List of the best pills for depression in adults and children. How to find a way out of depression yourself: the most effective methods Methods for quickly getting out of depression

It seems that people only encountered depression after the advent of the science of psychology. Before this, no one suffered from depression; therefore, there was no need to look for ways and means to get out of it. In fact, people have always remained prone to one or another manifestation. It’s just that the more people talk about being depressed, the more psychologists are forced to look for ways out of depression that will allow them to get rid of it on their own.

A natural question arises, what causes depression. Most people suffer from a temporary depressive state, which is easily eliminated when all the problems that caused them to fall into a depressed mood are resolved. In clinical psychology, we only talk about depression as a psychological disorder that is practically not curable, despite the available medications and psychiatric treatments.

In everyday life, depression is a consequence of the presence of internal problems that a person does not want to come to terms with.

There are various causes of depression. One of them is an erroneous interpretation of the situation. Positive and negative events happen to every person. It is worth noting that the degree of pleasantness of a particular incident is determined by the person himself. A situation happens and the individual interprets it. What does he see? What do you think about this? What does he think about himself? What does he think about others?

As a result of the interpretation given to the situation, a person falls into one or another emotional state. Someone may be happy when their love union breaks up, while another individual may become depressed. Someone may feel free due to being fired from work, while another will suffer and wash their grief down with alcohol. Someone will rejoice at their own completeness, while others will be very worried about this.

Depression is sometimes just a consequence of the interpretation of what is happening that you yourself give. In reality, some event just happens. It in itself is neither bad nor good. But you get involved by first assessing the situation from the position of how beneficial it is for you. Then you turn on your emotions: do you feel good about this situation or not? You continue to analyze, thinking out what was not noticed at first. And all this is growing like a snowball.

Depending on your thoughts and judgments, you are happy or sad. The stronger the negative emotions become, the more depressed you become. And note, you do all this.

Accordingly, you can get rid of depression. If you are suffering because of your own thoughts about a situation, change your interpretation. No matter how unpleasant and bad the event may be, look at it differently. Find something useful for yourself, see the good moments. Situations are not clearly good or bad. You just don’t notice the good, which is why you drive yourself into depression.

What is the way out of depression?

When the topic of depression arises, the question inevitably arises: how to get out of it? What is the way out of depression? In simple words, this can be defined as a return of a person to the state in which he was before falling into depression. “The exit is where the entrance is” - this means that it is necessary to solve the problematic situation due to which the person plunged into a depressive state.

Here you need to understand your own thoughts, emotions, desires and even possibilities. It often happens that a person cannot quickly solve a problem because he believes that he does not have all the necessary capabilities. However, as they say, all problems are within the capabilities of a person. A person is mistaken only in what results he can achieve. Often you want to achieve what is currently unattainable. And the opportunities that a person has can help him solve the problem, perhaps not giving the best result.

If a person cannot get out of depression on his own, then it is recommended to seek help from a psychologist on the website. Specialist's task:

• Help the client understand the current situation.
• Feel your desires, thoughts and emotions.
• Find numerous ways out of a problematic situation (while it may seem to a person that there is no way out at all).
• Choose the most favorable solution for yourself.
• Take action.

Depression is a problem in modern society, perhaps because people have begun to perceive it as a phenomenon that must be present in life. Psychologists even talk about this, but people misunderstand them. The point is that it is quite normal to fall into depression for a few days. The state becomes abnormal when a person sinks even further into his depressed mood without solving his own problems.

What are your actions when you feel bad? Undoubtedly, when you experience depression or a nervous breakdown, an emptiness within yourself, you do not think about the consequences of your actions. You just want to do something to drown out the mental pain that overcomes you. But try to stop for a moment and think: what will happen after your emotions and sensations subside? Will you regret what you want to do?

When you feel bad and want to commit some action, which is most often dictated by the desire for revenge or punishment of yourself or other people, imagine the picture “You 10 years later.” Will you then care about what is happening to you now? Will you continue to worry about the same issues that concern you now? Over the next 10 years, many more events may happen in your life that will displace from your memory all the experiences that are now overwhelming you. In 10 years, you may not even remember what is happening to you now. Then why ruin your life at the present time, if your current feelings, emotions, sensations and depression are a temporary phenomenon that will pass in a few months?

People are conventionally divided into two groups according to what their actions are aimed at when they feel bad:

1. People whose actions are aimed at self-destruction. They use drugs, run away from home, think about suicide, etc. Will they cope with the problems they create now when their negative emotions and feelings subside? Will they be able to regain the life they deprived themselves of? Will they be able to quit the drugs and alcohol they were addicted to while they were depressed? Will they be able to restore relationships with those people with whom they destroyed them only because they were in a bad mood? It should be remembered that for every action, even in a state of depression, there is a consequence that will inevitably interfere with a happy existence when you finally calm down and return to your natural state.
2. People whose actions are aimed at continuing the life they want to live. Of course, unpleasant situations and negative feelings do not give you confidence that you can live happily. However, you should not forget that emotions will pass, and what you manage to do while they are raging in you will be on your conscience. And you will have to answer for your actions that were committed under the influence of emotions. People who understand this step over their thoughts of self-destruction and continue to do things that will lead them to the life they want.

A dramatic event in your life is not a reason to give up and stop living. This is a temporary phenomenon that you just need to experience, not forgetting what your desires, goals and what kind of life you want to live.

Ways out of depression

Psychologists say that the way out of depression is where the entrance is located. Thus, you should first find out the causes of depressed mood, and then eliminate them. And there are a large number of them. Often a person cannot independently understand the reasons that provoked his depressive state, which is a defensive reaction of the psyche, which, perhaps, protects a person from something more painful and unpleasant.

Working with a psychologist begins with searching for these reasons. Often in modern society people suffer from depression due to endogenous factors. These reasons may be a deficiency of serotonin and dopamine - the hormones of happiness. If the body produces them in small quantities, then the reason lies in them.

In this case, drug treatment can help get rid of depression. Other causes of depression may include:

• Fatigue.
• Lack of sleep.
• Poor nutrition.
• Lack of sunlight.

In such situations, it is recommended to just rest, get enough sleep, eat well, and go outside on a sunny day. However, depression is often caused by internal problems and conflicts that a person cannot cope with. Outwardly, he may look cheerful and cheerful, although in his soul he will feel emptiness, indifference and a desire to die. The reason for this behavior is that society does not react correctly to depression, which further aggravates the situation.

Psychologists tirelessly remind people that depression in a healthy person is a reversible condition. In other words, you can find ways out of it and get rid of the unpleasant condition. The main thing is what does a person do while he is depressed?

In the life of any person, situations arise that are not only unpleasant for him, but also put him into such a depressive state when he loses the meaning of his life, any interests and a sense of self-preservation. Often in such cases, people begin to think about suicide, and this manifests itself not only in such serious things as jumping out of a window or hanging themselves, but also in such little things as getting drunk, fighting with someone, quarreling, or running away wherever they look.

What are your actions when you feel bad? Remember that everything you do when you are depressed will have its negative consequences, which will hinder you from living a happy life when you get rid of all negative feelings. You will want to be a happy person, but the consequences that you yourself created while you were depressed or under the influence of a nervous breakdown will interfere. Don’t do anything stupid, because later you will have to answer for the consequences of these actions.

It’s better to remember what you were striving for, what kind of life you want to live, what kind of person you want to be, and continue to act in this direction. And when your unpleasant feelings pass, you will not have to deal with the problems that you yourself created. You will already have moved a little closer to your goals, regardless of the fact that you experienced less than positive emotions. All bad things pass with time. But then a person has to deal with the consequences of his actions that he committed while he was under the influence of these very negative feelings.

Getting out of depression on your own

A depressed person does not experience the best feelings while he is in a bad state. He loses motivation, the desire to move, goals disappear. Over time, a person isolates himself from the world around him, completely immersing himself in his own problems. All his conversations are aimed at discussing his problem, which over time bores his interlocutors who are not in a depressed state. This behavior makes a person uninteresting to others and, accordingly, leads to loneliness. If you don’t find a way out of depression on your own, you can even think about suicide.

Contacting a psychologist will allow you to quickly solve the problem that has arisen. However, the Russian mentality does not allow a normal attitude towards this event. It seems that normal people should cope with psychological problems without specialists. If you want to get out of depression on your own, then we will try to give useful advice.

1. Stop grieving over losses. The cause of depression is the loss of something valuable in the present time (dismissal from a job, the departure of a loved one, the death of a loved one, etc.). The way out of depression is to accept the current circumstances, your condition, losses and losses. As long as a person remembers what he had and what bad he did, he is not able to find happiness. You need to accept the current situation and start hoping for a good future.

1. Find good friends. Depression gets worse when a person is alone. After all, he is immersed in his sad thoughts! It is during such a period that we need people who will help us distract ourselves, cheer ourselves up, and restore faith in ourselves. We are not talking about drinking buddies or lazy people who will start offering various entertainment activities. It talks about people who can support, help solve a problem, and communicate respectfully and kindly.

1. Take action. A depressed person is mostly inactive. Everything bad has already happened - now he just lies and suffers, which absolutely does not help him get out of his depressed mood. A more effective way will be action - achieving goals, which will help restore faith in yourself, your strength and life.

If a person wishes to use medications, then he should consult a doctor. Tenoten, Mexiprim, Calm, etc. may be prescribed here. They will help restore balance and calm.

Ways to get out of depression

Psychology offers various ways out of depression. All of them can be divided into physical and psychological. Physical methods of getting out of depression are aimed at influencing the human body in order to return it to a balanced and stable state. Psychological methods are aimed at eliminating those problems that caused a negative state.

Physical methods are:

• Exercise, sports, work. When a person works, he is distracted. Achieving results produces happiness hormones.
• Pet care. In addition to the aesthetics and grace that is observed in animals, a person is distracted by caring for them, which helps him calm down.
• Complete nutrition. This is not advice for maintaining health (which is important), but enriching the body with all the vitamins and elements that are necessary for its full functioning. Here it is recommended not only to eat more greens, vegetables, berries, fruits, but also to consume meat, eggs, milk, seafood, citrus fruits and other natural foods in moderation. It is better to avoid alcohol, since it does not solve the problem, but only allows you to forget for a short time
• Meditation and other self-calming exercises.
• Massage and self-massage.
• Music therapy, aromatherapy, dance therapy, etc.
• Breathing exercises.
• Full sleep, when a person falls asleep on his own and wakes up on his own (without an alarm clock).

It turns out that dreaming is harmful. Scientists conducted research and received results: positively thinking people more often and faster fall into a depressed state than pessimists. What's the matter? Is it really impossible to dream now? Let's look at this issue more carefully to understand where a person is mistaken.

Dreams really lead to depression if the person himself forgets the following facts:

1. There are dreams, and there is reality. He lives in a reality that is significantly different from the fantasies that he draws in his head. You can dream and want to achieve what you want without forgetting about the realities of life. You need to make dreams real in the conditions that really surround a person. See reality, and let your dreams become goals that you will achieve in real life.
2. There is the future, and there is the present. Dreams are the future tense. In order not to become sad from realizing the real state of affairs, remember that you live in the present time. The future will become what you imagine it to be. But changes occur in the real world, starting from conditions that are far from your desires.
3. There is an easy life, and there is a problematic reality. When dreaming about something, a person imagines a carefree and problem-free life. This does not happen in the real world unless you have large-scale thinking, super memory, and developed analytical abilities that can predict any development of events. Man is a creature that makes mistakes. You need to be prepared for the fact that in the process of achieving what you want, you will more than once encounter situations that will require willpower, perseverance, effort and even unusual actions from you.

