When talking about depression, we often touch on the topic of stress. When it comes to stress, people often think of depression. These states go hand in hand, replacing each other or provoking each other. How to overcome stress or stress will be discussed in this article, where we will mainly talk about conditions inherent in healthy people.

From time to time, every person falls into a depressed or stressful state. It does not refer to psychological disorders, pathologies or disorders. Every healthy person has appropriate emotional reactions that manifest themselves in response to a particular event.

It is noteworthy that stress can provoke depression, just as depression can cause stress. It should be understood that these conditions are normal and healthy if they do not last long time.

• Losing something valuable can naturally cause depression. It is quite normal to grieve over your loss if this grief lasts no more than 2 weeks.
• Physical activity, emotional swings, and lack of sleep can provoke a stressful state. This state is quite normal if a person calms down immediately as soon as the situation changes (problems go away, proper rest appears, emotional difficulties cease to arise, etc.).

These conditions become abnormal and dangerous if their duration exceeds more than 2 weeks and the mood does not normalize when stressful situations pass.

What is depression and stress?

It is necessary to distinguish between depression and stress, since we are talking about two different conditions. What depression and stress are will help you separate these concepts and clearly monitor them:

• Stress is a surge of emotions that arise as a reaction to some event. This is usually an emotional response that lasts only as long as the person is exposed to the stressful stimulus.
• Depression is a condition that can result from an outburst of negative emotions. The situation that triggered the depression has long passed. A person is immersed in the past with emotions and memories, which provokes a corresponding internal state in him.

Stress is an emotion, tension. And depression is a state, a mood. The difference is quite noticeable.

Mindfulness allows many people to note that stress and depression occur in people different periods life, for various reasons. While one person may be deeply affected by being fired from a job, another individual may view the event as insignificant. Here we should highlight the category of people who are most prone to depression or stress:

1. Dreamy. Today, trends are becoming fashionable when a person is forced to dream about a bright future. Having a positive outlook on your own life helps you maintain a positive attitude. On the other hand, dreams are shattered by an unpleasant reality, which shows that a person has nothing bright in the coming future. When a person dreams of something that he will never achieve or that he does not put effort into, then he can become depressed.
2. Unprepared to face difficulties. This is to some extent combined with daydreaming. When a person takes actions towards his goal, he rarely thinks that his decisions and actions may be wrong. Difficulties often indicate that a person is taking the wrong actions that will not help him achieve what he wants. If an individual is not ready to admit his mistakes and change his actions, then he plunges into a stressful state.
3. Expectations. Sometimes a person does not act, but simply waits. It is not he, but other people, fate, life that should bring him joy, happiness, and prosperity. As a result, a person is faced with the fact that he has nothing. Resentment towards the world provokes stress, and dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs – depression.

Stress and depression - symptoms

If we talk about two different conditions that arise or provoke each other, then we should note their differences in the symptoms in which they manifest themselves. Depression can be easily differentiated from stress by their inherent symptoms.

Depression - its symptoms:

• Depressed, depressed mood.
• Loss of interest in work, yourself, people, life in general.
• Sleep disorders that manifest themselves in early awakening or prolonged sleep.
• Anxiety.
• Increased fatigue.
• Lack of appetite and, as a result, weight loss.
• Prostration.
• Irritability.
• Binge eating.
• Loss of attentiveness and ability to make decisions.
• Attacks of sobbing.
• Feelings of worthlessness and guilt.
• Helplessness.
• Hopelessness.
• Decreased libido.
• Thoughts about suicide.

Depression is often a consequence of the stress that a person faces almost every day. The need to solve problems always causes stress. Depression occurs after stress if it lasts for a long time. Stressful sensations are quite normal when they arise at the time of a specific situation and help to mobilize one’s strength.

Stress can be characterized by the following symptoms:

• Mobilization of forces.
• Protecting the body itself.
• Increased activity, readiness for action.
• Energy accumulation.
• Excitement and tension.

If we talk about the transition of stress into depression, it should be noted that this phenomenon occurs when a person does not solve his problem and does not use the strength and energy that has accumulated in him. If a person is passive at the moment of stress, then his problem is not solved, which makes it constantly excite him. The duration of a stressful state provokes depression.

If absolutely all people are subject to stress, then only certain categories are susceptible to depression as a result of stress - people who do not act, do not decide, and are passive. Their characteristic features character are:

1. Helplessness.
2. Lack of initiative.
3. Irresponsibility (the desire to shift it onto someone else's shoulders).
4. Indecisiveness.
5. Fearfulness.

In a depressed state, these sensations become aggravated, which often causes psychosomatic illnesses, the treatment of which requires a medicinal approach.

How to overcome depression and stress?

So that a person can avoid negative conditions, he is offered various techniques that help overcome depression and stress. They can be used both to eliminate both conditions, and in specific cases. First, let's learn how to eliminate stress that occurs in all people:

• You should remain cool and calm. Remember that your reactions to situations are completely natural. You should not give in to emotions; it is better to turn your energies to solving the problem.
• Keep your breathing calm. Calmness in the body helps to maintain calmness in the mind. Breathe deeply, freely and slowly, concentrating a little on your own movements.
• Help yourself calm down. Various stroking and massage movements will help here. So, you can rub your earlobe, give yourself a light massage of your hand, shoulder blade, neck or other area of ​​the body. Touch should be pleasant.
• Use a hot shower to relax.
• The situation needs to be resolved or accepted. If it is possible to eliminate the problem, then you should direct your efforts to this. If the situation is unsolvable, then it is necessary to accept it and come to terms with its existence. Why worry about something that has already happened and cannot be changed?
• Watch your own thoughts. You should check yourself every time negative or pessimistic thoughts arise. They definitely won't help you relax.
• Change your attitude towards the situation. This method helps you look at the situation from the other side, help yourself get rid of negative emotions, see options for solving the problem, etc.

Music therapy is often used to relieve depression. This method is also suitable for dealing with stress. Listen to your favorite music that puts you in a positive, “fighting” or relaxing mood. There should be no pessimism, sadness or sadness in it. You need a positive attitude.

