Depression is a mental disorder accompanied by a wide range of conditions, including a loss of the ability to experience emotions, low spirits, a sense of hopelessness and a decline in mental health and general physical health.

Most people who suffer from depression are unaware of their psychological problem: they accept depression as a normal part of life, believing they are simply gloomy or going through a “bad patch”. In reality, “willpower” and “strong desire” cannot overcome depression.

Symptoms and Signs of Depression

If you notice symptoms, you should see a specialist without delay. They will carry out a full diagnosis, determine whether a problem exists and how severe it is, and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Depression can be latent in young people and adolescents. Psychologists name the following signs of such depression: excessive crying (for no good reason), idleness, and conflicts at school and at home.

What makes depression difficult to diagnose is its vague symptoms, which often take forms that mimic the symptom patterns of other illnesses, including diseases of the internal organs.

In most cases the patient experiences:

  • general weakness;
  • apathy towards people and events;
  • difficulty breathing;
  • sexual dysfunction;
  • rapid weight loss;
  • an unpleasant sensation of cold or heat in the abdomen;
  • headache, dizziness.

Age and social class have no bearing on the onset of the disorder. Depression most often develops against a background of stressful negative situations and repeated failure. The person then despairs at being unable to influence the course of events.

Besides the social factor, severe psychological trauma can also lead to depression. Examples include the break-up of a family, the death of a loved one, or a serious illness that affects both the patient and their relatives.

Another factor is brain damage and somatic disease. Patients often suffer from depression linked to a chronic disturbance of the brain’s blood supply following a head injury.

Depression can also be a side effect of medication (benzodiazepines and corticosteroids). This condition often resolves on its own once the medication is stopped.

In women, depression can be caused by hormonal changes: changes in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, the postnatal period and menopause.

Depressive disorders can also include premenstrual dysphoric disorder, in which a woman experiences depression before her period that is more pronounced than in typical premenstrual syndrome.

Modern Treatment of Depression

For the treatment of depression, you can turn to the following specialists:

  • Psychiatrists: treatment of depression with hypnosis, and medication for acute mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, intellectual disability and epilepsy, as well as for other, less serious conditions such as depression, alcoholism, drug addiction and others.
  • Psychotherapists: treatment is a specific form of therapy that involves explanation, discussion and working through problems with the patient.
  • Psychologists: they counsel the patient but cannot prescribe medication or examinations. Clinical psychologists use modern testing methods to identify the problems that caused the mental disorder.

Antidepressants are used to treat the disorder when anxiety is present or when the condition is accompanied by lethargy. Antidepressants are prescribed only by a doctor and should never be taken on one’s own initiative. Many antidepressants take effect about two weeks after the start of treatment, and the dosage is determined individually for each patient.

Sleep deprivation therapy is used in bipolar depression. Whereas lack of sleep is harmful for a healthy person, it helps restore normal mental functioning in a patient with a mental disorder.

Moderate or mild depression calls for natural (herbal) remedies.