How to cope with depression? Useful tips for overcoming the "black band" in life

 

"I'm depressed" - we often hear these words. But most often people call depression the usual bouts of spleen and bad mood, which often go away on their own in a few days. Real depression is a disease that can poison life for many years and never goes away without treatment.

What is depression? 

Depression is a serious illness characterized by clear symptoms that make it possible to distinguish it from a bad mood. The main signs of depression include:

•  A bleak, depressed state; Frequent and sharp mood swings
•  Anhedonia, the loss of a sense of pleasure ("Nothing pleases or interests")
•  Impossibility to concentrate, memory impairment
•  Inability to make a decision, constant return to the same questions; Fear, anxiety, panic attacks, attacks of aggression
•  Chronic feeling of fatigue, lethargy ("I wake up broken")
•  Sleep disturbance, insomnia or, conversely, constant drowsiness
• Loss of appetite, weight loss, digestive problems
•  Decreased libido 
• Feeling of pressure, heaviness in the abdomen and chest area, shortness of breath
• Various vegetative symptoms, such as excessive sweating, tremors, dry mouth, and others.

If these symptoms manifest simultaneously and last for several weeks, then there is every reason to suspect depression. We used to think that depression is always the result of some sad events - loss of loved ones, divorce, loss of your favorite work. But it is not so. There are three main types of depression - reactive, somatic and endogenous. Reactive is really a consequence of sudden changes in life or experiences of trauma. Endogenous also appears as if "on an equal place", without any obvious reasons. In fact, there are reasons, but they are not so noticeable to others. 

Endogenous depression can be a consequence of hormonal imbalance (especially widespread depression depression), the intake of certain drugs, alcohol or drugs. Somatic depression is one of the manifestations of another disease, for example, Alzheimer's disease, hypothyroidism, craniocerebral trauma or even ordinary flu. In addition, residents of northern latitudes often experience seasonal depression associated with a lack of sunlight. It is very dangerous to underestimate or poeticize depression. In this state there is nothing attractive or romantic, it destroys the life and personality of a person, affecting not only himself, but also his loved ones. 

Tips to "stop whining" and "pull yourself together" are not only useless, but also very harmful - a depressed person is unable to control this condition in the same way that a patient with a broken leg can not run a hundred meter. The reproaches of friends only lead to the fact that a person is even more confident in his weakness and worthlessness and is even more deeply immersed in this state. The opinion that disease is the result of the inclination to analyze too much and "wind itself" is also incorrect. Even young children who have barely learned to speak can suffer depression. This disease is one of the most common mental disorders - it affects more than 350 million people of all age groups. Annually, about 150 million people in the world are disfranchised because of depression. However, women are twice as likely as men - although doctors explain such statistics not by the "strength" of the stronger sex, but only by the fact that men are less likely to turn to specialists and are "treated" mainly by alcohol or other similar means. There is another worrying fact: according to statistics, the risk of getting depressed increases three-fold if someone in the family already suffers from this disease.

To treat, it is impossible to postpone! 

Getting rid of depression quickly is very difficult, and without the help of doctors and psychologists - it is completely impossible. But the disease is successfully treated with the right approach. Usually complex measures are appointed. First, medications come into play - antidepressants. They should be selected by a doctor - as a rule, such pills can not be bought without a prescription, and uncontrolled intake of funds of this group can lead not to recovery, but to deterioration. Antidepressants remove the main symptoms. As a rule, the stage of drug treatment lasts from several weeks to several months. As a supplement to antidepressants, sedatives are often prescribed. In some cases, a good effect is also provided by physiotherapy, light treatment, acupuncture. After the improvement of the state comes the period of fixing the results. This stage of treatment is no less important - depression is treacherous and can return again in a few months or even years. In order not to leave the disease a single chance, you need a course of psychotherapy and individual work with a psychologist. To combat depression, there are many methods - cognitive psychotherapy, whose goal is to change a person's idea of ​​themselves and the world around them; interpersonal psychotherapy, which helps to resolve conflicts with others; Behavioral therapy designed to change behavior, leading to stress and depression; a psychodynamic method that resolves the inner conflicts of a person with himself and many others. The duration of this stage depends on the severity of the condition and on how patient is ready for cooperation:

How to overcome depression, or antidepressant tips 

Overcome depression can only really want it. And if the fight with the disease is limited to only a formal taking of pills and a visit to the doctors, the result will not be achieved or the path to recovery will last for many months, and even years. To return to the form as soon as possible, it is necessary to actively include "antidepressant measures" in everyday life. There are no trifles in the treatment of depression. Of course, these tips will not help cure the disease without medication and psychotherapy, but can significantly speed up the process. 

Switch attention

For depression, obsessive thoughts are typical, it is very difficult to get rid of. If you feel that for the hundredth time you scroll in your head with the same memories and questions, switch your attention to any subject. Pick up a pebble from the ground, consider it, mark the color, texture, weight, twist in your hands, think what it looks like. Instead of a pebble, you can use any other object - a key, a leaf from a tree, anything that comes to hand. It is important to concentrate on contemplation. In a few minutes gloomy thoughts will recede.

 Go in for sports

This is not psychology, but pure physiology - during physical exercises, whether they like us or not, the brain produces endorphins - hormones of happiness and joy, the deficit of which provokes depressive states.

 Create

Art therapy is a whole section of psychotherapy. Creativity really helps to cope with depression. Any result of creative work increases self-esteem, while the process itself is important. But artistic value does not matter. Do not keep emotions in yourself. The demands "to pull myself together", "to keep a blow" and "not to get unstuck", as we have already said, only drive a person into an even deeper depression. The contained emotions are like a bomb that explodes inside. Even healthy people who keep everything in themselves pay for their apparent composure with neuroses and psychosomatic diseases. If you want to cry - cry, you want to shout - shout, you want to rave - beat the sofa cushion.

Rejoice yourself 

Start a diary in which you will celebrate all the pleasant moments, even if they were very fleeting and insignificant. Pay attention to what pleases you most often, and strive for it.