Mental pain: causes and healing. Depression is also a test for a believer. Is a difficult mental state a sin or a disease? – His terrible act was a consequence of illness
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Each of us at least once in our lives has encountered such a condition as mental pain. It can occur after the death of a loved one. Also, mental pain visits us when parting or being separated from a person who is very dear to us. Mental pain appears when our personal self-awareness suffers, we feel bad and our mind is looking for some way out of the current situation.
What is mental pain
Is there an organ in our body called the soul? Any doctor will answer no. But why then does it hurt? In fact, mental pain manifests itself in the discomfort of consciousness, in the violation of the integral “I”. When it’s difficult for you, it’s painful, you don’t want to accept a life situation and put up with it, your soul refutes information from the outside.
With mental pain, your heart contracts as if in a vice, it becomes difficult for you to breathe, your eyes are clouded, and your thoughts are concentrated on only one situation in your life. Mental pain does not allow you to live, work, or study normally. With severe mental pain, a person stops any social life, he closes himself within four walls and endlessly thinks, thinks, thinks... Perhaps he wonders if everything could have been different, if he could have prevented the current situation.
The human soul is like a living being that is sick during a period of serious emotional upheaval. And this soul, undoubtedly, must be treated so that it does not die. After all, if the soul dies, a person becomes cold, indifferent and angry at the whole world. This cannot be allowed.
Causes of mental pain
Mental pain can visit us in different life situations.
- The loss of a loved one causes extreme emotional pain. At first the person cannot come to terms with what happened. He denies in every possible way what happened and does not want to accept it. Gradually, his consciousness accepts and comes to terms with what happened - this is the next stage of experiencing what happened. A person learns to live without the deceased, builds his life without him. All stages of suffering from loss must be gradual and consistent so that a person gets rid of mental pain in the required time frame.
Usually grief goes away within a year of the absence of a loved one. After that, humility remains. Even in religion there are rules according to which you cannot cry for a long time for a deceased person, because “he will feel bad in the next world.” No one can check whether this is true, but long suffering will indeed not lead to anything good. - Parting with a loved one. This is also one of the most powerful experiences. When a close loved one leaves, the world collapses, as well as all the plans made for life together. It is important here not to forget the reason why the separation occurred. Did he leave you? Then why do you need him like that? If a person could not consider all your advantages, you should not run after him and humiliate yourself. There will be someone who will appreciate you. And if you left him, then do not forget about the reasons why you made such a decision. Every time you think about his “beautiful eyes,” remember why you decided to break up.
- Illness of a family member or friend. It is also quite a strong and painful feeling. Especially when the disease is serious. Mental pain gnaws at any stage of the disease, especially if a child is sick. Parents feel incredibly guilty. It seems to them that they could have saved, protected, and noticed minor symptoms earlier. The feeling of guilt for not looking after the child gnaws from the inside. In this case, you need to try to pull yourself together and tell yourself that you are not to blame for anything. This could happen to anyone. And in general, you have every opportunity to return a sick person to his former life. Be strong at least for his sake. And don't stop fighting.
- Betrayal. When there is a betrayal of a dear and close person, mental pain shackles all the insides. This is very difficult to experience. This is not only about love betrayal, although this is also, undoubtedly, pure betrayal. A close friend or relative can also betray. After betrayal, the main thing is not to become angry at the whole world and not to become hardened. You need to accept that people are different and you didn’t get the best specimen.
- Humiliation. For a person, this feeling is another catalyst for severe mental pain. Children suffer when their parents undeservedly and unfairly punish them, a wife suffers from a tyrant husband, subordinates tiptoe around their demon boss in fear of losing their jobs. Such destruction of personality can be found all the time; it has a very strong effect on the psyche. A raped woman experiences the strongest emotional distress—mental pain remains with her almost until the end of her life. Getting rid of such an experience is not easy, because every time we replay the events of the ill-fated day in front of us and remember everything in detail. Any memory is like a knife stabbing into our heart. In this case, you need to understand that you are not to blame for the current situation, you were simply a victim in this case. Find the strength to accept this situation and move past it. Become stronger and prevent this from happening in later life.
These are the main, but not all, reasons why a person may experience mental pain. Anything can happen in life, because life is a series of good and bad moments, and you need to be able to cope with the negative.
