I am a psychological consultant, engaged in psychology and mental health education. I am a consultant on mental health education for college students. What are the symptoms of depression? The problem is not only what I often encounter when I do psychological counseling, but also what the public sometimes asks when I do mental health education. I will answer your question according to my own understanding of depression.
First, depression belongs to a neurosis in mental illness, which can be divided into depressive neurosis, depression and severe depression in severity; From the etiology, it can be divided into endogenous depression and neurotic depression.
Depression generally occurs slowly, without acute depression; It is related to people's mood, that is, continuous depression and no pleasure. However, it must be noted that mild depression and neurotic depression cannot be equated, that is, everyone will have depression. We will feel depressed after encountering setbacks or grievances, such as sadness, disappointment and depression, but we can return to normal through our own adjustment. But depression is different. It is a kind of persistent depression, accompanied by lasting psychological conflict.
Second, what are the symptoms of depression?
First, hobbies have declined or been lost. What I like, what I like to eat, now I have no interest at all, I am not interested in anything.
Second, I feel pessimistic and disappointed about the future. I feel hopeless about the prospects of life, work and study, and the prospects are dim. I think a lot of things are irreversible.
The third is the sense of helplessness. Visitors feel helpless about their own situation, their so-called unfortunate life, and often tell others about their sufferings.
Fourth, I feel mentally exhausted, as if my energy has been exhausted. Tourists feel lack of motivation and don't want to do anything.
Fifth, the self-evaluation is low, and visitors often feel guilty, even guilty, thinking that they are worthless and useless.
Sixth, people are depressed, unhappy and have no pleasure. Tourists often say they are unhappy. What is there to be happy about?
Seventh, I feel that life or life itself is meaningless. I have suicidal thoughts or behaviors. I always say, life is worse than death. What is the point of living?
Thanks again for the invitation!
Hello, I'm Mimi Tom. I am here to discuss the symptoms of depression.
No matter whether you have fought against depression or been isolated from it all your life, now we finally know something about depression. We know that this is a disease that needs treatment and can be cured. We don't have to be afraid of it or talk about it.
And we also know that besides medicine, the care of relatives is particularly important. If you can, why not give more care and smile to people with depression?
May we all have a life full of love and sunshine, and be happy!
I'm Leyuan @ Psychological Counselor. I hope my answer can help you!
Signs of depression are:
First, I am inexplicably lazy. All kinds of "don't want to", don't want to go to work, don't want to take care of the baby, don't want to do housework. How about lying in bed? No Because depression patients basically have a characteristic, that is, a group with strong ambition, pursuit and dislike of being together. Lying in bed doing nothing, you will feel like a waste and useless. First you procrastinate, then you are afraid, and finally you will feel desperate!
Second, I don't want to go out. It is very difficult for people with depression to leave home. Remind myself to go out, but I just can't, so I am deeply frustrated. There are some very serious depression patients who have not left home for many years.
Third, I am afraid of normal social interaction. I'd like to find a place to carry it alone. I want to hide when I hear a knock at the door or the phone ring. You will gradually get out of your life circle, and later you will find it difficult to get along with your family. Loneliness makes you feel forgotten by the world.
Fourth, insomnia and poor health. The night becomes very long. Either you can't sleep, or you have all kinds of weird dreams, or you are always woken up. Slowly, I will feel headache, backache and inexplicable pain all over. As time goes on, my memory will deteriorate, I will be slow to respond, and I will become more and more depressed.
Fifth, the mentality has become extreme. There are usually two extremes. One is to hate the world around you and feel that you are living in pain, but the world is sorry for yourself. In your eyes, the world is ugly, human nature is ugly, and all good things do not exist. At the other extreme, crying in the wind and seeing the harm of things give the world a sad color.
If these situations happen and develop, self-help is very important. It is also important to ask for help. If you stop the development of depression, you have taken the first step to cure it!
In 20 18, a survey report from a British research institution showed that nearly 90% of the respondents showed some mental illness, among which depression was the most common.
