What is Depression? Why Does It Happen?

“I am unhappy, tired, depressed” are complaints we frequently hear in daily life. Is it seen as often as it is said?

1) A person's emotional state is like the weather. Some are wavy like the Black Sea, some are hot like the Aegean climate. Our emotions show slow oscillations over time, from joy to sadness, from anger to jealousy. Depression is an unusual state of collapse. It is not rain, it is flood, raid, disaster, disease. Unhappiness is like tiring spring rains. You can cope, it is natural, you can seek help, but depression is a disease, it disrupts your functionality. You will be unable to maintain your family relationships and work, and you will not be able to enjoy your social functions. Its lifetime prevalence is 3.5–5.8%.

Is there a difference in the frequency of occurrence in men and women?

2) All kinds of psychiatric diseases in childhood occur in girls at a rate of 1/3 or ½ in boys. While it is less common in children, the rate of depression in women doubles from the first menstrual period until menopause. On average, one in every four or five women will experience depression at some point in their life. For men, this rate is around one in every 10 men. The reasons that increase the difference are that women seek help more, easily consult a doctor, and men not only do not seek help, but also tend to use alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, anger and aggression, and this is accepted as male-specific behavior in society. The rate of depression in books is 3-12% in men and 10-20% in women.

What is depression? Is it a disease or is “everyone who feels unhappy” depressed?
3)Depression; It is a syndrome characterized by a deeply sad, sometimes both sad and depressing emotional state, accompanied by weakening and stagnation in thoughts, speech, movements, physiological functions, as well as feelings and thoughts of worthlessness, pessimism, and reluctance. As depression deepens, it may become severe enough to end with giving up on life, wishing I were dead, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and death. If your relatives talk about death, even jokingly, definitely consult a psychiatrist. If it does not prevent the person from daily life, this emotional state cannot be described as a disorder

What are the symptoms of depression?

4) Five of the nine symptoms of depression below Whatever you have, you have depression that requires clinical treatment. However, this situation must be with you in a stable manner for 15 days. Loss of employment and communication problems in family and social life occur. If you have less than five symptoms, you are in subclinical depression and you need to get help or therapy from a psychologist or psychiatrist. If you have all the symptoms, it means you are severely depressed. Depression sometimes becomes psychotic and is the most severe form of depression. If your relative talks about impossible things like "I am responsible for the bad state of the world, the lunar eclipse is because of me", it means that the situation is very urgent. If he is preparing a will, talking about the division of property, if he suddenly seems to relax on his own, even though he is very distressed, it means that the alarm is ringing again, take into consideration. The symptoms of depression are generally as follows, and the situation gets worse as you go down: are tired)
• Increase or decrease in appetite (mostly lose weight, a small percentage of patients gain weight)
• Increase or decrease in sleep (85% of people with depression cannot sleep, falling asleep and staying asleep is a problem, sleep with bad dreams In unipolar depression, which we call genetic, waking up early in the morning with great pain is the most diagnostic symptom.)
• Forgetfulness and feeling of worthlessness/guilt (Do not accept depression-related forgetfulness as natural in elderly patients and definitely look for a solution.)
• Inability to concentrate (Due to concentration disorder, reading time gradually shortens in young patients, their success in classes decreases, and they make attention mistakes. For students whose success decreases, do a research on the situation before getting angry and criticizing children or young people.)
• Slowness or increase in movements.< br /> • Recurrent thoughts of death

How does asymptomatic masked depression occur?

5) It is a type of depression in which affective displays are not obvious and physical symptoms are at the forefront. Masked depression is more common in society than thought. Because it is often not diagnosed, it remains unrecognized and untreated for a long time. �r. It is mostly seen in middle-aged and elderly people.

Such patients can express their distress with their bodies. They may even wear a defensive smile mask on their face. They constantly complain about aches and pains in various parts of their bodies. They may believe that their aches and pains will ultimately lead them to disaster. In more severe cases, the emotions one is accustomed to become unfelt. They have the idea that the world is a colorless, lifeless, dead place. They cannot cry much.

Patients especially emphasize physical complaints. They either do not report psychological problems or mention them very little. In addition to pain, patients also have complaints such as loss of appetite and weight, fatigue and loss of energy. An appropriate and accepting interview can reveal depressive symptoms in these patients. On the other hand, although many patients fully know and accept their psychological problems, they highlight complaints such as sexual weakness, widespread joint and muscle pain, insomnia, and headache, and argue that these are the causes of their mental distress.

