Depression: An Experience

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

The word depression comes from the Latin - depressio, the meaning of which is "downward pressure." The term itself first appeared in psychiatry to describe states of low mood in the late nineteenth century. Prior to this, a similar phenomenon was described as "melancholy".

According to 2018 data from the World Health Organization:

• Depression is one of the most common mental disorders. It is estimated that more than 300 million people from all age groups suffer from it.
• Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world and contributes significantly to the global burden of disease.
• Women are more prone to depression than men.
• At its worst, depression can lead to suicide.
• There are effective psychological and medical treatments for depression.

300 million

the person suffers from depression.

800,000 people

dies from suicide every year. Young people die more often.

Only about 10% in the country

depression sufferers receive effective treatment.

Clinical symptoms of depression

The main symptoms of depression are:

- Lowered mood

- Anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure).

- Decreased vitality and activity.

Additional symptoms:

- impaired concentration of attention;

-decreased self-esteem;

- ideas of self-incrimination;

- suicidal thoughts and actions;

- pessimistic assessment of the past, future and present;

- disturbed sleep and appetite;

- painful sensations in the body (somatized).

In order to assess the severity of depression, it is necessary to take into account the totality of symptoms: the more symptoms, the more severe the degree of depression. In terms of duration, depression lasts at least 2 weeks without changes in the state.

With all the variety of types and classifications of depression, I would like to focus on distinguishing between depressive experiences.

It is very difficult, difficult to survive and to ignore. Depression can be accompanied by anxiety and somatic pain. People around her also cannot ignore her, but almost everyone is powerless in front of her. The state can reach the very depths, but almost not everyone succeeds in pushing from the bottom to the top. And then, it seems to me, it is important to understand what connects a person with this bottom: deep sorrow over what a person was attached to or the “anchors” connecting a person with the fabric of being in this world have been lost. In the first case, a person loses something external and grieves, and in the second, he loses inside that which connects him with life.

Grief and melancholic depression (clinical depression).

For the first time, the study of depression from a psychological point of view began with the work of Z. Freud "Sadness and melancholy". In the same work, he introduces the concept of "grief", the state in which a person is experiencing an external loss of something extremely important in life (loved one, at home, work, etc.). The loss can be very significant and painful. Grief in these situations comes to the fore. Sadness helps you to live the experience of loss and to accept the importance of what has been lost. Often, only then can we discover all the beauty and value of the lost. Sadness returns to feeling “without” what is lost. The world seems empty without something that cannot be returned.

An important point in living this experience is the development of two values: on the one hand, devotion to lost relationships, on the other, maintaining devotion to the continuing life. The successful outcome will be the acceptance of the loss, the development of a new form of devotion to the relationship, gradually returning the ability to continue to be in the incessant stream of life, with a new experience of the "presence" of the lost.

In the course of therapy, the client assimilates this experience and, with the help of a psychologist, lives through all the stages of the work of grief (E. Kübler-Ross).

While mourning and symptoms are similar in appearance, melancholic depression is rarely directly related to life events, but they can be triggers.

In a melancholic experience, it is impossible to explain the causes of suffering by external circumstances. There is a feeling that something is dying inside, and with this comes a feeling of heaviness and sorrow, pain and confusion. The ability to interact with others is lost, the ability to communicate and support former social roles is impoverished. The fact is that everything significant is experienced as out of reach, and this is the essence of loss. As if all the internal conditions for the formation of a connection have been lost. The thread of being-in-the-world is lost. The outside world is full, but a person cannot reach it. There is no “feeling of the bottom” from which one can push off.

Pathological feelings of guilt, self-flagellation, harsh self-criticism increase and self-esteem decreases, self-esteem decreases. A personal story can be seen as full of mistakes that actually didn't happen. Ideas come up about punishing oneself up to thoughts of suicide. And a person does not know how to get out of this state and thoughts of death seem to be salutary, as a way to get rid of pain, losing hope for other options. Variability is lost along with the depletion of intellectual abilities.

This condition can last from two weeks to a year, even several years. People successfully overcome such conditions with the help of a psychiatrist and psychologist. The pharmaceutical industry is now very well developed and improved antidepressants have appeared. There is no longer any need to suffer for long. And if there is such a person in your environment, then refer him to a psychiatrist, as well as to a psychologist. The sufferer himself will not always come to such a decision and will find the strength to carry out any action in this direction.

The states of melancholic depression can recur throughout life. In order to reduce the risk of recurrence of the episode and its severity, long-term work with a psychologist is necessary.

Both experiences are difficult to experience and comprehend. As a psychologist, I can work with these states, distinguish them and choose a work strategy. But in case of deep melancholic depression, I strongly recommend that you also consult a psychiatrist. Now this can be done anonymously and without registration.