Sometimes I want to hide in a corner, be quiet and die...

Boris Grebenshchikov

In 2002, I began work on a series of articles. In 2009, I continued it with the next series of articles that shed light on causes of depression which I called .

In this article I spend brief overview causes of depression described in these series of articles, supplemented with explanations of the essence of depression. This is the result of my many years of study of literature related to the topic of depression, and psychoanalytic treatment of my patients who suffered from depression, as well as observation of people, including children, in everyday life.

Roots of Depression

Andrew Solomon, American writer, who himself has experienced more than once severe depression, gave a brief and very symbolic definition of depression:

« Sadness, this is depression commensurate with the circumstances, depression- this is a sadness disproportionate to them. This is suffering, similar to the tumbleweed grass, which feeds as if on air alone and grows, although it is torn off from the nutritious soil.”
(“The Noonday Demon: The Anatomy of Depression”)

Can depression feed on air and grow? Where are the roots of depression? What feeds depression? Developing the concept unconscious Sigmund Freud came to the conclusion that time does not exist in the unconscious - the unconscious is timeless. All our experiences, including childhood experiences, starting from the moment of birth, accumulate in our unconscious and influence our lives as if the past exists in the present.

The American psychoanalyst devoted his life to the study of childhood experiences. He is one of the first psychoanalysts to draw public attention to the often overlooked suffering of children:

« little child cannot explain what he is experiencing, but this does not mean at all that he is not suffering. Our indifference, lack of empathy and imagination lead to incredible cruelty towards children."
(“First year of life”)

Depression feeds on the horror of our childhood experiences, starting from the moment we are born. What is terrible for a child may seem terrible to an adult. causeless children's tears that should not be ignored. This is how it is formed, which is called depression.

Trauma of birth

From a comfortable and familiar intrauterine environment, constant satiety, darkness and stable temperature, the baby is pushed into life. In the first cry of a child, we can hear all the horror that he faces at birth. This is the first disappointment in life. Birth into the world can be called.

Hungarian psychoanalyst Sandor Ferenczi very accurately and succinctly described the parents’ task related to this:

“It takes extraordinary love, tenderness and care for a child to forgive his parents for being born without his knowledge.”
(“The Unexpected Child and His Desire for Death”)

The baby’s psyche is formed in the form of “islands”, thanks to the feeling of happiness that the mother gives him by satisfying his needs (Veikko Tehke). During the first months of development, the baby requires a quick response from the mother to his needs for milk from her breast, the warmth of her body, her soothing voice, her loving eyes. As a result of frequent or long absence mother or her unsympathetic attitude towards the baby, the continuous formation of the child’s psyche does not occur (M. V. Romashkevich). In the worst case, the nascent “islands” of the psyche do not even unite into a single “continent” - then the child will become an adult psychosis(schizophrenia, MDP). More often, things are better, the psyche manages to consolidate, but a “hole” remains in it - then a anaclitic depression(Rene Spitz).

Concept anaclitic depression opens a new perspective on the study of the nature of depression - thanks to the observations of an American psychoanalyst Rene Spitz in orphanages it became clear that the cause of childhood depression is deficit attention, care and love in early childhood(emotional deprivation). Anaclitic depression- this is the basis for any depression in later periods life.

Basal anxiety

Baby is born helpless, therefore, it is typical for everyone born into the world feeling of helplessness, this creates anxiety about the outside world, which seems hostile. If the mother cannot always be there to soothe her baby - then the mother cannot provide her child with a sense of predictability and therefore security - and then he experiences chronic feeling of helplessness. This disrupts normal formation Ego child: the world around us is perceived as unreliable, incomprehensible, unfair, hostile, merciless and scary - this is how basic distrust of the world. This, in turn, causes a violation of the child’s relationship with himself; he seems to himself weak And worthless in this unfriendly world - this is how low self-esteem. The immediate consequence of all this is that the psychoanalyst Karen Horney called (from Greek basal- basic). This is how anxiety becomes part of the personality, and it colors the perception of the world in the darkest tones, being the core around which depression.

Archaic Super-Ego becomes the core, and the larger this core, the more tyrannical it is Super Ego, the more obedient the child turns out to be, the more unhappy he feels. Archaic Super-Ego, which psychoanalysts also call, is a constant source of anxiety and feelings, causing depression.