Try to communicate with positive people, look good passes and films, read encouraging literature. You are already in a stressed or depressed state. To fix this, you need “artillery” that works in a positive direction and affects you positively.

Treatment of depression and stress

If we talk about specialized medical treatment of depression and stress, then it should be understood that only a doctor can prescribe medications and dosage of drugs. Use medicines It is not recommended to use it on your own, especially if they are potent drugs.

If treatment is required by a healthy person who has been temporarily overcome by emotions of stress or depression, then various recommendations will help:

• Let the experiences pass through yourself. You should not run away from emotions or ignore them. It’s better to allow yourself to worry and grieve for a few days to get through the raging emotions. Then you can begin to leave them in the past.
• Take vitamins C, E, B and macronutrients, especially magnesium and calcium.
• Take sedative medications: Persen, Novo-Passit, tinctures of valerian and motherwort, Nervoflux, Passiflora extract.
• Take medications if you experience apathy, melancholy, lethargy: Imipramine, Paroxetine, Clomipramine, Fluoxetine.
• Treat subpsychotic symptoms with Desipramine and Pyrazidol.
• Eliminate anxiety, unaccountable restlessness, and gloomy irritability with Ludiomil and Azafen.
• Eliminate suicidal thoughts with Amitriptyline.

It is better if a doctor takes care of the administration and dosage of medications. He will take into account all the symptoms of the conditions and prescribe the necessary medications. On your own, it is better to resort to:

1. Yoga.
2. Meditations.
3. Soothing baths with sea ​​salt, ginger, soda, rosemary extract.
4. Herbal medicine, when medicinal herbs are used as decoctions: angelica, chamomile, comfrey, thyme, valerian roots, hawthorn flowers, motherwort, St. John's wort, cudweed, millennium.

Bottom line

Stress is a natural state of the body when a person is engaged in solving some tasks or problems. Depression is already becoming the first bell that indicates a deviation from the norm. A person is not yet considered sick if he has depression, but in the absence of treatment measures the situation may worsen. The result can be unpleasant - the development of clinical depression, which is treated with medication and therapy together with a psychiatrist.

Stress is a normal reaction of the human body to unpleasant situations occurring around us. It is natural to experience negative emotions. You should not be afraid of them or run away. However, it is not recommended to allow your stressful state to last for a long time and turn into depression. This already speaks of negligence towards oneself.

Every person should take care of their mental state. No success is worth turning into a sick person in the process of achieving it. It will be impossible to enjoy the benefits of humanity if the ability to enjoy life and feel interest in anything is lost.

In some cases, it’s not just potent drugs that help get rid of stress and depression. An effective addition to drug therapy is treatment with folk remedies.

The following symptoms indicate that a person needs the help of a psychologist or neurologist:

• severe anxiety observed for 14 days or more;
• apathy;
• constantly recurring thoughts of suicide;
• the appearance of psychosomatic pathologies;
• insomnia;
• scary dreams;
• unmotivated weakness;
• decreased or increased appetite.

How you can help

You can get rid of depression by:

• healing infusions and decoctions;
• bath;
• moderate physical activity.

Treatment with folk remedies is not an alternative to drug therapy.

It is recommended to combat despondency and stress with the help of St. John's wort, mint, valerian, and chamomile. You should consult your doctor before using these herbs. Some natural medicines cause allergies and other side effects.

St. John's wort

The plant has sedative and anti-inflammatory properties. It is recommended to use St. John's wort for mild depression and severe anxiety.. Infusions and teas are prepared from this herb:

1. To prepare tea for depression, you need to pour 2 teaspoons of the herb into 180 ml of boiling water and leave for 8-10 minutes. Drink twice a day - after waking up, before breakfast, and before bed. To achieve the best effect, you need to drink this tea for at least 8 weeks.
2. A decoction to get rid of anxiety is prepared as follows: pour 2 tablespoons of raw material with 250-270 ml of hot water. Keep in a water bath for 20 minutes. Add water to the strained broth to the original volume. The product is drunk 3 times a day, a third of a glass after meals. The effect occurs after 3 months.
3. You can get rid of insomnia using St. John's wort powder. You need to take 2-4 grams of the product per day, dividing the daily volume into three servings. The effect occurs after 30 days.

Mint

You can treat depression and stress with tea and mint infusion:

1. To prepare tea, you need to mix 100 g of dried mint leaves with the same amount of St. John's wort and oregano. Pour 130 ml of boiling water over a teaspoon of the mixture and leave for 12-15 minutes.
2. An anti-stress infusion is prepared according to this recipe: mix 50 g of mint with the same amount of real bedstraw. Pour 2 tablespoons of the mixture into 0.5 liters of boiling water. Leave for 2 hours. The infusion is taken 2 times a day for a week.

You should not use mint if you have arterial hypotension and reduced production of gastric juice.

This plant contains alkaloids that help relieve restlessness, anxiety, and irritation. Valerian does not cause drowsiness and does not affect the reaction. Treatment of stress and depression involves taking valerian tincture.

Recipe:

1. Pour a tablespoon of chopped valerian rhizome into a thermos.
2. Pour 180 ml of boiling water.
3. Leave overnight and filter.

You need to take 1 tablespoon, at least 3 times a day. With high excitability, the dose is increased to a third of a glass. The duration of the therapeutic course is 60 days.

Chamomile herb is used to make a soothing tea. It relieves anxiety and helps get rid of the blues. You can drink it at any time of the day.

To prepare healing tea you need:

1. Pour 2 teaspoons of raw material into 280 ml of boiling water.
2. Leave for 5 minutes.
3. Strain thoroughly.

You need to drink chamomile tea 2-3 times a day. To enhance the therapeutic effect, honey is added to the drink.

Healing baths

You can cure stress and depression with tonic or relaxing baths. Depending on the temperature of the water and the duration of the procedure, they have a sedative or stimulating effect.