- First and most important. After you have suffered, accepted and survived the situation, you cannot be left alone with it. You can’t isolate yourself and suffer, suffer, suffer. Your loved ones, family, and friends should help you with this. They should keep you busy with something interesting and exciting all the time. Try not to sit at home, go out for a walk, just wander around the city. Four walls won't cure your heartache.
- If your pain is mixed with anger, it needs to be poured out. Are you angry at a specific person, situation, life or fate? Buy a punching bag for home and hit it as much as you like. This way you can throw out your emotions and experiences.
- Animals are considered the best remedy for treating mental pain. They relieve anxiety, worries, and stress incredibly easily. Instead of a melancholic cat, it is better to choose a perky little dog that will not leave you sitting still. A trip to the dolphinarium will also be effective. Dolphins have a unique ability to charge with energy and give the desire to live.
- Forgive and ask for forgiveness. If the cause of your mental pain is guilt, repent. Ask for forgiveness from the person you offended. Conversely, if you are angry with someone, stop doing it. Mentally let the person go and be happy for the situation that happened. For example, if you were betrayed, understand that it’s good that it happened now, and not many years later. If you were wronged undeservedly and very strongly, let go and believe that fate will reward the offender what he deserves and will take revenge for you.
- Get creative. After all, mental pain creates a gap and emptiness that needs to be filled with something. Drawing, dancing, music, singing, and embroidery help to cope well with emotional experiences. You will be able to pour out all your pain into this activity and get rid of it forever.
- Constant self-destruction can lead to real illness in the body. So stop blaming yourself for what happened. Try to get rid of mental pain through physical activity. A great choice is running. While running through the alleys, park or forest, you can be alone with yourself, listen to music and finally understand what exactly excites you. Another real way to relieve stress is swimming. The water will take away all your worries. Physical activity produces positive hormones that will help you cope with emotional distress.
- There is another way to get rid of worries and pain. Write everything that worries you on paper. All your tears, worries, worries - everything that makes you suffer. And then burn your letter and scatter the ashes to the wind. This psychological technique will force you to mentally let go of your emotional state.
How to prevent heartache from returning
Some people like to suffer. They have not experienced anxiety for a long time, but they are satisfied with the role of the victim. But we know that you are not like that. Therefore, you try with all your might to get rid of mental pain forever.
Don't make an icon out of your loss. If you are faced with such a terrible situation as the death of a loved one, survive it with dignity. In order not to return to the past every time, distribute all the things of the deceased, leaving something for yourself as a keepsake. There is no need to leave the room in the same condition as it was “with him/her.” This will make you suffer even more.
If you broke up with your love, there is no need to leave all your photos together in the most visible place in the room. It takes you back to worries and anxieties, to days of a past life. If you truly want to get rid of heartache, get rid of this pedestal of victimhood immediately.
Mental pain is common to everyone, because we are living people with our own feelings and emotions. If your soul hurts, it means you have it. Don't dwell on your shock, try to move forward into the future. Everything that does not kill us makes us stronger, remember this.
Video: how to overcome mental pain
Mental pain, suffering - every person experienced this torment. Resentment from betrayal, betrayal, injustice, grief, melancholy - all these feelings are associated with pain that cannot be relieved with medication.
Unfortunately, many people, trying to escape the pain that torments them, find themselves trapped in addictions. This applies to alcohol, drugs, and gambling addiction.
Running away from problems is for the weak. It sounds corny, but it's true. Most people, who tend not to take responsibility for their lives, who look for the cause of failures and mental discomfort from the outside, cannot survive the slightest pain and do everything not to feel it, which only aggravates the situation.
On the other hand, mental pain pushes creative people to create masterpieces; for example, the most beautiful poems are written precisely in a state of mental anguish, looking for a way out.
What to do when your soul hurts?
Let's consider several possible situations when torment arises, and try to understand how you can heal mental wounds.
Hidden benefit
Psychological work with a problem begins with establishing its cause. If you communicate with people who constantly "hit" the possibility, you will not need psychotherapy. It will be enough to change your environment. But if you deliberately find yourself next to such people over and over again, it makes sense to think about why you need this. What pushes you to such “self-torture”? Is there some hidden benefit for you in this?
Very often it causes severe mental pain. In this case, treatment will be useless as long as there is a need to achieve hidden goals. In order to do so, it is necessary to identify them and revise them.
Grief
Another common cause of mental pain is a prolonged experience, for example, from a person or from the loss of a close relative.
