How to get rid of severe depression on your own. How to get rid of depression on your own. How to get rid of depression on your own

This article is about how to get rid of depression on your own without the help of pills or doctors. If you have already read my blog, then you know that all my articles are based on personal experience. I write about how I got rid of a lack of discipline, bad habits, learned to deal with stress and control emotions. I take all these tips from personal practice, and not from books and textbooks. And this article is no exception.

This article reflects only my personal experience, I do not pretend that these truths can be applied to any experience without exception.

And the methods of this article in no way claim to replace qualified psychotherapy in combination with drug treatments. If you find yourself depressed, I highly recommend contacting a qualified, good specialist.

And the information in this article will help you get acquainted with the view of the problem, understand what methods should be resorted to, and you will also find effective self-help techniques in it.

Let me briefly tell my story.

History of my illness

A few years ago I suffered from the so-called and even went to the doctor with this problem. Against the background of panic attacks, some kind of despondency, chronic pessimism, despair, dissatisfaction with life, high mental sensitivity and even tearfulness began to develop. Nobody diagnosed me with such a diagnosis as depression, probably because there was no one to put it on - I did not communicate with doctors on this issue (although I tried to “treat” them for panic attacks).

But I have observed many symptoms of this disease in myself. I did not feel bad all the time: this state of psychological discomfort came in attacks. At the same time, there were problems with sleep: and, sometimes, I was thrown up on the bed, as soon as I fell into sleep, as if a sudden discharge of current passed through my body. To eliminate all these symptoms, I began to drink alcohol, which later developed into a chronic habit.

Symptoms of depression provoked difficulties at work and at home. Apathy and lack of purpose gave rise to laziness, and sudden outbursts of irritation or despondency reflected badly on those around me.

How does depression appear?

It happens that depression is caused by some unpleasant event, such as the death of a relative. And it happens that this ailment manifests itself as if for no reason. In fact, there is always a reason, it's just that it is either hidden, or there are many of these reasons. For example, a person may experience depression due to constant stress, fatigue, alcohol use, family problems, lack of goals and aspirations, etc. All these things together can form a favorable psychological background for the development of depression.

Many may think that depression caused by some single, non-repeating event (death of a loved one) is less hopeless than the same disease, but provoked by recurring circumstances (stress, constant nervous fatigue, character traits, etc.) .

After all, sooner or later, the memory of misfortune will begin to fade, and life will begin to be filled with new meaning, new pleasures, and along with this, grief and the depression associated with it should disappear. But it doesn't always happen this way. An unfortunate event can only become a "trigger" of depression for a person who, due to various factors, was predisposed to it.

This is similar to how a draft causes a cold in a person with a weak immune system. It cannot be said that a draft alone caused a cough and a sore throat. The air from the open window only provoked the disease, and the prerequisites for its occurrence already existed due to weak immunity.

Even if a cold passes after a week, then after that a person still runs the risk of getting sick if he gets caught in the rain or in a draft.

Some kind of misfortune in the life of a certain person can become such a “draught” for the appearance of depression. Like a chronic illness, depression can weaken your “immunity” and increase your risk of developing the disease in the future.

So it was with me. I used to be a very sensitive and receptive person to stress. At one point, severe stress provoked panic attacks and depression associated with them. If my psyche were more stable and stable, then I would have reacted to this situation more calmly and it would not have caused such severe consequences for me. But I was what I was...

After a few years, I already forgot about this stress, the memories of those events ceased to cause pain, I began to take it easier. But depression and panic attacks have not disappeared. Because these ailments even more "shattered" the already painful psyche. When I forgot about that stressful situation, I still continued to suffer from sudden attacks of panic, bad mood and pessimism.

I gave this example to draw a very important conclusion about the nature of depression. I believe that most often, the causes of this disease are in the person himself, and not in external circumstances. I don't take extremes. Naturally, there are things that can break and make even the strongest people suffer. But, in most situations, depression is a consequence of your mental state, physical health, nervous sensitivity and worldview.

And some situations in the outside world can only start something for which the prerequisites already existed.

My method is to strengthen the immune system

Despite the fact that antidepressants and tranquilizers can positively affect the symptoms of depression, they cannot be dispensed with alone!

Even if your depression is caused by an imbalance in the chemical balance in the brain, then there are other ways besides pills to restore this balance. It has been proven that even psychotherapy, various practices of working on oneself change the chemical balance in the head. That's it!

Moreover, although I cannot deny the need for medication, it has been proven that psychotherapy and work on oneself have a much more lasting and lasting effect. That is, the pills will relieve the symptoms. But if you want to strengthen your “psychological immunity”, reduce the likelihood of recurrence of depressive episodes in the future, then you definitely need to practice and work on yourself!

In order not to get sick with a cold, you need to temper yourself, keep your body in good shape, and not just drink all sorts of drugs. The same applies to depression. It is necessary to stabilize the emotional background, strengthen the nervous system and learn to look at things differently. This is what my method is.

It helped me not only to get rid of depression and panic attacks, but to be sure that this would not happen again. And even if it happens again, I can handle it on my own. I will not depend on the arbitrariness of these attacks, unknown to me, and tremble at the mere thought that they will return, as they were before. Let them come back - I know what to do.

However, in some cases drugs are needed. They are needed simply to literally “put a person on his feet”, to help him start working on himself, undergo therapy. This is just some pharmacological support, but not the treatment itself. This must be understood. But if your case is severe, the medical method cannot be neglected!

But you just don’t need to see this as a panacea and limit yourself to drugs: pills are just your temporary assistant in the service of therapy. Be sure, in addition to pills, you need to carry out activities to work with the psyche on your own or better under the supervision of a psychotherapist.

Get rid of depression - start working on yourself

I turn to the practical part of the article and a description of those tips that will help you get rid of depression and strengthen your mental immunity.

Eliminate negative ideas

There are some ideas that make it very difficult to recover from bouts of mental blues. I must say right away that these ideas are false and need to get rid of them. I will elaborate on each of these ideas below.

Idea 1 - I am depressed because I am such a person (nervous, sensitive, ), this is how I am arranged and there is nothing I can do about it.

There is no more destructive delusion for the development of personality! You are depressed, not because you are who you are, but because you have not done anything to change! Every person is capable, every personality has a huge potential for positive metamorphoses.

In order to stop experiencing depression, many people will have to work on themselves and even change their outlook on things. Get ready for it. It's not easy, but it's certainly possible. This is confirmed by my experience and the very fact of the existence of this site.

Idea 2 - I'm depressed because some circumstances of my life are to blame (I live in a bad country, I don't have money to buy myself, everything I want, I'm surrounded by idiots, I don't have a girlfriend / boyfriend , my parents did not like me, etc.).

This is also a rather dangerous misconception. When you feel bad, you are overcome by despondency, your brain tries by all means to find the cause of the situation. The search for a cause precedes the determination of a solution, which is why many people cling to these imaginary causes as lifelines. This helps them to realize that they know why they are suffering and know how to stop this suffering.

This gives them a sense of control over the situation. They think: “as soon as I change my job or place of residence, my depression will stop, I know what to do, now I am suffering, but later, when I move to a new country, divorce my wife, buy myself a yacht, everything will be fine.” This is how hope appears. Therefore, depressed people are extremely reluctant to part with such ideas.

The brain begins with great zeal to sort out those circumstances that cause discomfort and bring them under the causes of depression. It can be difficult for us to abstract from our perception and understand that the whole point is in this perception itself.

A negative view of things, negative emotions, constant resentment and despondency make an extremely strong distortion in our view of things. You can look at the world through rose-colored glasses, or you can observe it, on the contrary, looking through glasses with cloudy, gray glasses.

Depression makes things look different from what they are to ordinary, pure perception. We begin to pay attention to the bad sides of life, our shortcomings seem huge to us, the problems are insurmountable, and the whole life is a series of senseless suffering.

If you suffer from depression, your perception is illusory, erroneous and does not reflect the real state of affairs. It's like you're under the influence of a drug! Don't believe this perception! Need to change it!

