The keys to understanding depressive disorders

An overview of mood disorders, which can lead to a lot of discomfort.

Feeling depressed or presenting a set of depressive symptoms is normal in the face of certain to some negative events that people experience. It is a natural response motivated by the circumstances experienced by the person.

However, when sadness, discouragement or extreme apathy have an excessive duration without apparent cause is when we can say that one suffers from "depression".

This kind of mental alterations are complex, so in the following lines we will see several explanations that help us to understand the explanations that help to understand the Depressive Disorders..

What are depressive disorders?

Depression physically and mentally affects the individual's way of feeling and thinking, and may cause a desire to withdraw from family, work and friends. In addition, it can cause anxiety and other psychological disorders.

It is common to find in some patients' testimonies the loss of interest and the inability to enjoy usual activities, manifesting little motivation..

In addition, there are many patients who think that having depression is to stay in bed crying and not wanting anything, which is why they do not identify with this concept even though they may actually be diagnosed with a depressive disorder. And although there are symptoms that are characteristic of this kind of psychological alterations, there are differences from one person to another.

For Marta Garrido Gonzalez psychologist specialist in Psychologists Malaga PsicoAbreu, depression is an emotional disorder that appears due to irrational thoughts.. These beliefs, attitudes and thoughts are created from lived experiences and by the person's learning.

Often, people suffering from depression think that if the environment is not as they wish it to be (i.e. the absence of a loved one, a breakup of a partner, not getting a certain job, etc.) it is normal to be depressed and that life has no meaning.

However, this happens because of the person's way of coping and because he or she and for depositing their happiness in factors external to themselves, without realizing that happiness does not depend on what happens to us, but on how we take it.

What is the difference between feeling sadness and depression?

The term depression is confusing because it is used on a daily basis to describe when a person is in a low mood, when he/she is very negative, or when he/she is very depressed.when it is very negative, or in mourning processes, among other reasons.

It is obvious that all people go through difficult situations throughout their lives and these can cause sadness. However, this does not have to mean that one suffers from depression.

The characteristics of normal sadness are the following:

• The intensity and duration It is proportional to the stimulus that has provoked it..
• The person's attention is focused on the need for space and put in place all the emotions encountered.
• Acceptance and learning.

Next we will see an example of a case in which symptoms similar to those of depression appear but do not come to constitute a true psychiatric pathology.

In a couple breakup, the person who has been left may not understand why he/she is single again, and feels that he/she loved that person and does not know how to live without him/her, thinks of all the time lived together and of the future that will no longer be with that person.

On a psychological level, the person feels emotional pain, negativity towards the future, etc.etc. He/she may want to lock him/herself at home, cry and even make many plans without enjoyment.

In these cases, the symptoms are the same as in depression, but proportional to the event.

On the other hand, the characteristics of depression are the following:

• There may be no event that triggers the depressive emotional state.
• Disproportionate intensity and duration.
• It affects all areas of your life.

An example of depression may be the following:

In the previous case; let's imagine that the person closes himself and keeps his negative thoughts for weeks, leading him to lose self-confidence, to have the feeling of failure and to feel constant discomfort.

When the person has depression, the sadness is constant and causes feelings of worthlessness and loss. causes feelings of uselessness and loss of pleasure.. Depression is a mood disorder characterized by a cognitive-affective alteration, negatively influencing all areas of your life. In extreme cases, there are people who see no meaning in life, and begin to think about suicide.

Symptoms of depression

Depression causes symptoms at the cognitive, physical and behavioral levels.

A set of symptoms that affect the affective sphere appear, showing constant sadness, decay, irritability, emotional discomfort, emotional discomfort and depression.irritability, emotional discomfort, frustration, decrease of the usual daily activity, etc. The psychologists of the PsicoAbreu team affirm that the physical symptoms are the ones that usually lead people to seek psychological help.

1. Motivational and behavioral symptoms

They are apathy, indifference, decreased capacity for enjoyment, depressed mood. Getting out of bed, going to work or school, in short, doing any daily task, is complex for a person in this state.

These patients tend to isolate themselves from their environment, reduce the frequency of social relationships and have difficulty solving problems. and have difficulties in solving problems.

2. Emotional symptoms

The most prominent emotional symptoms are loss of self-confidence, apathy and listlessness, feelings of guilt, suicidal thoughts provoked by their horrible present and their (theoretically) worse future, excessive worry, etc.excessive worry, etc.

3. Physical symptoms

Physical symptoms are a common feature in people suffering from depression. A high percentage of patients who come to the consultation present sleep problems (insomnia). (insomnia). Other symptoms are fatigue, loss of appetite, decreased sexual activity and desire, etc.

Causes of depression

Despite the studies carried out to find the origin of depression, the mechanisms that cause it are not yet known. However, there are factors that influence it. They are the following.

1. Personality

People prone to develop depression tend to be more insecure individuals, with low self-esteem, perfectionists, self-demanding, and self-demanding....

2. Environmental factor

When the person faces economic, family, work, etc. problems.

3. Biological factor

Here we include alterations in the brain or alterations in neurotransmitters (the not correct communication in the neurons of the brain).

Types of depressive disorders

Depression can be can be classified into different subtypes depending on its degree, intensity and duration. Depressive episodes differ in severity, i.e., the impact they have on the person's life.

1. Major Depression

In this subtype, the depressive symptoms are very intense and appear in episodes that can last for weeks or months.. The depressive episode is defined by the appearance of symptoms during a continuous period that affects all areas of life.

2. Dysthymia or Dysthymic Disorder

The person suffers from prolonged depressive states with a duration of two or more years, and do not incapacitate the person, although it does prevent him/her from developing his/her life normally..

The most usual symptoms are generalized loss of pleasure, pessimism, despair, low self-esteem, irritability, social isolation, concentration and memory problems... It is one of the most common depressive disorders.

3. Psychotic depression

It occurs when depression is accompanied by some form of psychosis, such as discordance with realitysuch as discordance with reality, delusions or hallucinations.

4. Seasonal affective disorder

The depression appears during the winter, when the hours of sunlight decrease and in the changes of season.

5. Postpartum depression

Occurs when a woman suffers an episode of major depression within the first month after childbirth. within the first month after childbirth.

6. Bipolar Disorders

It is a disorder suffered by people who have episodes of mania and depression..

The patient has ups and downs in mood. When they are in the mania phase they usually show feelings of grandiosity or high self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, excessive activity in the different areas of their life (love, work, social), potentially high-risk activities... and in the depressive phase their symptoms are the opposite.

Psychological treatment

The team of psychologists at PsicoAbreu psychology offices in Malaga is specialized in the psychological treatment of depressive disorders.

The psychological therapy is aimed at finding the cause of depression and provide the patient with tools for the modification of thinking, emotional and behavioral factors that maintain the depressive symptomatology. The purpose of the treatment carried out by the center's specialists is that the person recovers the sense for his/her life and that this form of discomfort disappears forever.