Dreams lead to depression only because they are divorced from reality. A person does not want to see the real state of affairs, is very worried about any failures, and does not show willpower and determination. A dreamy person runs away from real life into his dreams, rather than making fantasies goals that he achieves under the conditions of earthly laws.

Depression is just the realization that everything you dreamed about is not the real state of affairs. Stop dreaming! Start living a real life that you can make happy.

Bottom line

Depression is a natural state that a person falls into when faced with difficulties. However, the situation becomes disastrous when a person allows his own negative state to overwhelm him, control his desires and actions, and lose his active position. The result is immersion in depression, bad thoughts about yourself and the world, bringing yourself to an incapacitated state, etc.

The services of psychologists should not be neglected. They are not doctors who say that their client is sick. They are specialists, just like lawyers, who help solve the problem that has arisen with minimal effort.

Healthy people suffer from non-clinical depression. This condition is easily removable and reversible. If you want not to waste your time on depression, then you should take all measures to get rid of it. This can be done either independently or with the help of a psychologist in various ways.

In this article, I will give you 8 fail-safe ways that will help you get out of depression.

The most effective way to get out of depression is to not get into it. Joke!

I will say right away that there is no point in fighting depression. Depression will still prevail. Where you put your energy becomes even more powerful. You are wasting your energy, which you almost don’t have at the moment, and your depressive state is intensifying. Therefore, forget about the fight against depression forever. This won't help you.

Now I will tell you about several very powerful ways to get out of depression.

How to get out of depression?

The most important thing you need to realize is that the less time you think about your depression, the faster it will go away. Everything happens according to the same principle: where your attention is concentrated, the energy itself flows there. If you don't put your energy into a depressed state, it will change very quickly. Following from this conclusion, you need to keep yourself busy with something. When you're in the process, you don't have time to think about anything else. This is the easiest and best way to get out of depression.

Now I’ll give you some tips, how to get out of depression.

Method one: Switch your attention

If your depressive state is associated with one area of ​​your life: for example, only work, or only personal life, or only, in order to get out of depression you will simply need to switch your attention from one area of ​​​​life to another and immerse yourself in this area .

For example, if you have a problem in your personal relationship, you can throw yourself into work (of course, if your work brings you joy). If you have a problem at work, you can plunge headlong into your personal life.

Method two: How to get out of depression: Creativity

Many people think that creativity is writing, drawing, singing, dancing and more. These are partly erroneous associations. Creativity is any type of activity in which you manifest yourself in this world. Creativity is a unique (your individual) approach to performing any task.

If you are, you can show your creativity in education. If you are an entrepreneur, you can show your creativity in promoting your own products and services. You may be looking for new and unusual ways of marketing and advertising. If your work is related to, you can show your creativity here too.

When you live and very often show your creativity everywhere and in everything, you cannot be depressed. Creativity is a manifestation of the real you. This is your gift. And when you manifest it, you connect with your own higher essence.

You can find creative ways to do simple everyday things. For example, washing dishes. You can turn on your favorite music and dance along the process. Personally, I always do this when I wash dishes or do any cleaning around the house.

You can sing in the shower. And there are countless such ways. The main thing is to get together and find them.

Method three: Hobbies help you get out of depression

What is your hobby? What do you do for your soul?

Of course, ideally, if your hobby is your work, but, unfortunately, this happens to few people.

Perhaps you like to sing, listen to music, or sew.

Method four: Sports and physical activity

How can sport help you get out of depression?

Depression may not go away for a long time only when a person lives a passive life. Depression cannot exist in a mobile and active body.

Depression and activity are two incompatible concepts. Either activity will win and you will come out of depression, or depression will win and you will enter a passive state.

Like water and fire, they cannot exist at one point.

Consciously force yourself to move actively. Start playing sports, go to the gym. Running is the best cure for depression. Running puts your entire body in motion. You gain energy and strength.

Method five: Personal growth

Start reading books on personal growth and self-development. Now there is a lot of it. Most of the authors are prominent personalities and rich. When you read their works, you yourself are filled with these feelings, and the depressive state leaves you for some time.

Download the same books from the site only in . They will divert your attention.

Look or visit some. Live trainings will shift your attention for at least a week. Such trainings are very useful and positive. They are visited by people who strive for self-development. Being in such an atmosphere, your condition will change dramatically for the better.

Remember: the main thing is that during depression, do not be alone with your brain. Otherwise he will eat you.

Method six: Millionaire elastic band

The millionaire's elastic band is one of the most famous methods that helps get rid of negative thoughts. What is its essence? Surely you know the rubber bands that are used to wrap a stack of money. You take one such elastic band and put it on your hand.

Every time you think negatively, you pull back this rubber band, and it hits you painfully on the arm. Fortunately or unfortunately, she hits you on the arm quite hard. Pain arises - and you switch your thoughts from negative to this very pain.

You interrupt the flow of negative thoughts. Then again, when thoughts go in a negative direction, you pull back the elastic band and let go. Again the pain and thoughts switch again. You create an anchor in yourself: negative thoughts equal pain.

Thus, you wean yourself from thinking negatively. At first it will hurt, you will tear a bunch of these rubber bands (take out several dozen at once). But gradually, negative thoughts will become less and less.

Method seven: Tears are the best cure for depression

When you want, cry. There is no need to restrain yourself. There is such a phrase - “Tears won’t help matters”. But be that as it may, you will definitely help yourself. Through tears you are cleansed. That negativity and pain lodged inside you disappear through tears.

You can even watch specials to bring tears to your eyes. Have a good cry. And when you start crying over the movie, remember your problems and switch your crying from the movie to your pain. Thus, you will pay out all the accumulated negativity.

It is much more difficult for men to apply this method. From childhood they were taught not to cry, because it is not like a man. But to abuse alcohol on a regular basis is very masculine. Men - cry boldly!

Tears are a very powerful way to quickly get out of depression. Cry out your depression and move forward.

Method eight: Swear and shout

Here I am in no way saying that you need to argue with someone or shout at someone. In order to get out of depression, you need to swear and shout yourself.

It is best to do this in the forest or in a park, where there is definitely no one. You can turn on the music loudly at home and say everything... You just need to be alone at home. Loud music will drown out your roar and scream.

Now you know. So don't hesitate. The faster you get out of depression, the faster you will return to life.

how to get out of depression

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You can talk about depression at length and smoothly, or you can simply remain silent. Doesn't matter. Nothing will happen until You take action. Here is a collection of things that help those caught in the sticky web of depression. This material was collected over several years, piece by piece. It contains information from dozens of books, hundreds of letters, thousands of Russian- and English-language articles. And most importantly, it is taken from Life - from the experience of those who struggled with depression. Those whose path was not straight. Those who fell, perhaps even for several months. But, nevertheless, he got up and walked again.

But in depression, any effort is difficult.
- Yes, you are right.
“But it takes away too much, not even leaving hope.”
- Yes. She is exactly like that.
- But it is terrible and endless.
- Yes. Yes. Yes. You are a thousand times right.

But still... Try to take this step. For your own sake. For the sake of the world in which You live. For the sake of Your life, which can still be changed if... If You take this step.

So, unfortunately, to date no remedies have been invented for depression that act instantly. Getting out of depression is truly a WAY. And it really means movement, action, effort, and if you are ready to do it, then let's start.

An excursion into psychology

To begin with, let us note that all people are divided into two types. Each of us is initially predisposed to one of two approaches to life. One type of people instinctively “withdraws into themselves” when the outside world approaches them; people of another type, on the contrary, are drawn towards it. In accordance with this, we are all divided into extroverts (outward-directed) and introverts (inward-directed). Although each of us is capable of choosing either of two approaches to life when the situation demands it, only one of them is given the greatest preference. A noisy company, in which an extrovert feels like a fish out of water, is the worst punishment for an introvert. An introvert’s attachment to everything that has been familiar for a long time can drive an extrovert into a frenzy.

The clear majority of modern approaches (popular psychological tests are especially guilty of this) identify a certain number of introvert and extrovert traits in a person, ultimately reducing everything to a simple percentage, considering the likelihood of the existence of “pure” types to be extremely small. But if you look at the root of the problem, the point is not that some people are more sociable and some less sociable. From this point of view, it is truly impossible to find pure extroverts and introverts - any person, to one degree or another, combines the traits of both of them.

Whether a person belongs to one type or another is determined primarily by his reaction to stress. Under unfavorable external influences, an introvert will look for support within himself, turning to his own soul for energy, while an introvert, on the contrary, will go outside. And if you are an extrovert, then, most likely, when you feel uneasy, you will prefer to unwind, go out into the outside world - your source of energy is there. It doesn’t matter how - at a disco, in a noisy company or talking on the phone with a friend. If you are an introvert, then in such a state you are unlikely to be drawn to people - you will most likely prefer to take a break from the world alone, or in the circle of people very close to you.

An extrovert is a person focused on external objects and events, and the external world for him is the only one that really exists - this is the strength of the extrovert and his weakness. They are most often unaware of the constant internal dialogue because they are focused on information coming from the outside world. For an introvert, his inner world and constant internal dialogue are his native element. Most of his knowledge about the world comes from ideas created in his mind.

Western society, unlike the East, clearly favors an extroverted approach to life, and most articles on depression are aimed specifically at extroverts. And if a typical introvert, having fallen into depression, reads in his spare time an article in a magazine that suggests “getting the crap out of your head” in ways typical of an extrovert, it will most likely drive him down a notch.

It is important to know which of these two types you are, since introverts and extroverts have different relationships with depression. According to the founder of this theory, K.G. Jung (by the way, an introvert), determining which of these classes you belong to is not difficult - just analyze your dreams - in a dream, introverts more often have conflicts with extroverts and vice versa.

Running and exercise

If you don't run while you're healthy, you'll have to run when you're sick. /Horace/

We can say with complete confidence that this helps everyone to one degree or another and with any depression (regardless of severity). Although this is a double-edged sword. Physical activity really gives you strength, but where can you find this strength to start these very physical exercises?

When your soul is empty and cold, and it’s dark outside and -20, it’s difficult to get out of bed onto the icy floor, put on your sneakers and run. It’s very easy to promise yourself to do exercises every day, but it’s incredibly difficult to actually do it. If hardly one out of a hundred people in normal condition is able to undertake this “feat,” then what can we say about a person in depression.

But the fact remains that any physical activity contributes to the production of endorphins, which, of course, has a positive effect on mood. According to many psychiatrists, regular jogging is no less effective than psychotherapy or antidepressants. Moreover, improvement occurs not only as a result of changes in biochemical processes. The attitude towards oneself gradually changes, self-confidence grows.

Not long ago, scientists conducted studies on a large group of people suffering from depression. The first group took antidepressants, the second group did physical activity for half an hour 3 times a week, the third group combined drug treatment and physical activity. After 4 months, significant improvements were noted in more than half of the subjects in all three groups. But by the tenth month, symptoms of depression reappeared in 30% of people taking medications, 40% of people doing physical exercise, and 10% of people combining the above.

Those who have experienced deep depression know that negative thoughts become constant companions throughout this time. Trying to get rid of them is a futile exercise - they will seep through any action, preventing you from concentrating and taking away your last strength. But there is one good way - running. For some, this simple remedy may be a real panacea. You need to run, completely concentrating on running. You will see for yourself that a second, third wind opens, strength appears... Such running is a kind of deception for the mind - at this time it simply does not have time for usual thoughts - it is busy with something else.