If you cannot be happy with what you have, then you cannot be happy under any circumstances! Wherever you go, no matter what woman you find, no matter how much wealth you have, your negative perception will remain with you.

And you can’t run away from it just by moving to another place! But if you change your perception, you may realize that the conditions in which you live are not so bad, your friends are not so terrible, and in life, there seems to be something worth living for! Nothing in the world around you will change, just your views will change!

In my life, for example, there are still things that do not suit me and that I want to change (for example, working conditions, not having my own living space). But these things no longer make me unhappy, because I myself have become different, although before it seemed to me that it was because of these things that I felt bad.

When I try to convince people that the whole problem is in themselves, in their perception of life, I run into an insurmountable barrier. They begin to show a violent reluctance to part with the idea that the causes of their depression are rooted in some external circumstances. After all, their hope is based on this idea, a false, groundless, illusory hope!

Of course, it is necessary to change in life, what does not suit you in it. But, first of all, you need to start with yourself!

Idea 3 - Depression is purely a psychological illness.

This is wrong. Depression is also related to the state of your body. Bad habits, fatigue, stress can lead to the appearance of this disease. And quite the opposite: playing sports, keeping your body in good shape, regular rest can help prevent depression.

Stop looking for the causes of your unhappiness only in some lofty matters: in a feeling of existential emptiness, loss of Faith, etc. Pay attention also to how your body feels, whether it is healthy enough and whether it receives all the vitamins it needs to work.

Practice meditation for inner balance

Meditation helped me get out of the pool of despondency and pessimism, to find joy and faith in myself. I forgot about depression and panic attacks. Meditation calms and stabilizes the psyche, gives a good mood and relieves stress. Laboratory studies of meditation have shown that the practice of meditation affects the brain, increasing the activity of electrical alpha waves, at the frequency of which the brain begins to work. Such activity contributes to a calm, relaxed state.

Regular meditation practice can help with depression, although it cannot be said that it will help everyone. Even if with the help of them it will not be possible to completely get rid of this ailment, then practice will help you to endure these attacks more easily and somehow control them.

In my opinion, meditation is one of the most effective and safe means to get rid of blues, nervousness, anger and anxiety. Many people greatly underestimate the effect of this practice and believe that it will not help them.

When I advise people who are suffering and cannot understand themselves to start practicing meditation, they respond to these tips with a slight bewilderment. They don’t say it directly, but most likely they think this way: maybe meditation will help me feel calmer, better control my emotions, but will it save me from what makes me unhappy? Can practice attract money, which I so lack for happiness? Can I find the woman of my dreams with the help of her, without whom I feel bad?

Many people think this way, and in the end, they remain convinced that meditation is not for them, and it will not solve their problems. Thinking like that is a mistake. For these people, it is more important to keep faith in their own prejudices, which they used to believe in, than to try something else and try to help themselves in another way. This train of thought, a consequence of the presence in the head of a false idea number 2, which I wrote about above.

You are most likely not unhappy because you live in a bad country and you do not have enough money for an expensive car that your neighbor has. Happiness and unhappiness depend more on your internal state than on external circumstances, I wrote about this in my article.

Meditation is a great way to put your psychological and emotional state in order, to look at the world with a sober and clear look, and not through gray lenses.

When you remove your illusion points, your values ​​may change. These will no longer be the ideals on which you base your belief in deliverance from suffering. Now you can believe that without a huge bank account you will not be happy, but if you understand your desires well, gain a sense of inner comfort and a sense of independence, you will understand that the value of life is completely different!

Through practice and self-knowledge, you can realize that the deepest treasure of life is contained in itself, in the very fact that you live and breathe, and not in the possession of some things.

A bank account is also good, but this is not the main thing. You will achieve this someday if you try, but first you need to find happiness within yourself.

Meditation can change your outlook on things, teach you to notice its good sides in this life, see joy in small things, and with the help of introspection and reflection, come to the realization of your true goals.

Practice has taught me all this, and I hope it will teach you too. A sense of inner comfort, contentment, optimism, and calmness is what regular practice leads to.

I am sure that depression will be very difficult to manifest in such a state of mind and feelings.

I started meditating in the hope that the practice would help me eliminate depression and panic attacks. But she gave me immeasurably more than just getting rid of despondency and anxiety! I realized my weaknesses and shortcomings, began to work on myself, strengthened my willpower, became more sociable and cheerful, and gained control over my desires and emotions.

Attention! Meditation does not have an instant effect! Depression won't go away! Only regular, long-term practice (preferably under the supervision of a psychotherapist) can help you!

Depression may worsen in the first weeks of the practice. This is fine. Some antidepressants have a similar effect when a person first starts taking them. If the unpleasant effect does not go away for a long time with continued practice, meditate less or stop meditating altogether.

In order to get rid of depression with the help of meditation, it is not enough just to sit, meditate and wait for depression to pass by itself. Meditation is not an end in itself, it is just a tool. About how to use this tool correctly to cope with depression and not harm yourself, I describe in the article. If you want to start meditating, This article is a must read for you!

Strengthen your body

The cause of depression may not only be in the psychological aspects of your personality. Your mental state is highly dependent on your physical health. You are unlikely to get rid of despondency if you often drink alcohol, smoke, chronically lack sleep and lead a sedentary lifestyle.

Alcohol and other drugs (including antidepressants) provide only temporary relief, but in the long run they only aggravate the situation and increase the chance of further development of depression. And .

Physical activity, sports exercises not only strengthen your body and increase physical tone, but also improve your mood, relieve fatigue and stress. Sport is a natural antidepressant. Sport allows you to raise the level of endorphins (“hormones of happiness”) in your brain, causing joy and euphoria.

This way to cheer up does not have side effects in the form of depression, insomnia and decreased sexual function, like many antidepressants. A side effect of sports as a means of raising the mood is a healthy body.

If you are not into sports yet, then start doing at least exercises in the morning and light jogging. If running is still hard for you, take long walks in the fresh air. Notice how short exercise and walks boost your mood and improve your overall well-being. Track this effect, feel it, and remember it so that your brain associates the feeling of pleasure with useful activities, like sports.

I am sure that yoga classes are great help to cope with mental blues, besides, they are very useful for your body. Try it!

Lack of vitamins, junk food can also greatly affect your psychological state, so try to eat right: visit fast food less often, eat less rubbish like sausages or chips.

Develop willpower

The key to successful recovery from depression is the development of willpower. Without willpower, you cannot. Instead of jogging, you will be left to grieve at home. Instead of practicing meditation regularly, you will choose an easier way: go to the doctor and ask him to write you another pill.

Without willpower, you won’t be able to pull yourself together and say to yourself: “let me feel bad and don’t want to do anything, but I’ll still get out of bed, wipe this suffering mine from my face and do what will help me get rid of depression forever !"

Depression is fueled by your lack of will, weakness and laziness. On these qualities, it grows and grows stronger by leaps and bounds! If you can't say no to your weaknesses, if you can't control yourself when you feel like complaining about life, if you can't force yourself to forget your gloom when you have to work, then it will be difficult for you to eradicate depression.

When I began to actively fight depression (for a long time I did not make any active attempts to fight), I discovered one remarkable property of willpower.

Sometimes I lay and suffered from another bout of blues: I didn’t want to do anything, I only wanted to whine and complain. At one point, I realized what to do. I realized that you can’t go on about these desires, but you need to do the opposite! If, because of despondency, you want to lie down and complain, you need to get up and do something, for example, clean the house, do other things. If you want to complain about the life of a friend or just infect him with your despondency, then instead you need to stretch a smile on your face and say something good, pleasant!

It's not easy at first. There is a very strong resistance, as if you are going against the wind of incredible strength, which blows your body in the opposite direction to the movement. But as soon as this resistance is overcome, a wonderful relief appears, even some kind of triumph! A triumph of willpower! Fear and despondency recede! You feel power and control over the situation!

Willpower is one of the most effective tools that allows you to achieve great success in the fight against depression and panic attacks and other types of blues.

