Depressive syndrome: types, symptoms, causes and treatment

Depressive syndrome – one of the most common emotional disorders, manifesting itself with a variety of symptoms. Main features depressive syndrome are:

• regular persistent decrease in mood - hypothymia, accompanied by a deterioration in a person’s emotional response to environmental events;
• slowing down of mental activity – bradypsychia, characterized by a decline in intellectual functions and inhibition of cognitive processes;
• decreased activity of the volitional sphere, decreased number of desires, lack of motivation to act – hypobulia.

Symptoms of depressive disorder

The signs are:

• Melancholy. It manifests itself from mild depression to severe apathy, with awareness of hopelessness and lack of meaning in life.
• Sluggish brain activity. Obsessed with his experiences, the patient responds to any questions with a long pause.
• Inhibition of reactions and movements, sometimes reaching shock numbness. At times, such slowness can be replaced by a lightning attack of sadness and despondency, during which the patient jumps, hits his head against the wall, screams, howls, and deliberately injures himself.

Depressive syndrome - causes

Clearly defined causes of this disorder have not yet been discovered, but four main assumptions can be made:

• genetic predisposition;
• nervous disorders and pathologies;
• mental instability;
• stress.

Stress can lead to this disease

Symptoms of depression usually occur in the morning or at night. It is at this time of day that patients experience complete hopelessness, tragedy, hopelessness and commit suicide. Often you can find the opposite feelings - “emotional apathy”. The patient complains of his indifference, indifference and indifference to what is happening around him.

Provoking factors

Depressive syndrome is characteristic of schizoaffective disorder.

In addition, the reasons for its appearance may be the following:

• brain damage;
• various types of psychoses;
• suffered a stroke;
• diseases of the endocrine system;
• tumor formations;
• reduction in the amount of vitamins in the blood;
• use of certain types of medications: hormonal, sedatives, antibiotics and others.

The advanced stage of the syndrome, resulting from ignoring provoking factors, can be fatal.

Varieties

Types of depressive disorder:

1. Manic-depressive – consists of a change in 2 phases: mania and depression. It is characterized by high dynamism, rapid gestures, agitated psychomotor activity, and increased brain activity. During the period of enlightenment, the patient is very confident in himself, feels like a genius, takes on what he does not know how to do and has never done. At this stage, the patient pours out his emotions, laughs hysterically, and actively chats. At the end of the phase, depression comes, which is longer lasting. Here the signs are absolutely opposite - sadness, melancholy, despondency appear. Reactions, speech and brain activity are inhibited. Most often, this type of disease is inherited. Stress only provokes the disorder, but is not its main cause. A severe degree of the disease is treated inpatiently with the use of strong antidepressants and tranquilizers; at a mild stage, independent therapy and a visit to a psychologist are possible.
2. Astheno-depressive – combines cumulative depressive symptoms:

• irritation;
• high sensitivity and emotionality;
• slow speech, gestures and reactions;
• anxiety;
• headache.

The syndrome causes headaches

The reasons are external and internal. The first include a variety of ailments that reduce human activity: oncology, heart disease, trauma, infection, childbirth, etc. Internal factors include mental pathologies and stress. When chronic, the patient imposes a feeling of guilt on himself, he develops hypertension, gastrointestinal disturbances, hormonal imbalance, and sexual desires decrease or disappear altogether. For a mild form of the disease, only a few sessions of a psychologist will be needed; for severe cases, antidepressants and sedatives are prescribed:

1. Anxious-depressive – based on unreasonable fears and anxieties. Most often it occurs in adolescents due to an unformed, sensitive psyche and a large amount of secreted hormones. It is very important to detect and help the child in a timely manner, otherwise everything will go into a chronic stage with various fears or suicide attempts. Due to the constant feeling of anxiety, persecution mania arises and suspicion of everything increases. The patient is prescribed psychotherapy and sedative medications. There are 2 forms of this disorder: neurotic and suicidal. The latter appears after experienced dramas and tragedies, when a person is unable to survive all this, makes an attempt or kills himself. At this stage, the patient is placed in a hospital to avoid dire consequences.
2. Depressive-neurotic – the main cause is prolonged neurosis. Symptoms are slightly different from other stages of the disease in that they occur calmly, have common sense, and are ready to take action aimed at eliminating the problem. Phobias, obsessions, and hysteria also appear here, but the patient recognizes himself as an individual and understands that he is sick.

general characteristics

This syndrome belongs to psychopathological diseases. To determine it, the patient must have all three main symptoms:

• inhibition of volitional and motor processes;
• slow intellectual activity;
• decreased mood.

In addition, there may be other side symptoms that are also often encountered in patients. For example, instincts may be less intense or disappear altogether, which leads to a lack of self-defense and the appearance of suicidal behavior, decreased or lack of interest in sexual life, overeating or loss of appetite, turning into anorexia. In addition, the patient may be unable to concentrate, and his thoughts may constantly revolve around his own suffering. Reduced self-esteem is also observed, in some cases turning into self-deprecation and self-blame.

The causes of the disease can be different. It often develops against the background of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and can also be one of the manifestations of bipolar affective disorder. The course of depression can vary, and the severity of specific symptoms can vary.

Symptoms of depressive syndrome can also occur while taking certain medications. The risk zone includes:

• analgesics;
• neuroleptics;
• antibiotics;
• hormonal agents;
• antihypertensive drugs.

In addition, there is depression, which is caused by somatic diseases. There is a fairly wide list of diseases that can lead to such changes in mental state, for example:

• epilepsy;
• stroke;
• Parkinson's disease;
• brain injuries and tumors;
• psychoses having toxic, infectious, organic and other causes;
• avitaminosis;
• endocrine diseases, for example, those associated with dysfunction of the thyroid gland.