So, what kind of disease is depression? What are its symptoms?
Next, it is introduced from four aspects;
What is depression?
Second, the causes of depression
Symptoms of depression
How to carry out psychological intervention on patients with depression
Depression, also known as depressive disorder, is characterized by obvious and persistent depression and is the main type of mood disorder.
In addition, some people say that I am in a bad mood today, not necessarily depression. From the point of view of disease, depression has certain diagnostic criteria. To a certain extent, it will be considered as depression. For example, for a while, I was depressed and very unhappy. For two weeks, I was unhappy, insomnia, bad appetite and lack of motivation.
At present, there are many influencing factors of depression, such as living environment, work pressure and physical fitness, which will lead to different degrees of depression. There is no standard answer in the field of psychopsychiatry, but it can be divided into the following reasons:
1. Biological factors-mainly related to genetic characteristics, physiological changes, neuroendocrine, etc.
2. Psychological factors-precursor personality factors related to depression, such as depressive temperament.
3. Social environment factors-sudden stress events during growing up often become the main key to clinical diagnosis of depression.
(1) Division I
1. Physical symptoms
Loss of appetite, lack of sleep, physical discomfort and other manifestations, so most people in a depressed state will not be able to eat, sleep well, and then the body will have various pains and discomfort.
2. Psychological symptoms
Being sad, unhappy, uninterested, and uninterested in anything that you were interested in now, including sad and pessimistic thoughts and even some negative thoughts about death, may be one of the manifestations of depression.
The second department
Depression includes three core symptoms and related accompanying symptoms.
Core symptoms include depression, loss of interest and pleasure, and fatigue.
Accompanied symptoms include decreased attention, low self-evaluation, self-guilt, pessimism about the future, suicidal behavior or self-harm concept, sleep disorder and loss of appetite.
(3) A detailed description of each symptom
1. Depression: People with depression are generally depressed and often "unhappy". This kind of unhappiness is significant and lasting, and usually gives people a feeling of being preoccupied or gloomy, which makes ordinary people shudder. Gloomy, usually a normal person has unhappy things, which will gradually fade away with the passage of time, while people with depression will not. They will remember things that make them depressed clearly, even every detail, and they will often recall their experiences without feeling any signs of happiness.
2. Loss of interest and pleasure: unable to touch new things, people with depression can't touch and adapt to the upcoming life and social environment, and can't integrate into a group or class, thus moving towards a world farther and farther away from reality and sinking into their own world.
3. Easy to get tired: it is characterized by slow movement and can't exercise like normal people. Even though I used to be in good health, I always felt very tired. I didn't like sports, and I didn't want to exercise or communicate with others.
4. Attentional decline: it is often manifested as being easily distracted when studying, and visiting when hearing any external voice; It is difficult to do things for a long time, and often one thing is not finished, and another thing is finished; When talking to him, he is often absent-minded and seems to be listening to him; Often forget things in daily activities; Something lost or especially cherished (as usual, making clothes, books, etc. Dirty and messy).
5. Low self-evaluation: often manifested as self-denial. People with depression usually tend to deny themselves too much. Even if I was confident before, I would laugh at myself and give up on myself. The fundamental reason is that the cruelty of some events stimulated his fragile body and mind, which led to major changes in his three views;
6. Self-guilt: It is a subjective feeling. When a person does something that he feels is against his conscience (the specific degree is related to the degree of conscience), he regrets his behavior afterwards.
7. Pessimism about the future: despair, the world of depressed patients will make anyone afraid. If you stay in this world for a long time, let alone depression, ordinary people can't stand it. Depressed people often feel helpless and find themselves in the haze of despair.
8. Self-injury suicide behavior or concept: too negative. A depressed person is extremely miserable and pessimistic, feels that life can't go on, and is full of fear and helplessness for the future life. He often has the idea of death, mostly because of something that ordinary people will never experience in their lives. That kind of fear, I'm afraid only he or someone who has experienced it can know.