That is why the effect often disappears with the end of taking antidepressants - the disease returns again. And why shouldn’t he come back if you haven’t learned anything, if you haven’t increased your mental immunity, if you haven’t eliminated the very prerequisites for the onset of depression, but only struggled with the symptoms?

If you are weak, prone to anxiety and worries, do not know how to control your feelings, then pills will not cure you of this! You will remain the same, and with it there will be a risk of another blues.

Strengthen the nervous system, learn to relax

This can be attributed to physical health, but it’s better to write about it in a separate paragraph. Anxiety, nervousness, irritability are all prerequisites for depression. In addition to physical healing procedures that strengthen the nervous system, learn to contain and control nervousness.

Learn stress management and relaxation techniques.

Learn to control your emotions

Negative emotions can also serve as a source of discouragement. Anger, envy, irritation, hatred, pathology - all this poisons your personality, making it more prone to despondency. Learn to control yourself and get rid of negative experiences.

Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself

Stop complaining about life! Stop telling your friends how unhappy you are - they have enough problems of their own. It only poisons your mood and sets you on a tone of self-pity. Try to focus on the positive aspects of life. There are people whose life is much harder than yours. There are those who live in conditions of constant danger to life, deprivation and hunger.

I assure you that if you have enough food, water, housing and some health, then this is almost all you need to be happy! Learn to be happy with what is, and not be sad about what is not!

Train yourself to endure the blues and heartache, do not identify yourself with this state. Act and behave as if it is not there, forget about it, do not pay attention to it, do not let it take possession of you. This state is simply a chain of chemical reactions that take place in your brain. And it is in your power to control this state.

If you cry and complain, constantly thinking about how unhappy you are because of depression, then you will only increase your ailment. After all, depression is not only a state of your body, it is also all your experiences associated with it. The disease itself is not so scary when you begin to suffer because of it and wrap your anxieties, unhappy thoughts and fears on top of it!

Even a common cold with a temperature is easier if you do not lose heart, do not whine and wait for recovery. Treat depression like a cold. Be patient, this is just a temporary state of mind. Things around are not so terrible, the situation is not so hopeless. The fact that everything is bad makes you think of an ailment - do not succumb to this!

Get rid of depression - improve external living conditions

I have already written about how important it is to work on yourself and change your outlook on things in order to stop feeling blues. But, our external conditions of existence can also affect your psychological state. True, these conditions are not as important as many of you used to think. What matters is what's inside. And so that you do not forget about it, I will remind you of this in each of the points that I will list below.

Create comfortable living conditions

If many people live in one small room, then this can cause feelings of psychological discomfort. And it's not even about the people themselves, but about their number. No matter how good relations in a team or family are, tightness, lack of solitude can greatly spoil the mood and interfere with a good rest.

If you have the opportunity, move to a larger room, move from your parents to a separate apartment (or cottage). Let this apartment be small and located far away, but housing will be more comfortable if you live, say, with one wife than with your wife and parents.

Probably, those of you who have housing problems will now think to themselves: “Oh, that's it! That's why I'm unhappy!" No, that's not the only reason.

Even in the absence of comfortable housing, you can find your happiness! It's also up to you. If you do not yet have the opportunity to change your living circumstances, then work on yourself, develop your qualities, this will help you endure adverse life circumstances more steadfastly.

Even if you have your own living space, create coziness and comfort conditions there. Tidy up the house, get a pet if you don't have one. Better cat. Better yet, two cats. Or a cat and a dog.

An animal won’t make you happy right away, but a four-legged friend helps relieve stress, brightens up loneliness and improves your mood.

Find the right job

Don't like your job? Change her! Don't like working at all? Create your business and organize it in such a way that it does not take much time and effort! Think about what you want from life. Maybe it's time to start moving towards something, and not sit and passively contemplate how nothing changes year after year, and all your dreams melt like ice in the sun?

If you find your life purpose and start moving towards it, it will fill your life with meaning and give you the joy of existence. After all, some way will open for you, you will stop living without any purpose! The lack of meaning in life and the collapse of hopes can provoke despondency.

What is stopping you from moving towards your dreams? Most likely, only your internal limitations: laziness, fear and doubt. Start slowly realizing your wildest desires. Learn, read, communicate with people, learn about all the possibilities that exist in this world.

Working 5/2 in a job you don't like, as allegedly "everyone" does, is not the only viable alternative. There are many other opportunities, you just need to learn about them, and not sit back and wait for these opportunities to find you. Move and learn new things, explore different options, make plans.

But it's not just about work.

Even doing activities that do not bring pleasure, you can find your happiness!

But still, you need to strive for the best! So start looking for new opportunities!

Update: Let me explain the above statement a bit. Lack of purpose is not always one of the causes of depression. It's more of a consequence. Therefore, finding and finding a purpose is not always a panacea for depression. It is difficult when nothing pleases you, nothing inspires you. A chronically depressed person is not inspired by opportunities to improve his life in some way. Everything is equally bad for him.

To find your goal, you need to work on yourself, meditate, achieve at least some kind of internal balance. You don't have to start by trying to find a stimulus when you're feeling down and not attracted to anything. Start with yourself. Purpose and incentive are secondary.

Find the right life partner

Look for a way out of your loneliness. Find the right pair for you. I cannot teach you how to look for a suitable partner, how to decide on an acquaintance - all this is the topic of separate articles. The only thing I can advise is to choose such a person who will be strong, balanced, balanced and without unnecessary cockroaches in the head.

If you are a subtle, sensitive nature, prone to feelings, then you do not need to meet a person of the same character! Maybe he will be close to you in spirit, but you will not learn anything from him, just like he from you. His and your shortcomings will develop within your union.

It's kind of like incestuous marriages. When people who are in kinship ties give birth to offspring, then it turns out to be weak and defective, as it inherits the weaknesses and defects of the father and mother. But people who are not relatives are much more likely to have healthy children.

Therefore, you do not need to choose a person with the same shortcomings as you. Your union will inherit your weaknesses and will be fragile and short-lived and will become a source of new suffering.

But don't forget that even in loneliness you can find your happiness!

Get out into nature more often

I recommend to those who suffer from depression a calm, measured rest. It is better to relax in quiet places than to wallow in the revelry of a noisy resort. If you just try to distract yourself from depression through unbridled fun, parties and alcohol, it will not do any good, but only harm.

Learn to enjoy nature and peace, walk in parks and forests, go to the country. Stay alone with yourself more often, try to understand yourself, listen to yourself! Fresh air, peace and quiet work wonders!

But, do not forget that even in a noisy city you can be happy!

Final remarks

As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done. You can't get away with pills alone. If you decide to take antidepressants, then combine them with other therapies that I described above. Meditate every day, develop willpower, learn a positive outlook on things, go in for sports. I can't imagine how you can get rid of depression without changing yourself!

Approximately 30% of the 70% of those who read this article to the end will heed the advice and begin to follow my recommendations. The rest will become lazy, they will think that my advice does not suit them, because I do not know their grief, their deep existential troubles and, therefore, I cannot help them in any way, and meditation and yoga are generally some kind of shamanism.

Some of these people may even agree with me, think “yes, it’s all right that Nikolai writes.” But things will not go beyond this tacit consent, because what I advise requires patience and diligence. Agreeing with my statements will not prevent someone from running to the doctor for pills, simply because it is the easiest and most effortless.

5-10% out of 30% will methodically follow my advice, actively fight depression, go in for sports, yoga and meditation. The remaining 20% ​​go to a couple of workouts, try to meditate and immediately quit it, seeing that these remedies did not bring instant relief and are difficult to come by. Maybe they will start resorting to pills and alcohol or just continue to suffer.

These 5-10% of persistent and patient people, after some time, will feel that their condition has become better. Not only will depression go away, but they will see improvement in other areas of their lives. Volitional qualities will increase, communication with other people will become easier, the body will gain strength and health, and the mind will become calmer.

For some of these people, depression will go away forever, the other part will learn to control and tolerate it, the symptoms will become less intense, the disorder will begin to appear less often, and the fear of new attacks will pass.

