Depressed mood, depressed mood, no interest in doing anything, negative thoughts...
In the face of these situations, many people like to put on the hat of "depression" for themselves and feel that they have depression.
Comparing the diagnostic criteria on the Internet, I feel more serious, feel hopeless, more depressed, and do not know what to do.
Is this depression at all?
What should I do about it?
▼ Guangzhou Listen to Bar Psychological Counseling for your analysis: What should I do if I suspect that I am suffering from depression?
Many people come to Guangzhou to hear that before the psychological counseling center for consultation, because of some troubles, some emotions, such as anxiety, depression, etc., they like to label themselves as "neurotic", thinking "I have depression", "I have anxiety" and so on.
Then after searching the Internet for some symptoms, I sat in the right seat, felt that my situation was terrible, and felt desperate for my situation.
In general, there are strict criteria for the diagnosis of neuroses (e.g., depression, anxiety, hysteria, phobia, etc.) that require professionals to combine a professional measurement scale with a professional measurement scale after understanding the client's situation.
Many people are not too clear about what depression is, they feel depressed, depressed, difficult to solve, then it is depression.
In fact, depression has certain diagnostic criteria.
Depression, also known as depressive disorder, is characterized by significant and persistent low mood and is the main type of mood disorder.
Clinically visible low mood is not commensurate with its situation, emotional depression can range from sullenness to grief, inferiority and depression, and even pessimism and world-weariness, and there may be suicide attempts or behaviors; Even wooden stiffness occurs; Some cases have significant anxiety and motor agitation; In severe cases, psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions may occur.
Each episode lasts at least 2 weeks, in the elderly, or even for several years, and most cases have a tendency to recur, most of which can be relieved, and some may have residual symptoms or become chronic.
Depression has the following clinical manifestations:
Depressed mood
It is characterized by significant and persistent emotional depression, depression and pessimism.
The light is sullen, unhappy, and less interested, and the heavier is in pain, pessimistic and desperate, living like a year, and it is better to live than to die.
The depressive mood of typical patients has rhythmic changes in morning and night.
On the basis of low mood, patients will have a decrease in self-evaluation, resulting in a sense of uselessness, hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness, often accompanied by self-blame and self-guilt, severe cases of sinful delusions and paranoia, and some patients may hallucinate.
Slow thinking
Patients think slowly, react slowly, have blocked thinking, and realize that "the brain seems to be a rusted machine" and "the brain is like a layer of paste".
Clinically, it can be seen that active speech is reduced, the speed of speech is significantly slowed down, the voice is low, it is difficult to answer, and in severe cases, communication cannot proceed smoothly.
Decreased will activity
There is a pronounced and persistent decrease in the will movement of the depressed person, which is significantly suppressed. Clinical manifestations are slow behavior, passive life, lazy, do not want to do things, do not want to contact with the people around them, often sit alone, or stay in bed all day, live alone behind closed doors, alienate relatives and friends, and avoid social interaction.
When it is serious, even the physiological needs such as eating and drinking and personal hygiene are disregarded, and the unkempt face is not trimmed, and even develops into no speech, no movement, no food, called "depressive wood stiffness", but careful mental examination, the patient still shows painful and depressive emotions.
Patients with anxiety may have symptoms such as fidgeting, finger grasping, rubbing hands and feet, or pacing around.
Severe patients are often accompanied by negative suicidal ideas or behaviors. Negative and pessimistic thoughts, self-blame, and lack of self-confidence can germinate desperate thoughts, believing that "ending one's life is a relief" and "living in the world is a superfluous person", and can lead suicide attempts to develop into suicidal behavior.
This is the most dangerous symptom of depression and should be vigilant.
Impaired cognitive function
Some scholars believe that the cognitive function of depressed patients will be significantly impaired, and some studies now support this view.
It is mainly manifested as loss of memory in recent events, attention disorder, prolonged reaction time, increased alertness, poor abstract thinking ability, learning difficulties, poor language fluency, decreased spatial perception, eye-hand coordination and thinking flexibility, and cognitive function impairment leads to social dysfunction in patients.
Somatic symptoms
Depressed patients will also have some somatized symptoms, mainly manifested as sleep disorders, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, constipation, pain in any part of the body, decreased libido, impotence, amenorrhea and so on.
Complaints of physical discomfort may involve various organs, such as nausea, vomiting, palpitation, chest tightness, sweating, etc.
Symptoms of autonomic dysfunction are also common, with complaints of pre-mortem disease usually worsening.
Sleep disorders are mainly manifested as early awakening, generally 2 to 3 hours earlier than usual, and can no longer fall asleep after waking up, which is of characteristic significance for depressive episodes.
Some are manifested by difficulty falling asleep and not sleeping deeply; A small number of patients present with excessive sleep.
Weight loss is not necessarily proportional to loss of appetite, and a small number of patients may experience increased appetite and weight gain.
If you feel that you have similar symptoms, you can promptly seek a professional psychological counseling agency for a professional diagnosis.
When there is no diagnosis, do not arbitrarily add a label of a mental illness to yourself.
Some people have weak inner strength, and when they label themselves as a certain psychological disease, there will be pessimism and disappointment, behavior withdrawal and so on.
More seriously, some people may have the phenomenon of "self-proof prophecy" and will unconsciously act according to known prophecies, eventually causing the prophecies to occur.
For example, if you identify yourself as a depressed person in your heart, you will subconsciously act according to the pattern of a depressed person in your daily life.
Therefore, when you realize that your emotions are in a bad state for a period of time, and your behavior is abnormal, do not rush to give yourself a "hat", a professional psychological counselor recommends that you do the following "two to, two nots".
The so-called "two points" refer to being optimistic and asking for help.
Many people will overestimate the severity of psychological problems and even be pessimistic and desperate.
But regardless of the situation, maintaining optimism is conducive to maximizing your potential and coping with negative emotions.
In addition to the self-regulation of the person concerned, a good social support system is essential for the improvement of symptoms.
When you feel that you need help, you should boldly open your mouth to your relatives and friends, and you can also actively seek psychological counseling and treatment to relieve your troubles as soon as possible.
And "two don'ts" means not to worry too much and not to blame yourself.
Don't worry about other people's strange eyes, worry about being difficult to heal, worry about emotions and behaviors getting out of control; Don't arbitrarily believe that it is caused by your bad personality or bad behavior, so that you will feel sorry for yourself.
Worry and self-blame bring more distress than symptoms.
Mental illness is like a cold and fever, can not be avoided, as long as you look for a professional psychological counseling institution, active regulation and treatment, can be solved and improved.