Yes, I desperately don’t want to get up in the morning. There is a sticky fear inside, you lie there, counting the last seconds, you understand that the alarm clock that has already been set ahead will ring at some point, and you will have to run. Escape into the world. No strength. I don't have the strength to get up. But, as one great man said: “If you can’t get up, fall to the floor.”

Starvation

It is one of the most radical methods. In Soviet psychiatry, there are methods of therapeutic fasting, developed specifically to overcome depression. In some psychiatric institutions, people suffering from depression fast under the supervision of doctors for 2-3 weeks and fully recover. This technique is especially popular among women, because... allows you to get rid of not only depression, but also extra pounds. During fasting, powerful cleansing mechanisms are launched, not only at the level of the body, but also at the level of other systems. After all, a person is not just a body, but also a Soul and Spirit.

I tried fasting during depression several times from 1-3 days to 3 weeks. The sensations during fasting are ambiguous - at one time you feel a complete loss of strength (both physical and mental), at another time positive sensations and energy appear. Fasting brings the body out of the usual flat depressive state into a wave-like state with jumps, both up and down. After long periods of fasting, the feelings of depression disappeared completely. But, unfortunately, for a short time.

I would like to warn about the obstacles and dangers that may await a hungry person. Firstly, fasting is almost impossible to combine with normal life in society, due to periods of severe weakness and other unpleasant phenomena. Secondly, during fasting you definitely need to move and be in the fresh air a lot. And the most important thing is that you should under no circumstances start fasting for long periods of time, since if the body is suddenly desoxidized, the consequences can be very unpleasant, even fatal. Since fasting is a whole science, you should take it with full responsibility.

And one more negative point - many, after fasting, rush to the opposite extreme. An irresistible passion for food (bulimia) arises, which in itself can turn into a serious disease and require treatment. Basically, bulimia is the prerogative of the weaker sex (according to statistics, 9 out of 10 people susceptible to bulimia are women).

Sleep deprivation (DS)

- Hello, how's life, how's work?
- Nothing, slowly - I work in three days.
- How do you live?
- And I live in three days.
/from jokes about DS/

Deprivation or simply put – sleep deprivation – the only method, which can bring a person out of even the deepest depression within a few hours. It, like fasting, is practiced in some psychiatric institutions, and the biochemical mechanisms of both methods associated with a deficiency of carbon dioxide in the blood are similar.

It is believed that sleep deprivation and its effects on the human mind are a relatively recent invention, but this is not entirely true. Even the ancient Romans knew that a sleepless night along with entertainment can temporarily relieve a person from the symptoms of depression. Then sleep deprivation was undeservedly forgotten, and was again accidentally discovered only in 1970 in one of the Swiss psychiatric clinics. After the re-discovery, interest in DS was enormous, but it is gradually being replaced by more modern methods - mainly medicinal ones, which act not so quickly, but are more reliable. So you can open this method a third time. This time - for myself.

There is not much information on the RuNet about the connection between DS and depression, but if you enter the phrase “depression” & “sleep deprevation” into Yahoo or AltaVista, a decent amount of information will come out in response. Most of the articles speak about this technique with enthusiasm, while a minority treat it with prejudice and criticize it. So the only way to figure it out is to try it yourself.

This technique is quite simple. You just “miss” one night, i.e. in the evening you don’t go to bed as usual, but continue to stay awake throughout the night and the following day. After which in the evening you go to bed at your usual time, resulting in a period of wakefulness of approximately 36-40 hours. Honestly, this is my favorite method, because it really helps me. And if someone works “a day” every other day, then I can say to myself that I live “a day” every other day, since it was with this frequency that I began to practice this method.

The most important thing is to overcome strong periods of sleepiness, which usually occur in the morning. Moreover, it is almost useless to kill time waiting for wonderful changes, staring at a screen or a book - you will almost certainly fall asleep. It is necessary to alternate them with something active - you can clean the apartment, exercise, etc.

Changes in condition begin to occur somewhere around 3-4 am. The dream passes, energy and strength appear. The rest of the night and the next day pass like this. True, out of habit, at first you feel sluggish, and at times you feel very drowsy. It is fundamentally important to fight these attempts, because If you fall asleep even for a short time, the entire effect of deprivation may be lost. In the evening of the second day you go to bed as usual, for it is quite dangerous to practice for more than one night.

So - the next morning you wake up, and ... you feel that depression has returned, and you feel just as bad. Although most often the morning condition even after the first DS there is some improvement. You must be prepared for this, because there are no miracles in the world. So what's the point? Is the game worth the candle? Everyone decides this for themselves, but sometimes, after long hopeless months, one day... It’s like... a ray of sunshine in the middle of a long polar night. And when it seems that depression will never end, such a day gives hope. How can you live without hope? To achieve a sustainable effect from DS, it is necessary to go through several sessions. Their number may vary depending on the condition and tolerance, but on average it is 6-8 sessions.

Essentially, during deprivation you enter a state called ASC (altered state of consciousness). Prolonged sleep deprivation was used by the Gestapo (they knew how to pick up the keys to the human psyche) - this torture was considered one of the most severe. DS is also used in some shamanic rituals - for example, it is believed that a woman who does not sleep for five days opens up the world of spirits and becomes initiated. In fact, not sleeping for five days is an impossible task for the human psyche - in this case, it is no longer possible to control oneself and frequent and short-term (literally for a few seconds) lapses into sleep occur. Reality and dream mix, auditory and visual hallucinations begin, which the shamanic concept explains by the presence of spirits.

I would like to warn you that although more than half of those who tried DS note a positive effect the first time, for some (a clear minority) it is necessary to try several times - so you shouldn’t give up on DS the first time you fail.

I myself, purely for the sake of experiment, tried sleep deprivation for several days - and the practice fully corresponded to the theory. Firstly, despite all the desperate attempts to fight sleep, short-term falls into sleep soon begin, and sometimes there is a feeling of confusion - where reality ends and sleep begins. Mild auditory and visual hallucinations also began to occur.

So if you are going to practice this method to get out of depression, it is better to use the standard technique, which is described in detail in the article - usually this is quite enough. Otherwise, this can lead to mild forms of psychosis, which is extremely unpleasant. By the way, it is interesting that some creative people know about the effects of DS (increased energy levels, clarity of mind) and use it for work.

Light therapy

This procedure can become a panacea for those who suffer from seasonal depression, which in official medicine is called SAD - seasonal affective disorder. Most often, the symptoms of SAD appear when our body lacks enough sun (usually in the autumn and winter).

In general, the influence of weather on mood is felt by a fairly large percentage of the population (30-40%), and it takes the form of a depressive disorder in 5-10%. The likelihood of the disease increases as you move towards northern latitudes. So, if in the USA, in the southern states, 1-2% of the population is affected by SAD, then in the northern states this percentage increases to 10%.

During light therapy, a person is exposed to light from a bright lamp (about 10 lux), which is equivalent to the amount of light passing through a window on a sunny spring day. Thus, this method, as it were, compensates for the lack of a natural light source - the Sun - with an artificial one. Treatment usually continues for 4 weeks, with improvements occurring within 3 days to 2 weeks. The duration of procedures can vary from half an hour to several hours a day.

In the USA and Europe, special lamps are produced whose light is close to the spectrum of sunlight, so that sessions can be carried out at home. In Russia the situation is not so sunny - as you always have to rely on your own strength - powerful lamps, which are usually sold in photo stores, are most suitable for this purpose.

There is also a way to artificially increase the length of daylight hours. In the West, devices are produced consisting of a special lamp and a time relay, which turns on the lamp two hours before getting up.

According to medical statistics, light therapy helps two thirds of people suffering from SAD. If you belong to the remaining one third, then you need to adjust the rhythm of your life to the vagaries of the weather. Spend sunny days outside or take a vacation in winter to spend it in areas where there is a lot of sun. Although this recommendation sounds quite ridiculous, given the fact that a tiny percentage of Russians can afford a vacation in the Canaries. At least for today.

Psychotherapy

Psychoanalysis is confession without absolution / G. Chesterton /

In the USA, almost every normal (and even more so not so normal) person has a psychotherapist. In Russia, even fairly wealthy people struggle with their depression alone. Unfortunately, in our country the institute of psychotherapy is more or less developed only in large cities, and even there you have to pay quite large sums for treatment from a good specialist. And it’s not just about money – remember Soviet times. Then the consequences of such a visit were not long in coming and took a very specific form. In this case, it was not the diagnosis that was important - the doctor could record the full norm - but the fact of treatment itself. Well, if a psychiatric diagnosis is made...

The worst thing is that the philistine consciousness continues to divide people into “healthy” and “mentally ill” (more recently, medicine did the same). And according to this logic, “crazy people” need to be isolated from “normal” people. The very concept of a mental norm is very vague, and mental illness in the understanding of a “normal” person usually evokes very specific associations.

In fact, only 5-7% of those experiencing any mental problems are people with mental disabilities. They are dealt with by the so-called “big psychiatry”, and the majority manage to live their lives without ever becoming acquainted with this branch of medicine. The remaining 93-95\% are a contingent of “minor psychiatry”, patients with so-called borderline conditions. The names of these states are legion. These are various neuroses, disorders of the emotional sphere, behavior, consequences of mental trauma, disordered habits, etc. And from this point of view, it turns out that a huge number of “normal”; people need the help of a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.

There are more than 200 (!!!) areas of psychotherapy, but two main ones can be distinguished. The first is psychodynamic or insight-oriented (this group includes the well-known psychoanalysis), which helps the patient achieve insight (insight), get to the bottom of the causes of the problem, which often go back to childhood. Another category is cognitive (behavioral) therapy, which focuses on specific changes in a person's behavior and thoughts.

However, if the depression is so severe that problems arise at work or in other areas, the person may not have the mental strength to do more than supportive therapy. This type of therapy focuses on supporting the person himself rather than changing his condition.

Although – can psychotherapy completely cure depression? There is no definite answer to these questions, but in any case, in order to get to the bottom of the causes of the disease, it will take quite a lot of time. And often, as C. Jung noted, a lot depends on luck. Probably only from not too severe forms, but psychotherapy can teach you to control the state of depression. There is no firm guarantee of getting rid of this disease.

During depression, it seems that all sessions are in vain - because nothing changes - most often their results can only be fully realized after leaving. But one way or another, the feeling of support is important. That in a time when everything is shaky and absurd, there is a person who knows (or pretends to know) what to do, and thereby helps to hold on to a thread of hope. A course of psychotherapy can last several weeks or last for years. It all depends on the doctor, the patient and the specific situation.

What should residents of smaller cities do, where there may be no professional psychotherapeutic help at all? There is only one thing left to do - contact your local psychiatrist, who will most likely prescribe you antidepressants.

Antidepressants

Disease is treated not with eloquence, but with medicine. /A. Celsus/

Antidepressants are drugs that relieve or prevent depression. They are able to correct the functioning of certain brain mechanisms. Our brain consists of a huge number of nerve cells - neurons. Although there are connections between neurons, they do not directly touch each other - there is a narrow gap between them - a gap called the synaptic cleft or simply synapse.

The task of transmitting a message from one neutron to another and transferring it through the synapse is performed by a chemical intermediary - mediator - (from the Latin mediator - intermediary). According to the biological theory of depression, when the disease occurs in the brain, the concentration of certain transmitters in the synaptic cleft decreases. The biochemical processes of our brain are very complex, and hundreds of different mediators take part in them. To date, only 30 of them have been identified, and three mediators are directly related to depression. These are norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. They are called biogenic amines. Antidepressants are able to regulate the concentration of one or more biogenic amines.