9. Sleep disorder: Abnormal sleep amount and abnormal behavior during sleep are also manifestations of the disorder of normal rhythm alternation between sleep and awakening. Include sleep disorders and parasomnia.
10. Others often have symptoms such as loss of appetite, foreign body sensation in throat, abnormal defecation, chest tightness, palpitation, low libido, menstrual disorder and weight change.
Finally, the symptoms of depression are divided into many forms, and everyone has some special differences that need to be carefully identified.
drug therapy
For patients with moderate or above depression. Commonly used drugs: selective five-cavity tryptamine reuptake inhibitor, five golden flowers, commonly used citalopram, sertraline and so on.
(2) Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy for depression is mainly suitable for depression patients with obvious life events and social factors, while endogenous depression dominated by biology is not suitable for psychotherapy. Psychotherapy should be based on the degree to which patients are affected by life events and social factors. Commonly used psychotherapy methods include supportive psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, marriage and family therapy.
(3) Physical therapy
Physical therapy for depression includes electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, substitution therapy and cognitive therapy. Each method has strict indications and should not be used indiscriminately, especially electric shock, which varies from person to person with clear etiology and pathogenesis.
If the patient's symptoms are mild, you can take the patient to listen to music or read a book, or even do exercise, which can partially divert the patient's mind, and it is best to cultivate a hobby for the patient, which can effectively treat this disease. If the patient's condition is serious, electroconvulsive therapy is needed.
Finally, I hope everyone can keep healthy physically and mentally and stay away from diseases.
Depression, mental retardation, weakened will activity,
Useless: Self-evaluation is lowered, and I think my life is worthless, full of failures and nothing.
Helplessness: Feeling helpless and isolated.
Hopeless: I feel that I have no way out, no hope and no future.
Sleep disorders, diet to lose weight, listlessness, fatigue, laziness.
Patients with severe depression may have hallucinations or delusions, accompanied by negative suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Depression: slow thinking, depressed mood, and decreased will activity. Bad patients have suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In severe cases, symptoms such as gastrointestinal discomfort, palpitation and rapid heartbeat appear. It is recommended to go to the hospital for treatment.
The manifestations of depressive episodes can be divided into three aspects: core symptom group, psychological symptom group and somatic symptom group.
As usual, depressive episodes are summarized by "three lows", that is, depression, slow thinking and decreased will activity. These three symptoms are considered as typical symptoms of major depression, but these typical symptoms do not necessarily appear in all patients.
characteristic symptoms
Core symptom group
be down in spirits
Judging from my own feelings or what others can observe, I feel depressed, distressed and sad. I feel that the pain is hard to pass and I can't feel happy. What's more, I feel that life is worse than death, and I often frown and sigh.
I feel depressed almost every day and generally don't change with the change of environment.
Lose interest or pleasure
If you are not interested in anything or your interest declines, people will lose enthusiasm for their previous hobbies, lose the ability to experience happiness, and cannot get pleasure from daily activities.
Even if there are some simple activities, such as reading books and watching TV, their main purpose is only to kill time, and they can't get happiness from it.
Psychological symptom group
Anxious
Performance is upset, worried, nervous, irritable, worried about getting out of control or having an accident.
Slow thinking
Consciously slow response, thinking difficulties, decreased decision-making ability, reduced speech, slower speech speed, lower volume, and even serious reaction and communication obstacles.
Cognitive symptoms
Mainly manifested in the memory ability of recent events decline, attention disorder, information processing ability decline, indifference to self and surrounding environment.
In severe cases, there will be "three asymptomatic", that is, feeling useless, helpless and hopeless.
Useless: Self-evaluation is lowered, and I think my life is worthless, full of failures and nothing.
Helplessness: Feeling helpless and isolated.
Hopeless: I feel that I have no way out, no hope and no future.
blame oneself
Blame yourself for some small mistakes or mistakes in the past, and in serious cases, you will feel deeply guilty or guilty, thinking that you are sinful and must be punished by society.
