1. Basic Information
Depression is a common mental illness, mainly for depression, interest reduction, pessimistic, thinking slow, lack of initiative, self-blame from the offense, diet, sleep is poor, worried about their suffering from various diseases, many feel that the body discomfort, serious suicidal thoughts and behavior can occur.
Depression is the highest suicide rate in psychiatric illness. A high incidence of depression, and almost every seven adults have a depressive patient, so it is called the common cold of psychiatry. Depression has become the global burden of disease to humans poses a major burden in the second major diseases, for patients and their families suffering caused by the loss to society caused by other diseases can not be compared. The main reason for this situation is the community 's lack of proper understanding of depression, prejudice so that patients are reluctant to psychiatric treatment. On the other hand, because people lack the knowledge about depression, the emergence of depressive symptoms were mistaken for low spirits can not be given due understanding and emotional support to patients result in greater psychological pressure, so that further deterioration.
2. Depression Types
The following three different kinds of depression are distinct depressive disorders described in the DSM. A common criteria is that their symptoms either cause 1) significant distress or 2) impair one’s functioning (e.g. work, school, relationships). Also, these depressive symptoms are not caused by a medical condition or substance (e.g. medication, drug).
Major Depressive Disorder (also known as Major Depression, Clinical Depression) – A major depressive episode occurs with symptoms that last for most of the day, nearly every day for at least two weeks. A symptom must either be 1) depressed mood or 2) a noticeable decrease in interest or pleasure in all or most activities. At least four (or more) additional symptoms are present: significant weight loss / weight gain or decrease / increase in appetite difficulty sleeping or increase in sleeping excessive movement or slowing down associated with mental tension (observed by others) fatigue or loss of energy feeling worthless or excessive guilt difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions repeatedly thinking about death or suicide, trying to attempt suicide or having a specific plan to commit suicide
Dysthymic Disorder (or also referred to as Dysthymia) – Nearly constant depressed mood for at least 2 years accompanied by at least two (or more) of the following: decrease or increase in eating difficulty sleeping or increase in sleeping low energy or fatigue low self-esteem difficulty concentrating or making decisions feeling hopeless
Symptoms do not occur for more than two months at a time. Generally, this type of depression is described as having persistent but less severe depressive symptoms than Major Depression.
Manic Depression (now known as Bipolar Disorder) – This kind of depression includes periods of mania and depression. Cycling between these two states can be rapid or only mania can be present without any depressive episodes. A manic episode consists of a persistent elevated or irritable mood that is extreme, which lasts for at least one week. At least three (four if only irritable mood) other features are also present: inflated self-esteem or self-importance decreased need for sleep more talkative than usual or compelled to keep talking experiencing racing thoughts or ideas easily distracted increase in goal-oriented activity (social, work, school, sexual) or excessive movement excessive involvement in potentially risky pleasurable behavior (e.g. over spending, careless sexual activity, unwise business investments)
Symptoms can be severe enough to warrant hospitalization to prevent harm to self or others or include psychotic features (e.g. hallucinations, delusions).
3. Symptoms
The three main symptoms
Depression and a general "unhappy" different in nature and can not be confused, it has distinctive features, together with the three main symptoms are depression, mental retardation and motor inhibition (mainly limited by the performance of the mechanism for the movement).
Depression is not be happy, always sad , and even despair.
Thinking is the conscious mind slowly does not help, can not remember things, to think difficult. Patients feel empty mind, and becoming stupid.
Inhibition is not love sports activity, whole body fat lazy. Walk slowly, language less so. Could not eat without a serious move, life can not take care of themselves.
Other symptoms
Typical symptoms of patients with more rare. Many patients have only one point or two points, each using a different extent. Feelings of depression, anxiety, loss of interest, energy shortage, despair, self-evaluation is too low, which are all common symptoms of depression, sometimes it is difficult and in general a short time to distinguish a bad mood. Here to introduce a simple approach: If the above does not apply to the morning serious, afternoon or evening partial remission, then you are likely suffering from depression are more significant. This is the so-called daytime depression heavy night light rhythm.
The most dangerous symptoms of
Depression due to depression, pessimism. Can easily lead to serious suicidal thoughts. And, because patients with normal logic, the implementation of suicide have a higher success rate. Suicide is the symptoms of depression, one of the most dangerous. According to studies, the suicide rate among patients with depression is 20 times higher than the general population. The crowd of suicide, may have more than half of patients with depression. Some unexplained suicides may have been alive suffered from severe depression, but not being promptly picked up yet. Because suicide is in the development of the disease to a certain extent when occurred. Therefore, early detection of diseases, early treatment of depression in patients is very important. Do not wait patients have committed suicide before they thought he may suffer from depression.
Many patients with depression thought to die to escape the pain. Patients often to end the pain, suffer and confusion arising from the death of the idea and behavior.
Somatic symptoms
Depression mainly depressed mood, mental retardation, and the will of activity has declined and the main, the majority of cases there are a variety of somatic symptoms.
(1) depressed mood: the basic characteristics of a depression, anguish grief, interest dull. Pessimistic despair, suffering tough, it struggled to live with, rather die than live feeling. Common live without meaning, can not be happy, etc. to describe their inner experience. Typically those who are depressed mood, day-night light weight characteristics. And anxiety often co-exist.
(2) thinking slowly: Thinking association process was inhibited, unresponsive, conscious brain does not turn, and the performance of speech for the initiative to reduce, speed, slowed down thinking the problem effortlessly. Response to slow, the need to wait for a long time, in the depression under the influence of low self-esteem, low self-esteem, with or without a sense of worthlessness with the flu and feel alive and meaningless, there is pessimism, and suicidal intention, there is self-blame from the crime that is alive to become cumbersome committed a great sin, in the body does not appear on the basis of hypochondria belief that their own suffering from an incurable disease.