Let's move on from the mechanisms of action of drugs, which are probably not of interest to everyone, to everyday issues. Among “normal” people there is an opinion that “antidepressants are very harmful”, “you can go crazy from them”, “you get used to them for life”, etc. Is this true? Of course, there is no smoke without fire, but fire is a cost of Soviet psychiatry, when potent drugs “just in case” were prescribed in large doses with corresponding results. In the rest of the world, attitudes towards drugs are completely different. Currently, 65 percent of the US population takes psychotropic medications (primarily antidepressants and tranquilizers).

There is a stereotype that taking antidepressants is a manifestation of character weakness. But at the same time, people who suffer from other diseases, such as hypertension or polyarthritis, take medications during periods of exacerbation and this is considered normal. For example, aspirin is not able to cure polyarthritis, but it can relieve pain in the joints and thereby alleviate the physical suffering of the patient. Unfortunately, in our society there is still a stereotype that depression is weakness of will, lack of concentration, and only a few understand that depression is the same disease that requires treatment. Yes, antidepressants are not able to relieve depression in all cases, but they can reduce pain. Just not physical, but mental.

For many it is important question of addiction. Will the body still require another portion of joy pills after getting out of depression? It should be noted that the drugs used today in the treatment of depression are not addictive, regardless of the duration of treatment. They only help the body restore those mechanisms that were disrupted by depression.

Those people whose work is related to creativity are also concerned about whether taking drugs will disrupt the processes that are responsible for creativity. In most cases, depression does not have the best effect on creativity, and often makes it impossible. Antidepressants can restore a fractured inner world and restore the human ability to create, since most often mental health contributes to creativity.

The psychiatrist's task is to choose the right medications. Only half of patients experience improvement after the first course of therapy, so drug treatment can be called a trial and error method. A doctor may prescribe several medications before finding the one that works best.

The effect of the drug does not appear immediately - usually at least 2-3 weeks pass between the start of taking it and the appearance of a positive effect, although in some cases positive changes can occur after just one week. For some, drugs are a panacea, and a person who has been trying unsuccessfully to get out of depression for many months comes to life right before their eyes. For some, they are able to remove only some of the depressive symptoms. Although there are people (but they are an overwhelming minority) on whom drug therapy has no effect.

Often the drugs are prescribed in conjunction with other treatments because a combined attack is most effective. Antidepressants most often are not able to fill the Soul with happiness and light and completely relieve depressive experiences, but they are able to give at least some sense of stability and level the severity of depression. They help to survive a dark period, to carry us across the abyss.

Aromatherapy

Aromatic oils penetrate the blood through the skin and then spread throughout the body, and through the membranes and base of the nose into the brain and directly affect mood, as they reach the parts of the brain responsible for emotions.

There are many ways to use essential oils - you can smell them from a bottle, sprinkle them in a room, use them for massage, but the most common and effective is an aroma lamp. An aroma lamp is a small (usually porcelain or ceramic) vessel, in the lower part of which there is a burning candle, and in the upper part there is a little water to which a few drops of oil have been added. When heated, the smell of oil quickly spreads throughout the room and remains in it until the water boils away.

There are a huge number of oils or oil blends that can be used to reduce depression. Below are just the main ones: anise, orange, basil, bergamot, oregano, spruce, jasmine, cedar, coriander, lavender, lemon, tangerine, lemon balm, peppermint, rose, rosemary. Aromatherapists do not recommend using the same oil or mixture of oils for too long - they may lose their effectiveness.

I would also especially like to note the beneficial and calming effect of baths on the psyche, the effect of which can be enhanced by dissolving a few drops of oil in water. Thomas Aquinas also recommended that during the blues (along with sleep) one should contemplate the passions of the Lord (that is, turn one’s gaze outward, away from oneself to great suffering) and take baths.

Outburst of emotion

Negative emotions are constant companions of depression, but in a civilized society it is not customary to express them openly. How often, when anger and resentment are bubbling inside, we have to restrain our emotions, pulling a suitable mask over our face. In this world, nothing disappears without a trace, so suppressed emotions will certainly go into the subconscious and continue their destructive impact there.

It was not for nothing that Admiral Nelson, during fits of anger, which happened to him quite often, diligently trampled his beret. In Japanese toilets there are rubber stuffed animals of narrow-eyed bosses - the Japanese perfectly use the mechanism of outburst of emotions in practice. Probably, not everyone can afford to order a rubber effigy of their “favorite” boss or enemy, but there are many available means. Of course, a punching bag is best suited, but in the absence of one, one of the most popular improvised means in Rus' is the “ordinary pillow.” To increase its service life, it is advisable to cover it with something or use sofa cushions.

Despite its apparent simplicity, this method is very effective and, most importantly, safe. You can work with a specific person or situation. The only problem is that many people control themselves so much that after beating pillows for five minutes, they walk away with the words “well, probably there is no aggression at all.” Of course not - it's gone too deep and you'll have to work hard to get it out. To do this, you need to enter a state of frenzy, rage, perhaps - for a while, become a beast, lose your human face, and with it that part of the mind that controls emotions. Then everything will work out. Often during this “session” situations emerge that happened a long time ago (for example, in early childhood), which seemed to be forgotten once and for all. But in fact, the wound has simply become scabbed over and unconsciously still causes pain.

There is another way to express emotions - of course, these are tears.

“Tears are the rain that wards off a thunderstorm,” said Saint-Exupéry. “Tears are the rain that washes away the dust of the earth that covers our hardened hearts” - these are the words of Charles Dickens. If a person cries, it means he lives, it means his soul is capable of feeling. In modern society, there is a stereotype that tears are the prerogative of women. Real men never cry; crying is unmanly. But all this comes from a series of control, the desire to look courageous. Perhaps this is one of the most powerful attitudes that was absorbed into us with the words of our father: “Men never cry,” which is almost impossible to break. But everyone has tears. And if in women they flow down the cheeks, corroding cosmetics, then in men they settle inside and eat away at their souls.

Pets

Those who already have a four-legged pet in their home know how much they can change their life by bringing joy into it. Of course, the main inhabitants of our apartments (excluding cockroaches) are dogs and cats. Moreover, according to psychologists, a person’s love for a cat or dog is strictly connected with his internal psychotype. That is, each of us, in fact, has our own cat or dog living inside us. The symbol of a dog is devotion to the grave, a cat is freedom and independence. So, when choosing an animal, we simply project our internal attitudes externally, and is it any wonder that pets so often resemble their owners.

Since we are considering ways to overcome depression and stress, we would like to pay special attention to ordinary domestic cats. In ancient Egypt there was a goddess of the Moon, fertility and childbirth, named Elurus, and this goddess had a cat's head. The cat was inviolable for the Egyptians; they worshiped it, considering it a sacred animal. In Ancient Rome, the cat was a symbol of freedom and independence; it was depicted next to the goddess of freedom Libertas. Then a dark period began in the life of these flexible and graceful animals - cats were burned at the stake, seeing in them the night prototype of witches. And it was in vain - soon the man was punished for his cruelty - millions of lives were claimed by the plague, which was carried by hordes of rats and mice. Their immense proliferation was facilitated by the absence of their main enemy - the common gray mook.

Today - times have changed. In Japan, at the gates of the house there are figures of cats - a symbol of comfort and home; in Russia, according to tradition, a cat should be the first to enter a new house. Cats are very sensitive animals - they subtly sense good and bad places in the apartment, and often predict the approach of danger. It is not for nothing that in the cities and villages located on the slopes of Vesuvius on the eastern shore of the Bay of Naples there is not a family where cats do not live.

The amazing abilities of cats have been tested more than once in various studies. Cats have been proven to provide significant assistance to people suffering from mental illness, heart disease, brain damage, and have even contributed to the complete recovery of alcoholics and drug addicts. They help hypertensive patients and people who have had a heart attack, normalizing blood pressure and pulse.

Studies conducted in psychiatric institutions showed that caring for a cat restored patients' self-confidence, reduced physical arousal to a level that could be achieved with a week of relaxation exercises, and finally, the unique nature of cats, its independence, turned out to be a very important factor in treatment. Dogs, being creatures more emotionally dependent on humans and susceptible to human feelings, cannot be the same healers, quickly adopting human emotional excitability. A cat and its owner are bound by completely different ties - “free choice and agreement” - and this is much more important for peace of mind.

Unlike people, they never deceive or flatter, conveying their devotion with silent signals - rubbing their legs, arching their backs. It is the “cat’s” caresses that explain the medical talents of cats. It turned out that cats are magnificent, one-of-a-kind specialists in responding to touch. A person has a natural desire to stroke it, and when we plunge our hands into the thick fur, it becomes easier for us. Through such energy exchange, a person finds long-awaited peace. By the way, the method of treatment with cats itself received a rather long name from experts: “Pet facilitated therapy” - “favorite animals heal.” Moreover, cats, according to scientists, relieve stress more effectively than cats.

Prayer

Without prayer, I would have become crazy long ago. /M. Gandhi./

The world-famous physician, Nobel Prize laureate Dr. A. Korel said: “Prayer is the most powerful form of energy emitted by a person. It is as real a force as gravity. As a physician, I have seen patients who did not respond to any therapeutic treatment. They were able to recover from illness and melancholy only thanks to the calming effect of prayer... When we pray, we connect ourselves with the inexhaustible life force that sets the entire Universe in motion. We pray that at least some of this power will come to us. By turning to God in sincere prayer, we improve and heal our soul and body. It is impossible for any man or woman to fail to have a single moment of prayer without a positive result.”

Despite the fact that the very concept of depression appeared in Russia relatively recently, depression, of course, has always existed. Many methods of overcoming it have also become widespread only recently. But for centuries, practically the only consolation of the Russian people, their universal “anti-stress” method was prayer, as well as the Church and its sacraments. We all have different paths, and not everyone reading this article is Christian. But even if you look at any church rite not from the point of view of faith, but from the point of view of normal logic, many of them, especially confession, are a very powerful means, a kind of catharsis that allows you to get relief and consolation.

And, of course, prayer. There are a huge number of prayers, but within the framework of this article it is worth citing one of them - the prayer of the last Optina elders. This prayer is simple and understandable, with which the inhabitants of the Optina Hermitage, a monastery near Kozelsk, usually begin their day:

“Lord, let me meet with peace of mind everything that the coming day will bring me. Let me completely surrender to Your holy will. For every hour of this day, instruct and support me in everything. Whatever news I receive during the day, teach me to accept it with a calm soul and the firm conviction that everything is Your holy will.

In all my words and deeds, guide my thoughts and feelings. In all unforeseen cases, do not let me forget that everything was sent down by You. Teach me to act directly and wisely with each member of my family, without confusing or upsetting anyone. Lord, give me strength to endure the fatigue of the coming day and all the events during the day. Guide my will and teach me to repent, pray and believe, hope, endure, forgive, thank and love everyone. Amen"

Many famous people healed their spiritual wounds in this way. Newton, Galileo, Pascal, Pasteur, Einstein, the doctor Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Berdyaev, Soloviev, and many others believed in God.

Music

Music is an acoustic composition that arouses in us an appetite for life, just as well-known pharmaceutical compositions arouse an appetite for food. /V.Klyuchevsky/

We do not know when man came up with the first melody, but we know that it was a very, very long time ago. The chapters of the Bible tell us how David, with the help of playing the lyre, healed the spiritual wounds of King Saul. Music therapy has a thousand-year history - dating back to the 6th century BC. Pythagoras used music to treat certain diseases, and Avicenna in the “Canon of Medicine” prescribed people suffering from melancholy to listen to music and birdsong. George Sand wrote to composer Giacomo Meyerbeer that music helps her with melancholy much more than a doctor.