In these cases, the help of a psychologist is often necessary, but the person himself can take steps to get rid of the problem.
Firstly, there is no need to fuel memories by looking at photographs of departed people or listening to sad music. Secondly, try to switch your attention to new activities, do what you like most, and most importantly, do not be alone.
When experiencing grief, there is a period when you need to endure the acute pain and let it go. A psychotherapist can help with this. If you are unable to forget the deceased person, try to mentally talk to him and say goodbye. Left alone, light a candle, think about the one who left, internally let him go, making the decision to continue living. Very often, such a choice requires real courage.
Bodily tension
Any phenomena of our consciousness, one way or another, manifest themselves at the bodily level. Acute mental pain leads to the appearance of areas of tension, or muscle tension, in the body. For example, a hunched, tense back, “petrified” shoulders, clenched jaws. Such manifestations are a consequence of restraint. Movement frees the body, returns life to it, and, as a result, mental pain ceases to be unbearable, it “blooms” and gradually goes away. Try to move more, walk, play sports, even if at first it will be difficult for you to force yourself to devote time to this. This will help you cope with pain.
Working with Restraint
You often hear: “Don’t keep your grief to yourself, talk it out, you will feel better.” This is true. At the initial stage, a person needs to release negative emotions and share experiences with loved ones. If you have no one to talk to, you can do a simple job: take a piece of paper and write on it what worries you, what torments you, what hurts your soul. If you write sincerely and do not hold back, you will quickly feel relief. This work is useful because it helps you understand yourself better, and the experiences taken outside no longer seem so scary and insurmountable. By the way, it is recommended to destroy the piece of paper after completing the work. For example, it can be burned. This symbolic action will help you release negative emotions.
Defeat
Mental pain can also be caused by the experience of defeat in a matter that is very important to a person. In this case, the memories come back again and again, a feeling of shame arises, and thoughts of what should have been done are tormented. Such a state of mind will be cured if a person finds the cause of his defeat and builds a different course of action. You need to stop self-searching and understand what led to failure, and what qualities you need to change in yourself to avoid this in the future.
In general, the psychology of experience is built on looking for support in your mind, and only then working with feelings. is the master of himself and his life, which allows him to experience negative emotions without being captured by them. In addition, having learned to think and build our lives correctly, we begin to work for the future, eliminating the occurrence of mental pain and developing resilience in the face of a variety of life circumstances.
Heartache allows you to gain new experience and maturity. The main thing is not to be afraid to live in the present to the fullest, rejoicing, grieving, suffering, learning lessons and achieving new victories. After all, we all came into this world to experience the fullness of existence, and not to hide in a cocoon of experiences. Think about it, you can live and continuously move forward, or you can “experience”, that is, remain in place while life passes by. The choice is yours.
Despite the fact that I am a typical representative of scientific medicine, a modern doctor-researcher, all this is combined with nostalgia for the times when the patient and his soul were treated, and not tests or speculation. However, speculation has been treated before due to ignorance of the nature of many diseases. This mainly concerned mental suffering - suffering of the soul. But how in the modern world can we treat something that, according to many, does not exist in nature? An elusive soul, born in the womb of a mother, which no one has seen, and it is unclear where it disappears with the last breath or heartbeat, along with its experiences, suffering and everything that has accumulated over the past times. The soul is something that cannot be called a substance. Remember the Torah. “...the Lord God created man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” And before that, on the same day, He created every living thing on earth “in which there is a living soul.” “Having completed creation... God saw everything that he had created, and it was very good” (Quoted from the Torah publishing house Masadu Ariv Kuk Yirushalayim, 5735 (1975).So, man was created from the dust of the earth - a material substrate into which the Almighty “breathed the breath of life.” Something intangible and therefore obviously unknowable, as they say, “by touch.” But it, the soul, exists in sensations, manifesting itself in character properties (from the Greek character - a distinctive feature, sign), unlike anyone else, like a person’s appearance.. All personality traits are hidden in it: from temperament, to thinking and behavior (however, animals too). The ancient philosopher (3rd century BC) believed that the soul is the expedient principle of the body, inseparable from it. Descartes (16th century) divided the soul and body, implying a complex relationship between them. In modern European philosophy, the term “soul” refers to the inner world of a person. She, the soul, determines individual temperament traits, psychological characteristics and capabilities. This was quite accurately formulated by an ancient doctor and philosopher who lived two and a half thousand years ago -. He believed that the type of temperament depends on the predominance of one of the four fluids in the body and determined their name: blood - sanguine, lymph - phlegmatic, yellow bile - choleric, black bile - melancholic. We must pay tribute to the great one in the fact that the names, as well as their essence (except for the role of “liquids”), have survived to this day, especially since they coincide with the main types of human nervous activity discovered by the great physiologist I.P. .
