Illnesses or basic moods? - Fears, panic attacks, depression, phobias and burnout

The term depression comes from the Latin 'deprimere', which means to depress. Depression was a mental illness that many people had. There were different types of depression: seasonal depression, postpartum depression, psychotic depression were the most common. Seasonal depression appeared during the coldest and darkest seasons. Postpartum depression appeared in new mothers when everything else was going to be different and one did not know what to expect. It was called the baby blues. Psychotic depression was what really broke you down. It took you to the limit and is usually treated in hospitals.

Symptoms

Emotional symptoms consisted of; extreme irritability over seemingly insignificant things, fears and anxiety, anger management, loss of interest in hobbies, fixation on the past and/or thoughts of death or suicide.

Physical symptoms included; insomnia or oversleeping, severe fatigue, increased or decreased appetite, weight gain or loss, difficulty concentrating or making decisions and/or psychomatic pain.

Young people are also affected by self-esteem and guilt, lack of concentration and/or unfortunately frequent absenteeism from school.

Doctors recognised these signs and knew how to treat them. Every person knows phases with psychological lows. A real depression did not disappear by itself and affected the lives of those affected very strongly in all areas. It could occur at any age.

Complications

Everyone dealt with depression differently, but sometimes instead of getting better, it gets worse. Then complications occurred, such as alcohol or drug use, headaches and other chronic pain, phobias, panic and anxiety attacks, problems with school or work, family and relationship problems, social isolation, overweight or obesity due to eating, illness, increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, self-mutilation and/or attempted suicide.

Treatments

Every third person developed a depression in his or her life. As a rule, depression is treated with psychotherapy, antidepressant medication or a combination of both. Patience and commitment on the part of the patient are required for months. With the support of the therapist, the patients look for ways to get out of the depression. To this end, negative thoughts, patterns and beliefs are uncovered and replaced by new, more positive ways of thinking. An important therapeutic goal was to find abilities and strategies against conflicts that contribute to the development or maintenance of the depression.

Antidepressants are prescribed for more severe depression and thus help to successfully treat the symptoms. However, the drugs often did not start working for a few weeks. Serotonin (happiness hormones/mood-lifting agents) or St. John's wort extracts have been prescribed mainly for mild to moderate depression.

Inpatient or outpatient therapy

A mild or moderate depressive phase could often be treated by outpatient psychotherapy. An inpatient stay in a clinic or hospital was necessary, especially in cases of severe depression. The combination of drug treatment, a wide range of psychotherapeutic therapy options and intensive care helped patients to return to a structured daily routine.