Suicide attempts and behaviors
Patients with major depression are often accompanied by negative suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Suicide thoughts are often stubborn and repeated, and suicidal behaviors are often well planned and difficult to prevent. Therefore, suicide is the most serious and dangerous symptom of depression.
Psychomotor changes
Mental retardation or excitement may occur.
Lag: manifested as slow action, slow thinking, reduced activities, lazy life, alienation from relatives and friends, avoidance of social interaction, decreased work efficiency, and neglect of personal hygiene. In severe cases, it will develop into a state of "depressive stupor".
Agitation: I can't help thinking about some aimless things repeatedly in my mind, and my thinking content is chaotic, so I show fidgety, uncontrollable and even aggressive behavior.
Psychotic symptoms
Patients with severe depression may have psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions.
experience
Some patients with depression can take the initiative to seek treatment and describe their illness and symptoms, which is a complete epiphany.
Patients with severe depression may lack a correct understanding of the current state, or even completely lose the desire to seek treatment, which is an incomplete or lack of self-knowledge.
Somatic symptom group
sleep disorder
It is characterized by difficulty in falling asleep, shallow sleep, dreaminess, early awakening and lack of sleep. Among them, it is the most common difficulty to fall asleep, which is generally delayed by more than half an hour, while waking up early is the most characteristic, which is generally 2-3 hours earlier than usual, and you can't sleep after waking up.
Dietary and weight disorders
Mainly manifested as loss of appetite and weight loss.
Energy loss
Manifested as listlessness, fatigue and laziness.
Depression is more important during the day than at night.
Depression tends to get worse after getting up in the morning, but it is relieved in the afternoon and evening. This symptom is one of the typical manifestations of "endogenous depression". However, the symptoms of some patients with psychogenic depression may worsen in the afternoon or evening, contrary to the above situation.
sexual dysfunction
It can be decreased sexual desire or even complete loss, and sexual dysfunction.
Other nonspecific somatic symptoms
Such as headache, backache and other pains in any part of the body, but also dry mouth, sweating, blurred vision, palpitation, chest tightness, nausea, vomiting, burning sensation in the stomach, frequent urination, urgency and other manifestations.
The most important clinical feature of depression is depression. Without depression, it can't be called depression at all. However, depression is not enough. To meet the clinical diagnostic criteria of depression, the degree of depression must be mental dysfunction or social dysfunction, and the duration should be more than two weeks. Clinical manifestations are:
1, interest is reduced or even lost;
2. Disappointed with the future;
3. sense of helplessness;
4. Feeling mentally exhausted;
5. Self-evaluation declines;
6. I feel that life or life itself is meaningless, and I have suicidal thoughts and even suicidal actions.
Note that there is no psychological conflict in depression, while depressive neurosis is depression accompanied by sharp and lasting psychological conflict, and the course of disease is more lasting, at least two years or more.
It is also different in psychological counseling and treatment. For depression, he has no responsibility to tell patients that he is sick and needs medication, just like ordinary physiological diseases. And depressive neurosis is the product of his own behavior pattern and lifestyle, which requires him to exert his subjective initiative and urge him to change.
Finally, there is also a kind of depression, that is, in the face of some accidents, the mood is low, generally not more than two weeks, which everyone in our life will encounter.
The photo is what I studied before, so I write it down for your reference. Thank you!
First, classify depression into major depression, dysthymia, bipolar disorder and nonspecific depression, and then look at their symptoms one by one.
Symptoms of major depression:
1. obvious weight loss, or weight gain, or obvious appetite change, do not diet every day.
2. It is difficult to fall asleep at night or become more sleepy than before.
3. Lack of attention or being in a trance all day.
4. I feel very tired or weak every day.
5. Often feel worthless, extreme or unreasonable guilt.
6. Unable to concentrate on thinking, personality becomes hesitant in the eyes of others.
7. Repeatedly thinking about the idea of death or suicide (there may be suicidal plans) or trying to commit suicide.
Symptoms of bad mood:
Symptoms of bipolar disorder (must meet the following criteria):
Symptoms of nonspecific depression:
Depression is a thorny social problem at present, which is mostly caused by stress and impetuousness. Celebrities at home and abroad, such as Hemingway, Children, Sanmao, Van Gogh and Leslie Cheung, all died of depression.