How do these four main types of temperament differ?
Choleric - characterized by strength of temperament, activity, mobility and excitability of nervous processes, combined with weakened control of emotions, and therefore frequent emotional breakdowns.
A sanguine person is similar in temperament to a choleric person, but is more balanced, as he has increased self-control. At the same time, he is impressionable, proactive, and mobile.
Phlegmatic is also a strong type. It differs from a sanguine person in less activity, inactivity, inertia, and slower reactions.
Melancholic is a weak type. Inactive, with delayed excitability, has difficulty mastering tasks of average complexity, falling into varying degrees of stupor. Passive, at the same time extremely sensitive and emotionally unstable. A person with a vulnerable, subtle mental organization who lacks willpower.
In real life, so to speak, “in their pure form,” they practically never occur. Usually we all have a mixed type of temperament, with a clear predominance of one of them. Please note that the fourth type of temperament is designated as “melancholic”. It is he who will later pass through the centuries as the diagnosis of the mental state of many people - a state on the verge of a disease called melancholy. Modern encyclopedic dictionaries define this word as “an outdated name for depression.” This is not true - in our time they are far from equivalent
Depression, as a special form of illness among melancholic people, was first identified by the greatest founder of modern psychiatry, the German doctor Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926). The Latin word depression, translated, means “suppression (of mood) or melancholy.” Suppression of mood, emotions, mental capabilities. It quickly replaced the definition of “melancholy” as a disease and came into fashion only in the first quarter of the last century, as a characteristic of the state of the soul, “its longing” and, even, a lifestyle. Just remember the songs with “melancholic, lyrical languor of voluptuousness.” Now the meaning of this word has returned to the framework of the Hippocratic definition of human temperament, but not disease.
Here it is necessary to make a reservation that it is the type of person’s temperament, as we say, that “colors” not only the individual characteristics of personality psychology, but also the clinical features of depression in the most diverse forms of manifestation of this suffering. And everyone’s temperaments, as mentioned above, are not only different, but also largely mixed, with varying degrees of predominance of one of the four above. And the signs of depression in their manifestations are also always comparable to the characteristics of a person’s character.
Each of us is far from constant in our moods and experiences. Any change in the situation can affect them in one direction or another. Everyone knows this from their own experience. And, if not from one’s own perspective, then, as they say, from “an outsider” - it’s not for nothing that they say: “from the outside you know better.” Who among the people has not been visited by dark thoughts, sadness, frustration, depression, and experiences associated with a changing life situation? Or, sometimes, suddenly, for unknown reasons, the blues set in. And all these unpleasant sensations, their degree and severity, are transformed for everyone
in different ways, depending on the character and temperament of the person.
In this article we will not talk about “mental illnesses” - that is what mental illnesses were called in ancient times, i.e. related to psychiatry in our time. And about various diseases of the soul itself, united by the well-known diagnosis - depression. Nowadays, this is the most common disease, the diagnostic scope of which is almost unlimited, as well as the same methods of therapy.
Illness comes from the word pain. But physiological pain is characteristic only of material substrates - any organs and tissues of our body. And although we not so rarely say “the soul hurts” - this is also pain, but not physical, but mental. Therefore, in the future, we will not talk about “mental illnesses”, in the ancient understanding of the word, but about diseases of the soul itself, which in our time, with all their diversity, are united under the single concept of “depression”.
It is this “immaterial” soul that is characterized by all the diversity of thinking, emotional and psychological states. And not only people, as many imagine. In my opinion, it is necessary to know about this, as well as the fact that in nature there are equally universal mechanisms of self-regulation that balance emotions and, consequently, the state of the soul.
In my opinion, like that of most European doctors, depression is never an independent disease. I perceive it not as a disease, but as a condition. State of mind . Moreover - this has long been known - characteristic not only of man, but also of practically any soul, as they say, “from the creation of the World.” As one of the states inherent in all living things: joy, pleasure, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, disappointment, grief, blues, etc. The range of these sufferings is extremely wide and varied, as are the degrees of depression. Sometimes, many of them would be hard to even call depression.
