“Depression” is a term with a high visibility, yet extremely mysterious.
It led Leslie Cheung to leap from a 24-story tall building, ending his own life; it pushed Qiao Renliang to suicide under unbearable pressure. Numerous A-list stars have experienced depression, such as Cui Yongyuan, Bai Yansong, Han Hong, Yang Kun, Zhang Jie… and in the art world, there’s Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Ernest Hemingway…
Why do our beloved familiar celebrities have such terrible experiences?
How much do you understand about depression?
Depression, also known as depressive disorder, is characterized by significant and persistent feelings of low mood and is a major type of mood disorder. In clinical terms, depression can manifest as single or recurrent episodes of depression (such as low mood, slow thinking, reduced willpower, impaired cognitive function, and physical symptoms), severely impacting the lives and work of patients, as well as burdening their families and society, with about 15% of depressed patients dying by suicide.
Currently, about 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, with more than 60 million in China alone. Depression is far from a simple matter of feeling down and can’t just be solved by relaxing. At its worst, depression may even lead to suicide.
Every year, about 1 million people worldwide die by suicide, on average one person every 40 seconds. Sixty percent of suicide victims were in a state of depression before, and 90% had psychological disorders.
How to identify the “demon of depression” early on?
If these 4 symptoms appear simultaneously, try not to ignore them, as it could be the “demon” taking hold!
1. [Extreme self-esteem issues, sensitivity]
Depressed individuals often have very poor emotions in everyday life, becoming particularly sensitive over trivial matters, anxious, easily irritable, with a visibly poor mental state. They may appear sensitive and exhibit signs of inferiority, always intending to do things well but failing to do them promptly, leading to self-blame for their temperament. Over time, their interest in anything may gradually fade away.
2. [Frequent feelings of fatigue]
Depression not only affects one’s emotions but also leads to certain physical changes. Regardless of daily activities, they feel weak, fatigued, lacking the zest they once had. Depressed individuals may also experience dizziness, body aches, loss of appetite even at the sight of any food, and for some female patients, menstrual irregularities may occur.
3. [Poor sleep quality]
Once affected by depression, sleep quality deteriorates significantly. They wake up multiple times during the night, not due to insomnia per se, rather a disruption in their consciousness. Most depressed individuals experience some degree of sleep disturbance, waking up from nightmares tangled in their depressive emotions. Even when asleep, they often have sorrowful dreams, feeling uncontrollable pain.
4. [Thinking about suicide]
This symptom is the most severe manifestation in depressed individuals, posing great harm to themselves. Some severely depressed individuals feel they have no value or purpose in living on earth, avoid making friends, communicating with others, and prefer solitude. Such feelings can easily lead to suicidal thoughts. Therefore, if depressed individuals do not receive timely treatment, they may cause significant harm to themselves.
How to effectively combat this “demon”? What reliable “methods” are there?
In clinical practice, treatment methods for depression mainly include psychological therapy, medication, and physical therapy among other comprehensive treatments.
[Psychological Therapy]
Psychological therapy is the primary treatment for mild depression, widely used in clinical settings, particularly cognitive-behavioral therapy which shows significant efficacy for treating mild depression. In treating depression, cognitive-behavioral therapy involves assessing and identifying the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to depression, validating these thoughts, behaviors, and emotions, and effectively treating symptoms like emotional distress, slow thinking, ineffectiveness, lack of energy, and despair through behavioral therapy techniques.
[Physical Therapy]
Physical therapy is widely used in clinical settings with evidence-based methods like electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation.
[Medication Therapy]
Medication therapy is the primary method for treating moderate to severe depression. In clinical practice, the main choice of antidepressants is Levofloxamine hydrochloride tablets/extended-release tablets, which show good therapeutic effects on depressed patients. Compared to other antidepressants, Levofloxamine hydrochloride is less likely to cause weight gain and sexual dysfunction, effectively improving the quality of life.
The main component of Levofloxamine is Levofloxamine, abnormal regulation of the dopamine system is one of the causes of depression, and the molecule of Naltrexone combines with relevant sites of norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake pumps, thereby blocking reuptake of both, increasing the concentration of NA and DA in the synaptic cleft, exerting an antidepressant effect, effectively improving the patient’s symptoms.
In conclusion, in the face of depression, do not be easily frightened, effective prevention and active treatment are the most advantageous “weapons” to overcome this “demon.”
#Depression##HealthPromotionCompetition#
Disclaimer:
Above content reviewed by Dr. Miao Shou, Licensed Pharmacist
Health promotion content cannot replace diagnosis and treatment advice, for reference only
