Treatment of depression
Along with anxiety disorders, depression is one of the most common mental disorders. Depressive episodes can develop as an independent disease, and accompany bipolar affective and recurrent depressive disorders, often occurring in organic brain diseases (epilepsy, psycho-organic syndrome, mental pathology of late age, the effects of traumatic brain injuries).
In everyday life, it's not uncommon to hear, "I have depression." At the same time, depression refers to a bad mood that arose for a variety of reasons: an umbrella left at home in rainy weather, the absence of a bonus expected at the end of the year, a conflict with a teenage son, etc. However, a bad mood does not mean depression. Depression is a complex of symptoms.
Symptoms of depression
One of her symptoms is a prolonged lack of mood (more than 2 weeks). Moreover, no external circumstances (a joke, a pleasant meeting, joyful and long-awaited events) can change it. In some cases, a person may experience unreasonable anxiety, concern for their loved ones and their own health.Depression is always accompanied by decreased performance, rapid fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. The most familiar, mundane tasks seem complicated and difficult to accomplish. Irritability appears, often for the most minor reasons. Interest in the environment disappears: work, favorite activities, the feeling of pleasure disappears. The food seems tasteless, your favorite show is boring, and partying with friends is an aimless waste of time. The future is seen in gloomy colors, hopeless and bleak.
Another manifestation of depressive disorders is sleep disorders. Nighttime sleep becomes shallow, intermittent, with early (2-3 hours earlier than usual) awakenings. Appetite decreases, which leads to rapid weight loss.
The most dangerous symptom of depression is suicidal thoughts, which in the most severe cases of the disease can lead to specific actions. It is important for others to understand that the patient cannot control his condition and get rid of the disease by willpower. We can handle a bad mood. Good music, delicious food, a funny joke – and life gets better. But depression is a disease that requires special, often medicinal, treatment. It is impossible to cure it by simple persuasion or autosuggestion.
So, the main symptoms of depression are:
- decreased or impaired appetite.
Types of depression:
- depressive reactions
- psychogenic depression
- reactive depression
- seasonal depressive disorder
Prolonged exposure to depression can exacerbate the course of somatic diseases such as hypertension, angina pectoris, and bronchial asthma, complicating their treatment and worsening the prognosis. If symptoms of depression persist for more than 2 weeks, you should consult a psychiatrist.
The specialists of the EMC Psychiatric and Psychotherapy Clinic diagnose and treat all types of depression, including prolonged and severe depression, anxiety depression, and chronic depression. It is possible to be hospitalized in a comfortable hospital of the EMC hospital on Shchepkina St.
Diagnosis and treatment of depression
The main method of examination that makes it possible to establish a diagnosis is a psychiatric consultation. Undoubtedly, a therapist, neurologist, or psychologist can assume the presence of depression and refer you to a psychiatrist, but the final diagnosis and choice of treatment strategy (medications, psychotherapy, etc.) should remain with a specialist in the field of treatment of mental disorders.
Patient's complaints of only a bad mood or anxiety are not enough to talk about a depressive disorder. For a reliable diagnosis, a psychiatrist must identify at least four symptoms of depression, assess the time of their appearance, severity, severity, etc. Specially designed questionnaires can serve as auxiliary examination methods, for example, the Beck Depression questionnaire, the MMPI (Minnesota Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire), etc., which may also suggest the need to consult a specialist.
The diagnosis of depression includes examinations that exclude other disorders with similar symptoms. For this purpose, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain (MRI diagnostics) and laboratory tests of thyroid hormone levels are performed. Psychiatrists diagnose depression during clinical interviews using specialized questionnaires, tests, and scales developed.
The most effective method of treating depression in the private EMC clinic combines drug treatment and psychotherapy. Comprehensive rehabilitation programs for depressive disorders have now been developed, which include massage, reflexology, special gymnastics, and work with patients' families.
Treatment of depressive disorder is based on the severity of the condition and usually includes It includes three stages:
- Cupping ("cutting off") therapy is aimed at eliminating the symptoms of the disease as quickly as possible.
- Stabilizing therapy – helps to remove the residual symptoms of depression and is aimed at combating relapses.
- Prevention of repeated episodes of depression in the future.
Often, the first stage of depression treatment takes place in the round-the-clock hospital of the multidisciplinary hospital of the European Medical Center in Moscow. The second and third are carried out in a day–care hospital or on an outpatient basis. The most justified and clinically effective treatment for depression is a psychotherapy program (mainly cognitive behavioral therapy) with a course of psychopharmacotherapy.
Advantages of treatment in EMC
- An integrated approach is used to treat psychoemotional disorders: a combination of pharmacotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and non-drug treatment methods (TMS, BOS therapy).
- We not only treat depression, but also train patients to suppress negative thoughts and emotions, and return them to an active and happy life.
- The clinic of Psychiatry and psychotherapy has a comfortable hospital, which allows treating even severe forms of depression.
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