Understand depression
-- Understand
Depression --
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based on WHO data It shows that in 2021, there will be more than 350 million depression patients in the world, and more than 54 million people in our country will suffer from depression , accounting for the total population of our country. 4.2% of the number, equivalent to 4 patients with depression out of 100 people. And depression is becoming the second largest killer of humans after cancer .
In recent years, as mental health has gradually become more popular, more and more people are paying attention to the existence of depression and exploring solutions.
In 2020, the General Office of the National Health Commission released the " Exploring Special Service Work Plan for Depression Prevention and Treatment " to pay attention to the mental health of the whole people and create a social atmosphere that supports and participates in the prevention and treatment of depression. The "Plan" calls for greater prevention and intervention efforts for key groups susceptible to depression, including teenagers, pregnant women, the elderly, and people in high-pressure workplaces.
Today we will talk about depression, observe the real situation of patients with depression, and think about how to help more people get out of depression and embrace the future.
. Depression is more than a disease
As we all know, depression is regarded as a disease. Scientific research shows that, like physical diseases, some physiological changes do occur in people with depression, such as the hippocampus becoming smaller, the amygdala being more sensitive, dopamine being reduced, and cortisol increasing, etc. Simply put, these changes make patients physically more susceptible to negative emotions and stress, and more difficult to experience happiness. In order to treat this chemical imbalance in the brain, people began to develop and take the antidepressant .
But how effective is medication, and can it cure depression? Many studies have shown that antidepressants do show some benefit in people with very severe depression, but for other patients, many times the drugs are about as effective as placebos. This does not mean that drugs have no effect. Whether drugs treat chemical imbalances in the brain or provide psychological comfort, for many patients, drugs do bring hope and help when they are at their most helpless and desperate. But relying solely on medication, depression is still far from being cured.
. Has the stigma of depression been reduced?
At the beginning of the 121st century, in order to reduce the stigma of depression, international organizations advocated defining depression as a disease like other diseases, paying attention to biological genetic factors and drug effects.
This initiative was originally intended to destigmatize depression, but in reality, it often seems to deepen the patient's sense of shame. They will feel that they are "sick" and will be rightly accused of being "brainless". sick".
At the same time, unlike physical illnesses such as colds, fevers, stomachache, etc., patients with depression feel ashamed. Because of their illness, their hearts are filled with voices of self-blame and guilt: "It must be because I am not good, so I am sick"; "I must have done something wrong to be punished"; "It is not painful to be in this way". "Yes, I'm too fragile, I'm really useless"...
When people find that treating depression as a disease may not necessarily help people with depression, more and more official agencies are also Explore alternative perspectives on depression.
The official declaration of World Health Day 2017 proposed: "We need to talk less about chemical imbalances and more about lifestyle imbalances"; some biologists called for "instead of calling depression a disease, it should be treated as something the body does when it is disgusted with adversity." "an adaptive response"; the British Psychological Society also proposed: "It is best to treat depression as an experience or a series of experiences, rather than a disease." medicine, but a cow
Johann Hari has been a patient with depression for many years. In order to find the causes of depression, he visited psychological experts from all over the world. In the process, he found that most of the factors that easily trigger depression have nothing to do with physiological factors, but with lifestyle. For example: loneliness, suffering from traumatic events such as bullying and abuse, being marginalized in society, moving frequently, having little contact with nature, etc.
Why do you feel anxious and depressed?
Johann Hari told a story about a farmer and a cow in his Ted sharing. In the story, a farmer accidentally had one of his legs blown off by explosives left by the US military while working in the fields. Although he could move freely with prosthetic limbs, he fell into depression: he cried every day, felt hopeless, unable to farm, and even lacked the strength to get up and live. When the locals went to visit the farmer, they didn’t bring him any antidepressants. They didn’t even know what depression was. But after they left, the farmer's depressive symptoms miraculously disappeared and he was able to work and live energetically every day.
It turns out that they gave the farmer a cow and lived on dairy products. The farmer no longer had to endure the physical limitations and the trauma and fear brought to him by the field; through a new way of life, the farmer rediscovered his own value. , connected with life.
Just like this story, many times, living in an environment that cannot meet our basic physical and mental needs, and not feeling enough love, support and strength, may be the reason why we feel depressed.
. Depression is a signal
Depression is indeed related to a chemical imbalance in the brain, but perhaps the changes in the body are the "effect" rather than the "cause".
Everyone has basic psychological needs: to be loved, to be seen, to be understood, to have a sense of belonging, to have a sense of worth, to have a sense of meaning, to feel safe, to feel respected... Many times, in our lives In such an environment, these needs cannot be met, and over time, people fall into a state of depression.
Just like people who eat bad food will have diarrhea , although they will feel uncomfortable when they are sick, it is also a normal reaction to eating bad things. It is a warning signal sent by the body, a rejection of more bad food, and a sign of the body's self-control. Protect. In a sense, depression is also a self-protective signal, reminding us to pay attention to unmet needs.
When depression is no longer regarded as abnormal, irrational, and inappropriate; when depression can be explained and understood, and can be connected to reality, only then can patients accept their sadness and despair from the bottom of their hearts, and understand the reasons for their loss of vitality and motivation. , only in this way can we leave psychological space to feel and reflect. Where have the deviations occurred and where do we need to improve and change?
Depression does not happen for no reason. Many times, it reminds us to pay attention to the unmet needs in our hearts. Only by truly facing, accepting and respecting these signals can we truly solve our inner dilemmas, regain our inner strength, and feel the hope of life again.
As more research on depression is carried out, we hope that we can have a deeper understanding of depression, that society can view depression with a more diverse and open mind, and that patients with depression can live in a more tolerant and accepting society. environment. Resolving depression requires each of us to work together.
Finally, I wish you health and happiness.
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