The pain accumulated in childhood displaces all the pleasures of life. The result of pain is hatred to life and to people, which, in essence, is displacement hatred towards your parents. If the drives from the crowded Eid"sweep away" the weak Super Ego- such a person becomes a homicidal maniac or, sometimes, a poet, such as Byron, who said: I saw people in different corners earth, and everywhere they are equally vile.

“To become a poet, you need to be in love or unhappy.”
(Byron)

Byron was in love and unhappy because he could only love his sister. But more often than not, people prone to depression remain unhappy without ever experiencing love, because all feelings are suppressed. Superego is under three years of age. But there are enough memories from an older age for analysis. Child psychoanalysts provide us with sufficient understanding of the child’s psyche that we can, based on what the patient tells us about his childhood, which he remembers; and also based on what is happening to him today; and on how he interacts with the psychoanalyst here-and-now - it was possible to build on what happened to the patient in early childhood, which he does not remember (see).

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Ecology of life: In Tibetan medicine, depression is classified as a srog-lung disease - a disorder of the vital wind.

In Tibetan medicine, depression is classified as a srog-lung disease - a disorder of the vital wind.

It is necessary to understand that according to the teachings of Tibetan healers, the three vital principles - Wind, Bile and Mucus - are also the three culprits of all diseases. As long as they are in balance in the body, the person remains healthy, but as soon as one of the principles develops excessively, the balance is disrupted and the person is struck by an illness corresponding to this principle. Nervous diseases, as well as mental disorders arise due to the fault of the Wind, since the Wind is associated with the mind and nervous system. But the Wind also controls two other life principles, influences them and can lead to their disorders. Therefore, any disease in Tibetan medicine is considered, first of all, as psychosomatic and is treated comprehensively - diet, correction of lifestyle and way of thinking, medications and medical procedures. Depression is also considered a psychosomatic disorder that has effects on both psychological and physical levels.

So, depression is caused by disturbances in the Wind, these disturbances are caused by anxiety, excessive stress, fatigue, grief or anger, some kind of shock or fear. On physical level Symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, dizziness, insomnia, and decreased appetite are noticeable. Wind diseases, which include depression, can also be provoked by factors external to the body, such as cold wind (drafts), spicy food, strong alcoholic drinks etc.

When treating depression, a diet is prescribed - a diet that helps curb the element of Wind and restore the balance of the three vital principles in the patient’s body. It is recommended to consume garlic, onions, fried flour, decoction of bones, lamb, horse meat, vegetable oil and milk.

Medicines: sedatives herbal infusions, light wines, extractors. Pullers are special potions for wind diseases, this is what is said about them in the main book of Tibetan medicine, Jud-shi: “Pullers: white, red, sour, onion. The first is obtained like this: boil cow’s butter for a long time, add fried flour, milk, bring to a boil again and add ginger with rock salt. If you cook fried flour with lamb broth, you will get a red puller. Sour extractor - put old butter, sugar, ginger into the fermented wine stillage and cook. Onion extractor - boil the onion, grind it, add oil, bone broth, rock salt and cook. The extractors suppress wind diseases, strengthen meat, give clarity to the senses and consciousness, they are like nectar from the wind on the border between the steppe and the mountain.”

In this part I will talk about the causes of depression. There are many opinions on this matter, citing a variety of factors. It is important to understand two things here.

First. It should be understood that identifying the cause is not an idle interest, but an attempt to find the very factor that needs to be eliminated or corrected in order for the disease to go away. It may seem below that, naming the reasons from various groups, I repeat. In fact, this is not entirely true, since we're talking about oh absolutely different approaches, suggesting completely different actions (for example, if stress is something that causes a decrease in serotonin levels, you need to take a pill, and if stress is something that leads to the emergence of some kind of pattern and a general negative attitude, you need to talk to the patient).

Second. I'm repeating myself. Because different points of view simply explain different aspects of the same phenomenon and do not contradict each other, but complement each other. Which, by the way, allows you to use complex therapy or different types treatment depending on the stage of the disease.

