Depression Q&A

1. Low, melancholic mood

2. Agitation and increased anxiety

3. Decreased libido

4. Decreased interest in daily life

5. Decreased appetite, weight loss

6. Increased appetite, weight gain

7. Insomnia

8. Thinking or moving more slowly

9. Fatigue or loss of energy

10. Self-blame, feeling of worthlessness

11. Difficulty making decisions

12. Suicidal thought or behavior

The most common symptoms of depression are insomnia and a loss of appetite, resulting in weight loss. But there is a type of atypical depression that causes lethargy, increased appetite, and obesity. Therefore, some obese patients may suffer from atypical depression. As long as they take antidepressant treatment, they can improve their mood and reduce their weight.

Everyone feels depressed sometimes, but that does not necessarily equal having depression. Depression diagnosis requires continuous depressed mood or loss of interest for more than two weeks, and more than five symptoms of depression.

Depression does not have a single cause. Related causes are as follows:

1. Family genetic factors

2. Trauma and stress: financial problems, broken relationships, passing of a loved one. Finding the right job, graduating or marrying, etc.

3. Pessimistic personality: low self-esteem, negative thinking, etc.

4. Physical illness: Severe physical illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, AIDS, etc., can lead to depression. Depression can also weaken the immune system, worsening physical illnesses.

5. Other psychiatric disorders: Anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and substance use disorders can also complicate depression.

You can reduce your antidepressant dose or change your medication. Newer antidepressants such as WELLBUTRIN are less likely to have these side effects.

Carbohydrates can actually stimulate serotonin and thus reduce symptoms of depression. Foods high in carbohydrates raise serotonin, while fat or protein lower serotonin. Among them, candy or chocolate is more likely to increase blood sugar compared to starch, thereby increasing serotonin.

First of all, in the emergency priority drug treatment stage, there are many new generation antidepressants available right now, which are not only effective but also have few side effects. The drug effects will appear in the second week, and depression will be significantly improved after approximately three to six months of continuous treatment. If drug treatment is combined with psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy or supportive psychotherapy, the effects will be better, especially in preventing the recurrence of depression.

Symptoms of teenage depression can be divided into three parts, namely emotional depression, unhappiness, depression, feeling worthless, irritability, suicidal thoughts; eating too much, insomnia, waking up easily, waking up early; lack of attention, lack of energy, loss of interest, lower grades, unwillingness to go to school, self-harm behavior, suicidal behavior, etc.

The causes of adolescent depression include biological factors, genetic factors, stressful life events, and psychological factors of adolescents themselves. Studies have shown that more than 70% of teenagers who often experience severe feelings of hopelessness and alienation have depression.

Adolescent depression is not a temporary emotional distress, nor is it a short-term adaptation problem or a teenager being rebellious. Instead, teen depression may become a long-term chronic mental illness, which will bring considerable pain to the individual and their family, as well as heavy pressure for the school and society. Therefore, if teen depression can be detected and treated early, and be combined with drug therapy and psychotherapy, it will have better effects.

After giving birth, the hormone disorder in the body and the stress of life for women can lead to depression in the first month after giving birth, which is called postpartum depression. This is not the same as feeling blue during the first week postpartum. Postpartum depression can be more severe and can last longer. If it is not treated, it may worsen and lead to maternal suicide or suicide with children. Treatment with antidepressant drugs and antipsychotic drugs is usually more effective and efficient.

Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men. The main reason is female hormones, appearing during menstruation, menopause, or pregnancy, that result in feelings of depression and emotional distress to a certain extent.

Patients with geriatric depression often complain about their physical discomfort and have more anxious feelings. Some cases show severe psychomotor retardation, as well as a decline in memory and life functions, which can easily be mistaken for dementia. Conversely, some cases of dementia in the elderly, which may involve symptoms of depression and physical symptoms as the main complaint, or the idea of ​​being abandoned, etc., may be easily mistaken for melancholy. If there is an elderly person like this in the family, the family members must record the abnormal conditions of the elderly, and first seek help from internal medicine or neurology to check whether there is any physical disease. If everything is normal, then refer to the psychiatrist for diagnosis and treatment.

Elderly people with cognitive impairment, poor daily functioning, multiple chronic diseases, low socioeconomic class, or are females, widowers, and older in age have a higher chance of having depression. Furthermore, family functioning, social support, participation in community activities, etc are also significantly related to the depression of the elderly. It can be seen that in addition to drug treatment, social participation and social support are indispensable for the treatment of depression for elders.

Certain elderly people who suffer from diseases related to vascular lesions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and peripheral vascular lesions, are more likely to have geriatric depression. The possible reason is that these diseases lead to cerebral vascular lesions in the elderly, which makes the limbic system and prefrontal cortex that are in charge of emotional regulation insufficient in the brain. If they encounter significantly negative events such as widowhood, disability, and economic pressure, depression is likely to occur. Some scholars call this “vascular depression” and regard it as a special subtype of senile depression.

When in a state of severe depression, even if the patient wants to commit suicide, they would have no energy to do so. When the depression is gradually relieved and the patient's physical strength recovers, but there is still a sense of helplessness and hopelessness, they can complete the act of suicide. Another hypothesis is that due to the patient’s inability to fight off depression, they would give up on themselves and thus decide to commit suicide.