It is clear that any of our emotions are a manifestation of the state of the soul: both their severity and duration. Treating a “non-existent” soul, as you understand, is impossible. What is possible? Create more favorable conditions for Her, dependent on the whole organism. These are the basic principles of treatment, or rather correction of mental state
Temperaments, as well as their corresponding characters and emotions, are characteristic of all living things on our sinful planet, including depression. As an example, I will cite a message from The Daily Telegraph dated September 28, 2001, that after the tragedy of September 11, “New York rescue dogs began to feel depressed...”. This happened because they lost the motivation to search. They had already discovered thousands of corpses and body parts, but no one was left alive under the rubble. At the beginning they worked with enthusiasm and when they discovered living people, the dogs rushed to the rubble.” That is why, after disappointment, the “search engines” became lethargic, indifferent, apathetic, and sometimes refused not only to search, but also to eat. The disappointments that befell them, due to the futility and futility of further work, became the main causes of depression. Exactly the same motivated depressive reaction occurs in cats and many other animals, even elephants, in particular, disappointed by failures in mating games, low success in searching for food, and, often, for other reasons. I remember charming creatures - small Siberian chipmunks. If a chipmunk's food collected for the winter is repeatedly stolen, the creature, disappointed by the unfavorable prospects for its future life, commits suicide by hanging itself on the fork of a tree branch. I thought at first that this was a beautiful legend. But Siberian hunters unconditionally confirmed this fact. At the same time, apparently, physiologically, depression, at some stage, can play a certain protective role.
So, depression in the living world is a universal phenomenon. But in humans it is distinguished by an infinite variety of manifestations and motivations (causality), not to mention the severity and diversity of manifestations. This is primarily explained by the fact that, unlike animals, man is not only involved in the social environment and depends on it, but, first of all, has abstract thinking. No one doubts that all this is due to the individual characteristics of the reactivity of the nervous system. The material substrate of these changes, as well as the psyche in general, has not yet been found. Just as for almost a hundred and fifty years, scientists have been practically unable to reliably establish the nature of almost all primary mental illnesses. And, obviously, the Russian authors of one of the first medical manuals published in the first half of the nineteenth century were right, calling the chapter on mental disorders different from all other sections of the manual, which described various diseases - “Mental suffering”, including melancholy - “suffering of the soul itself” "
The range of these sufferings is extremely wide and many faces, as well as degrees of depression Sometimes, many of them would be hard to call depression. However, here in America, I had the opportunity to observe how almost any deepening internal dissatisfaction, bad, decadent mood, pessimism, the sudden onset of blues that appeared, for some reason melancholy or even a disease of neurosis - all this is often regarded by the doctor unambiguously as manifestations of various types of depression expressiveness. And, of course, it is treated with medication. To make it clear to the reader what a depressive state is, I will give a fairly expressive example from my practice.
This happened in the now distant Moscow. Her mother brought her to the reception. A young woman of thirty, poorly combed, sloppily dressed. With her head down, she walked into the office and sat down in the first available seat. Then, after my request, with the same indifference, she moved to sit opposite me. She wiped her nose with a not-so-fresh handkerchief and tucked it behind the lapel of her blouse sleeve. Looking sideways at her, her mother explained: “Finally, I brought her.” I don’t really know what to do with her. She was always cheerful, joyful, graduated well from college, worked, and even defended her dissertation. There were almost no friends. But there are always a lot of men around. But I didn’t give preference to any of them. Then she got married and divorced a year later. She said that they didn’t get along.” Although her character, according to her mother, was quite easy, sometimes “melancholy” suddenly attacked her. During these periods, I didn’t want to see anyone, I closed in on myself. Most often this coincided with the onset of menstruation. She refused to see doctors. And recently, after her boss made some remark to her, she became completely out of character, didn’t go to work, became indifferent to everything, stopped taking care of herself, and sits silently most of the time. He will do anything if you just ask him a couple of times. How many times did I ask, “What’s going on with you?” and answered that I had a headache. She offered her medicine, but she refused. Kind people advised me to contact you
At first glance, it became clear that the patient was in a state of severe depression. And yet, first, I decided to examine her, and ask her in more detail later. As one would expect, no pathology of the nervous system or internal organs was revealed. After that, we managed to “talk” to her, although this is quite difficult to do with such people. It turned out that there was actually no headache. But he simply does not know the reasons why this condition occurred. There was no reason to be especially offended by the boss. He had made similar comments to her before, but nothing like that happened. And here, apparently, she reacted inadequately. Suddenly everything became indifferent. People were annoying, I wanted to be alone. I didn't even want to move. All the time I am haunted by a causeless “wild melancholy”. I don't want to think about anything. “It became difficult to even think.” Everything is seen in a gloomy light, it seems hopeless. I began to have trouble sleeping. I completely lost my appetite. Sometimes something feels unpleasantly tight in your chest.