The manifestations of depressive episodes are as follows.
1. Feel depressed
Judging from my own feelings or what others can observe, I feel depressed, distressed and sad. I feel that the pain is hard to pass and I can't feel happy. What's more, I feel that life is worse than death, and I often frown and sigh.
I feel depressed almost every day and generally don't change with the change of environment.
Lose interest or pleasure
If you are not interested in anything or your interest declines, people will lose enthusiasm for their previous hobbies, lose the ability to experience happiness, and cannot get pleasure from daily activities.
Even if there are some simple activities, such as reading books and watching TV, their main purpose is only to kill time, and they can't get happiness from it.
2. Anxiety
Performance is upset, worried, nervous, irritable, worried about getting out of control or having an accident.
Step 3 think slowly
Consciously slow response, thinking difficulties, decreased decision-making ability, reduced speech, slower speech speed, lower volume, and even serious reaction and communication obstacles.
In severe cases, there will be "three asymptomatic", that is, feeling useless, helpless and hopeless.
Useless: Self-evaluation is lowered, and I think my life is worthless, full of failures and nothing.
Helplessness: Feeling helpless and isolated.
Hopeless: I feel that I have no way out, no hope and no future.
blame oneself
Blame yourself for some small mistakes or mistakes in the past, and in serious cases, you will feel deeply guilty or guilty, thinking that you are sinful and must be punished by society.
Suicide attempts and behaviors
Patients with major depression are often accompanied by negative suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Suicide thoughts are often stubborn and repeated, and suicidal behaviors are often well planned and difficult to prevent. Therefore, suicide is the most serious and dangerous symptom of depression.
Psychomotor changes
Mental retardation or excitement may occur.
Lag: manifested as slow action, slow thinking, reduced activities, lazy life, alienation from relatives and friends, avoidance of social interaction, decreased work efficiency, and neglect of personal hygiene. In severe cases, it will develop into a state of "depressive stupor".
Agitation: I can't help thinking about some aimless things repeatedly in my mind, and my thinking content is chaotic, so I show fidgety, uncontrollable and even aggressive behavior.
Psychotic symptoms
Patients with severe depression may have psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions.
experience
Some patients with depression can take the initiative to seek treatment and describe their illness and symptoms, which is a complete epiphany.
Patients with severe depression may lack a correct understanding of the current state, or even completely lose the desire to seek treatment, which is an incomplete or lack of self-knowledge.
Somatic symptom group
sleep disorder
It is characterized by difficulty in falling asleep, shallow sleep, dreaminess, early awakening and lack of sleep. Among them, it is the most common difficulty to fall asleep, which is generally delayed by more than half an hour, while waking up early is the most characteristic, which is generally 2-3 hours earlier than usual, and you can't sleep after waking up.
Dietary and weight disorders
Mainly manifested as loss of appetite and weight loss.
Energy loss
Manifested as listlessness, fatigue and laziness.
Depression is more important during the day than at night.
Depression tends to get worse after getting up in the morning, but it is relieved in the afternoon and evening. This symptom is one of the typical manifestations of "endogenous depression". However, the symptoms of some patients with psychogenic depression may worsen in the afternoon or evening, contrary to the above situation.
sexual dysfunction
It can be decreased sexual desire or even complete loss, and sexual dysfunction.
Other nonspecific somatic symptoms
Such as headache, backache and other pains in any part of the body, but also dry mouth, sweating, blurred vision, palpitation, chest tightness, nausea, vomiting, burning sensation in the stomach, frequent urination, urgency and other manifestations.
Depression, as the number one killer of mankind at present, must arouse the widespread concern of my family and treat life positively and optimistically.