Prevention
Apart from pharmacological or psychotherapeutic treatment, it is important, once it has taken effect and the patient feels that their condition has improved, that certain advice or lifestyles be followed.
- Have positive thoughts.
- Take care of physical health.
- Maintain a consistent daily schedule.
- Resume responsibilities slowly and gradually.
- Accept yourself. Do not compare yourself with other people you consider favoured.
- Express emotions.
- Follow the imposed treatment at all times and until the end.
- Meet regularly with the therapist.
- Eat a balanced diet.
- To do physical exercise.
types
Several types of depression require a different approach. Some are as follows:
- Major depression manifests as a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy activities that should be pleasurable under normal circumstances. Depression usually happens once, but it is a disease that usually causes relapses throughout life.
- Dysthymia is a less serious type of depression. The symptoms remain in the long term, but they do not prevent people from being active. It can also be recurrent, appearing more than once in a lifetime.
- Bipolar disorder is the third type. It is also called manic-depressive illness. The prevalence of this pathology is not as high as in the previous two. Mood swings characterise it. Very low ones succeed in very high moods. These changes are abrupt at times, but most often, they are gradual. In the cycle of depression, people have some or all of the symptoms of a depressive problem.
- In the manic cycle, they may feel hyperactive, overly talkative, and overly energetic. Sometimes mania affects an individual’s thinking, judgment, and social behaviour. If mania is left untreated, it can lead to a psychotic state. If mania is not treated, it can worsen and lead to a psychotic state.
- Postpartum depression. About 10 to 15% of new mothers constantly cry, feel anxious, can’t sleep, and can’t even make simple decisions. This is what is known as postpartum depression. This depression is a severe distortion of the baby blues, a problem that two-thirds of mothers suffer from and manifests with a little sadness and anxiety. Some mothers experience a total breakdown called postpartum psychosis. The reasons why it occurs are not very clear. Stress or hormonal imbalance can be produced during pregnancy and childbirth(female hormones circulate abundantly during pregnancy and fall sharply afterwards). In addition, during pregnancy, the levels of endorphins rise, a human molecule that makes the body feel good. This molecule also decays after giving birth. The main symptoms of postpartum depression are deep sadness, insomnia, lethargy and irritability.
- Finally, having suffered from depression increases the risk as well. There are various treatments. One of the most used is group therapy, although sometimes it is also necessary to take antidepressants. Regarding these drugs, there is some way that they can be transmitted to the child through milk. The only drug that causes problems is lithium, which gets into the milk, so it is necessary to stop breastfeeding.
Diagnosis
Inquiry into the patient’s history is a fundamental weapon for the professional to diagnose a case of depression. A complete medical history should be included, showing the symptoms’ beginning and duration. Questions should also be asked about the use of drugs and alcohol or if the patient has thought about suicide or death.
A diagnostic evaluation should include a mental status exam to determine if speech, thought, or memory patterns have been affected. To diagnose a depressive disorder, some of the symptoms discussed above must occur within two weeks. One of them must be a change in mood, loss of interest or capacity for pleasure.
The most widely used diagnostic criteria for depression in clinical practice and research are the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) and the American Psychiatric Association (DSM) classification.
Other data
Depression is one of the main causes of disability and represents 4.3% of the global disease burden, as stated in the Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Depression in Adults. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression affects some 121 million people in the world, of which less than 25% have access to effective treatment, and warns that one in five people will develop a picture of depression in their life; this number will increase if other factors such as comorbidity or stress situations are present.
Anxiety is the major cause of death worldwide. For its part, anxiety “is the ninth leading cause of these problems among adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age.”