The best way to get rid of unpleasant symptoms is to take baths with the following additives:

• citrus;
• lavender;
• rosemary;
• valerian;
• chamomile;
• green tea;
• ivy.

During the procedure, it is advisable to relax all muscles. The chest and neck should be above the water. After the bath, it is recommended to take a horizontal position and lie down for half an hour.

The most effective bath recipes:

Physical activity

Jogging lifts your spirits and helps improve the health of your entire body. Thanks to fitness, oxygen starvation disappears and the symptoms of blues are relieved. Swimming relaxes your muscles. It is advisable to swim in natural bodies of water.

To increase self-esteem it is recommended team games. It is useful to ride a bicycle, skateboard and roller skates.

Walking is no less beneficial. You need to go outside every day. People suffering from insomnia are advised to take a walk before bed. The duration of the walk should vary from 45 minutes to several hours.

Nutrition

Treatment with folk remedies must be combined with diet. The diet should contain foods that promote the production of serotonin. People prone to depression should include in the menu:

• baked potato;
• pasta;
• sea ​​fish;
• apricots;
• bananas;
• persimmon;
• oranges;
• tangerines;
• sweet yellow pepper;
• tomatoes;
• pumpkin;
• carrot.

Among drinks, preference should be given to cocoa, green tea, compotes and fruit drinks.

You cannot “treat” depression and stress with alcohol. Alcohol only temporarily drowns out heartache. When its effect ends, the clinical picture only gets worse.

If this or that folk remedy causes allergies or other side effects, you should stop using it and consult a doctor again.

Do you feel like the ground is disappearing from under your feet? You are no longer in control own life? Everything is falling out of hand, the emotional state leaves much to be desired and it is completely unclear how to live further? It is important to determine the source of the problem that has crippled your soul - are you depressed or stressed? The present symptoms will help establish a diagnosis and begin timely restoration of mental health.

You live like in an aquarium or on powder keg? Depression is different from stress in the answer to this question! Of course, one answer is not enough to accurately diagnose the cause of mental discord. But it is possible to identify significant signs of disease.

The symptoms of these mental illnesses are significantly different and lead to different consequences, but both conditions require timely correction. Remember that both neglected stress and neglected depression take a person out of the game for a long time and cause rapid destruction of his life (career, family and social relationships, creative fulfillment).

Symptoms of stress - a reaction to a problem

Stress always occurs according to the “stimulus-response” principle and is an adaptive mechanism of the psyche. In small quantities it is necessary to maintain vitality, as well as for the formation adequate reaction to the dangers posed by the environment. When stress becomes a constant human life, the body gets used to the state of tension and loses the ability to relax and renew internal reserves. Chronic stress becomes a serious problem because it provokes deep personal deformations and forms the basis for a nervous breakdown. Let's consider explicit

Increased anxiety

Every situation feels aggravated and exaggerated. Pessimistic forecasts for the outcome of any case prevail. There are manifestations of mild neurosis - constant calls to relatives with questions like: “Is everything okay?”, “Is the iron turned off?” In advanced cases there are panic attacks of different intensity.

Physical and mental stress

An unpleasant feeling of constant tension arises, as if there is a tense bowstring inside that is about to burst. The muscles of the body are tense most of the time, pain appears after sleep. A typical phrase from a person experiencing chronic stress: “I wake up exhausted, as if a truck drove over me or I was beaten all night.”

Sleep disorders

Depending on the characteristics of a particular individual, either attacks of insomnia or excessive reliance on “bed rest” without a feeling of rest may be observed. Nightmarish or psychologically uncomfortable dreams are possible

Constant fatigue syndrome

Fatigue becomes a constant companion of life. The greatest difficulties arise for knowledge workers (concentration decreases, the quantity and quality of creative ideas decreases) and those whose work is impossible without constant contact with other people (salespeople, journalists, sales representatives, secretaries).

Self-diagnosis of stress

To correctly diagnose the problem, it is necessary to understand that the psyche reacts equally to both external and internal stress:

1. External stress includes objective events that can provoke psychological exhaustion - exams, job changes, problems in personal relationships, moving, social conflicts, illnesses of relatives.
2. Internal stress refers to a person’s assessment of his life - internal conflict based on: “I want/need, I can/can’t”, age crisis, spiritual tossing.

It makes sense to carry out “restoration work” after identifying the source of the problem. If the reason is external (conflicts at work), it is enough to take a short break to recover and make the right decision (change of job, correct conflict resolution strategy).

Are you experiencing signs of stress, but are not sure whether to consult a psychologist? Conduct self-testing using questionnaires:

1. (Well-being. Activity. Mood).

The data obtained during self-testing will help to better understand the causes of severe illness. Then you can begin to move towards regaining your mental health.

Symptoms of depression - dehydration of the soul

Depression differs from stress in the duration of its occurrence and the severity of the experience of its condition. If all people allow themselves to experience stress, calmly sharing their emotions and thoughts with others, then “depression” (especially in men) is considered a “shameful illness”, equated to venereological diseases.

Depression often develops as a result of neglected stress (acute or). Less commonly, melancholy is provoked by serious physical illnesses that cause disruptions in brain function and the production of hormones responsible for regulating emotions.

The trigger for a depressive disorder can be anything. It is important to remember that loss of control over life is always associated with cognitive impasse - a person becomes captive of negative thoughts and emotions. The more the patient tries to solve the problem, the more he gets stuck in it. The state of depression is like falling into quicksand, since any attempt to get out on your own leads to more bogging down.

Spontaneous healing of deep depression is observed only in one case - the emergence of deep, healing love. However, in this situation, the “other half” often acts as an energy donor and fills the dried-up spring of the patient’s soul with life.

Self-diagnosis of depression

The fundamental signs of depression cannot be confused with anything, let’s look at them carefully.

Anhedonia

Total loss or a sharp decline ability to receive joy. Life becomes discolored or seen in dirty gray or black tones. Not a single one, even the most significant and positive (from the point of view healthy people), does not cause pleasant experiences. Any communication and activity becomes a burden because a person does not get pleasure from them.

