Some criteria to be investigated that are established are: a depressed mood most of the day; decreased interest in all or almost all activities; presence of sleep disturbances either insomnia or hypersomnia; tiredness, fatigue or loss of energy; presence of recurring thoughts of death, among others.
What should never be done in front of someone who has symptoms is to naturalize them. It is usually done a lot with adolescents that parents mention “he spends his time sleeping like everyone else his age”, when perhaps we are in front of something that needs attention. Nor is it correct to advise with disabling phrases such as “you are wrong because you want to”, when being able to overcome depression and achieve a symptomatic reduction requires multiple interventions such as a psychotherapeutic space, a pharmacological plan, sometimes it is necessary to include therapeutic monitoring and even work with family psychoeducation.
It is important to know that beyond an organic vulnerability, depression can also occur if you do not have a family history of the condition, since there are certain incidences and risk factors that can influence the etiology of the disorder. Some risk factor’s to consider are:
- the sex and age, since it is more prevalent in women and in people in an age range between 18 and 40 years.
- the social factors, such as social isolation, economic difficulties or being unemployed.
- the presence of stressful life events, such as the death of someone close, a love breakup or divorce, etc.
- the consumption of alcohol or drugs.
- medical illnesses such as underactive thyroid, prolonged treatments, migraine, heart disease, diabetes, among others.
These isolated risk factors are not enough to cause depression as such, but added and sustained over time, can be taken as an alarm sign that end up influencing the appearance of the pathology.
Today more than ever we must make visible the importance of taking care of the mental health of the population since the global situation due to the pandemic has led to a greater report of consultations for anxiety and depression. The fear, frustration and sadness They have been emotions that probably all people have felt, however diagnosed cases of depressive disorders have been increasing due to all the changes that this context entails. Just as in recent times the focus has been on taking care of physical health so as not to contract COVID, two years after this pandemic, prioritizing mental health care has to be a priority for each social sector to prevent conditions such as depression that today on this day of struggle we invite you to become aware.
Clinical Psychologist and Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapist (MN 65,390). Director of SEPSIAT. IG: @melisamirabet
Source From: Ambito
