Mental Illness/ Psychological Disorders

Depression:
It is a mood disorder that causes a continuous feeling of sadness, loss of pleasure, loss of interest in usual things, and a lack of focus. It may be accompanied by feelings of guilt, insignificance, and a lack of self-esteem. The disease affects feelings, thinking, and behavior, causing many emotional and physical problems, which in turn affect the performance of daily activities. Despair of life and thinking of suicide and possibly committing it in advanced cases.

Types of depression:
Some types of depression appear in special circumstances, such as:
Major depressive disorder (hysterical depression, mild depression, dysthymic disorder):
It is a state of bad mood that lasts for long periods and does not significantly affect a person's performance. The sufferer may go through bouts of severe depression and mild depression, and it is not called partial depression unless it lasts for at least two years.
Seasonal depression:
It is characterized by its occurrence during the winter season when there is less sunlight, and it often goes away by spring, and it is accompanied by social isolation, excessive sleep, and weight gain.
Psychotic depression:
It is a person suffering from severe depression in addition to a type of mental disorder (such as: hallucinations and delusions), and its symptoms are related to depressing delusions such as hallucinations of poverty, disease, and others.
Postpartum depression:
It is more serious than the baby blues, which affects most women for two weeks after childbirth. A woman with postpartum depression faces severe depression during pregnancy and after childbirth, whose symptoms include extreme sadness, anxiety, and stress, which affects her daily activities and her care for herself and her baby.
Bipolar depression:
Bipolar disorder differs from depression, but it is mentioned among the types of depression because the bipolar sufferer experiences episodes of severe depression that alternate with episodes of high euphoria.

Causes and risk factors:

• Family history.
• Personality type: such as a person who worries a lot, suffers from a lack of self-confidence, blames himself a lot, and so on.
• Serious illnesses (such as cancer).
• Addiction to drugs and alcohol.
• Ongoing life difficulties (such as: work pressures, loneliness for a long time, exposure to violence ... and others) may cause depression.

Symptoms:
Not all people with depression experience all the symptoms, as they differ from one person to another according to the severity of the disease and the duration of the disease, as well as according to the stage of the disease, and the symptoms are classified as follows:

Psychological Symptoms:

• Constant sadness.
• Low self-confidence and a sense of inferiority.
• Feelings of despair and guilt.
• Feeling anxious and stressed.
• Lack or lack of desire or pleasure in activities that used to arouse desire and pleasure.
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions.
• Thinking of death or suicide.

Physical Symptoms:

• Difficulty sleeping at night with early awakening or oversleeping.
• Feeling lethargic and inactive.
• Decreased appetite and weight loss or increased appetite and weight gain.
• Headache and muscle aches for no apparent reason.
• Speak and move slowly.
• Bowel upset (constipation).
• Loss of sexual desire.
• Changes in the menstrual cycle.

Social symptoms:

• Tendency to isolate.
• Lack of interest in duties at work or school.
• Stay away from family and close friends.
• Abuse of sedatives and alcohol.

There are some cases accompanied by symptoms similar to symptoms of depression (such as: thyroid problems, brain tumor, or lack of vitamins such as vitamin D), so it is necessary to check the health status before diagnosing depression.

Difference between sadness and depression:
 When losses occur in life that are difficult for a person to bear (such as: the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the end of relationships, etc.), it is normal for him to become sad, and the person may describe himself as suffering from depression.
In fact, feeling sad is not the same as depression. Sadness is natural and varies from person to person. It is similar to depression in some of its characteristics such as frowning, isolation, etc., and they differ in several respects:

There are some things that may cause depression for some people, while others only afflict sadness, and differentiating between them helps a lot in overcoming difficult matters and helps in finding the appropriate treatment.

When to see a doctor:

• When experiencing symptoms of depression most of the time, for several consecutive days, and for more than two weeks.
• If the bad mood affects daily life and the relationship with others.
• When thinking about suicide or self-harm.
• Diagnosis:
• Personal history: Asking the patient about his health condition and ensuring the presence of symptoms for two weeks.
• Laboratory tests: The doctor will order a comprehensive blood test to ensure that the symptoms are not due to organic problems.

Treatment:
Depression of all types and severity is treatable, and the earlier treatment begins, the more effective it will be:
Use of medicines:
The so-called "antidepressants" are used, and they usually require several weeks (two to four weeks) to start taking effect, and they require continuing to take them for a period ranging from 6 to 12 months in some cases. But some disturbances (such as sleep and appetite) begin to improve before mood improves.
Notes:
When you start to use the medication:
Some suffer from suicidal thoughts (especially those under the age of 25), so they must be closely monitored, especially at the beginning of using the drugs or when changing the doses.

• You should talk to the doctor before using medications during pregnancy, when planning a pregnancy, or before breastfeeding about the effect of medications on the mother and child.

The danger of stopping medications suddenly:
You should not stop using medicines suddenly and without telling the doctor, not because they are addictive, but because the body may be used to it. Therefore, it must be withdrawn from the body gradually and under the observation of a specialist doctor to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

• Psychotherapy and other means:

Most types of psychotherapy have been proven effective in treating depression, and they include: cognitive-behavioral therapy, problem-solving therapy, and others, and it may be the best treatment, at least as a start, in simple cases of the disease.

• Combined treatment: It includes psychological and pharmacological treatment together, which is the best in most cases, as proven by medical experiments.

Tips for dealing with depression:

• Make sure to practice physical activity.
• Spending time with friends and family, asking for help from them, and avoiding isolation.
• Read and learn more about depression.
• Journaling and writing help to release feelings and feel better.
• Learn relaxation and stress management techniques (such as: meditation, muscle relaxation, and yoga).
• Simplify daily tasks and set achievable goals to avoid frustration.
• Organize time, make a list of daily achievements and their dates.
• Avoid making important decisions when feeling depressed.