All this had to be pulled out of her, as they say, “pincers.” She answered in a quiet monotonous voice, almost in monosyllables. It also turned out that he feels worst when he wakes up in the morning, and by the evening it becomes a little better. But in sleep they often have nightmares. In general, there was no doubt - our patient had real depression. So I wrote down in her card “Depressive state in a patient with hormonal imbalance.” The latter served as an obvious reason for her psychological reactivity during menstruation, which was sometimes confused in terms of timing.
After appropriate, rather long-term treatment, she felt much better and almost completely recovered. However, in order to prevent similar conditions from reoccurring in the future, I recommended taking certain medications in a short course, mainly before the onset of menstruation and in the first days, since even minor hormonal disorders could provoke, unpredictably, some semblance of the experienced condition... Since then a lot of time has passed. She no longer experienced such severe depression. Very rarely, only very mild, very superficial, short-term episodes appeared, which she dealt with easily and quickly, using the recommended techniques and only occasionally, as she put it, “light standby medications.” However, who doesn’t get into a bad mood from time to time? This is completely normal.
But it also happens differently. Once, an artist known throughout the country for his numerous films approached me. The man is outwardly quite calm, one might say peaceful. Age is “average”, about sixty. Slightly ironic at himself, he said: “Well, for some reason I stopped liking my own wife. And this after so many years of living together...” She immediately picked up: “He won’t tell anything himself. We've been together for over thirty years. In the last year and a half, it suddenly began to change. He is often thoughtful and then hardly speaks, as if withdrawing into himself. Sometimes he forgets certain lines in performances. This makes him nervous. Sometimes, for several days, one suddenly becomes melancholy sad. Doesn't sleep well. We went to the doctor - he diagnosed depression, prescribed medicine, which made him calmer, but he began to feel indifferent and sleeps a lot. Performance has become even worse...”
The inspection and conversation took quite a lot of time. The time has come to express your opinion. After which he, somehow dumbfounded, asked: “Me?!” Does this happen to men?! Probably, depression is better...” I had to explain at length that in men, too, this is age-related hormonal changes in the body, just as natural as in women, but proceeds somewhat differently. All antidepressants were stopped. Instead, he prescribed a single hormonal drug in very small doses. Since then, as he put it later: “Thank you doctor, I’m being myself again. My wife has finally calmed down.”
Such a wide variety of examples you can give a great variety, and they are all different Patients often came in confused and depressed, complaining of a disturbance in their general condition and decreased performance. They often noted a change in their attitude towards the environment, apathy, indifference, and sometimes a feeling of their own worthlessness and the meaninglessness of existence. I often had thoughts of suicide, but it never came to that. It seems to me that these are quite natural states that arise in a situation of some kind of trouble in life - for example, an illness or a domestic situation.
Of course, the most severe forms of depressive states often occur in “bright periods” in patients with chronic mental and other illnesses. For example, schizophrenia, syndrome, involutional psychosis, reactive psychoses, cerebral atherosclerosis, etc. The reactivity of the nervous system is different for all people. For some, the nerves resemble the thinnest strings that react with vibration even to the passage of a mosquito, for others they are like ropes - they don’t care about any troubles. Rumor has called such people “thick-skinned.” There are people who are overly emotional, others who are more balanced, and others who are completely devoid of any emotions. And here there is no sharp boundary between the types of the nervous system. It is very variable. Therefore, both the reasons and the manifestations and severity of changes in a person’s mood and behavior, his inner world and the characteristics of his reaction are so diverse.