From a biological point of view , depression is caused by a disturbance in the concentration of neurotransmitters - such as norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine. Roughly speaking, with the help of transmitters, neurons in the brain communicate with each other chemically and have the ability to “communicate.” Transmitters are located in vesicles - tiny intracellular organelles, membrane-protected bags. In this case, we are talking about synaptic vesicles that are found in neurons. A synapse is the point of contact between neurons (or between a neuron and another cell receiving a signal). To a very rough approximation, this is the space between cells, although in fact the synapse is a rather complex structure that ensures contact. When the vesicle breaks, the transmitters enter the synapse and are captured by another neuron - so they talked - and are stored there until the next impulse. Antidepressants prevent the reuptake of transmitters, thereby increasing their concentration at the synapse, which is supposed to help treat the disorder. This is how most people act modern drugs, with the only difference being which of the neurotransmitters (or which ones) they are directed to.

The problem is that no one still really knows the reasons for the shortage of transmitters. Depression can occur on its own or be accompanied by certain somatic diseases or be a side effect when taking certain medications. In addition, it is not known which specific substance is missing in a given particular case, so the medicine is chosen virtually at random: the doctor does not know in advance which particular drug will help the patient, so sometimes he has to try several.

I won’t go into explanations of what serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine are; I don’t have enough theory here. Read Wikipedia - there, among other things, the pathologies that are caused by a violation of the level of these substances are indicated; Among them are depression and bipolar disorder.

From a genetic point of view , a person’s predisposition to depression is hereditary. How does this happen?

Firstly, among other things, there is a certain gene that regulates the absorption of serotonin by the neuron - i.e. the work of this “pump”. It regulates - and okay, very well, however, depending on heredity, this gene may be in varying degrees resistant to stress. The less stable it is, the higher the likelihood of disturbances and, as a consequence, the development of depression.

However, predisposition itself does not provide anything; the difference appears only in the combination of hereditary and external factors- i.e. stress. Here we are talking about epigenetics - changes in genes under the influence of external factors. So what do we have? For example, we have damage to the gene encoding the cortisol receptor. Now I'll try to explain. Cortisol is a hormone responsible for stress responses; it is produced by the adrenal cortex under the influence of some other substances - in particular, the hormone corticotropin - which are secreted by the brain. After this, cortisol enters the blood, and then into target cells (for example, liver cells), where, in interaction with the hormone-receptor complex, it “launches” the program of certain sections of DNA. However, as a result of childhood stress, DNA, as mentioned above, can be damaged.

In general, if you have a history of stress in childhood, corticotropin levels are increased - therefore, more cortisol is produced, as far as I understand. A person seems to be constantly in a tense state, although this does not appear outwardly. In theory, the excess normal level cortisol should be a signal to the brain that it is necessary to reduce the level of trigger hormones for its production. However, their level is different people decreases from at different speeds. In addition, cortisol itself affects the level of transmitters (see the biological approach to explaining the causes of depression), and if it exceeds the norm for a long time, it can have neurotoxic effect and disrupt communication between neurons.

Secondly, there is such a thing called a telomere. Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes that perform a protective function. Telomeres have different lengths in different people. It is believed that long telomeres correlate with higher life expectancy, and short ones - correspondingly, with low ones. And with depression. But no one really knows what’s going on here.

From the point of view of psychiatry and psychology , depression is caused by painful situations that took place in distant childhood and left an indelible imprint on a person’s life. By and large, we all experienced stress and disappointment in childhood - this does not mean parents’ comments or the inability to have some special toy, but stress, so to speak, universal: the moment of birth, the moment of realizing that mom cannot be around all the time, the need to experience discomfort (for example, a child is hungry and must wait until he is fed) and so on. This creates a certain depressive potential. This is fine. But for some, all sorts of frustrations and dissatisfaction are added to this (problematic relationships with parents, loss of someone close, for which the child may blame himself). Then there is a fixation on all this disgrace and - done: depression.

By and large, we are talking about stress, which we have already discussed above. But the approach is fundamentally different. Genetics does not offer anything yet, it only explains certain mechanisms. Psychoanalysis examines not hormones, but psychological trauma, brings the unconscious into the light of day, helps a person understand his experiences and experiences that brought him to such a life, and thus heal.