To determine the causes of depression, eliminate them and treat them, the help of a specialist is required. The patient himself cannot always determine what caused his poor condition - any traumatic events or mental or physical illnesses.

Depressive syndrome - what to do?

It is necessary to distinguish depressive disorder from other mental pathologies - schizophrenia, depressive-manic psychosis, vascular atherosclerosis. This is very important, because in this case it is necessary not only to localize depression, but also to fight the disease itself.

Drug treatment of the disease

Treatment of the syndrome consists of the following types of therapy:

• medicinal;
• psychological;
• non-medicinal.

For mild forms, psychotherapy and vitamins are prescribed; for severe forms, sedative medications are recommended. The duration of the course should be from 2 to 4 weeks of medication use to assess the effectiveness of treatment.

In particularly difficult cases (hallucinations, delusions, inadequacy), antipsychotic drugs are prescribed. Physical therapy, yoga, and calming compositions can also help. Support is required from the patient's family and friends, because a lot depends on his emotions. If relatives are indifferent to the patient’s problem, the treatment will not bring the desired result.

Prognosis and prevention

A large number of people re-experience a depressive episode. This happens especially often in cases where taking antidepressants was stopped earlier than recommended by the doctor. For moderately severe disease, relapse occurs with a 50% probability. If you have had a major depressive episode, there is an 80% chance that the illness will reoccur.

To prevent depression, you should sleep at least 8 hours a day. Before going to bed, it is recommended to take walks and take relaxing baths. Listening to music will help; preference should be given to classical works.

Exercise is beneficial. Physical activity should be moderate; overexertion is harmful. The type of physical activity should be selected taking into account your own preferences: running, dancing, and extreme sports are suitable.

Relaxation is helpful. Breathing exercises, yoga, listening to soothing music, imagining pleasant images will help get rid of physical and mental stress.

In addition, it is important to eat right. With food, a person must receive a sufficient amount of nutrients, microelements, and vitamins.

Depressive syndrome – code according to ICD-10

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, is a generally established systematization of medical diagnoses. Depression according to ICD-10 is on the list of mental disorders. The difference in this section is that each illness is prone to relapses, which are neither predictable nor controllable, since in most cases they depend not on the patient, but on the events that happen to him.

Moderate form of depressive syndrome

Forms of manifestation of the disease:

• Easy. Usually 2-4 signs appear - depression, low activity, indifference to previous interests.
• Average. Four or more symptoms are expressed - decreased activity, poor sleep, pessimism, poor appetite, inferiority complex.
• Heavy. A person does not see the meaning in life, considers himself useless and useless, thoughts arise about committing suicide, the body’s reactions are inhibited, and in more complex cases, delirium, fever and hallucinations appear.

Modern medicine considers depressive mental disorder a serious illness that requires urgent treatment. Therapy methods include the use of medications and other procedures:

• taking psychotropic, sedatives, tranquilizers;
• various types of psychotherapy, sessions with psychologists and psychiatrists;
• comfortable conditions for the patient, which sometimes require a change of place of work or social circle;
• getting rid of bad habits, the right way of life;
• normalized sleep and rest patterns;
• balanced diet;
• physiotherapy: light therapy, healing sleep, music therapy and other calming measures.

Diagnostics

A psychotherapist will prescribe treatment and help identify the cause of the disease

Adults and children with severe symptoms of astheno-depressive syndrome must undergo diagnostics. You should consult a doctor, even if the signs of the disorder are still mild.

Patients suspected of having this disease should be examined in the office of highly specialized specialists. We are talking about an endocrinologist, neurologist, gastroenterologist and urologist.

For depression, it is recommended to consult a psychotherapist. He will determine the root cause of the disorder and tell you how to treat it. Consultation with highly specialized doctors is required in order to identify the presence of chronic pathologies that could have an impact on the development of astheno-depressive syndrome.

If no organic causes of the disease are identified in a person, then further diagnosis will be carried out by a psychotherapist. He must talk to the patient. During the collection of anamnesis, he will be able to find an explanation for the manifested symptoms of the syndrome.

What are the consequences of depression?

Absolutely anyone can get the syndrome. Not every individual realizes that he has signs of a mental disorder. He attributes all his problems to poor sleep, food, lack of time, etc. This disease does not go away on its own, and you definitely need to get rid of it.

Without assistance, the patient will feel worse and worse, both psychologically and physically. In addition to the patient himself, his loved ones will also suffer, because it is on them that he will compensate for his aggression, anger, pain, irritation and other emotions.

Symptoms of depression can also occur in children and adolescents. They are slightly different from adults:

• poor sleep or insomnia;
• lack of appetite;
• anxiety;
• suspicion;
• aggressiveness;
• isolation;
• persecution mania;

The syndrome can lead a person to become withdrawn

• various phobias;
• poor performance at school;
• difficulty in understanding with parents;
• conflicts with classmates and teachers.

All this must be detected and treated in time. A prolonged state of apathy can be life-threatening, because a large number of victims think about death. Remember that everything is curable, the main thing is the desire of the sick person and the help of a professional. Psychiatrists, therapists, endocrinologists and psychologists will help a person with depression.

Consequences

Without timely treatment, depression negatively affects a person's quality of life. The consequences of the disorder include:

1. Deterioration in appearance. A depressed person looks untidy and sloppy. He has no desire to take care of himself.
2. Development of pathologies of internal organs. A sedentary lifestyle, irregular diet and constant mood swings increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
3. Obesity. Body weight rapidly increases if the patient constantly eats problems.

With depression, brain performance often decreases. The person is unable to work or study normally.