of impulses and indecision, these patients are unable to decide on any treatment. Rather, they are tuned in to the care of loved ones who take the trouble to make decisions for them. Depending on social conditions and the severity of the disease, the possible risk of suicide, patients need help in a specialized psychiatric clinic. Referral to a psychiatric hospital sometimes has the advantage that, thanks to a change of scenery, the depressive patient is relieved of household duties that are impossible in his condition; hospital regime relieves stress or breaks painful interpersonal relationships. In addition, good psychiatric clinics, along with medical methods, have additional opportunities for the treatment of patients with severe depression(e.g. ergotherapy, music therapy, physiotherapy thermal treatments and massages, if necessary - light therapy and sleep deprivation).

Of great importance is the nature of the approach to patients who are in a state of deep depression. It is almost impossible to avoid the feeling of irritation observed in the members of the patient's family. It is all the more important to prevent a hostile response from the patient. Calls to "show will" create an aggravating situation for the depressed patient, as well as well-conceived, but false words of encouragement or too obvious, exaggerated manifestations of sympathy. It is important that the depressed person receive appropriate treatment, even if they are completely unresponsive or reject help.

Only with activation of urges and improvement of mood (perhaps under the influence of drug therapy) can depressed patients again achieve a certain level of activity that allows them to act more independently, freely and more coherently to think. In this moderate condition, structured exercise programs are especially useful in order to restore the lost rhythms of the daily and weekly routine. Classes are beneficial in those areas where depressed patients can work for half an hour, one hour - these are manual works (set the table, take care of flowers, wash something, do pottery, do gymnastic exercises, etc.) , as long as they fit the patient and give a good result, after which these types of work can be canceled.



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