(3) The will of the activity has declined: the initiative significantly reduced the activities of living passive and unwilling to participate in the activities of interest to the outside world and chronic, often alone. Lazy life of the development of language for non-fixed, up to the extent stupor. The most dangerous is repeated suicide attempts and behavior.
(4) physical symptoms: Most depressed patients have a body and other biological symptoms, such as palpitations, chest tightness, gastrointestinal discomfort, constipation, loss of appetite and weight loss. Prominent sleep disorder, mostly for difficulty falling asleep.
(5) Other: depressive episodes can also occur when the hallucinations, depersonalization, derealization, coercion and terror symptoms. Lenovo due to significantly slow thinking and memory decline, is likely to affect cognitive function in elderly patients, there depressive pseudo-dementia.
Light depression often dizziness, headache, weakness, and insomnia complaint, often misdiagnosed as neurasthenia, which is before the onset of certain psycho-social factors, such as a long-term tension, so emotional as to anxiety, vulnerability-based The main clinical phase is associated with the spirit of the easy spirit of excitement, fatigue, feelings of tension, annoyance, and irritability and other emotional symptoms, and muscle tension pain and sleep disorders, symptoms of physical dysfunction. Good insight, symptoms of a passive nature, is seeking eager to rule. The depressive disorder with depressed mainly with thinking, slow, low self-esteem, self-crimes, wanted to die, and biological symptoms (such as emotional day and night, light and heavy, loss of appetite, decreased libido, etc.), insight often lost, not actively seeking treatment, available to be identified .
Masked depression, which is not typical of depression, mainly for repeated or continuous emergence of various physical discomfort and autonomic symptoms such as headache, dizziness, palpitations, chest tightness, shortness of breath, limb numbness and nausea, vomiting and other symptoms, depression is often masked by physical symptoms, it is also known as depressive disorder and other places. Patients by not looking for a psychiatrist, other branches doctor away. Physical examination and laboratory examinations are often no positive performance, often misdiagnosed as neurological disorder, or other physical disease. Symptomatic treatment generally ineffective antidepressant treatment effect is remarkable.
The main symptoms
1. Different levels of depressive mood, bad mood from the mild to the sadness, pessimism, despair. The patient felt a heavy heart, life boring, can not be happy, moody, Day Break, suffering tough, unable to extricate themselves. Some patients may also be anxiety, easily excited and nervous.
2. Loss of interest is one of the common symptoms of depressed patients. Loss of past life, work, enthusiasm and fun, for anything less ready. Experience, not their grandchildren, for past love dismissive, often behind closed doors alone, distant relatives, to avoid social. Patients often complained of "no feelings," and "emotional numbing," and "can not be happy up."
3. Energy loss, fatigue, weakness, wash, with clothing and other little things of life difficult for struggling oneself. Patients often use "nervous breakdown", "deflated ball" to describe their situation.
4. Self-evaluation is too low: Patients are often too much to belittle their own capacity to criticism, negative and negative attitude towards their own present, past and future, this is not OK, that 's not right, their own devoid of any merit, and the future darkness. A strong self-blame, guilt, useless sense of worthlessness, helplessness, serious crimes may arise from the suspicion of disease concepts.
5. The patients showed significant, sustained, widespread depression, attention difficulties, memory loss, brain retardation, thought blocking and slow, but some patients were manifested as anxiety, anxiety, tension and agitation.
6. Negative pessimistic: heart is very painful, pessimism, despair, feeling the burden of life is not worth the nostalgia, to escape from death, can generate a strong suicidal thoughts and behavior.
7. Physical or biological symptoms: depression, patients often loss of appetite, weight loss, sleep disorders, sexual dysfunction, and mood fluctuations in the biological day and night symptoms, very common, but not all cases have emerged.
8. Loss of appetite, weight loss: Most patients have a poor appetite, poor appetite symptoms, delicious cuisine is no longer tempting, answered the patient does not think or eat tasteless, often accompanied by weight loss.
9. Sexual dysfunction: can occur early in the disease reduced libido, male impotence may occur, female patients frigidity.
10. Sleep disorders: sleep disturbance is a typical early awakening, 2 ~ 3 hours earlier than usual, wake up, after no longer falling asleep, into a sad atmosphere.
11. Diurnal variation: the patient has daytime heavy night light mood changes. Low mood into the early morning or the morning, afternoon or evening are beginning to see improved, can be a brief talk and eat. Diurnal variation of occurrence rate of about 50%.
4. Somatic symptoms of depression
Depression in addition to signs of emotional symptoms, but also some physical symptoms, including sleep disturbance (difficulty falling asleep, sleep light, early awakening, there is a situation is that people thought he had slept well, but I also feel a little did not fall asleep), fatigue or decreased energy, loss of appetite (70% of patients with depression will happen, light performance for lacking appetite, showed severe loss of appetite), sexual dysfunction (female in the incidence of depression during the menopause), weight loss, constipation, body pain and discomfort of non-specific somatic symptoms.
References
Dr. Joanne Chao. Types of Depression: Definitions and Terminology
Web site: http://www.depression-help-resource.com/types-of-depression.htm
Wikipedia. Types of psychological depression
Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_psychological_depression
MedlinePlus. Depression
Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-easy-to-read/index.shtml
References: Dr. Joanne Chao. Types of Depression: Definitions and Terminology Web site: http://www.depression-help-resource.com/types-of-depression.htm Wikipedia. Types of psychological depression Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_psychological_depression MedlinePlus. Depression Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-easy-to-read/index.shtml