There are numerous cases where the wave of a mental epidemic, better known as the “Dance of St. Vitus,” which swept through Holland, Belgium and other countries in the 14th-16th centuries, was stopped only by musicians playing slow, soothing music.

In 1954, the French musician and electroacoustic engineer M. Jos began research on getting rid of stress and depressive disorders with the help of musical works. The music itself was very carefully selected in accordance with the person’s psychotype, his age and other parameters. The results were so successful that soon two music therapy hospitals were opened in France, where more serious personality disorders - psychosis, in particular schizophrenia - were treated using this technique.

When using this method, one or two sessions are held per week, each of which consists of three different pieces of music, which together allow one to achieve the desired effect. The first part is usually consonant with a person’s sad mood, the second part is the opposite in mood and, as it were, neutralizes it, and, finally, the third and final part has the greatest emotional impact and evokes exactly the mood that needs to be created. Here is an example of a music program for stress and depression that gives good results for people aged 20-30 years:

1. Fragment from S. Rachmaninov’s concert No. 2 (part 1) 2. Aria from Suite No. 3 by I. Bach. 3. A very short fragment from the first part of P. Tchaikovsky’s concert No. 1.

When we feel uneasy, we often strive to be alone, and then music helps us survive this state. Music is always written in complete solitude, but it is music that can unite people. Loneliness befell many great composers - Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Brahms, Ravel.

Music can be used to release strong destructive emotions, such as aggression. For example, the music of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” is perfectly suited for this purpose. The premiere of this ballet in 1913 in Paris ended in scandal. The musical passages so excited the listeners that they began to talk loudly, forming groups of supporters and opponents, and things almost came to hand-to-hand combat. Rimsky-Korsakov’s militant overture “The Woman of Pskov” and Bartok’s expressive music (suites and ballets “The Wooden Prince” and “The Marvelous Mandarin”) have a similar effect.

Nutrition

Depression and stress initiates the production of large amounts of hormones in the body - adrenaline and cortisol. The “production” of these hormones requires a significant amount of reserves of vitamins C, B, zinc, magnesium and other minerals. According to the law of conservation of matter, these necessary elements are urgently “confiscated” from their jobs in the body, where, in turn, their shortage occurs. A lack of vitamin C and zinc prevents you from producing enough collagen to keep your skin clear and healthy. A lack of vitamin B inhibits energy production and mental performance. Magnesium deficiency leads to headaches and hypertension.

One of the components of a complex attack against stress is a diet aimed at replenishing the body with those substances that are intensively “eaten” by stress hormones.

Vitamin A - Green leafy vegetables, carrots, apricots, pumpkin.

Vitamin C - All vegetables and fruits, especially citrus fruits, black currants, kiwi, broccoli, white cabbage, rose hips.

B vitamins - All cereals, yogurt, liver, pumpkin, avocado, bran bread, lean meat and fish, nuts, brewer's yeast.

Vitamin E - vegetable oil.

Magnesium - “Green” vegetables and herbs, grapefruits, figs, carrots, tomatoes, nuts, buckwheat, oatmeal, peas.

Calcium - milk and dairy products.

Zinc - Lean meats, seafood, eggs, yogurt, cheese, nuts.

Choline - egg yolk, beef liver, sprouted wheat grains.

– one of the most controversial and mysterious diseases. More than 10% of people over 40 years of age and about 5% of adolescents and young adults of both sexes suffer from one form or another of the disease. And the worst thing is that often the patient himself does not find the strength or desire to be treated, and his family and friends do not understand the full danger of the situation and do not seek professional help until the disease begins to progress.

But the sooner treatment for depression is started, the greater the chance of quickly and completely restoring the patient’s mental health and doing without psychotropic drugs, which have to be prescribed to patients with severe illness.

Most residents of our country are still afraid or embarrassed, thinking that the patient might be locked up in a psychiatric hospital, fed with “scary” pills, or given shock therapy. In fact, modern methods of treating depressive conditions make it possible to successfully relieve patients of the disease at home and exclusively on a voluntary basis.

And, most importantly, complex therapy - drugs and - help not only to remove all symptoms of depression, but also to stabilize a person’s psyche, which helps reduce the risk of relapse of the disease to a minimum.

Depression is a severe mental disorder that occurs in people of all ages and personalities due to constant nervous tension, frequent stress, or against the background of difficult experiences.

Often the symptoms of the disease are confused with manifestations of stress or emotional burnout, but, unlike them, depression can last from several weeks to several months, and the patient’s condition does not change.

You can distinguish true depression by a triad of classic signs:

The manifestation of all these signs depends on the severity of the disease; with a mild degree, the patient feels constant depression, dissatisfaction with his life, he feels worse, spends most of his time alone, doing nothing. Moderate and severe depression causes not only mental, but also physical deterioration of the patient’s condition; he, most often, does not leave the house at all, refuses to perform any activities, spends most of the day and night in bed and does not communicate with family.

This behavior does not always cause the right reaction from others, but a person with depression also needs treatment, like a person with diabetes or hypertension. A disorder of the nervous system leads to the fact that the body ceases to produce sufficient amounts of hormones and neurotransmitters, which disrupts normal human behavior, decreases mood and causes apathy. But if at the height of the disease such changes in the central nervous system occur in all patients, then the onset of the disease, in 90% of cases, is still caused by severe nervous shock, severe stress or prolonged nervous exhaustion. Therefore, an integrated approach is important.

In addition to drug therapy, lifestyle changes are also required. Only with complex treatment can stable remission and recovery be achieved, otherwise there is always a risk of recurrence of the disease.

How should proper treatment be carried out?

How to overcome depression? Treatment for this disorder includes:

Drug treatment

Don't know how to get rid of depression? The following groups of drugs are used to treat the disorder:

• antidepressants;
• mood stabilizers;
• anxiolytics;
• neuroleptics.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants or thymoleptics are a group of drugs that normalize the levels of norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine in the brain. They help reduce clinical manifestations of depression such as restlessness, irritability, apathy, anxiety, lethargy and increase mental activity. Their main mechanism of action is to integrate into the process of nerve impulse transmission, “intercepting” hormones responsible for a person’s emotional state, this helps increase their level in the blood, compensating for the deficiency that develops with depression. Antidepressants, especially the latest generation, do not cause addiction or side effects.

Treatment of depression involves the use of several groups of antidepressants:

1. Tricyclic antidepressants - imipramine, nortriptyline and others were the first to be synthesized and began to be used to treat depression. They block the reuptake of norepinephrine, some and serotonin, thereby increasing its concentration in the blood and helping to get rid of depression, improving the general condition of the patient. Unfortunately, tricyclic antidepressants affect all types of receptors in the body and can cause drowsiness, dry mouth, palpitations, difficulty urinating and other similar symptoms. In addition, there is a danger of overdose, so in no case should you exceed the recommended dose, which is selected individually for each patient.
2. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO) - iproniazid, phenelzine, nialamide, selegin, metralindole, moclobemide and others. This group of drugs was discovered almost simultaneously with tricyclic antidepressants, but is used less frequently to overcome depression, since the effects of drugs on the body have been less studied, and their effectiveness is influenced by many factors. Thus, during treatment it is necessary to limit foods containing tyramine, alcoholic beverages, caffeinated drinks and chocolate. Taking a large number of medications is also prohibited. The mechanism of action of MAO inhibitors is the suppression of the activity of the MAO enzyme, which destroys the mediators: norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. This group of drugs also reduces the clinical manifestations of depression and is not addictive, but the effect of use occurs several weeks after the start of use.
3. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, fluvoxamine, were synthesized several decades later than MAO inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants. The mechanism of action of the drugs is blockade of serotonin uptake at the synapse. Due to their selective effects, drugs in this group are considered less toxic and cause much fewer side effects; they are recommended for use by patients with mild forms of depression, without concomitant diseases. The effect of use occurs after 3-5 weeks.
4. Norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake inhibitors - Cymbalta, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Zyban - this group of drugs was synthesized in the 90s of the 20th century, inhibiting the reuptake of neurotransmitters, these drugs reduce apathy, irritation, improve the general condition of the patient and do not affect the entire body as a whole . The effect of their use occurs faster than from taking classical antidepressants, and the effect itself is milder.
5. Noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants - serzon - are modern antidepressants that selectively act on hormones that affect mood. Due to their high selectivity, drugs in this group are well tolerated, the effect of use occurs faster and there are no pronounced side effects.
6. Antidepressants of other groups - drugs bupropion, hypericin, tianeptine, nefazodone - increase the level of serotonin in the blood, due to which the symptoms of depression disappear or reduce. Each drug has its own contraindications and side effects. Anti-depression pills should only be used as prescribed by a doctor.

Normotimics

Mood stabilizers or mood stabilizers are a group of drugs that help find the answer to the question of how to overcome depression. These medications are used to normalize mood in depression, mood disorders and other mental illnesses and as a prophylactic agent that can prevent the onset of symptoms of the diseases described above. There are 2 main groups of drugs:

Anxiolytics

How to overcome depression using additional medications besides those described above - for example, anxiolytics? Let's figure it out.

Anxiolytics or tranquilizers - lorazepam, alprozolam and drugs in this group reduce feelings of emotional stress, fear, worry or anxiety. They are used in the treatment of illness in combination with antidepressants or antipsychotics, helping to relieve the patient of increased anxiety, fear for his life and other negative experiences. The mechanism of action of most anxiolytics is a decrease in the excitability of the nervous system.

Anxiolytics should be taken with great caution, as they quickly become addictive, and with prolonged use they have a depressant effect on the central nervous system, causing a decrease in memory, clarity of thinking and perception. They are prescribed mainly once - the feeling of fear, tension or anxiety disappears after the first dose of the drug or in short courses, under control of the condition. It is prohibited to take tranquilizers while driving a vehicle or doing work that requires quick reaction and concentration.

Neuroleptics

Neuroleptics or antipsychotics - aminazine, tizercin, chlorprothixene, sonapax, neuleptil, haloperidol, triftazine, droperidol, mazeptil, chlorprothixene. The most “severe” and dangerous group of drugs for the treatment of this disease. They are used only for severe disorders of the nervous system, accompanied by sudden changes in behavior - attacks of aggression, hallucinations, delusions, suicidal attempts, and so on. The exact mechanism of action of antipsychotics is still not known; it is believed that the drugs reduce the transmission of nerve impulses in the cerebral cortex.

Reducing the transmission of nerve impulses “frees” the brain from the influence of pathological signals that it receives in the event of a mental disorder in a person. This helps relieve the patient from the productive symptoms of the disease - delusions, hallucinations, attacks of aggression and reduces the level of manifestations of negative symptoms - apathy, decreased motor activity, and so on.

Neuroleptics affect not only the cerebral cortex, but also lower structures - the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, extrapyramidal system, causing many side effects from therapy. Therefore, these drugs are used only in short courses and only when there are serious indications, for example, when the life of the patient and others is threatened.

New generation neuroleptics - clozapine, Zyprexa, rispolept, sertindole, ziprasidone, amisulpride, eglonil and others have a more selective effect on the nervous system and are less toxic, therefore today they are considered the drugs of choice in the treatment of depression.

Psychotherapeutic treatment

How to overcome depression without taking pills - more precisely, not only with their help? A psychotherapist can help you find a way out of a depressive state; individual or group sessions should complement drug treatment or be carried out after it; in mild cases, it is possible to achieve an effect using only psychotherapy and palliative methods of treatment.