From a sociological point of view , depression is caused by a frantic pace of life (as a consequence - overwork), social instability and uncertainty about the future, severe economic conditions, the inability to correspond to actively imposed ideals (in glossy magazines, for example, there are solid beauties - big bosses with model appearance and glamor girls with an ethereal figure, an uncertain occupation, mysterious sources of oh-so-good income and rags for a couple of bucks, and you are just a sales manager who was simply accidentally forgotten during the last layoff, and instead of 90 - 60 - 90 you have 80 - 70 - 100, and you can’t lose these unfortunate 5 kg, and a couple of bucks have long been put aside for a domestic-made car - so you get dissonance). Add to this bouquet disunity and high level migration and - you can safely go hang yourself.

That's right, I don't argue. But this theory has two disadvantages. Firstly, it does not explain, for example, the causes of postpartum depression. Or seasonal bipolar disorder. Or, in general, depression in preschool children - they also have careers and social stability not enough? Secondly, it is not very clear what to do, how to get rid of depression.

From a religious point of view - at least in Christianity - it's all about sins. They say that man falls away from God, and so he suffers. This is all naive, but they say religious people less prone to depression. Either they have a different view of the world, or they have a different level of self-discipline, or they poison themselves less with alcohol and nicotine, or there really is some kind of magical egregor... Being an atheist, an agnostic and a pagan in one bottle, for some reason I... then I have almost no doubt about the benefits for those suffering from depression of prayers, conversations with the priest and - who knows? - perhaps even baptism.

From an esoteric point of view depression can be viewed in different ways. I'm not sure what I'll be able to give here full review different ideas or give at least some idea of ​​how various esoteric teachings relate to depression. They also talk about disappointment - well, yes, God is dead, there is nothing more to believe in, money cannot buy happiness, everything returns to normal, only without the light at the end of the tunnel and faith in the mythical happiness waiting for us somewhere out there - in next life, V the afterlife- doesn't matter.

Another concept: depression is a reaction to lies. Our lives are based on surrogates, we substitute concepts and feelings, we don’t even perceive ourselves adequately, and depression is a price to pay.

And someone says that depression is the result hypersensitivity to the imperfection of this world. However, the root cause lies in one’s own worldview and irrational use of energy. What is spent on creation is returned a hundredfold, and energy spent on condemnation, complaints, destruction and simply meaningless, aimless, is lost forever, so harmony is disturbed... Then, I think, it’s clear.

Finally, one can generally deny the existence of any clear reasons. It's just karma. We were born and died many times, accumulated many impressions, including negative ones, and so it happened. The border between internal and external exists only hypothetically, so that we are part of this world, and therefore part of its suffering, our memory is limitless, and in general - what's the difference? Better to meditate.

The means in this case are various practices. However, it should be borne in mind that the effect will not be immediate, and starting to practice when everything is very bad, difficult and, most likely, ineffective. This is not a pill, but a gradual change in lifestyle, thoughts, perceptions, a gradual change in oneself (and in fact it is work with the body, and with physiology, and with emotions, and with psychology, and with relationships, and much more ).

Finally, I’ll entertain you with a few words about Chinese medicine. In particular, about the Tong Ren treatment system. The main idea is that from time to time, “clamps” appear in the body - due to incorrect posture, genetic factors, work characteristics and a thousand and one other reasons. At the physical level, they lead to disturbances in the functioning of the peripheral and autonomic nervous system. And then it’s simple. Connections between organs and the brain are disrupted, the latter receives or sends incorrect signals, cannot figure out which hormones should go where, etc. The clamps can be influenced (energetically, with needles, massage) and, thus, restoring normal work conductor - the nervous system - to get rid of the problem. Each disease correlates with blocks at certain points. To treat depression, for example, it is necessary to influence the points associated with the left anterior lobe of the brain, and the projection point of the tenth pair of cranial nerves, the only ones that go not to the organs of the head, but to chest And abdominal cavity. In addition, it is not harmful to influence points that are auxiliary for this disease and are responsible for cardiovascular system and liver.

If you messed something up somewhere, correct it, add it.

(c) Information from Wikipedia, vague memories of school courses anatomy and genetics, encyclopedias on medicine and biology, a wonderful user article gutta_honey , Tom Tam's books and all sorts of crap from the Internet, from which I tried to grab something informative.