Cognitive disorders

There are many problems with mental activity. In the early stages, analytical and Creative skills are not violated, although they acquire a pronounced negative connotation.

Signs that precede deep depression:

• impenetrable pessimism;
• a state of constant despondency (“life is meaningless”, “nothing good awaits me in the future”);
• sharply negative judgments on any occasion (often without any real basis).

Catastrophic decline in self-esteem

At best, the attitude of a depressed patient towards himself is full of harsh self-criticism. With an advanced disease, a person gradually begins to experience increasing self-loathing, reaching the point of hatred and the appearance of suicidal thoughts.

Suicidal mood

The world would be a better place if I weren’t in it”, “It would be easier for my family without me”, “I don’t deserve happiness”, “I’m a nonentity, incapable of anything” - such programs can drive a person to real suicide and can only be eliminated with the help of an experienced psychotherapist, psychologist or psychiatrist.

Decreased or complete lack of interest in favorite activities

Some symptoms of depression can be observed (separately) among other mental disorders, but a complete and sudden loss of interest in one’s favorite activities/hobbies is characteristic of melancholy!

“A musician who has stopped expressing his soul through music. An artist who gave up drawing. A scientist who has stopped enthusiastically discussing the subjects of his scientific research,” someone thinks that they have lost the Muse. In 90% of such cases, people experience depression and often do not realize their condition, believing that they are simply stuck in everyday life and in a bad mood.

Self-testing for depression

You can check if you have depression using a self-test. The simplest tests can reveal the real presence and degree of neglect of the disorder:

1. Zang Scale (Self-Rating of Depression) - /
2. Beck Scale (Major Depression Inventory) - /

Both methods are quite simple and give a clear answer to the question: “Do I have depression?”, “Should I try to cope on my own or see a psychotherapist?”

1. Mild depression – we treat it ourselves! With mild depression, you can try to change the quality of your life, fill yourself with new impressions, increase physical activity, develop positive thinking.
2. Moderate depression - psychologist to help! If you have moderate depression, you should contact a psychologist and correct your condition under his guidance (personal counseling, group work). Such a condition cannot be corrected by one’s own efforts - there simply is not enough “clarity of thinking” and a reserve of mental strength.
3. Severe depression – medical support is needed! If the tests reveal a severe depressive state, then you will need to consult a psychiatrist and prescribe medication support for the period of psychotherapy.

However, you should first contact an experienced psychotherapist, since patients with depression tend to exaggerate the severity of their condition.

Video:“Clinical picture and diagnosis of depression”

Depression can manifest itself as simple fatigue or general feeling deterioration of health. It's natural to feel some depression after the death of a friend or relative, or after a deep disappointment at home or at work. However, depression that continues for a long time and without a serious cause may be a sign of mental illness, and then you should see a doctor. Depression is experienced as a feeling of deep sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness; characterized by loss of self-control, low self-esteem, as well as a decrease in interest in necessary daily activities and communication with people. Thoughts about suicide and attempts to commit it appear.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), childhood stress can reduce life expectancy.

Individuals who reported at least 6 out of 8 examples of negative experiences in childhood - from regular insults to living next to mentally ill people - average duration life was 61 years, while people whose childhood was calm (none of these factors) died on average at the age of 79 years.

To test the link between childhood stress and longevity, Drs. David W. Brown and Robert Anda of the CDC and their colleagues from the CDC and the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Population Health Research studied 17,337 people coming for preventive health screenings from 1995 to 1997.

Today, there is a clear connection between stress in childhood and diseases of the heart, lungs, liver and other organs. "The connection between childhood stress and health was amazing to me in its power," says Dr Anda.

The next step, scientists decided to analyze the relationship between stress in childhood and the age at which death occurred. During 2006, 1,539 study participants died.

During the study, participants were asked to indicate which of the listed stressors they experienced during childhood. The list of factors included the following 8 points:

1. verbal insults
2. physical violence
3. sexual violence with physical contact
4. regular beating of mother by father
5. alcoholism or drug addiction among family members
6. mental illness in family members
7. Imprisonment of family members
8. divorce or separation of parents.

Among participants under 65 years of age, 69% noted at least one of these events; among people 65 years of age and older, this was 53%.

For those who noted six or more events, the risk of dying during the follow-up period was 1.5 times higher than for those who noted none. Those who experienced 6 or more stressful childhood events were 1.7 times more likely to die at age 75 or younger, and 2.4 times more likely to die at age 65 or younger than those who had a stress-free childhood .

Childhood trauma can affect health in a variety of ways, explains Dr. Anda. Thus, under the influence of stress, brain development slows down, so people who suffered stress in childhood may be more prone to depression and anxiety and are more likely to turn to alcohol and smoking as a means of coping with problems.

Only a third of the participants did not experience any of the listed 8 events in childhood, which indicates the widespread prevalence of such events in families.

“If we really want to cope with the serious diseases that cause the greatest concern among specialists, we first need to relieve children from the stress that they may be exposed to in their own families - this will be the best prevention,” says Anda.

MENTAL DISORDERS DEPRESSIVE AND ANXIETY CONDITIONS

Depression

may manifest as simple fatigue or a general feeling of being unwell.

It's natural to feel some depression after the death of a friend or relative, or after a deep disappointment at home or at work. However, depression that continues for a long time and without a serious cause may be a sign of mental illness, and then you should see a doctor.

Symptoms Depression is experienced as a feeling of deep sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness; Characterized by a loss of control over oneself, low self-esteem, as well as a decrease in interest in necessary daily activities - personal hygiene, eating, work and school responsibilities, communication with people. Thoughts about suicide and attempts to commit it appear. Children suffering from depression are often unsociable, aggressive, have difficulties in school, and complain unreasonably about their physical condition. Symptoms of depression do not depend on age; they can be mild or severe and last from several weeks to many years.

Manic-depressive syndrome

characterized by frequent mood swings - from euphoria and exaltation to severe depression. It occurs in both women and men. Usually the first manifestation is noted after 30 years.