I have given this approximate forecast not to steal your hope. I did this to show that everything is in your hands, and not in the hands of the doctor who treats you, not in the hands of the person who writes hopeful articles, not in the hands of the pharmacists who develop your drugs.

It depends on you whether you will suffer or defeat your sworn enemy - depression. Will you resist or just passively resign yourself to fate. Nobody can help you unless you want to.

Neither I nor anyone else can force you to do something, I can only guide and give advice, everything else is in your hands! Forward! Take action!

Attention! This article does not call for refusing the help of a qualified specialist! Some people can get rid of it on their own, but not all. If you are experiencing severe symptoms of depression, then I recommend that you do not delay and go to a good psychotherapist as soon as possible, a doctor who will not only prescribe drugs (if necessary), but will also conduct therapy sessions with you!

What should I do to get rid of depression on my own? In what cases can you do without the help of specialists and taking antidepressants?

Good afternoon friends! Dmitry Shaposhnikov is in touch with you.

If this disease has touched you or your loved ones, know that you are not alone. Remember that people who managed to overcome depression acted. Fortunately, as medical science shows, depression usually responds well to treatment.

Read our article on how to cope with depression on your own without pills and doctors.

1. Treat depression with pills and doctors or get rid of depression on your own?

Tip 9. Do something nice for other people selflessly - show love

You will be surprised, but one way to overcome your own depression is to help others. Show love and care to those who need it, and you will see how your own condition changes.

Selfless help to others helps not only to take your mind off your own problems, but also makes the world a better place. There is always a place for a good deed: just think about which of your relatives, friends and acquaintances need help, and provide them with this help.

There are many inspiring films that sow good, eternal and reasonable.

You can choose from the following ribbons:

• "Until I played in the box";
• "Medicine";
• "Knockdown";
• "In the wild";
• "Forrest Gump";
• "Family man";
• "Jerry Maguire";
• "New Cinema Paradiso";
• "Knockin 'on Heaven";
• "1+1";
• "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and others.

If the condition does not improve, see a doctor

If no improvement, no matter what you do, is not planned, it remains to seek professional help. Modern medicine quite successfully copes with depressive states, even long and protracted ones. Antidepressants and psychotherapy are not at all scary and very effective.

For clarity, let's combine all the tips in a single table:

№	Treatment method	Implementation	Features and nuances
1	Taking responsibility	Look for a way out in your own change	Suitable for those who tend to blame others for their misfortunes
2	Using affirmations	Repetition of statements that affect the subconscious	Selected on an individual basis
3	Avoidance of privacy	Connect with people, attend crowded events	Chat with people without alcohol stimulation
4	Willingness to accept help from others	Let relatives and friends take part in your destiny	Be sure to thank people for their help.
5	Appeal to the Spiritual	Read sacred texts, works of great philosophers	Use the practical aspects of the teachings - prayer and meditation
6	Complete sobriety	Avoid alcohol and drugs	You can switch to a rational diet along the way
7	Compliance with the daily routine	Go to bed on time, get up on time, get enough sleep	The earlier you go to bed and the earlier you get up, the better.
8	Physical activity	Go in for sports, physical work, walk in nature	Don't overdo it at the gym
9	Selfless service to others	Give sincere help to those who need it	Caring for others changes how you feel about yourself
10	Watching a motivational movie	Watching Inspiring Movies	Inspired by examples of people passing life's trials with honor

Using at least some of these rules in your life, you are guaranteed to change your condition for the better and get out of depression on your own.

3. Conclusion

Depression is certainly an extremely unproductive, negative and undesirable condition, which is unwise and dangerous to ignore. But you should not be afraid of depression either: the disease is quite amenable to therapy, even on its own.

Meet - Nick Vuychich (a man who was born without arms and legs, and now lives a full and happy life):

That's all, friends, smile more often!

Write your observations, thoughts on this topic and personal methods of defeating depression in the comments! And rate our article!

Depression is accompanied by a number of characteristic symptoms - unwillingness to live, loss of interest in the outside world, fatigue and many others. If you have found signs of a depressive mood in yourself, then you need to start fighting this problem as soon as possible.

What is depression

Depression is a mental illness that is accompanied by a mood disorder.

Types of mental disorder

Mental disorders are very diverse and most often young and old people are exposed to completely different types of them. Let's list some of them.

In the elderly:

• Paranoia;
• Marasmus;
• Alzheimer's disease.

For young people:

• Anorexia;
• deep depression;
• Drancorexia;
• bulimia;
• Neurosis;
• Hysteria.

Symptoms and signs of depression

1. Depression. Most often you have a very bad mood, and this has been going on for more than a week. However, often there are no special reasons for such well-being.

2. Apathy. You have lost interest in the activities that could seriously captivate you before. You do not strive for new knowledge and are indifferent to almost everything that happens around you.

3. Closure. You prefer to communicate with other people as little as possible, and if possible, completely avoid their company.

4. Anxiety. This feeling accompanies you quite often, and, as a rule, you are unable to determine its nature.

5. Thoughts about death. Periodically, you think that nothing in the world would have changed if you had passed away. And in general, even close people, in your opinion, would not be very worried about your death.

6. Changes in appetite. You started to eat differently than it was recently, and this affects your weight. Now you eat very little, or vice versa - "sweep" everything that you see in the refrigerator. Most often, you do not control this process - you simply forget about food or do not even notice how you regularly chew something.

7. Sleep disturbance. There can also be two extremes here - you either suffer from insomnia and cannot fall asleep for a long time, or you fall into a deep sleep, which usually lasts the bulk of the day.

8. Self-doubt. You think that you look bad, uninteresting, not charming, or simply stupid.

9. Tearfulness. An accidentally dropped careless word can bring you to tears. However, from time to time you cry even without someone's "intervention", but from general impotence.

Causes of depression

1. Parting with a loved one. Perhaps some time ago you experienced significant stress after breaking up with a person with whom you had a serious relationship or marriage. It is possible that right during the period of parting you kept yourself in control, but suppressed emotions still make themselves felt.

2. Non-reciprocal love. For a long time you tried to achieve the location and reciprocity of the person you were in love with, but in the end you realized that all your attempts do not lead to a positive result.

3. Death of a loved one. You have experienced a serious emotional upheaval after a loved one passed away.

4. Problems in learning. You are a student, and you have problems with the assimilation of the material, many gaps, difficulties in communicating with other students or teachers. Studying causes you more negative emotions than positive ones.

5. Problems in the professional sphere. You feel that you are not being fulfilled in your profession properly. Perhaps you doubt the correctness of the chosen path, or you don’t know at all what type of activity suits you.

6. Financial difficulties. You have debts, you just got out of them, or you just barely have enough money, and most often you are constantly forced to limit yourself by denying what you want.

7. Health problems. Perhaps you have experienced the loss of a child or experienced some serious illness. Also, we can talk about ailments that have appeared in a loved one.

Family troubles. It is difficult for you to find a common language with the second half, parents, children or other close relatives.

in mild form

Accompanied by mood swings. Nevertheless, you manage to pull yourself together when necessary - behave at ease in society, perform your daily duties and the like.

In running form

Accompanied by complete apathy to everything that happens, nervous breakdowns. A person physically cannot do the usual things and he will not be able to hide his condition. Suicidal thoughts may appear.

Relationship between depression and stress

Stress and depression are directly related to each other, and very often one does not exist without the other. As you know, a stressful state, which can be caused by many factors, is accompanied by nervous exhaustion. Negative emotions that have been experienced for a long period, as a rule, lead to depression. An exception may be very stress-resistant people who can not take into account many negative factors.

To prevent stress from turning into depression

If you understand that you are faced with a stressful situation, but do not want this to lead to a depressive state, follow some rules that will help you get out of this situation with the least emotional loss.

