When it comes to "Harry Potter", I believe no one will say: Never heard of it. J.K. Rowling, the author who made "Harry Potter" translated into 62 languages and spread around the world, was once severely depressed. When
first started writing this work, she was stimulated by her failed marriage and felt very desperate. But for the sake of her daughter, while receiving psychological treatment, she began to do her favorite thing - writing.
What she didn't expect was that her despair would actually become the inspiration for her to create the famous "soul-absorbing monster" in "Harry Potter" - the Dementor. And she is also engaged in writing and creation that she loves, gradually getting out of depression and embracing the sunshine.
J.K. Rowling's magnificent turn confirms the sentence: Every crisis must contain a turning point.
However, the vast majority of patients with depression are not so lucky.
Search on the Internet: Data on depression in China, you can see:
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You may be confused, living standards are getting better and better, and young people no longer have to worry about how to survive. , why are people suffering from depression getting higher and higher?
After reading the book "Depression Empire", your doubts may be answered.
The author of this book, Jonathan Sadowski, is a professor of history of medicine at Case Western Reserve University. His research interests for many years include psychiatric epidemiology, clinical psychiatry, medical anthropology, the history of mental illness treatment and the history of depression. wait. Because the causes of depression are complex and changeable, the purpose of this book is to sort out the ancient and modern historical context of depression, interpret depression from the perspectives of concepts, theories, treatments, and current conditions, and provide us with a new perspective on depression. The mystery of disease.
Seeing is the beginning of healing. What is the biggest revelation this book brings to us? Just don’t be afraid to face depression. Depression is very complicated and difficult to solve, but in the long history, all the difficulties we encounter can be solved, and depression will not be an exception.
1. Do you know about depression?
When you look up at the vast sky of human history, depression is just a star. "Depression Empire"
I have a friend whose family conditions were very good since he was a child. He didn't have to run around for life. He grew up smoothly all the way. He went to school, worked, got married, and had children, and he had a life that others would envy. But what was unexpected was that she actually suffered from moderate depression.
Because she was afraid of hearing such persuasion as: "Just be more open-minded about everything, you see you have enough food and clothing, why can't you find something for yourself?" She did not dare to talk to the people close to her, and her symptoms became more and more serious. You are not allowed to go to the hospital to seek help. I believe many people have true stories like
. It is precisely because of many misunderstandings about depression that it is more difficult for people suffering from the disease to move towards recovery.
So what is depression?
In a 2010 interview, J.K. Rowling described it this way: “It’s hard to describe what depression feels like to people if they’ve never experienced it because it’s not just sadness. One word can sum it up. "
" This description expresses the feelings of patients with depression.
"Depression Empire" gives a simple definition - it is a disease of abnormally low mood.
The current "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" proposes the following 9 symptoms as a reference:
(1) Feeling depressed almost most of the day.
(2) A marked reduction in interest or pleasure in all or most activities almost every day or most of the day.
(3) Significant weight loss or gain without dieting, or loss or increase of appetite almost every day.
(4) I suffer from insomnia or excessive sleep almost every day.
(5) psychomotor agitation or retardation almost every day.
(6) I feel tired or have low energy almost every day.
(7) Feeling worthless or excessively or inappropriately guilty almost every day.
(8) Decreased ability to think or concentrate, or hesitation or indecisiveness occurs almost every day.
(9) Recurrent thoughts of death, recurring suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or having some kind of suicide attempt, or having some kind of specific plan to commit suicide.
If you have 5 of the 9 symptoms above and the symptoms last for less than two weeks, you don’t need any other symptoms to be diagnosed.
Although there is still a lot to discuss about depression, some basic consensus can also help ordinary people. As the book says: the direction of our cognition determines the direction of treatment, and can avoid many detours, then it will Bring more positive results.
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2. Why does depression come to you?
If the heart is restless and sad, physical weakness will follow... Diseases of the soul are the real diseases. --Martin Luther
In the middle of the 20th century, "depression" was officially named, but as " melancholia ", it is an ancient disease.
Shakespeare 's classic character Hamlet has this line: Everything in the world seems to me so disgusting, stale, dull and boring! We all know that the typical symptoms of depression are usually as Hamlet said, feeling depressed, bored, and not interested in anything.
(1) Guilt
According to depression statistics in recent decades, there are more female patients. In the view of psychoanalysis , the cause of illness comes from guilt, which turns the original feelings of anger or blame towards others inwards.
In comparison, women are more empathetic and tend to look inward for the reasons when encountering problems. This is also one of the reasons why depression is more likely to occur.
(2) Childhood Trauma
Meri Nana Amma Danquah says: I often hear people say that depression is a form of inner anger. I don’t know how it happened, but there’s no denying that my childhood experiences played a large role in fueling my depression.
If you did not feel warmth as a child, most of your needs were not paid attention to in time and were not met, and you would be more likely to suffer from depression.
(3) Genetic predisposition
With the development of research on depression, the influence of genetic factors has been put into the scope of research. Although psychoanalysts worked in an era when little was known about genetics , the factors that cause disease to run in families have received much attention.
The above three factors will make you more susceptible to depression, and psychological research on depression continues to deepen, and the veil of depression is constantly being announced to the public.
There is life in crisis. As psychologist Carl Jung said: Depression is also an opportunity, breeding growth and creativity.
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3. How to treat depression?
When depression is mentioned, our attitude is full of worry and tension. First, because depression can cause serious harm to people and may lead to loss of life; second, the boundary between depression and normality is too blurred, and it is difficult to distinguish between depression and normality. It's normal to be sick. It's possible that you're sick but don't know it. By the time you find out, it's already very serious.
What methods are currently available to help depressed patients regain their health?
(1) Medication treatment
For patients with depression, medication will be used to help treat them. They will conduct depression assessment and diagnosis based on the symptoms of depression, and prescribe antidepressants to help the patient recover.
(2) Psychotherapy
Psychological counseling and psychotherapy are increasingly recognized and accepted treatment methods, which use professional psychological knowledge to intervene and treat depression.
Two important treatments for depression are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (ITP).
In addition to the above two points, self-regulation is also very helpful in stabilizing the condition.
The first is exercise, which can produce dopamine , which has a good effect on regulating emotions;
the second is to connect with more people, you can meet more close friends, establish emotional links, and win support;
the third is to do what you like matter, release the power of life, and restore yourself to a state where you can control yourself.
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Summary
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, many people are experiencing new difficulties and sadness. These factors are likely to lead to an increase in the incidence of depression and other mental illnesses.
Although the road is long, the faith still exists. As stated in "The Empire of Depression": How to manage the future of depression depends in part on how well we understand depression's past.
Returning to the long river of history, the difficulties in front of you will become insignificant. If you stick to your faith, there will be a day when the clouds will open and the moon will shine.
