Can depression be completely cured? The patient's personality may change

On December 23, 2020, Chang Jile, director of the National Health Commission's Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, revealed at a press conference that according to 2019 data, the prevalence of depression in my country reached 2.1%. Many people believe that depression has a lot to do with personality. So, what is the personality of a depressed person? What changes will occur in personality after recovery?

Too much pursuit of perfection, "elite lawyer" suffers from depression

Before she became ill, Ms. A was a lawyer in her 30s. At work, she was a shrewd and capable "perfectionist" who pursued perfection. In her own words, "I see no difficulties and I will overcome any difficulties."

According to Ms. A, she felt exhausted and had no motivation to do anything else after returning home from work every day. The longer she went on, the more lonely, helpless, and even desperate she felt. Finally, one day, she felt that she could not leave the house to go to work, so she resigned. She went to the hospital for treatment and was diagnosed with depression.

Why would an excellent elite lawyer become a depressed patient? During the communication, the doctor found that Ms. A's parents divorced when she was a child. Her mother was a strong and aggressive person, which also affected her personality. In addition, due to her family's financial difficulties, she was isolated by her classmates at school, so "striving for success" became her "creed": no matter what she did, she would not allow herself to fail.

Later, she brought her "strength" and "paranoid" personality to work and became an "elite lawyer." However, gradually, she felt more and more stressed. "I love this job very much and work very hard to do every job well. I set many goals for myself, but I found that even if I tried my best to run towards the goal, the goal would not be achieved ahead of schedule." Over time, the huge pressure completely overwhelmed her.

After more than a year of medication and psychotherapy, Ms. A finally recovered and became a lawyer again. After recovery, Ms. A became calmer, more tolerant, and could accept "imperfections". Most importantly, after her stress was reduced, she could handle various matters more easily. "In the past, I had to work very hard to achieve this state. Now my mentality has improved and my vision has become bigger."

The mother's postpartum depression continued, but was cured by maternal love

Ms. B is an undergraduate student and a single mother. According to the doctor, Ms. B is likely to be suffering from postpartum depression.

When her child was a little over one year old, Ms. B got divorced. After the divorce, Ms. B's mental state was very bad. "My sleep quality was very poor and I needed to drink some wine to fall asleep. Over time, I drank more and more wine, and the alcohol content became higher and higher." Ms. B said that due to drinking, she felt drowsy all day long. Gradually, she found it difficult to control her emotions and became irritable and angry.

During the communication, the doctor found that Ms. B felt deeply guilty about her child. "I have not been a good daughter, I have not been a good wife, and now I cannot be a good mother. I failed to take good care of my child, which led to our estrangement." Therefore, the doctor treated her by mainly using sedatives, supplemented by psychological counseling. "The patient has a strong motivation to 'take care of the child'. Now, we use drugs instead of alcohol to help the patient fall asleep. After quitting drinking, the patient's spirits have improved, and she can take better care of the child." The doctor said that after Ms. B established an attachment relationship with her child, she felt a sense of responsibility as a mother for the first time. "She used to be very fearful and anxious, and she didn't know where the future was. Now her daily mood is very good and stable, and the child's closeness to her has also made her personality more outgoing and confident."

Can depression be cured? What changes will occur in personality?

In fact, there is no unified standard to measure whether a patient with depression is cured, but there is a concept of "clinical recovery" in clinical practice. What is "clinical recovery"? It means that the patient's symptoms disappear and there is no recurrence within a period of time, such as: better energy, good sleep, good mood, and restored social functions, then the patient is clinically cured.

Many people with depression are sensitive and introverted. After recovery, they will become more transparent and open-minded, and their personalities will become more positive, active and cheerful. At the same time, many people who have suffered from depression are very empathetic and can better understand the feelings of others.

In fact, people grow up after everything they go through, including illness. Not only depression, but many people with other diseases will also change their personality after recovery.

Interviewed expert: Zhu Hong, second-level psychological counselor

Expert: Du Jiang, Director of the Substance Addiction Department of Shanghai Mental Health Center and Editor-in-Chief of the “Addiction” Column of Da Yi Xiao Hu