• Avoid communicating with people who cause you negative emotions or try to start topics that are unpleasant for you. In dealing with others, also avoid excessive complaining.
• Follow the correct daily routine. Try to fall asleep no later than ten or eleven o'clock in the evening, and wake up before eight in the morning. Don't ignore meals.
• Don't forget about rest. It is important for you to receive positive emotions. Even if you are busy with work, set aside time for communication with loved ones and for entertainment that interests you. Find a way to avoid overwork. If you have too much work, then you need to find a way to get rid of part of the duties or change the scope of activity - overwork can seriously undermine your health.
• Walk outdoors. Even if you can’t find much time to meet with friends, then you have to find half an hour a day for a leisurely walk in the fresh air - alone, with a loved one or walking the dog.

How to cure depression quickly

Serious depression cannot be beaten very quickly, but in general, if you start fighting it right now, you will start living a completely different life in a few weeks.

Treating depression on your own at home

• Switch to loved ones. Recently, you have been so immersed in thoughts about your own state that you have begun to forget that there are people who need your support and attention and who want to see you in the same state. Start making time for your loved ones - go to interesting events together, spend evenings in a cozy circle over tea and homemade cakes, watch and discuss films together and the like.
• Treat yourself with gifts. Surely, you often deny yourself any pleasant purchases, justifying this by saying that the thing you like is “not really needed” by you, or by the fact that you already “have something to do with money”. You need to periodically still make exceptions, acquiring things that can sincerely please you.
• Get bright emotions. Often depression becomes a companion of a monotonous lifestyle. Perhaps this situation has been going on for a long time, and it was he who caused your condition, but it could be otherwise - the monotony and unwillingness to enrich life with new events appeared after some stress. Whatever it is, it needs to change. Every week, the city hosts many fascinating events - horseback riding, film screenings, exhibitions, master classes and much more. Let yourself be a part of some exciting event
• Travel. Some people who have suffered from depression admit that only one trip helped them get rid of this problem. Perhaps you once dreamed of visiting a certain city, but then discarded this thought. It is possible that travel before was not at all within the scope of your interests. Be that as it may, you can discover many wonderful places and experience amazing emotions by choosing a tour of your choice.

How to get rid of severe and prolonged depression

If depression lasts for more than a year, and you cannot force yourself to follow any recommendations, then you need to make an appointment with a psychotherapist. Often, people in this state cannot physically use this advice, because you need to look for a specialist, call the clinic, make an appointment, and the like. Share your problem with a loved one, and ask for help - let him find a psychotherapist for you, arrange a meeting and accompany him to him.

How to overcome the disease once and for all

By following the above tips, you can get rid of depression forever. However, since such a nuisance has already happened to you, then you need to be aware that you are in a kind of “risk zone”, and another serious stress can plunge you into a depressed state again. To prevent this from happening, apply these recommendations not only when you get out of depression, but also later in your daily life.

Can you die from depression?

Depression by itself is not fatal. That is, apathy, decreased ability to work, tearfulness and other symptoms cannot lead to the death of a person, but there is another problem.

A depressed person thinks very pessimistically. He considers himself useless, everywhere superfluous and inappropriate. The longer and deeper the depression, the more often the patient may think that it would be good to end all suffering in one fell swoop and begin to see his salvation in suicide. This happens only with a very severe form of depression, and in order to get out of it, you need serious help from loved ones or specialists.

What is best for depression

1. If you feel that your emotional state leaves much to be desired, then you need to switch yourself to other emotions. The fastest way to do this is simply by calling a person with whom you enjoy talking. Even if you don't feel like dialing someone's number right now, do it!

2. If your depressed state does not have a special reason, and does not last for several days, but has arisen only today, then a cup of delicious strong tea can help you! Choose a chamomile and linden drink. Drink it not on the run - find a calm and quiet place where you can take your time to drink calming tea and think about something good in solitude.

3. Physical labor or sports can in no small measure relieve you of depression, because your energy will be directed in a completely different direction. And in general, it has long been known that muscle activity provokes the release of endorphins into the human blood, which are also called "hormones of happiness."

How to be treated with antidepressants

If you decide to improve your condition by taking antidepressants, keep in mind that this will not completely cure your depression. You will be able to suppress the symptoms of the disease for some period, but not get rid of it. Only a specialist can set the dosage of drugs, in no case do it yourself, otherwise this approach can only harm you.

If you want to get rid of depression, do not rely only on medicine, because you have been overcome by "mental illness". Communicate more often with loved ones, confidentially telling them about your problem.

Therapy and psychotherapy

Many underestimate the help of psychotherapy, but this industry is actively developing. Specialists use the following types of psychotherapy: cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic and interpersonal. The first will help correct your thinking from negative to positive, the second will help resolve internal conflicts, and the last will make it clear what has become the main source of the problem for you.

As you can see, one visit to a psychotherapist is able to give you a complete understanding of your condition and indicate the guidelines by which you can get out of it.

For some, family or group therapy can help, and you may find it easier to solve a problem based on positive examples from others or solving family problems from the inside.

Prevention of depression in the future

To prevent depression from returning, try to limit yourself from the factors that cause it. Many people involved in charity or just an interesting hobby are less prone to depression than others. Find a job that you like and really fascinate, and in the end it will always be able to distract you from unhappy thoughts.

Depression and emotional overload have become an integral part of our lives. The psychological discomfort that stress brings us often leads to depression, chronic fatigue and often leads to the development of serious diseases.

Depression is a mental condition accompanied by mood disorders that cause a person to feel depressed. Depression is characterized by various symptoms, both physiological and mental, which can have varying degrees of severity.

Depression

Unfortunately, this concept has firmly entered our lives. The name of the disease is derived from the Latin word deprimo, which means “to crush”, “suppress”. Depression is becoming the scourge of our time. Too many stress factors in our life affect a person, which sometimes leads him to a state where melancholy, apathy and detachment rolls in, I don’t want to communicate, nothing brings joy and pleasure, sleep and appetite are disturbed. Many attribute this condition to accumulated fatigue, a busy rhythm of life, stress, and believe that simply resting is enough to eliminate symptoms. And it really often helps at the beginning of the process.

But it must be remembered that such symptoms should not be neglected if they are observed for two weeks or longer, otherwise, with the progression of the condition, a severe neuropsychiatric illness may develop - deep depression. It will be impossible to cope with it in "home conditions".

Officially, according to statistics, depression occurs in 15% of women and 10% of men, but most often, even in moderate severity, people do not go to the doctor with this symptom. Although if you conduct a survey, you will rarely meet someone who would not experience this state.

The sooner you take action, the sooner you will cope with depressive moods, preventing the disease from developing. And traditional medicine has plenty of funds for this.

Depression is a disease of the soul. It most commonly affects the elderly and women in their 30s and 40s. Depression usually manifests itself in states of deep depression. Signs of depression can appear in people of different ages and status. People strive for a social position, they want to be successful, respectable. If they fail, they fail to achieve their goals, a person may fall into despair, it is hard to experience failure, and as a result, depression develops.

Severe psychological trauma can also lead to a state of depression - the loss of a loved one, the breakup of a family, a serious illness. Such shocks can cause various disorders of the psychological state, but they have one physiological reason - a lack of endorphins in the body. This hormone is responsible for good mood, feeling of comfort and quality of life.

According to the latest research, depressive states can be caused by metabolic or hormonal disorders, deposits of heavy metals in the brain, as well as the influence of radiation (terrestrial, technical, cosmic).

But if you're just in a bad mood, don't rush to diagnose yourself with depression. Depression is not just a bad mood, but a whole range of negative emotional states lasting more than two weeks: bad mood, longing and despair; lack of interest and pleasure in familiar things; anxiety and irritation, perhaps guilt, a pessimistic view of the future, self-doubt, apathy, isolation, insomnia, a change in appetite, and so on.

What happens in the body during depression?

What is this strange disease or condition - depression? What happens in the body? Why do headaches appear in parallel with mood changes?

In fact, depression is a way of protecting the brain from overexcitation, a kind of response of the body to stress. But a negative state of mind deprives a person of initiative, and he simply does not have the strength to eliminate the causes of depression. The circle closes, the disease has to be seriously treated, without the help of strangers, the patient cannot cope with the disease that paralyzes the will. The state of internal discomfort is often accompanied by a throbbing headache.