Therefore, I would not classify as depressive states such feelings as - having a basis - melancholy, melancholy or simply a bad mood. These are normal human reactions to certain events and situations, even if they last for quite a long time. They usually go away spontaneously. But there is another category of people who are often classified as “depressants.” I call them “Samoyeds”. Having uttered an unfortunate phrase, spoken impolitely to someone, committed an unseemly action on their part, etc., they, further experiencing, intensify their internal passions to the degree of tragic, falling into a depressed state, which, at times, is regarded as a manifestation depression. Such “self-criticism” is not a disease, but just an analytical character trait. The whole complex of such suffering is built on self-resentment. Sometimes it is not easy to help in such cases, although the calming phrase: “Don’t be offended by yourself!” very accurately defines the essence of the phenomenon of “self-criticism” and its consequences. But depression is not always just a decrease in mood, melancholy, adynamia, general lethargy, detachment, decreased interest in the environment and professional activities, and increased fatigue. Her frequent companions are fears and despair. Especially in mentally unstable people. They may also experience depressive states that we call agitated. In such cases, agitated depression is diagnosed. With it, patients experience acute attacks of melancholy, when everything seems the most gloomy and hopeless, when neither sleep nor an attempt to cope with their condition themselves turns out to be untenable, and they begin to blame themselves for everything that happens. Patients rush about, unable to find a place, moan and sometimes injure themselves. Some of them even end up committing suicide. This, in the overwhelming majority of cases, is observed only when a depressive state develops against the background of an existing severe mental illness, aggravating its course.
Sometimes depression is associated with the occurrence of a number of sudden sensations, combined with the appearance of anxiety, melancholy, and depression. Thus, it is often necessary to observe patients complaining that depression and the anxiety accompanying in these cases are usually accompanied by sudden palpitations and a sharp increase in heart rate. “The heart begins to flutter like a sheep’s tail.” Well, this happens often. But our experience shows that it is not depression and the anxiety that accompanies it that are the root cause of suddenly appearing rapid heartbeat - tachycardia, as doctors call this phenomenon. Rather, everything happens the other way around, because as soon as such a patient is given a drug that relieves tachycardia, the anxiety goes away almost simultaneously along with the depressed state. Drugs that act only on the nervous system, in such cases, usually have no effect. So, everything here is not so simple, just as it is not as simple as answering the ancient philosophical question: what came into being first, the egg or the chicken?
We have already said that in all cases depression does not appear spontaneously This requires not only provoking factors, but also the root cause - from the characteristics of the individual and its emotional sphere, the character of the person, to the presence and specificity of the development of various somatic or mental illness conditions. Many scientists rightly believe that the main cause of depressive states is stress that often visits us. But even here, everything depends on the psychological characteristics of the individual and the individual properties of the endocrine system. The concept of stress was introduced and quickly became widespread worldwide, relatively recently - in the seventies of the last century, thanks to the research of the brilliant Canadian scientist, Hans Selye. He first defined it as a manifestation of the adaptation syndrome, or more precisely, the disease of adaptation. And he considered this reaction so natural for any person that he described it as “The Seasoning of Life.” This is the very necessary “seasoning” that normally trains the body’s adaptive capabilities for various situations. In some cases, it can provoke painful conditions of varying severity, depending on the individual state of the human nervous and endocrine systems.
The problem of treating depression is very complex and always requires a strictly individual approach. Experience shows that most people, finding themselves in a similar situation, for some reason stubbornly try to avoid medicine. Therefore, most often, we have to deal with advanced cases. This is quite a shame, because... Such situations or motivated depressive syndromes, like any other condition or disease, are always much easier to cope with at the very beginning. Moreover, in most cases there is no talk of hospitalization. It is necessary only for those patients in whom depression is part of the structure of one or another mental illness, especially in its agitated forms. If depression occurs against the background of a somatic (any internal) disease, then in all cases it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible, since this condition may be caused by the underlying disease or, often, its exacerbation.
Well, what if something similar to depression visited you, what is called “out of the blue” when there is no other disease? What to do? It is best to try to switch to some other activity to which the person is more inclined, do urgent housework, fix something, do laundry. Or do not very strenuous physical exercises, read a fascinating book. Detectives or humor save many people
This may not seem strange to you, but there is an ancient psychological technique for overcoming such conditions, which I often recommend. Remember the wisest biblical king Solomon, whose love for people was forever remembered in his “Song of Songs”. King Solomon never parted with his emerald ring, on which was written: “Everything passes,” and according to other sources - “This too will pass.” Personally, I like the latter better. And when such patients come in, I always advise you to mentally put an imaginary ring on your finger and remember this saying. “This too shall pass” - in a difficult situation, remember this more often. That's how it will be
Treatment using “soft” gives a very good effect. The same method is also used in cases where depression is combined with various kinds of sexual disorders (including impotence) of neurotic origin, sometimes “stuck” for an indefinitely long time. But only a qualified specialist should do this, especially since the cause of such conditions can be chronic viral diseases, in particular, or hormonal imbalance.
