World Mental Health Day | Don’t misunderstand again! Depression is more than just a simple “bad mood”

Depression is not just a bad mood, but a disease. October 10 is World Mental Health Day. Let us learn more about depression and treat it scientifically.

Master the seven standards of mental health for early diagnosis and early treatment

Lack of motivation or interest in doing things, feeling tired or lack of energy, difficulty falling asleep or restless sleep... Everyone has these conditions to some extent, so what is the standard of mental health? How to define whether you have depression? I believe this series of questions bothers many people.

Kong Derong, deputy director of the Eighth People's Hospital of Zhengzhou, introduced that "the World Health Organization's mental health standards are: normal intelligence, good at coordinating and controlling emotions, strong willpower, harmonious interpersonal relationships, the ability to actively adapt to and improve the real environment, maintaining the integrity and health of the personality, and psychological behavior consistent with age characteristics."

"Master the mental health standards, use them as a basis to compare yourself, and conduct self-diagnosis of mental health. Discover in time if one or several aspects of your mental condition are somewhat different from the mental health standards, and strengthen mental training in a targeted manner to achieve a mental health level." Kong Derong said in an interview that if you find that your mental state seriously deviates from the mental health standards, you should seek medical attention in time to ensure early diagnosis and treatment.

1 in 14 people suffer from depression

Do you know these data? The 2022 National Depression Blue Book shows that the lifetime prevalence of depressive disorders among adults in my country is 6.8%, of which depression is 3.4%. Currently, there are 95 million people suffering from depression in my country, which is nearly 100 million, which means that one in every 14 people suffers from depression. About 280,000 people commit suicide every year, of which 40% suffer from depression.

Zhang Baoqin, a doctor at the Zhengzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that depression is a common mental illness, which is mainly manifested by low mood, decreased interest, pessimism, slow thinking, lack of initiative, self-blame, poor diet and sleep, worry about suffering from various diseases, feeling discomfort in many parts of the body, and in severe cases, suicidal thoughts and behaviors. "It lasts for at least 2 weeks and damages social functions to varying degrees, causing pain or adverse consequences to the person."

Talking about the harm of depression, Yang Yongchao, a health science expert in Henan Province and chief physician of the Disease Control Department of the Eighth People's Hospital of Zhengzhou, added: "Depression has the characteristics of 'high incidence, high recurrence, and high disability'. It may lead to pessimism, sleep disorders, physical health, social function, and increased suicide risk."

Depression ≠ "mental illness" Misunderstandings about depression

When it comes to depression, many people think of "mental illness", feel ashamed, and are unwilling to go to the hospital for treatment. Since the word depression entered the public opinion, it seems to have been caught in endless controversy, accompanied by various speculations, prejudices, and even stigmatization.

Yang Yongchao said that the first prejudice is that depression is a sign of fragility, weak will, insufficient ability, weak heart or lack of courage; the second prejudice is to forcibly link the misfortune of patients with depression with their living and working environment; the third prejudice is that they are "idle" and "looking for trouble"; the fourth prejudice is intentional, that is, pretending with a purpose; the fifth prejudice is that people are introverted, and optimistic and extroverted people will not suffer from depression.

"We know that patients with depression generally know that they have emotional problems, which is what doctors call complete self-awareness, and they feel very painful about it. They hope that their situation can improve, but they are unable to adjust well, so sometimes they resort to suicide to end their pain." Yang Yongchao introduced, "Most patients have mild to moderate symptoms without psychotic manifestations, and only a few have severe symptoms. Although severe depression can also cause some morbid experiences such as hallucinations and delusions, the condition will improve quickly after treatment."

Adolescents are prone to depression, with a prevalence rate of 15 % to 20%.

Who are the groups that are prone to depression? Zhang Baoqin said that the incidence of depression is getting younger, and teenagers are the most prone to depression. In addition, depression is also common in pregnant women, the elderly, and some people in the workplace with high work pressure.

Data from the 2022 National Depression Blue Book show that people under the age of 18 with depression account for 30% of the total population; 50% of people with depression are students. The prevalence of depression in adolescents has reached 15% to 20%, close to that of adults. At the same time, some studies believe that adult depression has already occurred in adolescence, and the main causes are interpersonal relationships, family relationships, academic pressure, lack of sleep, and lifestyle habits.

The reporter learned that according to the content published in the "2022 National Depression Blue Book", most of the causes of depression in adolescents are closely related to family relationships. Yang Yongchao said that with the promotion of family psychotherapy, the relationship between depression and family has gradually been valued and various interpretations have been made.

"The causes of depression are still in the hypothesis stage, mainly genetic, physiological, and socio-psychological factors. The family causes of depression have no direct relationship with being a single parent or divorced. It is more common that the relationships and communication methods between family members cannot meet the individual's psychological growth needs." He said in the interview.

Be alert to depression when your child has these symptoms

When children show what conditions, parents should be alert to the possibility that they may be suffering from depression? Zhang Baoqin reminded: "Parents must be sensitive to their children's problems. When children are depressed, listless, irritable, and particularly rebellious, it is a manifestation of depression."

She said, "If parents find that their children are suspected of depression, they should talk to them more and listen to their true thoughts. When children are young, the love and companionship of their parents are very important, but as they grow up, children need more respect and understanding from their parents. Frequent communication will reduce the risk of children suffering from depression."

Regarding the diagnosis and treatment of depression, Kong Derong said that the current internationally recognized treatment method is comprehensive full-course treatment, including drug treatment and non-drug treatment. Full-course treatment refers to discovery, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation (recovery). After depression is diagnosed, a systematic and comprehensive full-course treatment must be carried out. Drugs alone can only solve part of the problem and cannot achieve the goal of rehabilitation (recovery).

"At the same time, treating depression also requires the joint efforts of families, schools, and individuals, as well as standardized treatment, in order for children to recover," said Kong Derong.