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How to know if someone close to you is suffering from depression
Psychology
Sadness and crying are not the only factors that determine that a person suffers from depression
Just as one day it is sunny and the next it rains, our emotions also change from one moment to the next. We can feel joyful and happy and after a few days, or even hours, we meet a frame of mind totally different like sadness or melancholy. The sadness it is a psychological state that is not, in itself, an indicator of mental disorder, but is one of the six basic emotions, along with anger, happiness, fear, surprise and disgust. However, whether or not you are aware of that sadness, it can give way to a depression.
La depression it’s a Mental illness characterized by causing anhedonia (inability to enjoy). It is popularly associated with sadness and cryingBut there are other factors that determine that someone suffers from depression. The doctor Fernández, a physician specializing in psychiatry, deals with patients with symptoms of depression. «The main depressive symptoms are the states of depressed mood, those of continuous sadness, dejected and with a tendency to cry, but another example of this is the decrease in interest and pleasure in the activities that they like and motivate. One can be depressed without needing to show grief. Sometimes the simple fact of reluctance, abandoning activities that you liked, to the point of affecting baseline life, or stopping to interact with friends due to lack of desire can mean the beginning of a depression», He confesses.
Other factors to consider
However, there are also other causes that warn that a person suffers from depression. Insomnia, changes in appetite, irritability or feelings of guilt, always accompanied by more factors, are also signs of decline. «In adolescents it manifests with consumption of toxins or misconduct. They have a harder time expressing their feelings and need someone to help them clarify it. It is the same with older people. They are not able to identify this type of symptom. They have constipation, headaches, muscle aches … And although they are very nonspecific symptoms and are sometimes associated with physical health issues, they have more to do with mental health … In fact, they have been warning that depression is coming “, says Dr. Fernandez.
What types of depressions are there?
There are different depressions depending on the symptoms, and the treatment is different for each of them.
Psychotic depression: It is usually episodic and occurs over a defined period of time, although in some cases it can be chronic. It has its own biological characteristics that have led to innovative treatments.
Melancholic depression: manifests itself in weight loss, early morning awakening, feeling of guilt …
With atypical symptoms: opposite to the previous one. In this type of depression, you tend to gain weight and suffer hypersomnia (excessive daytime sleepiness, even after having rested at night).
Seasonal pattern: it happens when there is a change of season, especially when the colder seasons arrive, such as autumn and winter.
Postpartum depression: very common in some women after they become mothers.