Changes in the brain.

It is known that during depression there is a change in the function of several brain neurotransmitters and their receptors.

Previously, most researchers focused their attention on serotonin and norepinephrine. There was even a hypothesis that depression is the result of insufficient activity of these particular substances. It has now been established that this assumption is very simplistic and that many other neurotransmitters are likely to be involved in the development of depression.

Who suffers from depression?

In any arbitrary period of time, approximately 10-15% of the population of any country suffers from moderate degression, and 2-3% from a severe form of this condition. Every year, about 10% of the population experience a depressive disorder, although most cases of the disease remain undetected.

Usually depression develops around the age of 30, women suffer twice as often as men. Other important factors contributing to the development of depression include living in big cities, poverty, poor education, and loneliness.

Another group of people with an increased predisposition to depression is young mothers. In the first six weeks after childbirth, about 10-15% of women fall into a depression that requires medical attention.

Causes of depression

This condition can develop gradually, under the influence of chronic stress, then it is easier to stop it in time, but it can also come on suddenly, with a strong shock: loss of a loved one, unexpected dismissal from your favorite job, serious illness, break in family relationships, financial collapse , a major failure in the professional field, etc.

The psychological causes of depression, in addition to stress, can be unforgotten childhood fears and experiences and psychological trauma. Atherosclerosis of the vessels worsens the blood supply to the brain, therefore, signs of a depressive state in the elderly appear more often. Depression is one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, various forms of anemia, infectious diseases, a consequence of hormonal changes in the body after childbirth or as a result of menopause. Symptoms of depression also appear on the background of long-term use of painkillers, drugs for the treatment of heart and hypertension.

It provokes the occurrence of depression and the dark season - due to a lack of ultraviolet radiation and just bright light.

Psychiatrists have tried many times to develop criteria to distinguish explainable bouts of depression caused by external factors, such as traumatic life events (reactive or neurotic depression), from those that occur spontaneously and are more dependent on the internal state of a particular person (endogenous depression). Although the idea of ​​classifying depression on this basis seems quite tempting, initial assumptions that reactive depression is less severe and forms a separate type of illness are not always confirmed.

There is reason to believe that in each individual case, the development of depression is due to a certain combination of various internal and external factors.

Genetic factors play an important role (especially in the case of bipolar disorder), as well as hormonal changes such as elevated cortisol levels and thyroid dysfunction.

Adverse events, especially those associated with the loss of loved ones or a serious illness, can also serve as a trigger for a bout of depression. The internal vulnerability of a person to such events may increase under the influence of certain life circumstances. This may be, for example, a bad relationship between parents or their divorce, which a person saw in childhood, lack of work, poverty or low self-esteem.

Many factors that increase a person's vulnerability to depression include lack of social support and the inability to maintain close relationships with others.

What is depression?

Attacks of depression can be solitary or recurrent (with intermittent periods of normal mood).

In both of these cases, we are talking about unipolar depression, since the change in mood occurs only in one direction. Some people, however, suffer from depression as part of a manic-depressive syndrome; this kind of disease is called bipolar affective disorder. It is characterized by alternating manic episodes and periods of depression. Although most of the symptoms of unipolar depression are observed in bipolar depression, it is assumed that there are certain differences between these diseases.

Classification of depression.

In addition to differentiating between unipolar and bipolar depression, the classification of this disorder is based on its severity, the presence or absence of relapses, and psychotic symptoms. Very rarely, depression is so severe that a person loses a sense of reality and suffers from delusions and hallucinations.

mild depression.

Anxiety, fear and obsessions are especially characteristic of patients suffering from an attack of mild depression. In fact, mild depression is not just a less severe form of the disease, as the name might suggest, but a very special type of condition. Its other distinguishing features are a tendency to develop initial insomnia (difficulty falling asleep followed by too much morning sleep), an increase in appetite, and the presence of some somatic manifestations. The pattern of mood changes during the day can vary from patient to patient, usually characterized by worsening in the evening.

Psychotic depression.

Timely detection of symptoms of psychotic depression is extremely important, as it is a very severe form of the disease, in which a person begins to lose a sense of reality. The symptoms of this type of depression are usually related to the patient's mood: delusions often associated with illness, death, punishment, guilt, or persecution; less often - hallucinations, usually auditory. The latter are usually extremely unpleasant and disturbing - for example, the patient hears a voice that accuses him of something, calls for suicide, or confirms a person's low self-esteem.

A common symptom of mild and psychotic depression is insomnia. Chronic lack of sleep can exacerbate the symptoms of chronic fatigue.

Symptoms of depression.

Before proceeding with the provision of medical care, it is necessary to find out what form of depression the patient suffers from, and only then try to get rid of it. According to the type of disease, you can choose the appropriate method of treatment.

Diagnosing depression seems at first glance to be a very simple task, but in practice, making a diagnosis can cause significant difficulties.

The main symptoms of depression are persistent depressed mood, anhedonia (loss of pleasure from previously enjoyable activities), loss of interest and motivation in life. Depression also causes marked changes in somatic functions, thinking, and behavior.

It is important to distinguish between depression and ordinary sadness, which is a normal response to bad news or major life challenges, such as the loss of a loved one or a serious illness. To confirm the diagnosis of depression, in addition to depression, other characteristic symptoms of this disorder must also be observed to some extent. The severity and duration of periods of depression are also of great importance in the diagnosis of depression.

General stress or anxiety often causes a person to be in a bad mood. However, this does not automatically mean the presence of depression.

Often accompanying signs of depression are difficulty in digestion, diarrhea or constipation, complications in breathing, palpitations, and circulatory disorders.

somatic manifestations.

Somatic and somatovegetative disorders are especially pronounced during severe depression.

These include: sleep disturbances, usually accompanied by early awakening, loss of appetite, weight loss, decreased sexual desire, constant fatigue, headaches and muscle pain, and psychomotor disorders - slowing down of movements, speech, thoughts, or, in rare cases, agitation (arousal ).

The mood is often depressed in the morning and rises during the day. With very severe life-threatening depression, a person completely refuses to eat or even drink.

mental manifestations.

Depressed people have difficulty imagining the future and often suffer from obsessive thoughts of suicide or self-harm.

There may be difficulty concentrating and memory impairment; in some cases, especially in the elderly, these disturbances are so severe that depression can hardly be distinguished from senile dementia. Other symptoms of depression include irrational fear, anxiety, phobias, obsessions, irritability, agitation, and dysphoria.

behavioral symptoms.

Depression reduces a person's ability to function normally in everyday life, both socially and at work. A person may begin to avoid leaving the house, self-isolate, neglect themselves. People suffering from severe depression can be easily recognized by their facial expressions and characteristic manner of movement.

Depression should be distinguished from an adaptive response (a psychological response to life events such as being fired, divorced, or moving) that often results in a person experiencing mixed feelings of anxiety and depression. However, none of these features are strong enough to warrant a clear diagnosis of anxiety or depression. In addition, with an adaptive reaction, I am absent! somatic manifestations accompanying depression.

Personality disorder.

Borderline personality disorder is a type of mental disorder characterized by

lifelong inadequate patterns of behavior, relationships and knowledge that cause suffering to the patient or others.

Its hallmark is emotional instability. People with borderline personality disorder typically complain about not enjoying life, and also suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts.

It is very difficult to distinguish a person whose bad mood is a consequence of abnormal personality traits from a patient suffering from a pagan disorder, on which depression is superimposed. In fact, even attempting to make such a distinction can only oversimplify an extremely complex issue. In practice, a person who meets the criteria for borderline personality disorder and is clearly depressed is prescribed antidepressants.

It may be that some other illness is very similar in symptoms to depression.

Other disorders that are very difficult to distinguish clinically from depression include: generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic schizophrenia (the main symptom of this disease is a smoothing and dulling of emotions), hormonal disorders (Cushing's syndrome and an underactive thyroid gland), cancer , malnutrition and postviral asthenia syndrome.

Symptoms of depression should be distinguished from manifestations that may be due to thyroid dysfunction.