Symptoms The manic phase is characterized by an exalted, hyperactive state of the patient; typical hallucinations (auditory, visual and olfactory sensations that are not perceived by other people), delusions (beliefs or opinions that are not consistent with reality), weakened common sense, rapid speech, irritability, thoughts jumping from subject to subject, a feeling of extreme importance of one’s conclusions , reduced sleep duration and decreased appetite, impulsive and aggressive behavior. Professional, educational and social skills and abilities are lost. Manic symptoms range from mild to severe.

Manic behavior in children and adolescents

is expressed in increased activity, temper, temporary weakening of attention, which leads to conflicts with law enforcement agencies, troubles at school and problems in interpersonal relationships.

Anxiety states

consist of feelings of anxiety, uncertainty or fear that arise from apprehension or a sense of threat. The feeling of anxiety is necessary for human survival: it encourages you to monitor your health and stop at a red light. However, anxiety can reach dangerous levels. The higher the level of anxiety, the more people forced to concentrate, think, and the more difficult it is for him to make decisions.

Anxiety conditions are more common in women than in men. The causes of such conditions may be due to heredity, and may also involve dysfunction of the thyroid gland or adrenal glands; poisoning with chemicals or deficiency of certain substances; physical or mental injury or fear of it; prolonged hostility or condemnation of others; tendency towards unrealistic goals and fantastic beliefs. With a strong feeling of anxiety, a person, as a rule, speaks louder and faster, gets tired quickly, feels trembling in the body, becomes absent-minded and irritable, and repeats certain forms of behavior aimlessly (for example, clenching his hands or endlessly pacing around the room).

Symptoms Many people experience symptoms of anxiety from time to time without actually having the disorder. The frequency and severity of symptoms, as well as the impact of these symptoms on relationships with people at work, school and home, determine the diagnosis of the presence of the disease.

Obsessions

These are thoughts, impulses, emotions that a person cannot cope with. Obsession is expressed in the involuntary repeated performance of seemingly meaningless actions (rituals), which a person performs as if trying to prevent something unwanted. Typical ritualistic behavior for such people includes an unreasonable desire to wash or clean something, check and recheck, observing a strict sequence of actions (for example, putting on and taking off socks 11 times before putting on shoes). Obsessive-compulsive disorders usually appear during puberty or somewhat later.

Panic state

characterized by repeated and usually unpredictable attacks of anxiety that progress to panic or terror and last from several minutes to several hours. Panic states usually appear at the end of puberty or a little later.

Phobia

Unconscious fear of some object, action or situation. A person is capable of anything to avoid the object of a phobia. Experts believe that a person with a phobia unconsciously replaces the real internal source anxiety (for example, feelings of guilt or fear of losing someone's personal affection) to an external source (fear of certain situations in society, closed spaces, animals, etc.). Phobias can appear at any time - from early childhood until old age.

Post-traumatic stress

characterized by symptoms of anxiety that appear after some kind of mental trauma: rape, captivity or robbery. A person with post-traumatic stress experiences what happened over and over again during sleep and wakefulness, night and day. He avoids people and situations related to the incident, suffers from insomnia, and becomes depressed and irritable. Post-traumatic stress can occur at any time, even years after the traumatic event.

Traditional methods of treating depression and anxiety. Depending on the nature of the disorder, treatment includes individual, group or family therapy, and the use of medications. Some severe conditions require hospitalization.

Treatment of depression with folk remedies

Depression- a state of melancholy, depression, gloomy and depressed mood, powerlessness and poor physical well-being, combined with retardation of thinking, slow speech, decreased activity and initiative. Depression is observed in various neuropsychiatric diseases. Patients in the depressive phase of psychosis require constant monitoring due to a persistent desire for suicide and self-harm. Treatment of the disease must certainly be carried out by a doctor; as a rule, the patient should be admitted to hospital as soon as possible.

Causes of depression

At some point in our lives, most of us experience some degree of depression due to the physical or emotional stresses that are part of adult life. We suffer from the loss of love and friends, disappointments in our relationships with others and in our careers, and we suffer threats to our physical health or the health of our parents, spouses, and children. Sometimes the emotional burden of typical stress adult life becomes unbearable, and then we become depressed.

This situational or reactive type of depression, a direct result of psychologically distressing events, may require nothing more than time, patience, and supportive love to resolve unless the symptoms become too severe or take too long to subside.

But when typical symptoms such as: depressed mood, feelings of guilt, feelings of worthlessness and helplessness, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, loss of interest in work and public life, loss of energy, headaches and other physical complaints, sleep disturbances, changes in appetite and decreased sexual desire come into conflict with your actual capabilities and normal activities, you need qualified advice to find a way out of depression.

Other forms of depression have more real causes. For example, the hormonal shifts that women often experience during menopause can cause quite severe depression. Although therapeutic treatment and medication are often necessary, the use of drugs traditional medicine– more effective assistance in getting rid of depression.

Depression usually occurs in people who have a deficiency folic acid and vitamin B6, the deficiency of which leads to low levels of serotonin in the brain, a substance important in maintaining Have a good mood. Deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (B2) and vitamin B12 can also contribute to the formation of depressive syndromes. Depression is one of the earliest symptoms of vitamin C deficiency.

Iron deficiency causes depression at the same time as anemia, but anemia disappears with iron supplementation faster than bad mood. Insufficient intake of essential fatty acids contributes to depression, as they are the raw material from which the body produces a group of chemical factors called prostaglandins, important for maintaining a stable mood.

People who consume large amounts of caffeine (three to four cups of coffee per day or more) typically score high on a test designed to detect symptoms of depression. Many people in the throes of a depressed mood turn to sweets for comfort, but medical research has shown that consuming sugar increases depression, fatigue and moodiness.

The consumption of all types of refined sugar and all types of foods made with these products should be reduced. Eating foods high in animal fats, especially fats found in meat, can increase symptoms of depression.

Every year, millions of people suffer from depression between September and April, especially December and February. The so-called seasonal depression is caused by shortening daylight hours and lack of sun in winter. For many, seasonal depression is serious illness, which does not allow people to live in their usual rhythm, to work normally, without resorting to medications. For some, seasonal depression involves only minor discomfort and mood swings and does not require medical intervention.