Unlike drug therapy, in psychotherapy the patient does not act as an object, but as one of the active participants in the treatment. Without a person’s desire to recover, to understand what caused the development of such a condition and how to avoid such situations in the future, complete recovery from depression is impossible.

Few people know how to get rid of depression. So, in the treatment of this disease they use:

How do you get rid of depression? In addition to these 3 main methods of psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal, family and other types of psychotherapy are used.

Other treatments

How to treat depression using other therapies? In addition to the remedies described above, methods such as light therapy, art therapy, sand therapy, music therapy, meditation and others can help in the treatment of this disease. It has a positive effect on the human condition due to:

• normalization of the state of the nervous system - music for depression, yoga or meditation, massage, aromatherapy, swimming in the pool and other activities that bring peace and pleasure to the patient can help relieve nervous tension and reduce the level of anxiety, fear and irritation;
• opportunities to realize their creative abilities - art therapy, sand painting or any other type of creativity helps the patient to “throw out” his worries and experiences, transfer them to paper, clay or any other type of material and thereby get rid of them;
• increasing the production of “pleasure hormones” - activities that enhance the production of neurotransmitters will help in the fight against depression. These are sports, swimming, walks in the fresh air, proper nutrition and giving up bad habits.

So how to overcome depression? The most important thing is to remember that treatment for depression should be comprehensive, long-term and only professional. You should not risk a person’s health and even life by trying to cure the disease on your own or by simply buying him the necessary pills. Only the use of several treatment methods by a competent doctor, lifestyle changes, help and support from family and friends can help overcome depression quickly and without consequences.

Depression is translated from Latin as depressed human condition. This is a special mental disorder and therefore it is very important to know how to get out of depression on your own or with the help of specialists. After all, it is characterized by a decline in vitality and mood, pessimistic assessment of the surrounding world and oneself, including inhibited state of motor and intellectual development, somatoneurological disorders of the nervous system.

Symptoms of depression include: as low self-esteem of one's personality, various cognitive properties, associated with one’s own destruction and detachment from the external environment.

A person in depressed state differs from other people in the prevalence and diversity of underestimations of their personality.

So, from this article you will learn:

• What is depression, melancholy;
• Types and signs of depression (postpartum depression, etc.);
• Symptoms of depression in women and men;
• How to get out of depression - 10 tips on what to do and how to get rid of it yourself;
• etc.

What depression is, how to get rid of it and how to get out of this state, read further in the article. Types, symptoms and signs

Depression- This quite common mental illness to date. Doctors often equate it to a cold, since according to statistics, in percentage terms, these diseases are much more common than others.

You can often hear the phrase “ I'm depressed"from a completely healthy person. Basically, this is how people who feel failed in any life endeavors.

But, despite their failures, a person continues to live in his usual environment, without making any changes to his life.

From another point of view, the person who is actually suffering depressive disorders, constantly experiences depressed state And feeling of helplessness And alienation who do not leave him even for a second, doesn't notice his painful state, or rather, simply does not want admit oneself to be sick .

This fact significantly disrupts people’s ability to adequately relate to the world around them and prevents them from communicating with work colleagues and with your family, since the ability to logically and adequately evaluate this or that vital important situation.

Today, depression is one of the main problems of the public. This is primarily due to the increase in this disease among people.

The relevance of this problem in Russia, according to psychologists, is associated with the economic crisis in the country. People have no confidence in the future, do not understand the current conditions, are worried about their future and the future of their children, in connection with this The amount of stress among the population increases.

Depression is quite difficult to detect, which influences a more in-depth study of this disease and the causes of its occurrence.

Results only Scientific research will help create the most relevant approach to diagnosing depression and providing related assistance for people who are worried about stressful situations and other psychological disorders.

2. What is melancholy 😟?

Melancholy is a human mental disorder that is accompanied by a number of characteristic symptoms.

These include: inability to experience joyful events, a certain degree of reduced thinking, lack of good mood, decrease in active life position.

People in state of melancholy prone to negative reasoning about life and others, they have a pronounced pessimistic mood in relation to real events.

People with this disease lose any interest in your job, they have no appetite, own self-esteem is low. (We already wrote about how to raise your self-esteem in the article - ?)

Today, melancholy occurs in almost half of the population. According to statistics, after the age of thirty, approximately 70% women suffer from this disease.

The likelihood of mental disorders and teenage children, also quite high.

Today, medicine is very helpful in treating this condition. How exactly to recover from it is described in detail below.

Important point!

Before starting treatment, it is important to correctly clarify the diagnosis. That the disease is precisely depression, and not the usual blues, which happens in the spring or a typical mood swing and temporary life difficulties.

They require serious intervention from specialists and properly selected medications. biochemical, and also psychosomatic consequences of the disease.

The opinion that depression is 21st century disease, is erroneous from the point of view of experienced doctors. Since this disease was known and quite common in the distant past. Medieval healers defined depression as the last and worst stage of melancholy.

In ancient times, this disease was treated with opium tinctures, mineral healing waters, cleansing enemas, and also full-fledged And long sleep.

The causes of depression are usually complex disorders of the nervous system, the factors of which are internal or external influences on the human psyche.

3. Main causes of depression 📝

• Alzheimer's diseases.
• Increased load on the brain due to prolonged stress.
• Drug use.
• Psychological trauma, for example, death of a relative, loss of a job.
• Climatic or seasonal factors, for example, in spring or winter.
• Excessive physical or mental stress.
• Iatrogenic type of depression. Excessive use of medications.
• Various head injuries.
• Separation from a loved one.
• Change of residence.
• (the habit of postponing important things until later).

It is not uncommon for a person to develop a state of depression for no reason. According to experts, in such situations, an important factor is disruption of normal neurochemical functions in the human brain.

4. Signs of depression in women and men 📚 - symptoms of “disease”

The states of human depression manifest themselves in quite a variety of ways, and, in most cases, they affect the body as a whole. It helps specialists to accurately diagnose the disease. complex symptoms, and this in turn contributes to the appointment correct And effective treatment.

A doctor can prescribe certain medications, as well as concomitant therapy, only by conducting a general diagnosis of the patient's mental disorder.

As a rule, the physiological signs of depression differ from person to person.

For example, most people loss of appetite, and for some it is on the contrary significantly intensifies during the period of illness. The same feature applies to problems with full-fledged sleep person. One patient may suffer from insomnia, and the other– constantly wants to sleep and suffers from a feeling of fatigue around the clock.

Symptoms of depression are divided into several groups based on associated symptoms.

Symptom No. 1. Emotional manifestations of depression in humans

• Interest in life and the world around us decreases or disappears.
• Increased irritability, even for no particular reason.
• Depressed mood, feeling of melancholy and despair.
• Feelings of helplessness and guilt in any situation.
• Low self-esteem.
• State of anxiety and panic.
• Anxiety, for example, about your loved ones.
• Inability to be content with previously favorite hobbies.
• Expectation of a catastrophe and other unforeseen events.
• Loss of emotional sensitivity.

Symptom No. 2. Physiological manifestations of depression in humans

• Painful sensations of a psychosomatic nature. For example, arms, legs, stomach, heart, head, etc. hurt.
• Disturbance or lack of sleep.
• Low performance.
• Disorders of the human digestive system.
• Increased fatigue, even with minor physical exertion.
• Increased appetite, or its complete absence.
• Decreased sexual desire, up to the occurrence of impotence (in men).
• Weakness during any physical activity.

Symptom No. 3. Significant changes in people's behavior

• Alcohol abuse.
• Tendency to loneliness and unwillingness to communicate with other people.
• Lack of desire for entertainment and hobbies.
• Use of psychotropic and narcotic substances to improve mood.
• Passive life position.
• Replacing important, necessary and urgent tasks is a waste of time.
• Preference for a sedentary or lying lifestyle.

Symptom No. 4. Cognitive disorders of the human nervous system.

• Difficulty in making any independent decisions.

• Loss of clarity of thinking and inability to concentrate on anything specific.
• Loss of ability to concentrate your thoughts.
• Lack of attention.
• Periodic thoughts about committing suicide.

As with any disease, whether it is a cold or a cough, if you do not start timely treatment of depression with properly selected drugs, the patient’s condition will worsen every day.

At the same time, the number of symptoms of the disease and their severity increases, which can even lead to suicide properties patients, especially, if we consider teenage depression.

It is not uncommon for a sick person’s thinking to be so critical that they can easily be mistaken for a person’s dementia, instead of a serious mental disorder associated with an advanced state of depression.

Often the disease is accompanied by increased attraction of one’s own attention to life’s problems. Patient, as a rule, I'm completely sure that he has mental, or somatic disease.

In order for a doctor to make a correct diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment, stable ( at least 14 days) the presence of any of the above signs of depression in a person.

5. Main types of depression 📑

1. Endogenous depression

Endogenous depression is a severe type of disease. She brings a huge amount of suffering, like the sickest person, as well as his family and all the people around him.

To detect an endogenous type of depression in a person, there are certain symptoms.

These primarily include: inability to fall asleep in the evening, and also early awakenings at dawn, lack of interest in the environment and society.

There are also external signs of this type of disease. These include: increased state of anxiety, systematic presence of causeless sadness and melancholy, depressed state of a person.

Secondary signs that a patient has endogenous depression are: slow motion, constant stoop, quiet and hesitant speech.

The external features of such people are lifeless, dull hair, as well as an sallow and gloomy complexion.

Characteristic signs the presence of an endogenous type of depression in a person is slow thinking And reasoning, absence concentration And attention, memory problems, absolutely not no desires or interests.

Advanced forms of this serious mental illness lead to a deterioration in the general condition of the patient, apathy towards the surrounding world and society as a whole occurs. Patients characterize their well-being as a heaviness in the soul, a depressed state similar to the duration of a serious illness and other similar symptoms.

People with this disease as a rule , with indifference relate to all surrounding citizens, including closest relatives. They withdraw into their inner world and think only about their difficult fate in life.

Such patients try in every possible way to distance themselves from their social position in society.

2. Manic depression

There is a group of people who, during the course of the disease, develop megalomania, inappropriate behavior in one situation or another, causeless change of mood, For example, sudden onset of joyful emotions, or, conversely, sadness. This type of mental disorder in a person is called manic depression, in other words, bipolar mental disorder .

This disease makes people irritable, overly active and quite self-confident.

Manic depression can be expressed in various forms.

The initial stage of this human mental disorder is a mild form of the disease called - cyclothymia . Citizens suffering from this type of depression experience constant mood swings. They may cry or laugh for no reason. The initial stage of mania (mild form) appears.

The most dangerous is bipolar , in other words, major depression. During the stages of exacerbation of this serious mental illness, a person develops obsessive thoughts about committing suicide, and during the manic phase of depression, all bad thoughts instantly disappear, clarity of mind and sobriety of mind appear. In addition, these patients are not able to foresee in advance the dangerous consequences of their own actions.

Not rare dysthymia diseases . This is depressive nervousness, the mildest stage of a person’s depressive disorder. Otherwise it is called minor depression or minor depressive disorder of the human nervous system. This includes postpartum depression , which is described in detail below.

In its various manifestations, depression is a condition of a person in which he disfigures the manner in which he behaves in society as himself. Not a single person is immune from diseases of the depressive disorder of the nervous system.

A state of depression can hit absolutely anyone century a, old And young, single people and divorced or have never had a family, poor And millionaires. By the way, we also wrote in the previous article.

In the life of every citizen, events may arise that will certainly lead him to overexertion and stressful situations, which are the initial stage of a depressive disorder of the human nervous system, especially if unpleasant events simultaneously overtake the psyche or if they follow a systematic sequence.