How to avoid depression?

Depression is a mental illness. It dictates behavior, paints the world in black colors, deprives the desire to live. Therefore, psychological support and prevention methods are so important in the fight against depression. It can be just a conversation with a psychologist, the beginning of any activity, even the simplest housework, communication with nature, with animals, with art - everything that can awaken love and joy. The road out of depression is not easy. Let's talk a little about what can really help get rid of it.

What leads to depression? What distorted attitudes of life allow the consciousness to fall into this terrible state? Knowing the causes will help many to avoid the disease.

In order not to have to treat depression, as well as for its prevention, it is important to realize that an adult does not need to work beyond his strength in order to be respected by his superiors, this is just a consequence of the psychological transfer of a child's way to earn the love of his parents.

It is necessary to learn to refuse a task if it is obvious that there is not enough strength to complete it.

As a protection against this disease, you need to have a source of joy in your life that will keep you from heavy thoughts and lead you out of a state of melancholy.

Bring pets at home, but from among your favorite ones. Cats are closer to someone, dogs to someone, and fish to someone. Engage in needlework, growing flowers, any hobby. In other words - animal therapy, art therapy, nature therapy - and the like.

Do yoga, run, any physical activity that releases endorphins. And your mood will be on top. All this will create protection against depression.

Learn to breathe with a smile!

A smile, even a mechanical one, can fight depression. It is noted that even just raising the corners of the mouth gives the effect of relieving depression. Well, when a smile comes from within, then complete harmony comes in the soul.

Breathing exercise with a smile looks like this:

1) close your eyes, imagine a flower of amazing beauty and aroma, rejoice and smile at it;

2) inhale this aroma deeply, filling the breath with an involuntarily arising smile of bliss. Hold this smile and feelings in yourself;

3) and now exhale and direct the smiling flow first to the heart, then to the head, then through all the vessels, then to the thyroid gland, because they are the first to suffer under any stress;

4) with each breath, try to make your smile widen, and with each exhalation, imagine how all the unsmiling particles leave the organs, cleansing them and filling them with energy, making you smile back;

5) open your eyes and try to keep the state of a smile in yourself for as long as possible.

Perform such breathing every morning and evening for 10 minutes - and you will not be afraid of depression, and your sleep will be healthy and strong.

We have already spoken about the benefits of breathing exercises for the nerves. You can use against depression all the remedies that are recommended for neurosis: gymnastics, massage, acupressure, water treatments, spa treatments - all this perfectly resists depression. Just keep your nervous system and everything will be fine!

Treatment for depression

During a period of depression, you need to consult a specialist, but you should not get too carried away with various antidepressants.

You can get rid of depression only with complex measures: lead a healthy lifestyle, find new interests, stop watching heavy films.

All types of water procedures are very effective: shower, sauna, bath, dousing and wiping with cold water. Before going to bed, it is advisable to take warm baths, adding pine needle extract or essential oils to the water. Acupuncture, massage (including acupressure), aromatherapy using tonic essential oils, soothing and tonic herbs, and some foods help to relieve depressive states. There are many folk methods of dealing with depression, we will talk about some in more detail.

The first and most important step in helping a depressed patient is to assess the severity of the illness and the patient's risk of self-neglect and suicidal thoughts.

Most people with depression are treated with antidepressants under the supervision of their GP. However, in some cases, you may need specialized mental health care, including psychotherapy and behavioral therapy, to get out of depression.

Referral to a psychiatrist for evaluation is necessary when there is doubt about the severity of the illness, a poor response to commonly used medications, or recurrent bouts of depression.

It is very important for the doctor to collect information about all the sharp improvements in mood, as well as bouts of depression. All predisposing factors, as well as the mechanisms and events that cause, exacerbate and maintain this disease, should also be considered. All this helps to determine the right path of treatment to prevent deterioration of the condition and subsequent relapses.

Medical treatment

In recent years, a step forward has been made in the history of the development of medical science in understanding the essence of depression. New antidepressant drugs have been developed, the effectiveness of which has been documented. Antidepressants are a specific, unique group of drugs. They are not tranquilizers, although they are often incorrectly placed in the same category as Valium or Librium, i.e. mild tranquilizers. Antidepressants in their chemical composition and purpose differ from tranquilizers. Antidepressant drugs do not contain narcotic drugs, they are not used to. Antidepressants are not "hyperstimulants" or "happy pills." But they relieve emotional pain and relieve many of the biological symptoms of depression, such as sleep disturbance and anhedonia.

Some people are strongly opposed to antidepressants. There is an opinion that you can not rely on a chemical product when it comes to emotional pain. Alcohol and some tranquilizers provide temporary relief, euphoria, or desensitization. This takes a person away from everyday difficulties for a short time. However, when a little later the effect of a glass or pill disappears, you are back to square one again. With drugs - antidepressants, the situation is different. Treatment with antidepressants produces lasting changes, returning your brain to a state of natural and normal functioning.

Although different types of antidepressants have different mechanisms of action on the brain, their overall effect is the same: they balance the functioning of neurotransmitters in the human brain, restoring harmony in its work. Antidepressants don't work quickly. In most cases, ten to twenty days pass before some improvement occurs in the patient's condition. It is this period that is necessary to begin the restoration of the biological function of the brain. During this time, patience and perseverance are needed.

Antidepressants are used to treat bouts of depression of all levels of severity. In general, the effectiveness of these drugs is quite high (60-70%). Taking antidepressants within 6 months after the first bout of depression has been cured can significantly reduce the risk of recurrence.

The most commonly used drugs belong to the group of tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (the latter group includes, for example, fluoxetine). These drugs are thought to act pharmacologically by acting on the synthesis of neurotransmitters and their receptors, although the exact mechanism of their action is still unclear.

Tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have side effects, but neither usually causes discomfort or intolerance. It is very important for the patient to know that although side effects may be felt soon after the start of treatment, the clinical effect of the drug occurs much later (after 2-6 weeks), so a certain persistence is necessary when taking it.

Combined treatment

Antidepressants can be used to treat depression on their own or in combination with other drugs, either with other antidepressants or with other types of drugs.

An example of a combined treatment for depression is the use of lithium to enhance the effects of antidepressants. This therapy can be used to treat depression that does not respond to antidepressant treatment alone. Lithium can be used for long-term treatment to prevent relapse in unipolar depression and to prevent both depression and mania in bipolar disorder.

For patients with recurrent seizures (especially if they have a family history of severe depression or develop early in life), long-term preventive treatment is indicated to reduce the risk of subsequent relapse.

Medications belonging to the group of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are widely used to treat depression. One of the most famous drugs in this group is fluoxetine.

Other therapies, cognitive therapy

In some cases, especially in mild cases, psychological counseling may be sufficient to overcome depression without the need for psychotherapy or medication.

The use of psychotherapy in the treatment of depression has a significant positive effect. The most studied method of this type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This type of therapy was originally used to treat only depression, but over time it has become more widely used.

In the short term, cognitive therapy is just as effective in treating depression as medications. Moreover, it may even be more effective as a preventive agent for disease recurrence. In practice, it is often used in combination with drug treatment.

It is important to emphasize that you can use the methods of cognitive therapy for the treatment of depression completely independently at home - this will not diminish the effect of them in any way.

Read more in our special article.

Treatment of severe forms of depression

Electroshock (electroconvulsive) therapy is used to treat the most severe forms of depression, especially when there is an emergency (for example, if a person refuses to drink or eat) or medications do not work or cannot be used.

In the case of psychotic depression, antipsychotic drugs can be used in the same doses as in the treatment of other psychotic diseases (for example, schizophrenia).

Herbs can help you get rid of depression

Herbal infusions and tinctures are the most common folk remedies for depression. In nature, there are herbs with very strong antidepressant properties. The most famous of them are St. John's wort, passionflower, Chinese magnolia vine, but there are others.

Many synthetic drugs are created as a chemical imitation of the active ingredients of these herbs.

