The last month of winter is considered the champion of blues and sadness. How to survive it? Our consultant, director of the psychological center, candidate of medical sciences, psychotherapist Yuri VAGIN, who debunks five myths about women’s depression, will help.
February 6 2017
Myth 1. Winter is to blame. Some believe that depression is a bad mood, others that a disease. In fact, depression is a syndrome, like a high fever. It was once thought that fever is disease. Then they found out that this is the body’s reaction to inflammatory processes. Depression is also a reaction to serious life circumstances. It is based on something bad. So much so that there is no hope that it will be better.
And seasonal depression doesn’t really exist. In 2016, scientists at Auburn University (USA) proved this, studying 34 people with depression. Sun addiction? This is a personal relationship to sunny weather. If you follow this logic, the inhabitants of the Arctic should be depressed from morning to evening, and in hot countries it should not be at all. But this is not the case.
Myth 2. A woman must endure. Depression is more common in women who are financially and socially dependent on men. There is no work, no home, but there are two or three children … Over time, the husband ceases to take into account the interests of his wife, cheats, does not value. And she has nowhere to go. Many women themselves believe that they must endure. But if you stay in a depressed state for a long time, the body suffers: pressure changes, skin disorders appear, gastrointestinal problems. The body, being in an unnatural situation, itself shortens its life. Sometimes for tens of years. But for business women who are always at the helm, the likelihood of depression is minimal. If their ship has taxied the wrong way, it will not be difficult for such ladies to dump the ballast in the form of a drunken husband overboard.
Myth 3. The mood depends on the cycle. Women often attribute irritation and bad mood to the cycle. But research by psychiatrists has shown that emotional response is directly related to satisfaction with interpersonal relationships. If everything is good in your personal life, there are no depressions.
Myth 4. Sadness arises for no reason. If the reason is not visible, this does not mean that it is not. You need to understand what is tormenting, and then think about what to do. A bad mood in a hundred percent of cases is a sign of some kind of unmet need. For women, these are most often problems in personal relationships and with money, for men – social status. The only way to fight is to solve the problem, get what you need. Can’t find the reason yourself? See a psychotherapist or clinical psychologist. An ordinary psychologist is a specialist in normal conditions, and depression is a deviation from the norm.
Myth 5… Antidepressants will help. Doctors often prescribe medications to patients. Gave me a pill – the condition improves, the person feels better, and the doctor feels good too. But the cause of the depression is not eliminated. The pill does not return the joy of life, the person will be like a zombie. Almost all modern antidepressants act like aspirin on temperature. But temperature is an incentive to fight. And depression is an incentive to change something in your life.