Symptoms of seasonal depression

• Constant desire to sleep more, difficulty getting up in the morning. However, in some cases there may be the opposite effect: insomnia.
• Feeling tired, lack of strength for the usual routine work.
• A strong desire to eat sweets, which usually leads to extra pounds.
• A feeling of some kind of loss, guilt, sometimes a feeling of helplessness and despair, apathy and underestimation of oneself.
• Reluctance (accompanied by irritability) to contact people.
• Laziness, not the desire to do something.
• Feeling of tension, difficult experience of stressful situations.
• Lack of sexual desires.
• In some cases, seasonal depression can cause hyperactivity and sudden mood swings

Already somewhere from April, seasonal depression goes away by itself, and this is due to an increase in daylight hours and greater sun activity. Seasonal depression can begin at any age, but most often people aged 18-30 fall into the so-called risk group. Residents of hot countries suffer from seasonal depression less often than others.

Non-traditional and folk methods of treating depression

Home Remedies for Depression

Eat 1 banana daily. Bananas are a small miracle that kills depression. These yellow fruits contain the alkaloid harman, the basis of which is the “drug of happiness” - mescaline.

Consume 100-200 g of carrots or 1 glass of carrot juice per day.

Herbs and potions for treating depression

Pour 70% alcohol in a ratio of 1:10 over the roots and rhizomes of the zamanika, let it sit. Take 30-40 drops 2-3 times a day before meals. Used for neurasthenic conditions, depression.

Pour 3 tablespoons of chopped straw with 2 cups of boiling water and leave. Drink during the day. Used as a tonic and restorative.

Pour 1 tablespoon of aster chamomile flowers with 1 glass of boiling water, cool, strain. Take 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day to treat depression. It is used as a tonic and strengthens the nervous system.

Pour boiling water over dried ginseng roots or leaves in a ratio of 1:10 and leave. Take 1 teaspoon per day to treat depression.

Pour crushed ginseng roots or leaves with 50-60% alcohol in the ratio: roots 1:10, leaves 1.5:10. Take 15-20 drops 2-3 times a day to treat depression.

Pour 1 teaspoon of rhizomes and roots of angelica with 1 glass of boiling water, leave. Drink 0.5 glasses 3-4 times a day. It is used as a general strengthening and tonic for nervous exhaustion.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons of knotweed herb with 2 cups of boiling water. Drink before meals. Used for nervous exhaustion and weakness.

Pour the crushed roots of Manchurian aralia with 70% alcohol in a ratio of 1: 5 and leave. Take 10-15 drops 2 times a day. Used for neurasthenia and depression.

Pour 2 teaspoons of crushed herb and roots of gentian pulmonary into 1 glass of water, boil for 10 minutes. Drink 0.5 glasses 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals. It is used for loss of strength and diseases of the nervous system.

Pour 1 tablespoon of peppermint leaf into 1 cup of boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Drink 0.5 cups in the morning and at night. It is used for various nervous disorders and insomnia.

The “Spirit of Melissa” tincture has been known since the 8th century; it was prepared in one of the nunneries in Germany and was used for overwork, deep depression, and to increase tone.

For 1 liter of vodka, take 10 g of dry lemon balm leaf, 1 g of crushed angelica root, the peel of 1 lemon, 1 pinch each of ground nutmeg and crushed coriander seeds, 2 buds of dried cloves. Leave for at least 2 weeks, then filter through a thick cloth. Drink the drink in small doses with tea; for heart disease, take on a piece of sugar; For migraines, rub your temples.

Folk remedies for depression

It is useful to wipe yourself in the morning with water with the addition of table salt (at the rate of 1 teaspoon of salt per bottle of water).

If prescribed by a doctor, you can take pharmaceutical preparations containing iron and arsenic (take only as prescribed by a doctor!).

3 tbsp. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over spoons of chopped oat straw. Infuse, strain. Take the entire portion within 24 hours.

1 tbsp. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over a spoonful of aster chamomile flowers, cool, then strain. Take 1 tbsp. spoon 3-4 times a day.

2/3 tbsp. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over spoons of knotweed grass (knotweed). Infuse, take before meals, take the entire dose throughout the day.

Pour 1 teaspoon of rhizomes and roots of Angelica (Bear's Bunch) into 1 cup of boiling water and leave. Take 1-2 glasses 3-4 times a day.

Pour 2 teaspoons of crushed herb and roots of gentian pulmonary (blue St. John's wort) into 1 glass of water and boil for 10 minutes. Take 1/2 cup 3 times a day half an hour before meals.

Pour 5 g of crushed roots and leaves of spring primrose with 1 glass of boiling water and leave in a thermos for 2-3 hours. Take 1 tbsp. spoon 2-3 times a day.

1 tbsp. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over a spoonful of peppermint leaves and boil for 10 minutes. Take 1/2 cup in the morning and at night.

Use an infusion of poplar leaves in the form of baths.

Take tincture of lily bulbs (saranka).

Prepare a tincture with 50-60% alcohol from ginseng roots in a ratio of 1:10, or from ginseng leaves in a ratio of 1.5-2:10. Take 15-20 drops per appointment.

Brew dried ginseng roots or leaves in a ratio of 1:10 as tea. Take 1 teaspoon per dose.

Prepare a tincture of roots with rhizomes of zamanika in 70% alcohol in a ratio of 1:10. Take 30-40 drops 2-3 times a day before meals.

Prepare a tincture of Aralia Manchurian roots in 70% alcohol at the rate of 1 part of the plant to 5 parts of alcohol. Take 10-15 drops 2 times a day.

Rinse 250 g oat grains in cold water, drain in a colander, pour 1 liter cold water and boil until done. Then infuse, strain and take throughout the day. You can add honey. Take until complete recovery. After a month, start drinking St. John's wort tea.