Hello dear readers! I decided to write this introductory article (the first of a series of articles) in order to clarify in understandable language the understanding of the phenomenon of depression.

Of course, through an article it is impossible to save a person from this illness, but you can equip him with knowledge and tell him about the actions that can be taken if depression has overtaken him or someone close to him.

Also, in one article it will be very difficult to talk in detail about all the vicissitudes psychological assistance people suffering from depression, self-help for depression, its prevention, therefore, this will be only the first article in a series of articles devoted to this topic.

In this article, I, of course, generally consider the view of depression both from the point of view of general physiological mechanisms its appearance, and from the point of view of the psychological tendencies that are characteristic of it, but in general it is important to understand that depression itself is only a symptom that is intended to indicate to you that something is deeply wrong in your life. Because, psychological work with depression, it is first of all working with your life and what it consists of. A variety of events, situations and problems can be hidden behind depression, and the volume of all this can be quite large. General knowledge about this disease can certainly be useful, but if you want to get rid of depression completely, then it is important to start putting your life in order, your attitude towards it and how and with what you live, do this immediately or along with taking antidepressants prescribed to you by a psychiatrist. The task is to make life such that there is no place for depression, because if it appears, it will come.

What is depression and its symptoms.

It happens that when we call one of our relatives and friends on the phone, we hear in response: “You know, I’m so depressed today.” Or something like that.
In fact, of course, ordinary mood swings cannot be called depression. In the case of depression we are dealing with serious illness very often in need of drug treatment, and sometimes even treatment in a psychiatric clinic.
If we talk about a recommendation that can be given right away: “Don’t fall into the clutches of depression, it’s much easier to avoid meeting it.”
Depression is mental disorder. The condition of this disorder can be extremely painful, and therefore there is a danger of suicide.

The following main symptoms of depression can be identified:

• the man is depressed Bad mood does not depend on external factors ( long time, from 2 weeks or more);
• a person loses interest in what previously gave him pleasure (anhedonia);
• high fatigue, apathy, decline vitality (this condition shows signs of stability for at least a month).

As additional symptoms can be considered:

• pessimistic attitude;
• a person can feel guilt, think about your worthlessness, feel anxious and fear;
• Very low self-esteem;
• decreased concentration and difficulty making decisions;
• a person may have thoughts of death and suicide;
• reduced or vice versa increased appetite, weight fluctuations;
• insomnia, oversleeping.

Classifications of depression and its types.

Depression comes in different forms. From neurotic and reactive, when psychotherapy is one of the main indications for treatment, to genetic (endogenous), clinical, when only a well-chosen set of antidepressants can prevent the recurrence of depressive episodes (I recommend reading the biography of the famous American journalist Mike Wallace, who suffered from major depression part of your life).

In general, there are many typologies of depression. As a rule, they are classified based on any sign, for example the severity of the course, or age group sick. Without a doubt, all typologies are worthy of attention, but in general it makes no sense to list them all in this article; it is better to talk about some general trends that unite all types of depression. But first of all, let's see what internal reasons are triggers for this type of disorder.

A look at depression from the point of view of neurophysiology and medicine

In order to better understand the mechanism of depression, I propose to take a brief look at this phenomenon from medical point vision. I think this is fair and correct, since very often without psychotropic drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist, a cure for depression becomes virtually unattainable.

From the point of view of neurophysiology and medicine, depression is an imbalance and metabolism in the neurons of the brain. The point is that for our psychological state In many respects, certain substances are responsible, the excess or deficiency of which in our body can lead to a decline in mood or, conversely, to its rise. These protein substances are called neurotransmitters. Essentially, they provide communication between nerve cells and occupy one of the key roles in regulating our mood.

Briefly speaking about the process of communication between nerve cells, it occurs as follows: A nerve cell has a number of short processes called dendrites and one long process called an axon.

Nerve cells adjacent to each other form a small free space, called the synaptic cleft. This is where the communication between them takes place.
The synthesis of neurotransmitters occurs in the nerve cell, then they are sent to the presynaptic membrane and then into the synaptic cleft, activating the receptors of the next neuron.

The neurotransmitters we are interested in have the following names: norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin (there are others).