The boundary that separates masked depression from other forms of depression often cannot be determined. Since depression does not come with pure psychic symptoms, these patients can wander into almost all other clinical branches. They knock on the doors of internal medicine and physical therapists due to common muscle and joint pain. This therefore makes diagnosis and treatment difficult. Sometimes, it may be difficult to determine which of the symptoms of depression is the main one through physical symptoms, especially pain.

In addition, various psychiatric disorders, including drug and alcohol use and antisocial personality disorder, may also overshadow the depression picture. In addition, it should not be forgotten that the side effects of medications used in conditions such as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, asthma and diabetes can camouflage an immediate depression situation. Such depressive states are more common in alexithymic people. These people are people who do not verbalize and convey their emotions such as anger, reaction, expectation, resentment, desire before analyzing and transferring them.

How do you diagnose depression in your clients? There are special examinations or tests

6) A psychiatrist should perform a complete medical evaluation. The specialist will ask questions about your and your family's psychiatric history. Blood tests, x-rays, or other laboratory tests cannot diagnose major depression. However, your doctor may order some blood tests to clarify whether there is another condition that may indicate symptoms of depression. For example, hypothyroidism has similar symptoms to depression. Alcohol abuse or addiction, certain medications, stroke, or use of illegal drugs can also cause symptoms of depression. The most important thing before making a diagnosis is to have complete physiological examinations. This is due to the fact that some physical diseases can directly affect the brain and cause depression. In fact, sometimes symptoms of depression can be the first symptoms of these diseases. Laboratory tests that may be requested may include (1) complete blood count, (2) thyroid gland hormone levels (T3, T4 and TSH), calcium, phosphorus, glucose, (3) urinalysis, blood urea nitrogen. In some cases, tests such as brain tomography and magnetic resonance may be requested.

Which methods are used in the treatment of depression?

7) First of all; If the depression is mild, a psychotherapy method is applied to the patient to change his behavior and thoughts before drug treatment. However, when it becomes severe, it may not work very well and in this case, medication is used. You hear negative comments about drugs every day, there are reliable antidepressant drugs that improve our quality of life and save your life in severe and psychotic depression. Information can be obtained from the internet, but science cannot be done. Do not disrupt your treatments with incorrect information on the internet, your most accurate source of information is your psychiatrist. When you apply to a psychologist or psychiatrist, the first meeting with you will determine the course of the treatment. Antidepressant drugs are generally used in drug treatment. These drugs act on some neurotransmitters in our body. In addition, continuing psychotherapy will help the person eliminate stress factors and negative thoughts and shorten the recovery time. In the later stages of the treatment, you will notice that your feelings have changed and you will see this with scientific measurements. you will see. Experts agree on treating depression. Therefore, it would be beneficial to consult a doctor without delay. Cognitive Behavioral therapy is the most satisfactory form of therapy in the treatment of depression.

Is it completely treated? Is there a risk of recurrence?

8) Today, depression is a treatable disease. The probability of improvement as a result of treatment in people with mood disorders is around 70%, which is a very high rate. With appropriate treatment, a person's perspective on life, who once felt worthless and even thought about death, changes so much that he is now firmly attached to life.

Who is at risk?

9)
/>
• Sadness of losing a loved one due to death, divorce and separation
• Interpersonal differences or feelings of deprivation that lead to social isolation
• Major life changes—moving, graduation, job change, retirement
/> • Personal conflict in relationships with partner or manager at work
• Physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
• In some families, major depression is passed down from generation to generation. However, major depression is also seen in those who do not have a family history of depression.

Are there risks that depression increases?

10)

• Increase in mortality
• Increase in the possibility of fatal accidents
• Deaths due to secondary diseases
• Suicides
• Job loss, loss of productivity
• Deterioration in work and school performance
• Drugs (cigarettes, alcohol) , drug abuse
• Deterioration of family relations
• Deterioration of physical health

Can you give information about its relationship with other physical diseases?

11) Some physical illnesses can lead to depression. We can list them as follows:
• Stroke
• Parkinson's disease 
• Multiple sclerosis 
• Epilepsy
• Hyperthyroidism
• Hypothyroidism 
• Cushing syndrome
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Cancer
• HIV


Is there a prescription to prevent depression?

12) Your job, your spouse , your children, your extended family, your friends, your habits and hobbies. It connects you to life. with each one

Read: 0

yodax