You may have the illusion that “depression is also starting to appear at a younger age”, but in fact, the high-risk detection rate of depression among college students and young people aged 18 to 25 is not low, reaching more than 10%. It can be said that “depression” is becoming more and more common in today’s society.

Depression has become a common “invisible killer” in life

Churchill once said: “Depression in my heart is like a black dog that bites me every chance it gets.” Black dog has become synonymous with depression in the English-speaking world.

According to data disclosed by the WHO, there are more than 350 million patients with depression worldwide, and the number of patients has increased by approximately 18% in the past decade. In China, nearly 100 million people are suffering from depression, the incidence rate is about 3% to 5%, and the medical treatment rate is only 10%.

In September 2020, the National Health and Medical Commission issued the “Work Plan for Exploring Special Services for Depression Prevention and Treatment”, which clarified four key groups for depression prevention and treatment, including adolescents, pregnant women, the elderly, and people in high-pressure occupations.

There are some news reports from time to time. Teenagers suffering from depression choose to commit suicide due to the pressure of family and study. Some new mothers uncontrollably harm their children because of postpartum depression.

From celebrities to people around us, depression has unknowingly become a common mental disorder and “invisible killer” in our lives.

However, uncontrollable low mood and the stigma of being misunderstood by society make many patients with depression deeply troubled and painful. They don’t know how to face it, how to come out, and how to get rid of this “black dog”.

What exactly is depression?

Dr. Richard O’Connor, who experienced his mother’s suicide due to depression and suffered from depression himself, wrote in his book “Getting Out of Depression”:

The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality, the ability to feel all emotions, including joy, excitement, sadness, and pain. Depression itself is not an emotion, it is a loss of emotion…it is not sadness or pain, it is a disease.

So, what exactly is depression? What’s the performance? Specifically:

• Depression is a neurosis characterized by a persistent state of low mood, often accompanied by anxiety, somatic discomfort, and sleep disturbances.
• Patients often feel depressed, depressed or depressed, lose confidence in life, and lack interest in daily activities; they have difficulty concentrating, memory loss; insomnia, loss of appetite, and loss of sexual desire.
• People with severe depression may also have suicidal thoughts.

In the U.S. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), major depressive disorder has the following diagnostic criteria:

• Depressed mood or loss of joy in daily activities.
• At least 5 of the following symptoms (including depressed mood and loss of happiness):
• Sleeping too much or too little;
• Psychomotor retardation or psychomotor agitation;
• Weight loss or changes in appetite;
• Decreased energy;
• Feeling worthless or excessively guilty;
• Difficulty concentrating, thinking, or making decisions;
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
• The above symptoms occur almost every day, take up most of the day, and last for at least 2 weeks.

There are various classifications of depression based on the condition and emotional manifestations, including dysthymic disorder, postpartum depression, seasonal affective disorder, and others.

March 30 is World Bipolar Disorder Day. Bipolar disorder, also known as bipolar disorder, is a form of manic depression. The symptoms are:

• The patient’s mood alternates between depression and excitement. For a period of time, the mood is low and pessimistic, and for a period of time, the mood is high, over-excited and active, and thoughts are running wild. It’s like riding a roller coaster, one is high and the other is low.

• After suffering from depression, unstable self-esteem and dysfunctional interpersonal relationships will cause patients to withdraw and escape, isolate themselves from the outside world in a state of emotional numbness, and remain in a low mood for a long time.
• In fact, many people occasionally feel depressed and depressed. However, this is not a sign of depression, but a depressive mood state. It is a normal emotional reaction and is not necessarily a disease.
• However, if you often experience depression and have adverse effects, you need to pay attention to it and provide early guidance and treatment.

Why do you suffer from depression?

Depression is a biochemical process, but an individual’s life experiences also make him or her more susceptible to depression. The current episode may have been precipitated by an external event that changed the way the brain works.

Specifically, the formation of depression first has its biological factors, including genetic factors and the influence of neurotic secretion. Individual experiences and traumatic events can trigger the onset of depression.

Genetically, twin studies have found that neuroticism explains at least part of the genetic susceptibility to depression.

In terms of biochemistry, the neurotransmitter hypothesis and receptor hypothesis believe that depressive disorders are related to endocrine changes and dysfunction of monoamine neurotransmitters such as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE).

Traumatic experiences and stressful events experienced by individuals play an important role in triggering depression. If a person is in stressful negative emotions such as tension, anxiety, and pessimism for a long time, the brain will continue to secrete large amounts of cortisol and adrenaline, and neurotransmitters will be imbalanced.

The patient’s illness can affect cognitive changes, which in turn can worsen the condition. Alan Baker, the founder of cognitive therapy, proposed a “negative cognitive triad” theory (also known as the “cognitive three elements of depression”), which is to have a negative view of yourself, the world, and the future.

This distorted thinking mode, which has a pessimistic view of everything, can easily cause patients to develop cognitive biases, often engage in self-criticism, and produce erroneous “depressive thinking” habits such as generalized thinking and catastrophizing thinking. There is constant rumination in the mind, which leads to a feeling of despair.

What should we do if we suffer from depression?

Emotional changes are an important sign of mental disorders, and self-awareness of emotions is a key step.

If you notice that you have been in a low mood for a long time, are prone to pessimistic thoughts, and have poor sleep quality, it is recommended that you go to the psychiatric department of a medical institution for professional evaluation as soon as possible.

Never conclude or label yourself just by taking a random assessment online, and don’t avoid facing it out of fear and shame. Getting professional treatment is the best way.

The combined psychotherapy model of pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is currently the ideal treatment method and can better improve depressive symptoms.

In addition to professional treatment, you also need to adhere to active self-regulation in daily life and cooperate with treatment:

Seek companionship and support

• The understanding and companionship of family and friends can provide strong comfort and support, and harmonious intimate relationships and emotional experiences can enhance the therapeutic effect. Therefore, be brave enough to open your heart, have more trust in your relatives and friends, and boldly seek their companionship and support when needed.

Take emotional notes

• Stop the unreasonable self-doubt and self-attack, try to record emotional notes, help yourself to be aware of emotions identify irrational thinking patterns, and then try to get rid of it.

Keep exercising and meditating

• Exercise and meditation are effective in improving negative mood. During exercise, people’s heart rate becomes more coordinated, and the brain is stimulated to secrete endorphins, which enhances positive emotions. Experts suggest that exercising at least 3 times a week for more than 20 minutes each time can have an improvement effect.
• Regular and focused mindfulness meditation practice can make the left frontal lobe activity related to happiness more active and slow down the right frontal lobe activity related to negative emotions, thus reshaping the brain, adjusting the state of mind, and better controlling oneself.

keep a pet

• If possible, keep a pet that you like. In the company of pets, during the process of contact and interaction with them, we can feel emotional connection and joy, which can effectively relieve anxiety and pessimism.

Conclusion

Depression is just a disease, like other diseases. Only by facing it and accepting it can you accept yourself.

On the one hand, we need society to pay more attention and understanding and not specialize in depression.

On the other hand, patients also need to bravely stand up, face this “black dog”, and seek professional psychological treatment, so that one day they can tame it.

Maybe today is a good day, you feel handy and confident, and survival seems easier; maybe today is a bad day, even as bad as the end of the world, and the sad time of salty tears soaking the pillow is here again; You can’t pinpoint the reason exactly, but you know there are many problems; or maybe you don’t know whether today is good or bad at all, and you just wander around without joy or sorrow.

But we are all alive, in one way or another. Life happens to us all, and we all have bumps along the way. We are all born broken, and we live to patch things up.