What Is(not) Depression And What Are The Symptoms After Which It Is Necessary To Seek Professional Help

It is considered that 7-10 percent of adults face depression once in their lifetime, and that it is present in
15-20 percent of people of all ages.

Depression affects both sexes, but women in a slightly higher percentage – this data is probably a
consequence of the fact that women seek help more often.

For example, both males and females who seek psychiatric help because of a bad mood they feel over a
few months and which they expect to be transient, have the same symptoms.

They experience moodiness, unreasoning sadness, apathy from the very beginning.

One of the first symptom that appear is difficulty sleeping – difficulty falling asleep, taking more and
more time to fall asleep, waking up more and more often in the early hours of the morning and staying
awake until morning, being more and more tired, with the feeling that you wake up more tired than the
previous evening.

“Mornings were the hardest, you recognize that you don’t want to get up and go to work, so you start to
get late more and more often, until you stop going to work.” – says a male person with depression. You
spend your days in bed, rarely communicating with your family and friends, nothing causes the pleasure
you used to feel before.

The same happens with female persons.

They feel guilty about their condition, they feel hopeless, but they don’t have the strength to change
anything. They are worried about their own condition and the financial condition of the family, although
there are no real reasons for this. They have no appetite, they don’t feel hungry, nor need food, so they
can lose about 10 kilograms of body weight over the course of three months.

Withdrawal, avoiding contact with family and friends, difficulty in performing work tasks, loss of
efficiency are also symptoms of depression.

Feelings of guilt, most of the time excessive and irrational, accompanied with ideas of worthlessness and
helplessness, hopelessness of life are very often felt symptoms.

Sometimes it goes so far that the person starts thinking that this suffering has no solution, that it
bothers everyone, that it is better to be gone, to end their life and “disappear”, which for many cases is
the last drop that leads them to the decision to turn to a psychiatrist for help.

Most of the time when people seek out professional help, they start treatment with medication, along
with psychotherapeutic interventions and support. After several weeks of treatment, the symptoms
gradually start to subsid. People start to return to their usual obligations, both in the family and at the
workplace, socializing and sports activities.

The depressive episode can occur several times, despite all the help the person gets. What is most
important is to get through it with success.

Entering menopause can contribute to recurrent episodes. With treatment, the episodes are shorter and
milder. The periods between episodes allow the person to live a normal life and function, with no
symptoms of depression.

Symptoms

Grief is an emotion that each of us feels when we experience a loss. We define depression as an
extreme form of sadness that includes specific symptoms.

Being abandoned by a boyfriend/husband or girlfriend/wife, losing a close family member due to illness,
having any kind of emotional loss is something that each of us has experienced at some point and is a
universal experience. How do we feel? Sad. Many also feel tired, demotivated, unable to sleep when left
behind. But all these feelings disappear over time. It’s not depression!

Depression is a medical disorder that has its symptoms in the sphere of emotions, thoughts and
behavior. Depression is a feeling of sadness, low mood, apathy, loss of motivation and interest. Also,
numerous other emotional and physical symptoms are present, which make the affected person
dysfunctional in the family and at work.

A person has a depressive disorder and needs to seek professional help, if he exhibits any of the
following symptoms for a minimum of two or more weeks continuously:

• Feeling of low mood, sadness, apathy
• Lack of energy, initiative, motivation
• Impaired concentration or attention
• Decreased self-confidence and self-esteem
• Feelings of guilt and worthlessness
• Gloomy and pessimistic view of the future
• Disturbed sleep
• Decreased appetite
• Conspicuous fatigue after even the slightest exertion
• Ideas of worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness, low self-esteem and self-worth
• Loss of libido
• Ideas about self-harm and suicide

Mood swings vary from day to day and are often inconsistent with circumstances, but can occur multiple
times during the day.

In some cases, anxiety, restlessness, impaired motor skills may be more pronounced due to a depressive
state, at least occasionally, and mood swings may also be exacerbated by additional symptoms such as
altered behavior, reduced tolerance, excessive alcohol use, feelings of tension, nervousness, irritation ,
worsening of previously existing symptoms (phobia, obsessiveness, hypochondria…).

The person shows a loss of interest or a loss of pleasure in activities that were otherwise pleasurable.

There is a lack of emotional response to normally pleasant events and environments. Patients often
have the impression that they have lost their emotions towards their loved ones, which makes them
suffer and feel guilty.

The level of depression can vary, and every level requires different approaches and help to be given.

Depression is one of the most common disorders we encounter. Symptoms of depression may appear
once in a lifetime or may recur. Depression can appear at any time of our life and has nothing to do with
age or gender.

Causes

The causes of depression are numerous. Many internal and external factors can influence a person to
suffer from depression. The most important are biochemical factors, brain biochemistry disorder
factors, transmitter and hormone disorders caused by numerous internal factors.

You shouldn’t be ashamed of depression, you should accept it like any other physical illness, like sore
throat, diabetes, ulcers, asthma, high blood pressure, etc. because depression is a disease of the brain,
and the brain is an organ like all other organs in our body.

Genetics and depression

Genetic factors can play a role in the occurrence of depression, personality traits, a person’s character
and some environmental factors such as family or marital problems, problems at work, some illness that
is difficult to deal with, illness of a family member, suffered natural disasters (fires, floods…), stress
experienced as a victim of crime, financial problems, loss of loved ones, dealing with old age, some
chronic diseases.

People suffering from depression are often faced with pressure from their loved ones and the
environment, who tell them: start, get moving, you can do it, you don’t have the will, you don’t want to,
etc. This type of pressure only worsens the condition of the patient who already feels bad enough
because of his condition, the desire to move but is unable to, etc. It should always be remembered that
depression is not a weakness of character or a lack of will. Depression is a disease that requires
treatment and professional help.

Depression is one of the mental disorders that respond to applied therapies and treatments in a high
percentage. Depression must be treated with drugs that are very important and useful in this disorder.

Medicines are effective, safe and secure.

Unfortunately, due to the prejudices and stigma associated with mental disorders, patients often have a
negative attitude towards medicines, which is not based on facts and knowledge. It is necessary to
accept and apply the therapy prescribed by the psychiatrist you have chosen and turned to for help.

Depression is a disease and the application of alternative, non-medical methods only prolong this
condition.

The importance of psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is very useful for depressed patients. Only psychotherapy can help with very mild
depression, while moderate and severe forms require combined drug therapy and psychotherapy. The
application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which with the help of a pulsed magnetic field,
independently or in combination with drugs and psychotherapy, causes changes in neurons that lead to
the treatment of depression.

Certainly, some self-help methods (physical exercise, walking, healthy diet, enough sleep, relaxation
methods, avoiding alcohol) can contribute to healing when applied with the aforementioned methods.

Depression is a brain disease and psychiatric treatment is necessary. With adequate treatment, most
people will successfully overcome this disease. If you feel some of the symptoms mentioned in this text,
do not hesitate, seek the help of a psychiatrist as soon as possible.