If a person for a long time is, for example, in a state of anxiety, then a subtle restructuring gradually occurs in the tissues of the brain. His systems sensitive to serotonin “get tired,” and the person ceases to feel joy and everything that happens around him and inside is perceived by him “against an invariably black background.” He is always in a bad mood and looks depressed.

With the further course of the disease, the level of norepinephrine may decrease, while the person’s sleep and wakefulness phases are disturbed, the person becomes inhibited, and cannot make even simple everyday decisions.

If the content of dopamine is disrupted, we will see a loss of joy from motor activity, inactivity, very often it is simply impossible to get a person out of bed.

Essentially drug treatment depression is that taking medications prescribed by a doctor (antidepressants) allows the patient to accumulate missing neurotransmitters and restore normal impulse conduction nerve cells. And it's very important point in the treatment of depression, but very often, this alone is not enough, since in a person’s life there were most likely factors that, influencing his psyche for a long time, introduced him into anxiety. For complete cure depression requires psychotherapy.

A look at depression from a psychological perspective

Considering the experience of working with people who are depressed and subdepressed, we can trace a certain picture of the relationship between depression and the anxiety experienced by a person.
As a rule, at a certain stage, when anxiety becomes very strong, the human psyche turns on a mechanism for suppressing its activity, which is depression.
At the same time, the anxiety factor itself often does not go anywhere, but is experienced by the person as if from a “veil.” Very often this can be seen when a person suffering from depression wakes up in the middle of the night in jerks. This happens because when falling asleep, the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for volitional control, becomes less active, and as a result, a huge anxiety hidden in the depths creeps out, which causes this phenomenon.
The phenomenon of anxiety itself can be described as a kind of anxiety that we experience in relation to some factor. What is very typical, the factor can simply be invented by us, i.e. no matter how real it may be, anxiety can be quite significant and quite real. In addition, a person may not be aware or not fully aware of the reasons for the anxiety that arises; in this case, anxiety is present as a kind of background against which the person will be forced to live until he sorts it out. hidden reasons those who call her.

The next tendency that can be noticed in a depressed person is a loss of meaning in life. Unfortunately, nothing makes sense to him, he doesn’t want anything and is not interested in anything, while he understands that such a view of the world is not correct, but he can’t help himself, or rather, he can and does, but he doesn’t feel any pleasure from it , and any minor failure convinces him even more that everything is useless, and he himself is hopelessly flawed. Of course, this is not so, it’s just that depression “unfurls its black flag”, at this stage suicidal thoughts may appear and therefore, it is ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT at this moment for close people to be close to the suffering person and begin to seek help from a professional, primarily a psychiatrist, and then a psychologist.

Prevention of depression

Prevention of depression is one of the main measures to combat this disease. It is important to understand that it is much easier to prevent the appearance of this disease than to treat it later. Therefore, first let’s talk about the main thing. If there is any long-term stress factor in your life or the life of someone close to you, or their anxiety level is too high, take care of how to reduce this level. Take an interest in each other's lives and help each other solve problems as much as possible. The level of stress experienced modern man, can be prohibitively high, and everyone’s mental resources are different. Remember that a little humanity shown at the right time can solve many problems..

For example, the reason may be low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. A consequence of self-doubt may be the inability to build relationships with peers. Further ridicule from school friends (in this case, even harmless jokes can be perceived as humiliation), which leads to psychological trauma, internal aggression both towards them and towards oneself, and this is a factor of constant escalation internal tension and anxiety. At the same time, you have to go to school, because there is a sense of duty to your family, and you have to finish school. The problem of uncertainty remains unresolved.
If you ignore the child's condition and leave this problem left to chance, there is a high probability that the child will first develop social phobia, and then depression may well appear. Therefore, it is reasonable to see the first signs of a child’s self-doubt, help him overcome this uncertainty, or if he cannot do it on his own, do it with the help of a specialist. When a child overcomes uncertainty and his self-esteem normalizes, his level of anxiety will become tolerable, which means the risk of depression will be reduced by several orders of magnitude.