Usually I try not to give specific treatment prescriptions when it comes to diseases where the prerogative of prescribing drugs falls only within the competence of the doctor. In this case, I deviate somewhat from my own principles, since conditions of this kind occur so often that, in practice, they are characteristic of almost any of us and, often, we can successfully cope with them on our own. In mild cases not related to mental illness, you can often help yourself by using some of the recommendations of past doctors, i.e. a time when there was no modern variety of medicines that could only be used as prescribed by a doctor. In particular, valerian root was widely used, which in our time can be successfully used by brewing one teaspoon per glass of boiling water, always in the evening, covering the glass tightly with something. And the very next morning you can take 1 - 2 tablespoons, 1 - 2 times a day. Take motherwort preparations or their combination with valerian, as well as any other mild sedative.
Nice walk in the fresh air It is especially pleasant to breathe air filled with ozone after a thunderstorm. It’s also a good idea to take a warm bath 1 hour before dinner, and when you wake up in the morning, take a cool shower. An alcohol tincture made from lemon zest has a good effect. To do this, 50 grams of fresh zest are infused with 100 grams of 40% alcohol (vodka). Two days at room temperature, and then keep in the refrigerator for three days. Strain through multilayer cheesecloth and squeeze out the remaining zest. Take no more than 35 - 40 drops, 3 - 4 times a day, preferably 10 - 20 minutes before meals. These drops, in addition, definitely increase a person’s sexual capabilities. By the way, it is known that the smell of lemon itself also lifts your mood. Therefore, it is worth putting an ordinary, uncut, fresh lemon on the table, in the center of the room.
And one more piece of advice. If you have difficulty getting up in the morning, in a not very good, gloomy mood, this can be easily overcome. Prepare a glass of strong, slightly sweeter than usual black tea in the evening and pour it into a small thermos. As soon as you wake up the next morning, without getting up yet, as they say, “barely opening at least one eye, half asleep,” drink it before getting up. Do this “procedure” every day. And you will feel how much easier your life rhythm will be. For some, a mixture of regular black and green tea in equal proportions may be more effective. This tea was specially prepared for Russian cosmonauts.
But “laughter therapy,” which Austrian scientists proposed as a universal remedy for treating depression by releasing a special disc, is a risky business. From my point of view, in severe cases that complicate mental illness, this can only worsen the patient’s condition.
Well, if you cannot cope with a depressive state on your own, you must definitely contact a psychologist, psychotherapist or even a psychiatrist. They will be able to select the necessary medicine from the group of antidepressants. However, the use of only similar drugs in such cases, as is practiced here in America, is, from my point of view, insufficient and even dangerous, since sometimes it can only aggravate the situation. In his practice, like other Russian and European doctors, he also necessarily included drugs that stimulate the nervous system in the treatment of severe depressive states. Such, for example, as well as a number of others.
But this is normal. If we talk about depression as a disease, then it is characterized by too long a duration, excessive intensity, often arises without an external cause, as a result of intraorganismal changes, and is in no hurry to go away. A depressed state is a very painful mental experience for the person who is in it. Suffice it to say that the most precious thing a person has, his life, loses value, and a desire to commit suicide appears. Yes, this is what happens if you leave a person without help.
This is how we live, suffering from illness, in fear of becoming known to others as
“abnormal”, afraid of being “registered”, preferring to endure, but not be
“crazy”, according to the principle: no diagnosis, no disease. But there are many diseases and not just hidden depression, but a whole range of diseases that are dealt with so
so-called “minor” psychiatry in the form of psychotherapy.
To avoid getting into this situation if you suspect you have some kind of disease,
ask yourself five simple questions: do I have a place
- loss of the ability to enjoy life?
— difficulties in making even simple decisions?
- loss of interest in what you used to be passionate about?
- desire to isolate yourself from others?
— reflections on the uselessness and emptiness of existence?
Most affirmative answers to these questions indicate great
the likelihood of depression and the need to consult a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
It's time to stop being afraid of psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists; it's time to learn to see them as your main assistants in overcoming life crises, problems and mental suffering.
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