Mix 100 g raisins, 100 g dried apricots, 100 g prunes, 100 g nuts, 1 lemon with zest. Pass everything through a meat grinder and mix with honey. Store this mixture in the refrigerator. Take 1 tbsp. spoon in the morning before breakfast.

Pour a tablespoon of aster chamomile flowers into 1 cup of boiling water, cool, and strain. Take 1 tablespoon 3–4 times a day. It is used as a tonic and strengthens the nervous system.

Prepare alcohol tincture from the roots of high zamanika and 70% alcohol in a ratio of 1:10. Take 30-40 drops 2-3 times a day before meals. This remedy relieves nervous excitement and is good for depression.

Pour 1 part of crushed Aralia Manchurian roots into 5 parts of 70% alcohol. Take the tincture 2 times a day (preferably in the first half of the day) 10-15 drops with water.

For heart disease with pronounced nervousness, brew a tablespoon of crushed dry motherwort herb with 1 cup of boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. Drink 1/5 cup of the infusion, diluting it with water to 1/2 the container, with 20 drops of lily of the valley infusion.

Pour a tablespoon of peppermint leaves into a glass of boiling water and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Drink 0.5 cups in the morning and before bed.

Pour 2 teaspoons of finely chopped roots and herbs of gentian pulmonary into 1 glass of water, boil over low heat for 10 minutes. Take 0.5 cups 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals for exhaustion of the nervous system and loss of strength.

Pour 20 g of crushed chicory roots with a glass of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, strain. Take 1 tablespoon of the decoction 5-6 times a day for hypochondria and hysteria.

Brew 2/3 tablespoons of knotweed herb with 2 cups of boiling water. Leave for 30 minutes, strain. Drink the infusion during the day before meals.

For depression and exhaustion of the nervous system, try drinking 1/2–1 teaspoon (depending on your weight) of pollen 3 times a day, half an hour or an hour before meals.

Take warm, soothing baths in the evening before bed, adding lemon balm or a little honey to the water.

Pour 20 g of rosemary leaves into a glass of boiling water and simmer for 15–20 minutes over low heat. Cool, strain. Take 1/2 teaspoon of the decoction 30 minutes before meals. Or: infuse 25-30 g of rosemary leaves with 100 ml of alcohol. Take the tincture 25 drops 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals. Rosemary is an effective tonic for the loss of energy that accompanies depression.

Take 15–20 drops of Eleutherococcus tincture ( pharmaceutical drug) 2 times a day, morning and afternoon, 30 minutes before meals. Used for neurasthenia, depression, hypotension as a tonic.

Mix motherwort (herb), cudweed (herb), hawthorn (flowers), chamomile (flowers) equally. Pour a tablespoon of the mixture into 1 cup of boiling water, leave, covered, for 8 hours, strain. Drink 1/2 glass 3 times a day an hour after meals. The infusion is used for nervous disorders, cardiac weakness in combination with suffocation and headache.

Contraindications for the use of drugs from zamanika, aralia and ginseng are hypertension, febrile states, cardiac disorders, insomnia.

Diet for depression

It is recommended to completely eliminate tea, coffee, alcohol, chocolate, white flour products, sugar, chemical additives, and hot seasonings. Meals should be three times a day. It is good to eat fruits, nuts, and milk in the morning. Lunch can consist of steamed vegetables, wholemeal bread and a glass of milk. Salad of green vegetables, legumes, cheese, milk - for dinner. One of the most valuable cures for depression is apples. They contain vitamin B, phosphorus and potassium, which promote the synthesis of glutamic acid, which controls the process of wear and tear of nerve cells. Apples are good to eat with milk and honey. This remedy effectively strengthens the nervous system and charges the body with vital energy.

Common consequences of long-term mental discord are. The human psyche needs correct treatment - periods active work should be followed by proper rest. Long periods of mental exhaustion or sudden bitter trials inevitably lead to internal disharmony and loss of vitality.

The melody of the soul has broken - what to do?

Imagine that your body is the body of an instrument, and your soul is a stretched string. With long or inept playing (improper daily routine, mental overload, lack of release and satisfaction from activity), the sound deteriorates and it becomes necessary to tighten the strings. If the instrument has recently become out of tune, then simple treatment will be needed - tuning with a tuning fork or tuner (rest and positive emotions). In the case where the guitar has not known peace for months, and was even used in unfavorable conditions (disturbed sleep patterns, endless deadlines, conflicts), it will not be so easy to cure a person. A long period of rest will be required, and in particularly critical cases, correctly selected medications will also be required.

Should stress be treated?

This example describes a typical attitude towards stress – superficial and a little careless. “We’ll rest in the next world,” have you often heard or used this phrase? No one can forbid you to exploit your psyche 100%, only the quality of life will become worse every day.

Emotional and volitional disorders, sleep disorders, exacerbation of chronic diseases, blocking of creative energy - this is not a complete list of symptoms of psychogenic stress. If you don’t stop in time and think about the future, the most likely outcome will be a nervous breakdown, after which you will need long-term and expensive treatment under the supervision of a competent psychotherapist.

Figuratively, the process of developing a nervous breakdown can be described as an attempt to independently force a worn guitar string to produce a clear sound or, as it is commonly called, “pull yourself together.” As a result, the string simply breaks and the person forgets the melody of his soul for a long time!

Depression is serious!

A person in a state of depression is best represented by a guitar without strings. All attempts to bring yourself to your senses on your own do not bring the desired result. The patient desperately hits the fingerboard, trying to extract at least some sound (to experience an emotion, to revive old desires), but the strings are long gone! And serious treatment is required to return the psyche to normal.

Do not confuse periods of low mood with depression. During a bad phase in life, you may feel depressed, sad, and even pessimistic about the world. However, at the first appearance of the sun over the road of your life, all sadness instantly dissipates. In a state of depression, no success in professional activity, neither happy events in the family, nor creative achievements are capable of causing a feeling of joy. Does it seem as if the soul has fallen silent forever and will never be able to sing again? Only a competent specialist can prescribe proper treatment, since it is necessary to use maintenance medications.