1. Physical education and sports are very good method prevention of depression. Exercising your body is very life-affirming. A person becomes more cheerful, stronger and more resilient. Willpower and determination are strengthened. In the process of playing sports, a lot of endorphin (the pleasure hormone) is produced - and this is essentially natural hormonal therapy.
2. Breathing and meditation practices. Competent practice of techniques psychological self-regulation, gives an effect very similar to the previous one. Moreover, to a certain extent, a person gets the opportunity to control his emotions and relate more calmly to emerging difficulties. In the process of these practices, the body enters the zone of self-regulation, which gives it the opportunity to independently correct the failures that currently exist in it.
3. Creation. Drawing. Modeling. Collecting. Writing literary works. Everything that interests you and that you love. Creativity can literally heal a person.
4. Walks and sunshine. They are very helpful in preventing depression. The impact here occurs at the physiological level. Metabolism improves and more serotonin and endorphins are produced.
5. Regular change of environment. Trips. Along with the production of the necessary endorphins, a person is immersed in a new environment, a new life, a new rhythm of life and a new culture. All this gives you the opportunity to look at your past problems from the outside. It is very possible that depression, which was relevant in the environment from which the person came, will cease to be so in the new environment. Depression may begin to subside naturally.
6. Eating certain foods and diet.

• Dosed consumption of sweets. All the same notorious endorphins. Just without fanaticism, from large quantity carbohydrates people begin to gain weight.
• Coffee, chocolate.
• Vitamin salad, with a large number red and bright vegetables ( bell pepper, tomatoes).
• Seafood. Shrimps.
• But if you have a tendency towards depression, it is better to give up alcohol. Alcohol is a strong depressant for most people.

How to cure depression?

1. In order to cure depression, you first need to find a qualified psychiatrist. We shouldn’t delay visiting him, because time is not on our side. If you seek help earlier, the treatment can be carried out on an outpatient basis, but if you delay it, you will have to go to the hospital.
2. Very often medical care when treating depression, it is sometimes not enough (I wrote about this above), so you need to find a good psychologist or psychotherapist who will help you determine the reasons that led to depression.

• A person needs to be removed from the flow of stress for a while. Don't put the burden on yourself or on loved one if he is sick, it is too much for him to this state affairs, this may make his anxiety worse. What is more difficult is to deal with the factors causing this anxiety. Anxiety should be reduced to a level that is feasible for his psyche.
• Next, it is very important to help a person look at himself and his life. Help him return to the deep, hidden values ​​​​in him and help him begin to build his life based on them. Help a person find his life’s work, learn to distinguish in the world around him everything he loves and all his loved ones, let a person understand that he can do a lot of good and bright things with his own hands and heart. It is important to teach a person to understand the self-worth of the people around him and, most importantly, his own self-worth. Filling yourself with meaning and understanding the importance of your life is the most powerful antidepressant you can create for yourself.

This whole process is quite long and can take more than one month, or maybe even a year, but it is worth it, because during the process of his healing a person becomes much stronger, he learns to feel himself, he can determine the degree of his anxiety and take responsible steps in his life in order to reduce this anxiety, which is especially important, he touches his inner essence finding his true meanings and values ​​in it and following them, which in itself is a powerful factor that protects him from both relapses of depression and many other problems that anxiety can bring with it.

This concludes my introductory article on depression. I wish you Happiness and Health!

Psychologist at the Family Help Center “Family Energy”
Alkhimenko Ilya Alexandrovich.

Any person in life experiences situations when a dark streak occurs, accompanied by depression. This condition can last a very long time and makes life difficult. Today you will learn everything about depression and how this condition differs from a bad mood.

Depression from a philosophical point of view

Much in our lives is cyclical. A person is born and dies, night follows day, and after winter comes spring. People cannot be always happy or always unhappy. Great value in this matter our attitude to what is happening. It is this attitude that can shift the balance in one direction or another. As a result, someone often suffers from depression, while the other, having a similar social status and external characteristics, may well be called happy. The main difference between people is our character.

Of course, situations can be different, for example, the first person in our example was preparing for the most important competition of his life and broke his arm. In this case, changing your attitude towards the situation is very difficult. Such stories could well become the basis for a dramatic film. Another person in a similar situation will remain cheerful, telling everyone how he got injured. This is already a reason to make a comedy.

We are all saying this to mean that you need to try to find the strength in yourself and any life situation perceive from a positive point of view.

