According to a survey by the World Health Organization, approximately 100 million people around the world currently suffer from depression, and the number is increasing, making it an ’epidemic’ today.
Depression is a symptom of neurosis. It is a disease caused by body dysfunction caused by excessive use of the brain, mental stress, and physical exertion. It includes insomnia, anxiety, hypochondriasis, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, neurasthenia, nervous vomiting and other conditions.
Depression is often characterized by difficulty falling asleep. Sometimes you can fall asleep, but you wake up after 1 to 2 hours, and it is difficult to fall asleep again after waking up. Some also stay up all night; feel restless, unable to control fear without a clear object or content, or experience frightening pain. Some people have low mood as the main symptom, depression, sadness, low self-esteem, and a significant reduction or even loss of interest in daily activities. Some people are suspicious and always suspect that others are talking bad about them. They are very worried about the harmful effects on their health but cannot control themselves. Paying too much attention to your body (including various physiological changes). Some patients force themselves to think about something or something and cannot control themselves. Symptoms of neurasthenia include mental fatigue, slow reaction, inattention, memory loss, inability to work and study for a long time, headache, loss of appetite, laziness, etc.
Depression may be caused by the following factors: stressful life, upset stomach, headaches, insufficient nutrition, poor diet, sugar, mononucleosis, thyroid disease, endometritis (associated with depression in women), any serious medical condition Injuries, allergies. Some people become more depressed in winter when the days are shorter and the nights are longer. Depression is a recurring illness that can occur at any age, but is more common in early middle age and is particularly common in the elderly. Depression results from disruptions in areas of the brain that regulate emotions. Most people can handle daily emotional stress, but when the stress is too great and exceeds the range of their adjustment functions, depression may result.
In addition, depression is also closely related to a person’s personality. The patient’s personality traits are generally introverted, withdrawn, sentimental and dependent. Depression is very harmful to people. It will completely change people’s understanding of the world and interpersonal relationships, and even end their lives by suicide.
If patients with depression are full of depression and do not seek medical treatment in time, about 10% of patients will have suicidal tendencies, and some patients may even become the protagonists of domestic violence or child abuse. But this does not mean that depression must be a terminal illness. At least at present, it can be treated through psychological treatment, drug treatment and other means.
The adverse effects of depression not only affect the patient, but also affect the patient’s family and friends. In severe cases, the victim may be unable to live a normal life, causing obstacles to work, study, diet and sleep, and being unable to enjoy any kind of happy activities. Indeed, depression can make people feel powerless. According to records, nearly 12% of patients feel powerless. On the other hand, depression can also increase the financial burden on individuals, families, or entire communities. Some of the economic burdens are obvious and can be calculated, but some cannot be estimated. Economic burdens that can be estimated include demands on health and social services, unemployment, lost productivity, impact on families and caregivers, varying degrees of crime and public safety hazards, and the negative impact of suicide.
In Western countries, depression is the most common mental illness, with the lifelong incidence of depression ranging from 6% to 8%. With the gradual aging of the population, the incidence of depression among people over 60 years old has increased. As high as 20% to 50%. 65% to 80% of patients will have severe suicidal ideation, 45% to 55% will commit suicide or self-harm, and the lifetime suicide mortality rate is as high as 15% to 25%. According to the World Health Report 2002 published by the World Health Organization, depression has become the fourth most common disease in the world, and by 2020, depression may become the second most common disease after heart disease.
To find out if depression is threatening your health, take this test.
Please answer ‘yes’ or ’no’ based on how you have felt physically and emotionally over the past week.