The suicide rate of untreated depression patients is very high. Depression can cause distorted thinking. When depression symptoms are severe, patients are unable to think rationally and can even feel helpless and hopeless, resulting in suicidal thoughts.

1. Self-education: Read books or go on websites about depression, and regularly contact support groups or medical institutions to understand the topic.

2. Show empathy: Imagine yourself suffering from depression, the pain it brings, the stigma of mental illness, etc.

3. Take care of yourself: Depression is contagious, so make sure to relax, for example, by visiting friends, going on vacation, or taking a break.

4. When feeling anxious, worried, angry, or frustrated, seek out a friend or a professional to talk about these feelings. The point is to rid oneself of frustrations instead of piling it up in your mind.

5. Be there for your family member when they need you: Give them a shoulder to cry on, or just listen to what's on their mind.

6. Remember that what a depressed person says or does isn’t representative of his or her true personality: Depression can cause people to lose social functioning abilities. As a result, they may be angry or shy.

When a depressed person is angry, they are actually angry at themselves. Sometimes women with depression don't have sexual desire, which doesn't mean she doesn't love you anymore.

7. Depressed people are not lazy: They are ill! To them, normal daily life such as doing household chores can be mission impossible. You must let them reduce the burden of these things temporarily, just as they are temporarily ill with the flu and everything else.

8. Regular check-ups and medication are important: Make sure that the patient takes the medication regularly, help reduce the fear of taking medication, and let the person know that he or she is not going crazy.

9. Give the patient hope all the time: The source of hope could be religious beliefs, his or her beloved children, or other things that keep him or her alive.

10. Love the patient unconditionally and let him or her know that it is the disease itself, not him or her, that is frustrating you.

1. The most important thing is to help the person get the right diagnosis and treatment

2. Stay with the patient until symptoms improve or help him or her seek different treatment methods

3. Pay attention to whether the patient is taking his medication regularly

4. Follow medical advice about not drinking alcohol for depression

5. Provide emotional comfort, including empathy, tolerance, encouragement, etc.

6. Immediately inform medical staff if the patient has suicidal thoughts

7. Invite the patient to go out for activities and exercise

8. If your invitation is declined, be sure to gently insist

9. If there are activities that the patient enjoys, such as religious activities, sports, cultural activities, karaoke, etc., encourage the patient to participate more often, but do not overdo or rush the activities too quickly.

10. Don't scold the patient for being lazy or pretending to be sick, and don't expect them to leave their state soon.

11. Be patient and reassure the patient that with patience, the depression will go away in time.

1. Set realistic goals and do not ask for too much responsibility.

2. Break up large tasks into smaller parts, sort them in order of priority, and complete each priority one by one.

3. Try to be with a group of people and try to trust others, it's much better than being alone.

4. Get involved in activities that make you feel good.

5. Do a little exercise, watch a movie, or attend a religious event, along with other helpful social activities.

6. Expect your mood to improve "gradually" rather than "right away. Moods usually take some time to improve.

7. It is not a good idea to make major decisions when having depression, such as divorce, marriage, or leaving a job.

8. Having negative thoughts are a symptom of depression, and will disappear when your mood improves.

9. Let your family or friends help you

1. Share your feelings with a friends who have had depression before

2. Join an online support group that provides free support continuously

3. Don't take on tasks that can't be done

4. Do one thing at a time, not too fast or too slow

5. Don't do sedentary activities all the time; get out in nature sometimes

1. Don't stop your medication too quickly. Always discuss with your attending doctor before reducing it.

2. Are the factors that caused depression eliminated? If not, how can they be improved? Should I increase the frequency of psychotherapy?

3. Acceptable levels of stress reduction: Reduce stress at work or in life. Remember that a moderate amount of stress will make the body and mind healthier than if there is no stress or too much stress.

4. Moderate levels of exercise: Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise every day can increase serotonin, which not only stretches the muscles and bones, but also relieves depression.

5. Adequate sleep: Lack of sleep will lead to bad moods. If the brain and body get sufficient rest, depression will be less likely to relapse.

6. Appropriate leisure activities: get closer to nature, bathe in the sun, and try approaching crowds more often.

Eating sweets, which is often an effect of depression, can easily make one fat. How to overcome it?

1. Understand the relationship between your stressors and sweets

2. Some psychiatric medications can promote appetite and raise blood sugar, so talk to your doctor

3. Observe how your emotions trigger the nerves to eat. When your urge to eat because of your emotions re-arises, why not talk to someone, go shopping, take a bath, etc.?

4. Engage in other activities to divert attention to reduce the desire to eat

5. Exercise can increase the amount of endorphins to improve mood

6. Drink a glass of water to quench your thirst, sometimes the body misidentifies thirst as hunger

7. When you are hungry, treat yourself to a good meal. Don't eat sweets as a meal, and don't eat dessert after dinner

8. If all aforementioned attempts fail, don't get discouraged. Get up and keep trying

9. You don't have to stop eating sweets altogether, sometimes you just have to eat a moderate amount of sweets.