Save yourself: how to recover from stress and depression

The treatment of stress and depression should be trusted to professionals, but you won’t run to a psychologist after every emotional shock! Every adult is responsible for his own mental condition and must be able to regulate the settings of his own body.

How ? Just! But only if it does not become chronic. Are you not yet familiar with the concept of “nervous breakdown”? Does the deterioration in the quality of life not yet cause panic attacks? Then you are able to restore your mental health on your own.

Self-treatment of stress and mild depression

The causes of stress and depression are prolonged malfunctions in the mechanism and blocking of the mechanism of natural restoration of used mental resources. You can cope with stress and mild depression using popular psychology methods. There are many effective methods influence on the emotional state - from mechanical effects on the body (walking, physical training, massages, yoga) to all kinds of relaxation techniques and switching attention.

It will not be possible to completely eliminate symptoms in a short time, but you can develop an adequate way of interacting with the outside world and yourself. An effective therapeutic effect on the mental state includes physical, mental and emotional aspects.

Eliminating the symptoms of physical exhaustion

It is most effective to influence the mental state through the physical shell. Modern medicine recognizes that more than 60% of diseases are formed on the basis of psychosomatics. Do you want to heal your soul? Start with the body!

1. Relieving mental stress through physical activity. Daily walks are recommended fresh air, as well as active training 2-3 times a week for 1-1.5 hours (any sport).
2. Strengthening the nervous system. may be different, but always undermine the nervous system. You can help the body cope with overload with the help of mild sedatives - valerian, herbal teas.
3. Elimination of mechanical blocks. You can reduce mental stress by relaxing the muscle frame. Relaxing massages, warm baths with sea salt, and relaxing activities (dancing, yoga, swimming) are extremely effective.

Combating Destructive Thoughts: Positive Psychology

The development of stress and depression is particularly influenced by a person’s assessment of the event occurring to him. Often the real influence of the surrounding world is extremely small, but the situation that has arisen is perceived so acutely by the person that it can provoke a nervous breakdown, and then a plunge into the abyss of depression.

Example: a girl is going on a first date and, out of excitement, spills coffee on her new dress - in a normal situation, she would laugh at her awkwardness and calmly change her wardrobe, but in conditions of increased significance, such a factor became the cause of powerful stress.

1. Visualization. Various techniques for mental control over one’s own state are very effective. Visualization can be aimed at symptoms (reducing anxiety, mental stress, releasing emotions in a safe state) or at the cognitive aspects of stress formation (consciously changing one’s own reactions to stimuli).
2. Group psychological trainings. Art therapy, psychodrama, transactional analysis, systemic constellations - many effective means gives modern psychology to change one's own reactions to the external environment. Their common motto can be expressed in the phrase “Live wisely - respond philosophically.” A person is asked to decide for himself how to react to reality and transform destructive emotions into positive products (example: through personal creativity).

What to do if you are emotionally exhausted

Emotions help a person navigate life and develop. After a traumatic stressful situation the person becomes emotionally unbalanced and exhibits severe symptoms emotional burnout. Depending on gender and age, the following is observed: tearfulness, sharp outbursts of anger, aggression, fear or anxiety, the ability to rejoice is reduced or completely lost, the personality is overcome by despondency and apathy.

Emotional life becomes poor in the intensity of experience - every event (even potentially good) is perceived as negative, since it requires significant energy expenditure.

Treat your symptoms creatively:

1. Take advantage of autogenic training.
2. Relieve symptoms using visualization or light meditation.
3. Start keeping a “diary of experiences” - pour out your emotions on paper, without allowing them to accumulate inside.
4. Throw out your emotional baggage through creativity (acting skills, arts and crafts, free dance styles, extreme species sports).
5. Check the influence of animals on mental symptoms(there is evidence that caring for pets reduces the likelihood of acute stress by 2 times)

If depression is the basis of emotional imbalance, any self-healing methods should be used carefully. A depressed person can be compared to a dead battery. mobile phone— internal resources are only sufficient for a minimum number of actions (remember the “theory of spoons”).

If after a month of self-medication your mental state does not improve, it is better to immediately consult a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. Doctors will prescribe supportive medications that will prevent you from sliding into the abyss of despondency.

Rescuers of human souls – psychologists and psychiatrists

Diagnoses of “chronic stress”, “nervous breakdown” and “clinical depression” can only be made by specialists. A layperson can easily confuse the symptoms of stress or depression with the first manifestations of some physical illness or other mental disorder(for example, neurosis). Moreover, you should not buy the first medicine you come across at the pharmacy - with a 99% chance you will harm yourself even more!

Medications for stress

In case of chronic stress or after a nervous breakdown, the doctor prescribes maintenance therapy - medications that should calm and provide energy resources to the weakened body.

1. Maintenance medications. A group of drugs that have a general strengthening effect: a complex of vitamins (necessarily including group “B”), preparations based on medicinal plants (valerian, Eleutherococcus, Schisandra, Rhodiola rosea) or animal origin (often prescribed “apilak”)
2. Anti-anxiety medications. Sedatives help the body slow down (reduce production) and improve sleep quality. Depending on the patient’s condition, the doctor may prescribe sleeping pills, a sedative, or a mild antidepressant. Doctors often try to avoid antidepressants when treating stress and only prescribe them to a person at risk of depression.

Caution: Depression Medications

Drug therapy helps keep a depressed person from completely falling into the abyss of despondency and despair. Antidepressants are aimed at creating a stable emotional background, devoid of peak experiences. A person on a physical level is not allowed to experience sharply negative emotions or a feeling of hopelessness. However, bright joyful experiences also become inaccessible.

Therefore, when treating depression, any drugs are prescribed only in combination with psychotherapy. When the patient’s psychological problems are successfully resolved, a gradual abandonment of antidepressants occurs - many drugs are addictive and must be taken in strict accordance with medical recommendations. Typically, taking antidepressants does not exceed 4-6 months, during which it is important to undergo psychotherapeutic treatment.

Video: psychotherapist Mikhail Golubev “Depression is learned helplessness”