When women seek psychological help, in most cases it is discovered and diagnosed major depressive disorder nervous system, compared with cases of male patients seeking help.

Experts on this matter have the opinion that women more often recognize their condition as a serious illness and rush to visit a doctor, and men They try to treat themselves, so they rarely go to the hospital.

But, as a rule, depressive experiences such as loneliness, helplessness, sadness and other mental disorders more common in female patients . In such states of depression in men, instead of qualified help from a specialist, they prefer to drown out their sorrows and adversities with the help of alcoholic beverages or other substances that can temporarily improve their mood and give imaginary self-confidence.

3. Masked depression

The stage of such depression, which occurs unnoticed by other people, is called camouflaged, or hidden depression. Experts consider it not as an independent disorder of the human nervous system, but as a result alcoholism or acceptance of other psychotropic substances, uplifting. In such a situation, men are practically don't ask for help .

A person's depressive disorder can manifest itself in a wide variety of forms. In certain situations, people's states of depression differ in their severity. For some, this state is clearly visible to others, while another category of people hides their psychological state from outsiders.

Easy, depression occurs in a situation where, against the background of certain symptoms, a person has a loss of strength and mood, he finds the strength to do daily work and his usual activities.

Moderate, depression is when a combination of symptoms of a mental disorder prevents you from properly performing daily work.

Severe depression, this is when a person has all the signs of a nervous system disorder and they are noticeable to others, and also all these symptoms completely prevent the person from doing everyday activities and work.

4. Clinical depression

Clinical depression is otherwise called big, or monopolar depression. This form of disorder of the human nervous system is most common today.

Titled " Clinical”, implies the presence of a single extreme position in the range of emotions. It is characterized by only one type of patient's mood, for example, sad or depressed.

In most cases, this mood does not go away during the day, and also causes insomnia, decreased appetite, mental anguish and pain, lack of joyful emotions, inability to concentrate on anything.

In such a condition, patients as a rule, consider themselves useless to anyone, and view their position in society or at work as absolutely meaningless and useless. Such people have very low self-esteem.

The points of view of experts regarding the occurrence of depression in people are divided.

Some doctors think that the disease is directly related to abnormal processes in the human brain. In most patients, the tendency to this disease is hereditary.

Other reasons include the following factors: stressful situations, postpartum period in women, death of relatives, feelings of guilt and helplessness, various stressful situations.

Doctors distinguish 4 main groups of symptoms of depression:

• Mood disorders. People have causeless, obsessive thoughts about their guilt in something, a feeling of loneliness and despair arises, they are constantly in a state of melancholy.
• Variable behavior. The person is completely withdrawn from communication with others, it is difficult for him to concentrate his thoughts, his thoughts are vague.
• Physical manifestations. Changes in body weight, disturbance or complete lack of sleep, systematic pain in the head.
• Complex mental disorders. The simultaneous presence of several of the above symptoms of depression.

The patient himself is not able to adequately assess his own well-being, since the symptoms of a person’s mental disorder can manifest themselves in different ways, and can be expressed to a greater or lesser extent.

The depressive state completely affects the mental state of citizens, clear thinking deteriorates to a large extent.

6. Main signs of depression 📋

Experts identify two main signs of depression.

These include: lack of interest in the joyful events of the surrounding world, a persistent feeling of melancholy and depression and extreme stage of the disease, this is complete indifference to all the people around and everything that happens in the world and the public. Constant feeling of sadness and depression, feeling of hopelessness And misunderstanding the meaning of one's life lead not just to sadness and tears, but to acute mental pain diseases.

When depressed, most people withdraw into themselves And do not want to communicate with others. In the process of such a psychological illness, a person’s attraction to the opposite sex disappears, and difficulties appear in achieving orgasm and erection.

During depression, a person's physical condition changes. He differs from those around him by his slow gait, quiet speech, stoop; in medicine this condition is called psychomotor retardation patient.

But there are also situations when people have an absolutely similar physical condition. They are distinguished by accelerated and restless movements, speech is loud and fast. This condition is called - psychomotor agitation .

State of depression significantly affects people's feelings and thinking. Usually, all patients' thoughts are directed towards negative moments of life. Pronounced, difficulty concentrating on a specific issue, difficult thinking, a person has memory problems, absent-mindedness, confusion of thoughts.

In such a state, a person’s feelings and thoughts do not reflect reality. The patient experiences anxiety, has low self-esteem, is surrounded by his own fear, guilt and feels useless to anyone.

Psychological feeling dissatisfaction with oneself And own life often intensified by all sorts of manifestations: the patient periodically has not only thoughts about suicide , but also his attempts, or developed plans to commit suicide.

Major depression is divided into several forms.

Psychopathic depression, during which hallucinations and delusions appear in the patient, the number of suicides increases significantly and treatment under the supervision of specialists is required.

Atypical depression when a mixed picture of the above symptoms is expressed.

Postpartum depression, observed in women after childbirth.

Dysthymia

Minor depression is called dysthymia. This is a protracted mental disorder of a person, which is accompanied by a lack of joyful events in life and emotions.

Dysthymia may last for several years. The accompanying gloomy mood of people during such a disease often leads to loss of work and family.

Previously, treatment of dysthymia was carried out using psychotherapy, and mainly psychoanalysis. There are other ways to get rid of this disease. These include: interpersonal, cognitive, behavioral therapy. Most experts say that mixed treatment with the simultaneous use of medications and psychotherapy is the best.

Spring depression - seasonal affective disorder

A special form of depression that occurs only at certain times of the year, e.g. in autumn or in the spring.

Many citizens who suffer from such a mental disorder may feel great throughout the year, but at one time or another they experience lethargy and a depressed mood.

According to statistics, this disorder most often occurs in the fall and ends by the beginning of spring. But there are other categories of citizens who suffer from depression at other times of the year. As a rule, spring depression occurs in women, but is less common in men.

Symptoms of this disease are: fatigue, drowsiness, loss of appetite, decreased performance, inability to focus one's thoughts on a specific issue, increased irritability, feeling of anxiety, reluctance to communicate with other people.

Seasonal mental disorder goes away, without any special therapy, with the onset of another season. People feel a surge of strength and vitality.

Today's specialists can't answer definitively, what exactly is the cause of such depression. Basically, they indicate a decrease in the level of the joy hormone in people during a certain period of the year. Typically, this mental disorder is hereditary.

Bipolar depression (mania)

During bipolar depression, people experience changeable mood . It can suddenly go from joyful emotions to sad well-being, or vice versa. On average, this category of patients has an absolutely normal mood, despite systematic changes in it during the depression phase.

During exacerbations, a person exhibits symptoms similar to those of major depression: excessive activity, emotional arousal, and increased self-confidence. Usually, such changes in people’s moods are absolutely unrelated to current life problems.

The course of this disease disrupts a person’s usual activities and causes difficulties in performing daily work.

Develop and experience attacks of bipolar depression may happen in a completely unexpected way. People can experience all kinds of anxiety during the attack phase of a mental disorder. It is difficult for them to concentrate on anything, there is a feeling of guilt and alienation from the world around them.

There is also an opposite phase of mental disorder, as a result of which a person is different excellent well-being, elevated thinking abilities, feels a surge of energy and is in an inexplicably high spirits.

As mania increases, the patient's agitation increases, and his actions may become completely unexpected. Feelings of immense joy can change in an instant to indignation and anxiety.

For people with such depression, various failures and downfalls in life are unacceptable. They experience excessive attacks of anger and inflated demands on the people around them.

The lack of a critical attitude towards one's own condition is a distinctive feature of mania.

In what situations is an overly joyful mood regarded as a sign of mania?

• The need for rest and sleep disappears.
• Instant change of thoughts.
• Feeling of greatness and high self-esteem.
• Obsessiveness in communicating with others and increased talkativeness in general.
• The tendency to be distracted by extraneous elements that are not relevant to the task.
• Hobbies for something that will lead to complications in the future.
• Increased activity and acceleration of movements in all areas of life.

Only in a situation where the above symptoms are expressed quite clearly and also interfere with the normal existence of a person and his presence in public places, experts confidently put diagnosis of mania and prescribe appropriate treatment.

In severe cases, the inexplicable self-confidence of a patient diagnosed with mania may gradually turn into delusions of grandeur. With such a psychological disorder, a person decides for himself that he has the ability to communicate with supernatural invisible objects and recognize their voices. This behavior of patients is very dangerous for the people around them.

With mania, the speed of thinking in the brain increases significantly, the patient’s motor activity increases, and sexual desire increases.

Other forms of bipolar disorder are rare. These include: accelerated circular disorder And gloomy mania.

The symptoms of such diseases are similar to the above-mentioned causes of psychological disorder in people.

7. What causes depression in women 🙍‍♀️?

There are several types of depression that can develop in women.

These include:

1. Agitated depression. The disease is associated with self-preoccupation, loss of social status and self-criticism.
2. Pathological form of depression. Usually causes the death of relatives and close friends.
3. Alcohol or drug use. Occurs with excessive consumption of alcohol or psychotropic substances.
4. Iatrogenic depression. It develops from the uncontrolled use of medications, usually with a sedative or hypnotic effect, without a doctor’s prescription.
5. Somatic. Caused by diseases such as brain tumors, hydrocephalus, sclerosis, epilepsy, thyroid diseases and others.
6. Postpartum depression and depression in pregnant women.

All types of these mental disorders are accompanied by hormonal changes and other physiological processes in the body of women.

Postpartum depression

Mental disorders in women are significantly affected by excess active substances in the body that are responsible for the normal production of beneficial hormones that help maintain normal human mood.

As a rule, depression in pregnant women or those who have given birth to a baby in the last six months arises and ends on their own, without any reason or medication.

But if the signs of a mental disorder are sufficiently pronounced, immediate medical intervention and concomitant treatment are required. According to statistics, depression after childbirth Approximately 40% of women are affected different age categories.

Postpartum depression is a disorder of the nervous system that develops in women from 0 to 6 months after the birth of the child.

A recurrent disorder of the nervous system that occurs around 15% women of childbearing age is called premenstrual syndrome.

During the course of this disease, women experience nervousness, sleep and appetite disturbances, and a broken and depressed mood. This period lasts no more than two weeks and ends with the onset of menstruation.

Depression. Symptoms in women. How to get out - advice from doctors and psychologists

8. Signs of depression in women 🙅‍♀️

Very often, the onset of depression directly associated with hormonal imbalances in the body . They affect the fertility of women of the appropriate age. In a woman’s body, this period is divided into several stages.

These include: menstrual cycle , pregnancy and childbirth , menopause. Peculiar changes in hormonal levels in the body occur in each of the listed periods. These features of the female body disrupt certain functions of the nervous system and, therefore, affect mental state generally.

Patients with such nervous system disorders experience mood swings depending on one or another phase of the menstrual cycle within 1-2 weeks.

Often leads to depression pregnancy, regardless of whether it is long-awaited or not.

But, oddly enough, abortions can only in exceptional cases cause depression. The greatest likelihood of depressive disorders in women is the time of birth of the baby, this is not affected by what kind of child was born.

Postpartum depression can be a mild form of nervous disorder, or a severe form of depression, which can occur several weeks or months before giving birth.

Experts say that such depression cannot come suddenly, and this is due to the fact that woman and previously had mental problems, but did not turn to doctors for help.

The psyche of women in labor is also affected by a sharp decrease in hormone levels. This condition is explained by the stressful situation associated with childbirth, as well as the occurrence new difficulties And responsibilities in your life, which are added with the birth of the baby.

In particular, postpartum depression is directly related to unsuccessful childbirth, problems in the family, financial troubles and other factors.