Causes of depression

There can be many reasons for depression, both internal and external. External injuries include various injuries, problems with work or personal life, etc. Even in the morning a person could feel great, but a certain event changed everything. External reasons account for more than 60 percent and are the most common.

To understand where there is complete negativity, and when a person’s attitude to what is happening is important, one should consider the issue on a global scale. Just imagine our planet from space, and suddenly a cry from the heart comes from one of its daughters. If this made you smile, then serious problems No.

Internal problems are most often the result of various malfunctions in the body, for example, illness and subsequent rehabilitation period, consequences of alcoholism, etc. In fact, even lack of sleep can cause depression. Today we will talk about influence various hormones and for depression.

Depression: what is it?

Scientists have developed several types of classification of depression, but we will not waste time describing them, but will only talk about the distinctive features:

- Lethargy, loss of strength, if you feel it for more than 30 days- Here special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the long-term nature of what is happening. Anyone can experience a similar state for 7-10 days, but if it lasts about a month, then you are depressed.

-Bad mood for more than 14 days in a row- if you were in a terrible mood for a week, but then everything returned to normal, then it’s definitely not depression.

-Formerly favorite activities no longer bring pleasure— you loved spends several days a week free time repairing a bike, or, say, playing the guitar. Now all activities have lost meaning for you, and nothing can captivate you.

Scientists are confident that to diagnose depression, two of the signs discussed above and one secondary one, such as decreased self-esteem, the appearance of a feeling of fear, etc., are sufficient. The more matches you find, the more depressed you become.

Biochemistry of depression

We have already understood the concept of depression and the causes of this condition. Let's look at the biochemical nature, focusing on the most interesting points.

Changes in synaptic transmission

We know that if you use certain products, for example, fish, then an amine such as tryptophan enters the body. It is carried through the bloodstream to the brain and, after a series of enzymatic reactions, becomes serotonin. There are potassium ions in the body that act as a catalyst.

They accumulate in the presynaptic membrane and cause neurotransmitters, including serotonin, to be released. This process occurs due to phosphorylation of substrates by protein kinases. Thus, a deficiency of potassium ions can cause depression.

Impaired neurotransmitter reuptake process

Special transport protein compounds are capable of inactivating neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft back into the presynaptic membrane. To put it simply, the substances we need continue to be synthesized, but cannot exhibit the proper activity because they are removed by the body. Imagine throwing away a battery from a flashlight that still has half its charge.

Changes in monoamine receptors

Here everything is somewhat simpler and if you had a sufficient number of receptors, then, say, after a stormy party there will be fewer of them. Imagine three water taps, two of which are now closed.

Ways to combat depression

It is best not to get into this state. In this regard, I would like to say once again that assess all your problems as objectively as possible. Don't get upset over little things. If you were fired from your job or ran out of money, then don’t panic and whine. It is necessary to take decisive action and correct the situation. I love you, even the most severe depression you can win, but this requires your effort, time and possibly the help of a specialist.

Based on what we have considered biochemical reasons development of depression, you need to start communicating with people, it is advisable to make new friends, get enough sleep, eat right and start exercising. By the way, you can easily find new friends in the hall.

I would also like to quote one interesting saying- Depression cannot be overcome with the same lifestyle and thinking. Any antidepressant, even the most powerful one, is not able to change the situation, but will only temporarily alleviate your condition. Now we will give some tips to help you get rid of depression without using pharmacology:

-Don't sleep one night- if you do not abuse this, the concentration of serotonin will not decrease significantly, but the level of dopamine may increase. In about 60 percent of situations, these actions can relieve depression.

-Look at bright things- if you have the financial opportunity, it is better to buy them. You can watch the sunrise and your mood will noticeably improve.

-Try to travel- a change of scenery is an excellent remedy accelerating the production of neurotransmitters. Let's say acetylcholine or endorphins will significantly improve your mood. The main thing is not to raise your expectations for the upcoming trip.

-Don’t beat yourself up- if you constantly repeat that those around you underestimate you, you will only make the situation worse. All people have not only advantages, but also disadvantages. Psychologists say that it is necessary to find a balance in self-esteem. Of course, this is not so easy to do, but you have to make the effort.

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that a lot depends on the person himself. No matter how terrible life may seem to you, you need to try to find a grain of positivity and concentrate on it.