Therefore, before rushing to medicines at the first signs of a decadent mood, you should turn to Mother Nature for help. We will now tell about the herbs that traditional medicine uses with great success to get rid of depression.

St. John's wort

The people gave this plant the terrible name "St. John's wort". Indeed, some animals that ate this grass often fell ill and died. But not all, but mostly albinos. It turned out that the cause of this phenomenon was the substance - hypericin contained in St. John's wort. It increases the sensitivity of white non-pigmented areas of animal skin to sunlight. It is especially dangerous for countries where the sun's rays are especially aggressive.

But thanks to hypericin, St. John's wort affects the level of serotonin in the central nervous system, which is responsible for a good mood. At the beginning of its administration, patients experience a slight calming effect, which then leads to an improvement in mood and inner comfort.

In Rus', St. John's wort has long been called grass from a hundred diseases, this plant was included in almost all collections.

St. John's wort has many healing properties for somatic diseases, but later scientists discovered and confirmed by research that this plant can also treat mental illness. It is a powerful natural antidepressant.

Studies have determined that the effect of St. John's wort extract was comparable to that of the antidepressants imipramine and amitriptyline, and there were much fewer side effects.

It was found that those who used St.

Now most doctors believe that St. John's wort should not be used for severe depression, but research refutes this opinion.

When patients with severe forms of depression were given high doses of St. John's wort, it produced the same effect as standard antidepressants.

Patients were divided into two groups: one group received an approximately double dose of St. John's wort, and the other received a high dose of the antidepressant Elavil. As a result, both drugs gave the same effect, only in the group where St. John's wort was taken, there were no side effects. However, the results were not widely publicized.

Regular use of St. John's wort relieves feelings of anxiety, fear, irritability, feelings of loneliness, fatigue.

In addition to everything, St. John's wort has a tonic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, diuretic, antispasmodic effect.

And St. John's wort improves lipid (fat) metabolism and serves as an excellent antioxidant, and therefore is indicated for the prevention of atherosclerosis, coronary heart and brain disease, heart attack and stroke, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.

Apart from increased sensitivity to sunlight, no side effects of this plant are known. Even with prolonged use, St. John's wort is well tolerated.

St. John's wort recipe:

for cooking, parts of the plant such as leaves and flowers are used. It is necessary to pour 1 teaspoon of dried flowers and St. John's wort with boiling water in a volume of 200 ml and let it brew for 10 minutes. It is necessary to drink healing tea 2-3 times a day for several months. For each dose, a fresh portion should be brewed. The manifestation of the action begins about a month after the start of taking the herbal decoction.

But remember that the plant is strong and it is required to strictly and accurately observe the doses and times of taking this natural cure for depression.

St. John's wort tea: 2 teaspoons topped with herbs, pour 1/4 liter of water and heat to a boil. Strain after a few minutes. Drink 2-3 cups of tea per day.

Treatment with this tea should be carried out systematically for several weeks.

St. John's wort tincture: 10 g of dried herb is poured into 50 g of 70% alcohol and infused for 10 days. After pressing, the tincture is ready for use.

Infusions and solutions using this plant have contraindications and require maximum caution when taking, so it is better to consult a doctor.

You can not use St. John's wort in combination with synthetic antidepressants, otherwise you can get the opposite effect.

Chinese Lemongrass.

Another powerful herb for depression is magnolia vine.

Chinese lemongrass perfectly copes with emotions, torments of the soul, insecurity, and also increases the mood in life.

Pharmacies sell an alcohol tincture of lemongrass berries, which is recommended for use in case of decreased efficiency, loss of strength, lethargic mood and other depressive deviations. The dosage is 20-30 drops 2 times a day. In especially severe cases, with very high workloads, increased emotionality, the allowable rate can be increased to 40 drops at a time.

"Cap Dimkov".

This method of treating depression was proposed by the Bulgarian healer Petr Dimkov (Dynov), and this recipe is popularly known as Dimkov's hats.

"Hat" has an anti-stress property, normalizes the work of the autonomic nervous system and metabolism, is used for vegetovascular dystonia, palpitations, stress, neurosis, depression.

The compress recipe is as follows: take 1-1.5 kg of raw potatoes, rinse it, peel it and grate it on a fine grater, you can grind it in a blender or through a meat grinder. In the resulting mass, add 50-75 g of raw milk and leave for 30 minutes. After that, squeeze the mass a little and put it on a cotton cloth with a layer of 1 cm, and then wrap your head. A fur hat is put on top, turned inside out with fur, you can tie it with a woolen scarf.

"Hat" is done for 1-1.5 hours before bedtime. Such procedures should be done 10, every other day. In the future - according to well-being. "Hat" can also be used to prevent the above diseases. In this case, a 4-time cycle of procedures is recommended, each course of which is carried out during the off-season. If desired, treatment can be carried out monthly.

How the tool works is anyone's guess. Here the point is also in the psychological mood, but also in the fact that for some time the head is, as it were, isolated from the outside world and heavy thoughts.

Dimkov's hat is a tool that allows you to relieve stress, normalize your heart rate, and even save a person from causeless longing and neurosis.

Why potatoes? Because potatoes are unique. If you apply gruel to a sore spot during edema, the edema disappears. Potato starch with diarrhea acts instantly and without fail. The chemistry of action, of course, is not known, but the effectiveness is unambiguous.

Passiflora, or passion flower.

There is such a healing plant - passionflower, which is popularly called the passion flower. And all because he is able to return passion to a person - the ability to feel, rejoice, love. In a state of depression, all feelings are dulled in a person, he seems to be in a shell of inaction and insensibility. And this amazing herb frees from such a shell, returning the colors of emotional experiences, the ability to rejoice and feel happiness.

In the ranking of sedatives, passionflower takes only third place, since it does not have a very pronounced effect, but it perfectly helps to cope with a feeling of growing anxiety. Anxiety is usually treated with medicated antidepressants, but passionflower works just as well, if not better.

Although the chemical composition of medicinal raw materials has not yet been fully studied, the healing properties of the plant were noticed and appreciated in antiquity. The Incas, for example, brewed a soothing tea out of it. Ready-made preparations of passionflower are very popular in Latin America, the USA and in Western Europe. First of all, the antidepressant properties of this plant are used. Passiflora preparations are included in many pharmacopoeias of the world as a natural tranquilizer.

The plant is used in the form of infusions, decoctions, teas, alcohol extracts, biologically active food supplements, and even in the form of soothing chewing gums. Passiflora is included in the composition of tinctures and fees for the nervous system: from neurosis and depression. It has a curative effect in nervous disorders, and above all in excitation and exhaustion. It is also an effective anticonvulsant.

Unfortunately, in pharmacies it is not very easy to find the actual plant or extract from it. More often it is found with chemical additives, which, perhaps, increases the strength of the impact, but reduces safety.

It is problematic to buy this plant in pharmacies in its pure form, but if possible, then prepare the medicine as follows: pour 1 teaspoon of herbal collection into 200 ml of boiling water. After 10 minutes of infusion, the solution must be filtered - and you can use it.

Passiflora is contraindicated in angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis of the vessels of the brain and heart. The effectiveness of passionflower tincture depends on its quantity. Doses should be selected individually, depending on the degree of nervous breakdown.

Myrtle.

If you begin to feel a sense of longing and loneliness, if you feel depressed, then try taking a bath with myrtle leaves and flowers. You can also add flowers to tea, and rub the leaves of peace with your hands.

It is useful to inhale the smell of myrtle, it not only perfectly balances the psyche, but also enlightens the mind, improves working capacity.

To calm your nerves, try putting dried myrtle in small bags and hang a few of them in your bedroom, car, or wherever you work.

Myrtle bath recipe. Mix 3-5 drops of mir-ta essential oil with 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sea salt, yogurt or cream and add to a bath with a water temperature of + 36-39 ° C.

It is also very effective to massage with myrtle oil - a wonderful remedy for getting rid of depression and neurosis. This procedure is carried out by preparing a mixture consisting of 15 g of base fatty oil (olive, jojoba, peach or avocado) and 4-6 drops of myrtle oil.

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