Life’s great pressures can easily lead many people to become despondent. Patients with depression can go from feeling gloomy to being overwhelmed with sorrow, self-loathing, or even becoming pessimistic and disenchanted, with suicidal thoughts or behaviors; severe cases may experience hallucinations, delusions, and other psychotic symptoms. This poses a serious threat to their health and happiness. Which groups of people are prone to depression? Let’s take a look.
I. Groups with a High Incidence of Depression
01. Adolescents
In recent years, the group of people suffering from depression has shown a trend towards being increasingly younger. The prevalence of depression among adolescents has reached 15% to 20%; the mental health of adolescents urgently needs to be a social concern. Among the group of people with depression, 50% of patients are students, with 41% having taken a break from school due to depression. Academic pressure has become a major burden on adolescents with depression.
For adolescent depression patients, a dysfunctional family environment is the primary factor leading them into depression. 63% of student patients experience harsh control, neglect, lack of care, and domestic violence in their families.
02. Introverted Individuals
Introverted individuals have less communication with others in their daily lives, are not good at communicating with others, and struggle to express their emotional state verbally. Therefore, when faced with negative events, they are easily troubled by negative emotions, which can lead to the development and onset of depression over time.
03. People in Negative Situations
In daily life, people often encounter various negative events such as unemployment, demotion, heartbreak, divorce, or the death of a loved one. The occurrence of these negative events directly impacts an individual’s emotional state and can easily lead to the onset of depression.
04. Postpartum Women
Postpartum women are one of the high-risk groups for depression. Studies show that 63% of women have experienced postpartum depression. The reasons for postpartum depression in women are varied, including changes in social and family roles, breastfeeding, and family relationships, which are major triggers for the onset of postpartum depression.
II. The Harms of Long-term Suppressed Depression
01. Worsening of Emotions
Depression often causes patients to experience the most painful and negative emotions. Patients frequently dwell in a pessimistic mood for no apparent reason, making it difficult for others to help.
02. Severe Psychological Disorders
Depression often leads individuals to dwell on certain issues with subjective emotions. They tend to magnify trivial matters, creating many psychological obstacles for themselves. They are often dissatisfied with themselves and the outside world, leading to a vicious cycle.
03. Frequent Sleep Deprivation
Often accompanied by symptoms of insomnia, depression can cause patients to ruminate during the quiet nights, leading to insomnia. Prolonged sleep deprivation can leave a person mentally fatigued, physically weakened, exacerbate depressive symptoms, and perpetuate a vicious cycle.
III. When Depressed, Seek Medical Help Early
Aside from causing significant damage to a patient’s social functioning, depression can also lead to more serious consequences. Reports indicate that 70% to 80% of suicides are linked to depression, emphasizing the need for immediate medical attention for depression to prevent tragic events. Currently, there are three main treatment methods for depression: medication, psychotherapy, and physical treatments, with medication therapy being the primary one.
The recurrence rate of depression can be as high as 50% to 85%, with 50% of patients experiencing a recurrence within 2 years of the initial onset. To prevent relapse, a comprehensive treatment approach is advocated internationally: acute phase treatment for 8 to 12 weeks, consolidation phase treatment for 4 to 9 months, and maintenance phase treatment typically lasting 2 to 3 years. Patients who experience three or more recurrences require long-term maintenance treatment and should not discontinue medication without professional advice.