Not so dangerous for depression is menopause in a woman. Experts say that mental disorders during menopause are no different from depression, which can occur in any other period of life.

The most susceptible to mental disorders are those categories of women who have previously experienced nervous system disorders.

Today, depression in young girls is quite common. (ages 14 to 29). The risk of all kinds of mental illnesses in the younger generation prone to depression 4 times higher.

In girls at a young age, during periods of nervous overstrain, digestive disorders, they are prone to overeating, or, conversely, completely refuse to eat food. Such mental disorders often lead to other various diseases, and also significantly affect the physical development and health of the body.

If you refuse food, you may develop a serious disease called anorexia, which leads to a decrease in the resistance of the young body and contributes to the emergence of no less dangerous diseases, such as tuberculosis or pneumonia, as well as others infectious diseases.

How to help a girl cope with depression?

The general condition of the patient requires sufficient attention. Since problems associated with the digestive system require long-term treatment by a psychiatrist.

First of all, symptomatic therapy is carried out to promote the overall strengthening of the body. Nutritionists select special nutrition for the patient, and doctors monitor her general well-being.

Treatment will be most successful if started timely.

Stressful situations in women

The influence of various stressful situations on a woman’s body causes a high percentage of depression.

Stressful situations include:

• caring for a small child,
• troubles And disappointments in personal life,
• lack of a life partner,
• loneliness.

Huge number divorced women suffer from depression.

Many women break up with their loved ones, which can lead to reactive depression, which is severe and requires long-term treatment.

Women with a distinctive character are most often subject to mental disorders due to their imbalance or excessive self-confidence.

Symptoms of reactive depression

• Self-criticism is increased without any reason.
• There is no interest in everyday life and the surrounding society.
• Poor memory and difficulty making independent decisions.
• Sleep disturbance and increased causeless irritability.
• Having periodic obsessive thoughts about suicide.
• Constant feeling of fatigue.
• Headaches and general physical exhaustion.
• Increased heart rate, pain in the heart area and blood pressure problems.

Depression among citizens male occurs less frequently than in women. As is commonly believed " men don't cry”, and it is this expression that they try to live up to in everyday life.

But such a statement does not save men from the occurrence of various mental illnesses, including all kinds of depression.

The main symptoms of depression in men are: inability to control your emotions, weakness, inability to independently overcome all sorts of life obstacles, problems in your personal life.

According to experts, it is quite difficult for men to express their own emotions and feelings due to ordinary shyness.

As a rule, men do not discuss personal problems or difficulties in the workplace. They believe that they can independently overcome possible obstacles that, one way or another, are present in their daily life.

Among men, few would consider visiting a psychiatrist for drug treatment of mental health problems. Men also practically do not turn to psychologists for the required consultation.

Male depression - signs and symptoms

9. Signs of depression in men 🤦‍♂️

Among the main signs of detecting depression in men are the following:

• Systematic use of alcoholic beverages or various drugs.
• Gambling addiction.
• Aggressive and unstable behavior.

The listed signs are only capable of suppressing a serious disease for some time, which requires immediate treatment.

Get out of depression with alcohol For example, no man can. In addition, the above signs of depression contribute to the deterioration of the psychological state and difficult situation in society and family. There is no need to worry about depression and related symptoms.

The best way for a man would be to contact a specialist for help in a timely manner. Only a psychotherapist will help improve your quality of life and get on the path to recovery.

The same stressful situation in different men can cause the development of a complex form of depression, or get by with a minor mental disorder.

The following life troubles can be causes of stress:

• Dismissal from permanent job.
• Unsuccessful relationships with women.
• Difficulties in personal life and family.
• All kinds of psychological tragedies.
• Assignment to perform a responsible and complex task.
• Financial difficulties.
• Lack of purpose in life.
• Change of residence.
• Retirement age.

In addition, one can cite many cases of psychological disorder in men without any significant problems of apparent causes of depression.

It is important to note that in a situation where a person has previously had difficulties with emotional and mental state , then subsequently a minor stressful situation will be enough to cause a serious mental disorder and prolonged depression.

The factor of heredity is also important in the possibility of depression occurring with minor stress.

Experts say that the tendency to such a state is passed on from generation to generation, and in such a family it is very difficult and almost impossible to avoid problems with mental disorders.

Children from such families require a special individual approach. Recommended limit them in possible ways from stressful situations, and if the slightest suspicion arises of possible deviations in mental development, you must immediately seek psychological and medicinal help from specialists in order to avoid serious complications and disastrous consequences.

10. Depression in men and women: what are the differences 📖?

From the above it follows that men suffer from depression almost 2 times less often, compared to women. This feature is primarily explained by the high dependence of the women’s body on hormonal levels.

Lability of the nervous system of women is another reason for such statistics. Like the fair sex, emotional reactions are more pronounced. Often, it is enough for a woman to say a thoughtless word for her to develop a severe form of depression.

The duration of depression in men is significantly shorter., compared with the course of female psychological disorder. Depression in women usually lasts for several months and can last for years. Only with the right treatment can you get rid of this serious disease.

Despite the fact that depression in men is not as long-lasting, the disease can develop intensively And proceed in a more severe form.

According to statistics, suicide attempts men commit more often than women. Since the weak half of the population needs quite serious reasons for attempting suicide, rather than the loss of one or another interest in life.

Women, even during depression, can go to work and do everyday household chores, but men are practically unable to do this during periods of mental illness.

How to get rid of depression on your own - advice from psychologists. Treatment of depression

11. How to get out of depression on your own - 10 tips from a psychologist to get rid of depression 💊

Proven advice from psychologists will help and advise how to get out of depression on your own when you have no strength to do anything.

Tip #1. Take responsibility.

Tip #2. Watch interesting and inspiring TV shows and movies.

Tip #3. Avoid solitude and loneliness. Communicate with people around you more often. Attend interesting events. Find yourself an exciting activity or hobby.

Tip #4. Allow yourself to accept help from other people.

Tip #5. Turn to the spiritual world.

Tip #6. Avoid alcohol and other drugs completely. They negatively affect the state of people’s psyche and worsen it with each use.

Tip #7. Regulate your sleep. Only long and healthy rest can restore the human nervous system.

Tip #8. Get some exercise.

Tip #9. Do something useful for the people around you unselfishly - show love to them, and they will reciprocate.

Tip #10. Use affirmations.

12. How to deal with depression 💉?

In modern medicine, any, even the most complex forms of human mental disorders can be cured. It should be noted that treatment will be most effective if it is started at the first signs of the disease.

Today it is difficult to avoid constant stress at work or in my personal life, but properly selected drug treatment will help cope with life’s difficulties.

Only highly qualified specialists can help avoid depression, this psychologists And psychiatrists.

One of the most common treatments for depression is psychotherapy. The doctor will help you learn how to communicate correctly with people around you, change your negative style of thinking and behavior to a positive attitude towards life.

A specialist will help normalize a person’s emotional comfort and advise how to avoid the recurrence of a mental disorder. In cases of severe disease, it is used electroshock therapy for patients. It is prescribed in situations where the patient for some reason does not take or cannot take the necessary medications, or in cases where the patient’s condition poses a threat to his life or the life and health of the people around him.

The main drug treatment is application antidepressants . Select, advise and prescribe who can only professional doctor.

Self-medicate not recommended, and even, it is strictly prohibited. Only a specialist can correctly select drug therapy that is safe for the patient’s health and most effective in a particular case of a person’s mental disorder.

During postpartum depression, as a rule, a woman breastfeeds her baby. In this situation the selection of medications must be particularly careful so that during the treatment of the mother it does not harm her little child.

Improvement in the patient's condition is evident in the first weeks of taking medications prescribed by the doctor.

But, it is necessary to take into account that in order to achieve a good treatment result and its stability, as well as to avoid repeated mental disorders, use medications it takes at least six months, and in some cases even several years.

13. How to get rid of depression on your own 📌?

In addition to drug treatment of depression, it is widely used today and is quite effective. aromatherapy. This is a great way to get rid of some types of mental disorders without using medications.

This type of treatment for the disease will be an ideal option for women, suffering postpartum depression, since not all medications can be used by them.

Aromatic oils penetrate the human body through the pores and contribute to general improvement in well-being. With the help of such products you can lift your mood, since the aroma of oils has a positive effect on the human brain.

There are several ways to use aromatic oil. You can simply breathe them indoors, add a few drops while taking a bath, or use essential oils during a massage.

There is a huge variety of aromatic oils to get rid of mental disorders. The most effective are: lemon balm oil, rosemary, lavender, orange and many others.

14. Treatment of depression: 2 main ways 💡

Depression is a serious medical condition and patients require comprehensive treatment.

If stressful situations gradually go away on their own, then the diseases they cause will never go away without a trace unless effective, properly selected comprehensive treatment is started in time.

Today there are two main types of treatment for depression, This self-treatment, or with the help of doctors.

You can cure yourself only the initial forms of the disease, which have minor symptoms and last a short period of time.

Treatment by specialists is the most preferable and effective option. Since it is almost impossible (or very difficult) to get out of depression on your own when you have no strength to do anything.

Doctors, as a rule, are not supporters of self-treatment of diseases, especially if it concerns complex mental disorders in humans.

Let's take a closer look at the most modern, safe And effective methods of treating all kinds of mental disorders.

It should be noted that, first of all, successful therapy depends on established emotional contact between the patient and the psychotherapist. Only with a trusting and friendly relationship, the result of the therapy used will not be long in coming, and it will also be stable and more pronounced.

Main areas of treatment:

• Hypnotherapy.
• Social therapy.
• Classical psychotherapy.
• Treatment with drugs.
• Electroconvulsive therapy.

Today experts are trying to use aggressive ways to treat depression, namely, electroconvulsive, or drug therapy, exclusively in serious health problems, when the mental disorder is complex and lasts long enough.

The main drugs for the treatment of psychological disorders are sedatives and various antidepressants. For each patient, doctors select drug treatment individually.

To achieve the best treatment result and its long-lasting effect, the desire of the patient himself to get rid of depression forever is of great importance.

During the rehabilitation process, patients are obliged to strictly follow all doctors’ recommendations, as well as monitor their own behavior and try to establish friendly and trusting relationships with people around them.

What to do to prevent depression?

In order to prevent all kinds of psychological disorders, it is recommended to monitor the occurrence of initial signs of depression, and also try to get rid of them in a timely and effective manner.

If you think that you have become irritable And hot-tempered If you notice mood changes, lose emotional attraction to everyday activities, have problems sleeping, then you urgently need to think about proper rest, or a change of job and other changes in your life.

Healthy and long sleep is one of the most significant conditions for getting rid of stress and improving your psychological and emotional well-being.

Proper daily routine, also plays an important role in getting rid of the initial signs of depression.

15. Conclusion

In conclusion, the following should be noted:

Depression is heavy human mental illness. Her treatment must be taken with great responsibility. You cannot suppress all kinds of symptoms of the disease with the help of alcoholic beverages and various drugs.

If you discover any signs of a psychological disorder, you need to take immediate action. The best solution in such a situation is seeking qualified help from specialists.

This serious illness should not be confused with ordinary mood swings or seasonal blues (for example, spring depression). Depression differs in physiological signs that occur in the human body. It never goes away without a trace, but only gets worse every day, and gradually moves from a mild form to a severe stage.

Now you know how to get out of depression, what it is, how best to get rid of it, what symptoms and signs occur when a person is depressed, etc.

Never do not start the course of such a disease, and do not wait for it to go away on its own. Seek advice from a psychotherapist, and he will definitely help you!