Depression can be characterized as a state of mind in which the patient feels melancholic, sad and with little desire to carry out activities of daily life, depression is associated with other feelings of frustration, abandonment and lack of love, mixed with melancholy and feeling loss.
Depression is normally characterized by remaining for prolonged periods of time, in which its intensity can vary, non-elaborate situations could cause a mild depression with long duration and low intensity. Depression can occur at any time in life, it is its duration that makes it pathological, which leads the person to become dysfunctional.
The symptoms that appear in depression are initially somatic symptoms due to some particular event (physical), which appear as a response to the stress suffered by the patient, according to the management that is given to this situation will be the development and evolution of The same, later there are cognitive distortions that lead to a wrong conception of the world and of who suffers it.
The diagnosis of depression is made under the presentation of five or more symptoms described in the DSM VR, (Manual of mental disorders revision 4., classifying it according to duration, severity and symptoms.
From the acute depressive episode to dysthymic disorders that have more to do with personality disorders.
The DSM-IV sets out the basic characteristics of the major depressive episode in this way:
A. For at least 14 days, almost daily presence of at least five of the following symptoms, including the 1. or 2. necessarily.
1. Depressed mood.
2. Decreased pleasure or interest in any activity.
3. Increase or decrease in weight / appetite.
4. Insomnia or hypersomnia.
5. Agitation or psychomotor slowdown.
6. Fatigue or loss of energy.
7. Excessive feelings of worthlessness or guilt.
8. Concentration or decision-making problems.
9. Recurring ideas of death or suicide.
B. Interference of symptoms with daily functioning.
C. Not due to medications, drugs, or a general medical condition (eg, hypothyroidism).
D. Not associated with the loss of a loved one that occurred less than 2 months ago (except in cases of marked deterioration in functioning)
Why do people get depressed?
There are three important aspects that seek to answer why some people are more vulnerable to suffering from certain situations, problems or pathologies throughout their lives. These factors are:
Predisposing: It refers to the genetic predisposition of people to suffer some pathology or develop some skill in life. This factor is inherited from our parents and is genetically encoded in DNA.
Determinant: This factor refers to the environment or environment in which the individual develops, the family, the school and the social circle that surrounds him, which gives him knowledge and coping strategies to live. This factor is learned, mediated by cognition (what we know) of the situations, (experiences), which becomes acquired learning.
Trigger: It refers to a precipitating event that acts as a trigger in the individual and generates a particular response to a certain situation. These events may include the death of a loved one, material losses, natural disasters, among others. It is there where the coping strategies that the individual has acquired throughout his life that are marked by the two previous aspects are known. From there arises the explanation why two people who were born to the same parents (siblings) act differently in life and when faced with similar situations.
In this way, some people find different ways to get ahead in adversity, others are resilient or others due to their own conditions (biological aspects) or knowledge (what they learned from their parents) decide to fall into depression in response to the difficult situation.
We must know what our structure is objectively, to look for the necessary tools to avoid falling into depression, or if it is too late, seek professional help. For this reason, it is vitally important to know the difference between the psychologist and the psychiatrist.
The Psychologist will help you to know your structure, identifying your strengths and weaknesses, if your depression is a hopelessness learned from the social environment, from your family and has passed through generations, it is time to use tools that identify at which point in your life they influenced these aspects and eliminate these feelings of sadness and desolation. If you have a biological disorder at the level of neurotransmitters and biochemical decompensation, you must regulate it with medication that the psychiatrist will provide. Alternating with psychological therapy that helps you receive the new life that will come to you.
Hence the importance of going to a suitable professional who identifies your situation, avoiding dependence on medication and always seeking to improve the quality of life.
